Jezebel: escada

Zoe Kravitz For Vera; Mary-Kate & Ashley Close Beauty Line

Jenna — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST

Zoe Kravitz, negotiating the transition from Famous Daughter to Celebrity, has committed the necessary act of being photographed by Bruce Weber for a perfume campaign. Vera Wang was the lucky partner in fame-chasing. Shall we expect a reality show? [People]

Judge Richard Goldstone, who authored a U.N. report about Israel's war crimes, now has the honor of his name, embroidered in Arabic by local women, being used to sell scarves in Gaza. Shop owners say the scarves are selling out. [UPN]
That rumor we mentioned yesterday about Georgia Jagger proved true. She will be the face of Versace's spring campaign. [WWD]
Barbara Orbison, widow of Roy, has launched a perfume named for her late husband's best-known song: Pretty Woman. [WWD]
Lily Cole: "I'm very good at making salads, which probably sounds rather meek and model-like, but they're fancy salads. I add things like figs, blue cheese and pine nuts. I never follow a recipe –- I even make cakes by guessing what is the right amount of flour and the right number of eggs." Jesus, Cole, do you fly planes and mentally calculate pi to the 100th decimal and cure cancer, too? [Telegraph]
The Kimberley Process was set up in 2002 as an international regulatory body for the diamond trade. Incorporating governments, businesses, and NGOs and civilian groups, the goal was to end the trade in blood diamonds, which has destabilized the continent for decades. But at the group's annual meeting in Namibia, it failed to expel Zimbabwe from membership, despite a Kimberley fact-finding mission in June that discovered that Zimbabwean diamond miners are subject to constant government harassment, and that over 100 had been killed in the past year. The income from the mines, an estimated $1 million a month, is used by Robert Mugabe to prop up his regime. But Zimbabwe can't be expelled because the Kimberley group's own rules require unanimity before such a step is taken. (Looks like Kimberley might be the League of Nations of the gem trade.) The Women's Wear Daily journalist reports a mine owner said "it was up to consumers whether they should buy diamonds, when doing so could fund tribal warfare, genocide and terrorism." When the C.E.O. of a mining company tells you not to buy diamonds... [WWD]
Mulberry is doing a line of laptop bags with Apple. [Elle UK]
Justin Timberlake's William Rast is expanding. The company opened three stores in California this month, and plans another 40-50 by 2012. [WWD]
Zac Efron says he wore his favorite jeans every day for eight weeks to get them to look perfectly lived-in. [WWD]
Nicole Ritchie will be doing a House of Harlow 1960 collaboration with Bebe. The range will cost $38-$98, and one bracelet, for $25, will have "a portion" of its sales donated to the Ritchie-Madden Children's Foundation. The collection will hit stores on November 12. [People]
Vogue editor Lauren Santo-Domingo says that the office normally celebrates birthday parties with pizza and cupcakes — but that the question of whether or not to surprise Anna Wintour with a cake with 60 candles was obviated by her being in Washington, D.C., on the big day. "She's in Washington right now being anointed. She's being knighted by President Obama — I think that's a pretty good 60th-birthday present," said Santo-Domingo. Actually, she was appointed to a White House committee. [The Cut]
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen had a beauty line at Wal-Mart called mary-kateandashley. Who knew? Now you can't buy it anymore, because it's dead. [WWD]
Here's Rosie O'Donnell's account, given on her radio show, of a conversation she had with designer Eileen Fisher: "I see [her] and say, ‘I love you, and you have helped me. You can't imagine how much stress I had in my life because of clothing but once I found you three years ago everything changed. On behalf of every plus-sized woman in the world, I just want to thank you. And I want to ask you why do you only have the [plus] sizes down in SoHo?'" Fisher responded, "That's not really our demographic…you know, we sell a lot of size two." O'Donnell quipped, "Oh yeah, the plus-size two?" Fisher said, "No, the regular size two." O'Donnell leaped to the obvious conclusion. "So, you're trying to design for everyone and you don't really want the association with the plus-size people?" Fisher's response? "Well, it's just not the image that we're going for." Ouch. "It was like someone stabbed me in the heart. I was like, ‘OK, Eileen, we're broken up. I am wearing Donna Karan from now on.'" Sometimes meeting your idols is a terrible idea. But if Eileen Fisher is serious about passing over her established audience of professional women of means and age (a demographic which is severely under-served by the rest of the fashion industry) in favor of young things who want to wear leggings, then Fisher will probably get her comeuppance in the marketplace, won't she? [WWD]
Madonna donated a pair of Christian Dior shoes to a charity working to end discrimination against Roma people, and the shoes fetched $16,600 at auction. [SB]
Helena Rubinstein is coming back to the U.S. market with a new perfume, and Demi Moore as its face. [WWD]
[WWD]
If you live in New York, and somehow lack for opportunities to see men in strange outfits, you could go to Miss J's book signing next Tuesday at the TriBeCa Barnes & Noble. He wrote a tome entitled, Follow The Model: Miss J's Guide To Unleashing Presence, Poise, and Power. [Barnes & Noble]
If you wanna chain-smoke your downtown fashion people-spotting, Carine Roitfeld is rumored to be coming to New York next Monday for an art opening. (Only semi-related: we saw Olivier Zahm at the Tracey Emin opening last night. Outside the dusky confines of the [late, lamented] Beatrice Inn, we had the revelation that the Purple Fashion editor looks exactly like Rick Moranis. Or Booger from Revenge of the Nerds; we couldn't decide. Snap poll?) [P6]
Michael Kors says he enjoyed his Utah vacation. He went horse-riding, which he liked, and for a ride in a hot-air balloon, which left him "freaked out." "Face your fears!" says the designer. [WWD]
Sanjana Jon, sister of rapist designer Anand, showed her new fashion collection in Delhi. It's "inspired" by her brother. [NYPost]
Bankrupt German fashion house Escada has been bought by a daughter-in-law of Lakshmi Mittal, the Indian steel baron. [NYTimes]

Heidi For Victoria's Secret; Tom Ford Talks About His Depression

Jenna — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST

Heidi Klum is not Superwoman, okay? She's not walking in the Victoria's Secret runway show a mere month after giving birth to her fourth child. She's just going to host it. Sheesh. Some people have such unrealistic expectations. [E!]

Meanwhile, this year's angels have been named: Candice Swanepoel, Chanel Iman, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Emanuela de Paula, and Lindsay Ellingson have all been welcomed into the fold. [SB]
In other important lingerie news, some people who sell bras in London say that 1950s-style pointy bras are gaining popularity. However, none of the equipment pictured looks that pointy. [Daily Mail]
Tom Ford says he struggled with depression after leaving Gucci, in 2004. "I started to sink emotionally, spiritually. I became a little bit lost. Leaving Gucci, it intensified because I had been able to cling to my job and to my work and to my identity as a successful fashion designer, and all of a sudden that was gone. It forced me to really think, Well, what am I, who am I, what am I about? It took me a bit of time to figure that out. I think this happens to most people in their life if they're insightful enough to indulge it and to get through to the other side." [W]
This week's episode of Project Runway was shot partly at the Getty Center, and the challenge for the contestants is to create outfits that somehow reflect the museum and its architecture. There's a free screening at 7 tonight at the museum. [LATimes]
Lady Gaga is now backtracking from her earlier claims, to Flare magazine, in which she said she would do a clothing line "at some point." The singer told the Accessories Council awards gala that she and her styling team aren't into that: "We will never do a line; we are not an economy." Then Toms founder Blake Mycoskie reminded the audience, gathered to celebrate, in Diane Von Furstenberg's words "friends you can carry with you and they make you feel better," that "Shoes, for 40 percent of the world, are not an accessory. They're a necessity." [Style.com]
50 Cent's torso appears in all its smoothly airbrushed glory for his new fragrance campaign, which he revealed to People. [People]
Stephanie Winston-Wolkoff, who, until this July, worked at Vogue and essentially ran the annual Met Costume Institute Gala, has just been confirmed as the new director of fashion week at Lincoln Center. [FWD]
There's news about Isaac Mizrahi's QVC collection, which goes on sale December 4, but we know what we all really are curious about is the cheesecake that will be sold. It's made by Junior's, the top looks to be printed with tartan in edible inks, and the crust is chocolate-flavored cookies. It'll be $40. Also for sale will be an Isaac Mizrahi banana nut loaf and chocolate-chip cookies. Yum. [WWD]
Sociology major and current Prada face Kendra Spears, on embarrassing moments: "Well, during a hurried interview backstage an investigatory journalist asked me what I liked to do when I was at home and I said, 'nothing too commotious.' Afterwards, I realized commotious isn't even a word." And on jobs she held, pre-modeling: "I worked part time as an assistant to the owner of a company called LiftPort which was (and may still be) in the forefront of technologies, mostly carbon nanotubes, to build an elevator into space." [W]
Because of the weak economy, more parents are trying to get agency representation for modeling and talent work for their children. Also because of the weak economy, there are fewer jobs to go around, and those jobs are still offered are less well-paying. [WSJ]
Rumor has it that John Galliano is designing and decorating this year's Christmas tree for London's Claridge's hotel. [Style.com]
Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders of Absolutely Fabulous are in the Marks & Spencer holiday ads. [Mirror]
Designer Adam Lippes, who staffs his office with around 20 interns at any one time, says of them: "[I]t's rare to find an intern — especially one from a fashion school — that has good style. Because they try sooo hard, and it never works! You know?" Having been once dressed by an Adam Lippes intern who was wearing a kind of 1980s Medusa costume, with a corset, we are tempted to agree, but for chrissakes, Lippes, they work for you for free. (Also: look who's talking.) [The Cut]
Photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino is against France's proposed retouching laws, which would require digitally altered images to bear labels stating that they have been, well, digitally altered. He tells Libération Next, "The photos of old Hollywood? Retouched! The iconic image of Che Guevara? Retouched! All the photos taken by Richard Avedon of Marilyn Monroe? Retouched! And all of this before today's software existed, of course. Legs were lengthened using a wide angle; skins were smoothed through overexposure." Because using a wide-angle lens is exactly the same as scissoring one head onto another body and placing the Frankenstein creation into a separately shot background and then liquifying the nose a little and changing the light source and strength and whittling down the waist. [WWD]
Christian Siriano's holiday collection for Payless has turned up online. Are these even supposed to bear any resemblance to what he shows with his runway collection anymore? [Payless]
Jodi Arnold, starting with her resort collection, is changing the name of her line from MINT Jodi Arnold, to Jodi Arnold NYC. The designer, who has a new job working on a collaboration with The Limited, also just opened her first store, a pop-up in Greenwich village. [WWD]
The son of the founder of Escada is one of the bidders — in a consortium with the former head of Gucci and the department store owners Borletti Group — for the bankrupt German house. They are offering $118.2 million. [Reuters]
Steve Madden is not only not bankrupt, it's feeling pretty acquisitory. C.E.O. Edward Rosenfeld says the company is on the lookout for brands worth $30-$40 million, but could splurge on something worth up to $100 million. [TS]
Valentino head Stefano Sassi, says everything at the house is just great!!! Nothing to see here!!! Doth the C.E.O. protest too much? [Reuters]
Liz Claiborne's third quarter losses were even bigger than expected. This is the company's eighth consecutive quarter of losing money. [WSJ]

Prada Does Skirts For Men; No HSN Scent For Heidi

Jenna — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:30:00 EDT

Miuccia Prada: "I'm working on [a men's collection] right now and someone at the office worriedly asked me, ‘You're not going to make short skirts again, are you?' So I'm now pushing it even further, just for revenge!" [BlackBook]

Leigh Lezark, on diversity: "I'm glad that a lot of kids even now with the magazines that have come out have something different to look up to. Not a tall, five-foot-ten blonde model, whatever...They can also look up to some faggots and a girl. I think it's great, because I wish I'd had that, and I never did." [The Cut]
Reports that Hills villain Heidi Montag was launching a perfume with the Home Shopping Network have been denied by the network. HSN which has recently announced deals with Naeem Khan and Badgley Mischka was thought to be seeking a more exclusive audience, and the collaboration did seem a tad odd in that light. Now we'll never find out who would choose to smell like silicone, self tanner, and Spencer! [The Cut]
In other fragrant news, Jude Law is the new face of Dior's men's scent, Sport. [Telegraph]
Yesterday, to promote their new line for JC Penney, the Olsens and the Olsens' JC Penney branded cupcake truck went to Union Square. Although no cupcakes were in evidence, onlookers could browse the Olsenboye debut line, and even buy things for $10. (Racked says the clothes are more High School Musical than Elizabeth & James.) Today, should you be curious and New York-bound, the truck will be in Herald Square, and tomorrow, in Washington Square Park. [Racked]
Kate Moss is happy with that Topshop line and those million-dollar cosmetics contracts, sure, but when it comes down to it, you know, she's just a mum. Reports the Guardian: " 'If I can keep people interested in my work for another few years I'll be happy. But the thing I'm always most proud of is my daughter. She's seven now, and vice captain of her class! My goodness!' Moss opens her mascara-ed eyes as wide as they'll go. 'I've never been vice captain of anything! She wants to be a chef, and her imaginary husband is a chef too. I was mother of the bride at their imaginary wedding, standing on the side holding her imaginary baby.' " [Guardian]
Naomi Campbell told a charity event that the situation facing models of color is an "injustice." Said the supermodel, "Nelson Mandela always told me to speak my mind and the consequences will take care of themselves...There is a small group of people whose minds we have to change because we are living in a multicultural society." Maybe there are a few things Campbell could do or not do too. [WWD]
Thakoon Panichgul, who was raised in Omaha, says he always wanted to be in fashion, but that his seamstress mother and grandmother didn't see how he could make a career out of something they understood as just "work." Luckily for Michelle Obama, he started going to Parsons at night, after completing business school. [Fashionista]
Sonia Rykiel's lingerie collection for H&M will be launched with a party at the Grand Palais, where Chanel typically holds its shows. The line will be released in 1,500 H&M stores worldwide on December 5. [WWD]
Cindy Crawford says she has no plans to make a return to the catwalk. "I don't want to stand next to a 20-year-old on the runway, even if people say you can still do it. It is like, 'Why would I do that to myself?' It would just make me depressed," said the supermodel. "I'm more comfortable with myself in the sense that hey, this is who I am now...I guess I appreciate my body for other things like I was able to give birth to two kids. ... But at the same time, I am aware my body doesn't look the same way it did when I was 23. I actually don't want to feel that pressure." [Stylelist]
Sarah Murdoch, a model married to media heir Lachlan Murdoch, appeared on the cover of an Australian tabloid without retouching. She has wrinkles and looks amazing. [News.com.au]
The Escada sale certainly is shrouded in mystery. The bankrupt German house is understood to be entertaining unbinding offers from six would-be buyers, but nobody is prepared to own up to being one. One person from the company that owns Italy's La Rinescente and France's Printemps department stores spoke on the record, but denied acting in anything more than an advisory role. He declined to say whom he was advising. A deal is expected in early November. [WWD]
Topshop, buoyed by the successful opening of its New York store, wants to open stores in Paris and Milan. And China. [Telegraph]
The Limited's pop-up store in SoHo has been so popular with Manhattanites that the company has extended its lease till December 28. [WWD]
Company-wide, The Limited which also owns Bath & Body Works and Victoria's Secret has adjusted its forecast for the quarter. Although it says October same-store sales are going to be worse than they had originally predicted, the company still thinks it may break even. [Reuters]
Marc Ecko, whose troubled and indebted company has been closing stores, is said to be considering selling to or partnering with Iconix. Although last month Ecko said, " We would never give up control of the intellectual property in Ecko. We've built this company up over 16 years," sources say that a deal with Iconix is about to be signed. [WWD]

Armani To Rule Nation With Kid-Gloved Fist; Kanye West Kills His Clothing Line

Jenna — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:30:00 EDT

Giorgio Armani might be made Senator for Life (a real position) by the Italian president. The designer would then vote on the national budget, and "beautify" parliamentary proceedings. Armani's reaction to the nomination, and his political leanings, were unknown. [WSJ]

Pamela Anderson has got to be the driest wit in Hollywood. When the tabloid press asked her to name her style icon, she replied, "Humpty-Dumpty." Pressed on the subject of her perfumes, Malibu and Malibu Night, which will be sold only at drugstores starting this November, the actress said, "That is why I always smell so cheap." Then she pulled up her Vivienne Westwood bedsheet dress — it "came with a million safety pins, and Westwood told me to just pin it and knot it in a bunch of places" — and walked away. [P6]
Then she wrote a hand-written note to Allure. "I've been offered fragrance contracts like everyone else and their dog (hey, that's that good idea, all natural, of course) but all the elements never came together — the stamp of approval from PETA; the environmental aspects. (I was a bit ahead of my time). But now it works!" And: "I worship drugstores, it's hard to get me out." [Allure]
Karl Lagerfeld has been immortalized in a 25 cm vinyl doll. The best part? Mini Karl is mute. [DazedDigital]
The best part about Betsey Johnson's award from the National Arts Club? Her portrait will soon hang among the Gramercy Park institution's other dusty luminaries. We can't decide if this maneuver raises the NAC's stock more than it depresses Johnson's — perhaps O. Aldon James, Jr., will write us a letter of explanation — but we still think it's pretty awesome. [WWD]
Guiseppe Zanotti is obviously one of those people who pulls a face when posing next to a famous person. In this case, Blake Lively. Oh, isn't he wild and spontaneous! [People]
Four words: Olsen twin sunglass line. [Elle UK]
Charlize Theron is collaborating on a t-shirt line for a humanitarian cause. Give and Take Tees is releasing $42 vintage-inspired t-shirts, and half the proceeds will go to Theron's own Outreach Africa Project, which funds a mobile health center for rural South Africa. [People]
Laura Mulleavy, of Rodarte: "I can think of this outfit we did like our fall '08 collection that was red and black and it was all just hairy, leather jacket and fur. For me, that collection was specifically about Japanese horror films and this idea of these girls coming from the ground and being tied down with twine with the hair dangling in their face, and just being completely just like this sunken girl that maybe got stuck in a well somewhere, and I don't know if that would translate into everyday life as I see it, but I don't think that's necessary. I don't know, maybe I am just creating for, you know, the one character that survives." [DazedDigital]
Kanye West had been planning to launch a clothing line called Pastelle since even before he gave us the immortal lines, "So go 'head, go nuts, go ape shit/ Specially in my Pastelle or my Bape shit." Pictures from a lookbook shoot for the brand finally hit the Internet yesterday, only for Yeezy to announce he's scotching Pastelle as a brand entirely. It's as dead as his Gap collaboration. But there still may be a Kanye clothing line under his own name. [HighSnobiety]
The bankrupt Germany fashion house Escada has reportedly attracted 10 different would-be buyers. Perhaps it's not too much to hope for a Christian Lacroix resolution here? [Forbes]
The Limited is trying to claw its way back to brand relevance. It's starting by opening a pop-up store on Spring St. in SoHo, re-launching the discontinued brands Forenza and Outback Red, and hiring Jodi Arnold — as in MINT Jodi Arnold — as a "partner." Does this mean we'll see Jodi Arnold designs at The Limited prices? C.E.O. Linda Heasley, who test-drives unreleased garments herself, says the company is looking forward to its first profitable year in well over a decade. [WWD]

Heidi Klum Is Out. (Of Her Clothes. On Your Coffee Table.)

Sadie — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:30:00 EDT

Heidi Klum's new coffee table book, Rankin's Heidilicious , is "very naughty." Who doesn't want nudity with their coffee? Oh, wait, everyone? [ElleUK]
American Apparel brings its sleaze to England. England doesn't like it. [The Street]

The "provocative" American Apparel ad, which appeared, natch, in Vice, involved a model who appeared to be under the legal age of 16. And who was probably wearing crotchless lame jersey bloomers? AA says she's 23. [Daily Mail]
No, wait, it's a hoodie - unzipped, obviously, and revealing one underaged nip. [Reuters]
The Advertising Standards Authority has suggested that the vertically-integrated softcore "could be seen to sexualise a model who appeared to be a child." [BBC]
Fashion weekly Grazia has come to France, sporting Kate Moss. [WWD]
Speaking of Kate! The much-discussed Paris Kate Moss retrospective has been put on hold for lack of funds. Priorities, people! [Google]
This is a woman whose latest perfume ad features leather corsets, partial nudity and "fantasy sex!" [Daily Mail]
And she's appearing on her celebrity stylist best mate's reality show! [GraziaDaily]
Grazia's hoping to beat Elle in France. But Elle has a secret weapon: Posh Spice's cleavage. [Cocoperez]
A biography of Laura Ashley - the woman behind the florals - hits tomorrow. The chintz-mongers will be releasing a line of mugs and fancies to correspond to its release. [ElleUK]
Karl Lagerfeld's cover of Wallpaper: "While Lagerfeld has shot his current muse, Baptiste Giabiconi, clad in a Dior Homme suit for his cover, he's added a layer of paper to the magazine, which those inclined can peel off to reveal Giabiconi naked. Lagerfeld has also shot a 27-page editorial for the title featuring Giabiconi in locales such as the Queen's Theater in Versailles." He's caught the pulse of the times. [WWD]
Harper's Bazaar bucked the September slump: their secret weapon? Susan Boyle. [Min]
House of Deréon is taking their glitz to Greece. Cue Trojan Horse joke. [WWD]
Mary-Kate Olsen on her style? "There was a photo of me with weird sunglasses on and a green sweatshirt, some striped thing, with tights and cowboy boots. Something really random where in some sense it's me. To this day, I have never read the article. I just saw the photo and thought, 'God, I look crazy in that photograph!'" This, is true. [NYPost]
And speaking of sartorial eccentrics, what's on tap for Betsey Johnson? "I'm going back to my true blue pieces - and couture prom dresses. I'm hoping the clothes will get edgier - more archival and kick-ass shoulder pads. I just want to be more true blue me." Already hating those young girls who will be buying said couture prom dresses. [VogueUK]
Ruben Toledo on his (amazing) covers for Penguin classics: "I must confess I didn't re-read the books - I never read them in the first place. (I was a really bad student as a kid!) It was great to enter them without a preconceived notion of where the story was going, which really triggered my imagination. I took all three manuscripts with me to Miami Beach last New Year's break and spent time reading under the palm trees." [WWD]
Oh dear: is Derek Lam having cash-flow issues? Sources say the former CFDA winner is bleeding money, has lazy managers, and is being "propped up" by "Italian investors." Aren't we all. [NYPost]
Gucci's funding a scholarship promoting the use of "experimental technologies" that will make fashion greener. [WWD]
Loads of designers are banding together against Chicago retailer Jake, who has apparently stiffed a bunch of them. [WWD]
Max Azria's going to be doing a guest turn on the terrible-but-compelling-looking new model drama The Beautiful Life. Is this the beginning of serious fashion cred? Given that the other known guest stars are Tory Burch and Tyra, we're gonna go with "no." [People]
House's Olivia Wilde is the face of new Escada scent "Desire Me." Quoth the good doctor, "For me, Escada represents style, refinement and sensuality. I like to think of myself as being an Escada woman, and I think that the majority of women aspire to these admirable qualities that this perfumes so perfectly represents." This said, the ad is very cheesy and kinda looks like it was shot in 1993. [Sassybella]
Speaking of what every woman allegedly wants to be, Megan Fox is said to be the next face of Armani perfume. [Fashionologie]
She'd be replacing Beyonce? WTF? [NY]
Mad Men makeup tips: "A great start would be lining the top lash line only with a gel liner like M·A·C Fluidline...We love this product for recreating the perfect '60s eye. Replacing gloss and sheer or shimmer lipsticks with matte reds, bright pinks, and corals help create a more retro look." So does a cocktail and a Winston. [People]
Tiffany's doing great. In point of fact, they've kicked Wal-Mart's ass. [WSJ]

Fashion's Night Out's Celeb Lineup Announced; Tori Clothing Line A Reality

Jenna — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:30:00 EDT

The details of Fashion's Night Out aka Anna Wintour's Plan To Save Retail have been announced. Over 700 stores in all five boroughs will be participating in events that range from sewing circles to cook-ins to rock shows:

Celebs and designers who will be in attendance at the various festivities include Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, Francisco Costa, Manolo Blahnik, Isaac Mizrahi, Kate Mulleavy, Diane von Furstenberg, Liev Schreiber, Stephanie Seymour, and Anna Wintour herself. Although all the tee shirt customization and free music will be enough to drag us around to at least a few stores come September 10, we're also tremendously excited by the idea of taking salsa lessons taught by Juan Carlos Obando. [WWD]
As is to be expected, Vogue is apparently attracting a lot of attention from cost-cutting consultants McKinsey. Dare we hope that McKinsey will shake things up at the tired mag, and shake them hard? In other Condé Nast news, Teen Vogue's very stylish accessories editor, Taylor Tomasi Hill, is leaving to take a position at Marie Claire. There are no plans to replace her. [Fashionista]
Agent Provocateur is launching a new line of super-expensive lingerie it's calling couture. Agent Provocateur Soirée will launch with an in-season show at New York Fashion Week on September 9, and hit stores in November. Prices top £2450. [Elle UK]
The second issue of Love is out, and it turns out the preview image that surfaced online last month actually is one of the covers editor Katie Grand chose Alex Hartley, and 18-year-old bass player she found on the Internet, for one cover, and Sting spawn Coco Summer for the other. [Fashionologie]
Katie Grand had 35 guests at her recent wedding. Thirty-five guests who finished 28 bottles of vodka. Our kid of woman. [ToL]
Dasha Zhukova, the 28-year-old heiress, art gallerist, and Grand's replacement editor at Pop, is rumored to be pregnant by her 42-year-old boyfriend, Roman Abramovich. [P6]
An image of Scarlett Johansson which might be part of the ad campaign for a Dolce & Gabbana perfume launching later this year has leaked. The perfume is called Rose The One, and the picture is very soft and rosy looking, plus Johansson is already confirmed to be the face of the scent, both of which are signs that point to yes. [SassyBella]
Tori Spelling has launched a children's clothing range. Little Maven will cost $26-$88, and is designed for kids up to 4 years of age. [Daily Mail]
Naomi Campbell and Queen Rania of Jordan were introduced while holidaying in the south of France. There's no word on what they discussed upon meeting. [Daily Mail]
The mayor of Kennesaw, Georgia, which is male model Sean O'Pry's hometown, is today giving the 20-year-old an official proclamation, because O'Pry speaks highly of Kennesaw in the interviews he does between gigs for Armani and Calvin Klein. [P6]
Comme des Garçons and Converse are giving their collaboration wider distribution this fall. Four styles of the Comme des Garçons-designed sneakers will go on sale in select cities at the end of this month, and worldwide in October, for $100 a pop. [WWD]
When asked about the person who irrevocably changed the way she looked at fashion, Heidi Klum generously named Karl Lagerfeld, despite the designer's stated dislike of her. [Newsweek]
Everybody is wearing Lolita glasses. And by everybody, we mean Madonna, Drew Barrymore, Katy Perry, Nicole Richie, Kelly Osbourne, and Kim Kardashian. Clearly we ought to be wearing them, too. Or something. [NYDN]
If you are a man who wants to buy Levi's jeans that are "re-created using the original techniques from 1873" for $395, you can do so, at J. Crew's downtown men's stores. [WWD]
Riam Dean, the young woman who was asked to work in the stockroom by Abercrombie & Fitch because of her prosthetic arm, has sold the full, terrible story of her experience of discrimination to the Daily Mail. Dean says the £9,000 she won from the company in damages hasn't covered her legal fees. [Daily Mail]
Hats are back, again. This story gets re-written every six months. [WSJ]
The alligator "harvest" begins later on this month in Florida, but wildlife experts expect the number of the creatures that will end up as purses this year to be drastically reduced: while revenue from alligator skins topped $71 million in Florida in 2007, a mere $10 million is this year's industry estimate. What doesn't make sense about all these stories about exotic skins, whether alligator, crocodile, or python, losing their marketplace appeal, is the fact that among luxury categories, the bridge products wallets, keychains, and other "aspirational" branded baubles are the ones that are experiencing the steepest decline in sales. Brands from Hermès to Louis Vuitton have reported that their most expensive offerings, like exotic skinned bags, are still experiencing strong sales if not actually leading sales across the whole brand. So what gives? Are the pythons and gators going to be left to their own devices in the Everglades this season, or not? [MSNBC]
H&M's same-store sales fell 3% on last year during the month of July; analysts had expected a more modest 1% drop, since the fast fashion chain has been performing relatively well in the recession so far. [Reuters]
Following another disastrous quarterly result, Abercrombie has announced it plans to further cut its prices. [WSJ]
Escada USA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York, one day after the German parent company opened bankruptcy proceedings there. [WWD]

Stella McCartney And Ali Hewson Lawyer Up; Agyness Does Jacko

Jenna — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:30:00 EDT

Bono's wife Ali Hewson is suing Stella McCartney over the title of her unreleased perfume, "Nude." Hewson, who also has a sustainable fashion brand, oversees Nude Skincare, and feels that McCartney's brand is too close to her own. [Daily Mail]

More than 100 garment workers protested two New York apparel companies in support of six workers who allege they are owed over $500,000 in back pay, and that they were wrongfully fired. Union organizer Jei Fong said, "Long Island City is a sweatshop zone; these conditions are rampant and have only gotten worse through the years. Today we really want to make a stand. People need to demand better conditions; it's the only way for the garment industry to improve." The six workers allege that they were paid minimum wage, but that their employers deducted 5% from their pay, and failed to pay any overtime despite the fact that they often worked 100 hour weeks. All the workers were fired shortly after complaining about the pay and conditions to the National Labor Relations Board. [Crain's]
Harper's Bazaar decided to rush out a Michael Jackson-themed fashion shoot in time for the current issue — and the model they picked was Agyness Deyn? There is also a monkey. Who's bad, indeed. [ONTD]
It took Nicole Richie less than half of the actual human gestational period to conceive of and birth her maternity wear line for A Pea In The Pod. [WWD]
Pierre Cardin owns the Marquis de Sade's castle. [NYTimes]
We doubt that anyone is copying P.C. from NYC Prep's style. A white t-shirt, scarf and a cardigan is something he has a copyright on? Give us a fucking break, Paper magazine. [Stylelist]
Jason Wu has announced the location of his Spring 2010 show — the opulent St. Regis hotel. [WWD]
Why is it that every time one or two designers cycle through to something different than previous prevailing tastes — long skirts after a few seasons of minis, or in this case, flats after a few seasons of skyscraper 7" heels — fashion writers have to act as though it's tabula rasa time and WE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN? The heel is not "dead" just because Christopher Kane now things "boyish" flats are nice. Most women will continue wearing heels sometimes, and flats other times, depending on their mood, where they are going, and the rest of their outfit. [ToL]
Leonardo DiCaprio is apparently smitten with model Anne Vyalitsyna. Meanwhile, recent ex Bar Refaeli has been spotted with polo player Ricardo Mansur, who happens to be an ex of Gisele Bundchen, who also dated Leo. And the circle is complete. [Sun]
Because of a write-in campaign, Men's Wearhouse is canceling its advertising on the Glenn Beck program. [MediaMatters]
Bloomingdale's is launching a major ad campaign highlighting its links to classic films. [NYTimes]
Last month, Kelly Bensimon told the W magazine editors' blog, of her jewelry line, "I love Navajo and I love the idea of taking Pocahontas out of the kayak and putting her into the disco. Everyone knows that she's had enough in her little canoe and now she's out and having fun in the disco." Yesterday, Kelly Bensimon told StyleList "exclusively," of her jewelry line, "The bad thing about Pocahontas is that she's, like, in the kayaks. So I took her out of the kayak and into the disco so she could have a little fun." Conclusions: Nobody reads anymore, and the Internet will eventually eat itself. And Kelly Bensimon still does not apparently realize that Pocahontas lived her entire life without ever meeting any Navajo people, because they lived thousands upon thousands of miles apart. [StyleList]
Molly Sims now has a jewelry line. (At this point, who doesn't?) [WWD]
Point the first: We have not heard anything of Nia Long since her immortal turn as Lisa on Fresh Prince, so her inclusion in PETA's ancient "Rather Go Naked" campaign proves the animal rights organization is scraping the very bottom of the barrel. Point the second: We get that Nia Long doesn't much care for the fur, but she seems to have no problem with gasp-inducingly unrealistic media images of women. The Photoshop job on her ad is eye-popping. Point the third: This quote speaks for itself: "There's no difference, in my opinion, [between fur and] slavery or the Holocaust." [DListed]
Twiggy is releasing an album of pop songs on September 14. [Modelinia]
Amber Rose posed for a series of racy photos in Complex magazine. She also told the mag: "I always looked up to Slash from Guns N' Roses. I had every single poster of Slash in my room. It was crazy because I grew up in an all-black neighborhood and everybody I went to school with was black. I was the only biracial looking girl in my school, and Slash was biracial too, he was just a fucking rock star. I always wanted to play the guitar. I've tried, but other things came up." [ONTD]
In yet another high-yield jewelry heist, two armed robbers hit up the Graff store on New Bond St. in London for $65 million worth of baubles. Forty-three items were stolen, and while the suited robbers fired two shots and briefly took a Graff worker hostage, nobody was injured. [NYTimes]
For reasons unknown, Maybelline has made a calendar. [Fashionista]
The "moderately priced" designer "bridge" category — home of labels like Tory Burch, Elie Tahari, and Eileen Fisher — is losing one of its biggest players, Ellen Tracy. Starting next spring, the brand is down-shifting to concentrate on lower-priced sportswear, where it'll roll with labels like Lauren by Ralph Lauren and Michael by Michael Kors. [WWD]
Meanwhile, members-only online sample sale site Gilt today is launching a website where it will host sales of lower-priced lines, called Gilt Fuse. In running Gilt, chief executive Susan Lyne says, "What we discovered was that, one, even though we discount significantly on the brands we carry on Gilt [up to 70 percent], it's still expensive for [our customers]. A $200 or $150 dress is still a big purchase for them." So Gilt Fuse will exert similar discounts on merchandise that was a little cheaper to begin with. Revolutionary concept, really. [NYObs]
Escada's proposed fund-raising bond exchange has failed because fewer than 80 percent of investors approved it within the given time frame. The company plans to file for bankruptcy this week. [WWD]
Pakistan's textile industry is suffering because of the twin ills of political instability — even consistent electrical power is not assured — and the global credit crunch. An estimated 200,000 people have lost their jobs in the textiles sector during the past year. [Reuters]
After cutting $70 million worth of costs from its balance sheet in the first quarter, Liz Claiborne's losses still increased during the second quarter of this year — so a second, $100 million, cost-cutting plan is to be put in place. [WSJ]
Although the sale of bankrupt men's clothier Hartmarx to Emerisque Brands and SKNL North America has managed to save 2,400 jobs that otherwise might have been lost, three plants which were not part of the sale, finalized last week, are shuttered. About 525 employees at factories in Rock Island, Illinois, Anniston, Alabama, and Hamilton, Ontario have lost their jobs. Hartmarx owns the brands Hart Shaffner Marx and Hickey Freeman. [WWD]

Madonna's Visit To Disaster Victims Brought To You By Dior!

Jenna — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:40:00 EDT

New lows in celebrity sartorial publicity: Dior would like everyone to know that Madonna was wearing its sunglasses when she visited the victims of her stage collapse in Marseille, which killed two workers and left eight injured. [WWD]

A Tracey Emin etching of Kate Moss is among artworks for sale via raffle - tickets are just £1 - to benefit Mothers4Children. [Telegraph]
For some reason, Levi's decided to give its Fall '09 lookbook a jailbird theme. Since, at least before orange jumpsuits, denim was the fabric of life in the big house, the lookbook features models styled for mug shots, and photographed through bars. (The bars appear to actually be...a fire escape.) File under Annals of Idiocy, subsection Stupid High-Concept Lookbooks. [HighSnobiety]
Levi's has also just acquired its own footwear and accessories licensee for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, DC Co. The company wants to strengthen its presence in those markets. [WWD]
An American Apparel store in Silver Spring, Maryland had its window broken, allegedly because the window display featured the company's "Legalize Gay" gay rights t-shirts. A threatening telephone call was also received by another area store after the attack. The company took down its window displays - "We just don't want a broken window," explained the Silver Spring store manager, Kassandra Powell - but released a statement affirming its support of gay rights, and its intention to continue running "Legalize Gay" ads in Washington, D.C., area media and providing its t-shirts to local activist groups. [The Sexist]
Angie Everhart is eight days away from giving birth as a single parent. Her worst pregnancy cravings were for egg salad. [People]
Jerry Hall's advice for modeling (and life?): "Be nice to everyone, even if you don't want to. Just be nice and gracious. And don't show your bum." [WWD]
That's one way to multi-task: Alexandra Richards had a hotel minion perform a pedicure while she deejayed. "Stuff that you can't do while getting a pedicure" seems like as good a definition of "actual professional labor" as any; this anecdote therefore proves beyond all doubt that deejaying ain't a real job. (But doing pedicures sure is.) [P6]
Bar Refaeli's new campaign for Rampage is predictably hot. [People]
Gloria Vanderbilt told model Kiera Chaplin, Charlie and Oona Chaplin's granddaughter, that she was the spitting image of her gran. "Oona and I were often mistaken for being sisters," explained the newly minted erotic novelist. [P6]
Top model Du Juan is being sued by the Chinese agency New Silk Road for allegedly violating her contract with them when she signed with international powerhouse agency IMG in 2005. New Silk Road wants a portion of Du's IMG earnings, and an approximately $439,000 fine. [China Daily]
Erin Wasson is joining Swiss skateboard company Doodah's line of naked supermodel boards. Isabeli Fontana, Lara Stone, Toni Garrn, and Edita Vilkeviciute are already featured on individual skateboards, wearing shoes they could not actually skateboard in. [The Cut]
Naomi Campbell is featured in a similar state of undress for a new D&G perfume campaign. Which motivated the Sun to write the pun, "breast assets." [Sun]
French fashion house Cacharel is re-launching itself at Paris Fashion Week this September. [WWD]
Scott Schuman's book, The Sartorialist, is rolling off the presses now, even though the official release date is not until August 12. The cover features stylist Julie Ragolia. [The Sartorialist]
American Eagle's "Artist" jean, which was a best-seller until it was discontinued last year, has been brought back after a redesign. The new cut is intended to be more flattering to a lady's rear. The jeans will retail at $39.50; the two kinds that have "destroyed details" cost $10 more. [WWD]
American Vogue's Sarah Mower writes that fashion this fall is going to be a grown-up affair - that clothes will no longer worship at the feet of youth. The girl in the photo illustrating this story looks to be about 14. [Telegraph]
Steve Madden, which produces watches through a licensee, allegedly found fakes for sale on eBay. Imagine! But when they asked the site to remove the items, eBay didn't comply, so the company is suing. [Reuters]
Stylist Patricia Field designed an Ugly Betty-inspired Diet Coke bottle. It's pink. Will people seriously buy anything? [Fashionista]
Charlotte Russe announced a 4.9% drop in third-quarter profits, to $6.3 million. [WWD]
Avon has announced it will be laying off 1,200 people, or 2.8% of its workforce, over the next four years. [AP]
Escada's bond exchange, which needed an 80% acceptance rate from bondholders in order to save the company from bankruptcy, has only met with approval from 37% of the company's creditors. So it has extended the exchange period until August 5, and implemented an exchange of stock to raise additional cash. [WWD]
1.4 million pairs of children's shoes are being recalled. The shoes, shaped like racecars, have wheels which can detach and pose a choking risk. Buster Brown & Co.'s eight different styles of shoes were sold at retailers including JC Penney, Famous Footwear, Meijer, Sears, Target, and Wal-Mart, and can be returned for a full refund. [WWD]

Kate's Balmain Copied; Punky Brewster Does Kids' Clothes

TatianaTheAnonymousModel — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:30:00 EDT

The UK supermarket chain Asda has knocked off the Fall '09 Balmain dress that Kate Moss wore out dancing and burst the seams of two months ago. Asda's version costs just £16. [Telegraph]

Frederic Bourke, the co-founder of Dooney & Bourke, has been found guilty of conspiracy and faces up to 10 years in prison. Bourke, 63, was part of a group of investors who spent hundreds of millions bribing officials in Azerbaijan during the late 1990s, in order to ensure its bid for the state oil company would be accepted when the asset was privatized. Bourke even arranged for medical treatment in New York City for two corrupt officials from the former Soviet republic. The investment group was run by Viktor Kozeny, a Czech financier who earned the nickname "the Pirate of Prague" for his aggressive, and sometimes illegal, tactics in buying up formerly state-owned assets across the former Soviet Bloc. Kozeny and Bourke were, naturally, neighbors in Aspen. The handbag company executive was acquitted on money-laundering charges but in addition to jail time, he still risks up to $500,000 in fines for the conspiracy conviction. [WWD]
Convicted rapist designer Anand Jon has fired his attorney and is seeking to represent himself through his appeals process. This should end well. [HindustaniTimes]
Anna Sui's Target line was set to be featured Gossip Girl, according to sources from the production, but executives at the retailer changed their minds because of the debauched nature of the show. Extras were going to be wearing Sui's Target collection in a scene to be filmed at Sui's store, and there were even going to be Target logos in the background but no more, since all the characters do drugs and get drunk and Serena killed that dude. [NYDN]
British Vogue has pictures of all the sumptuous costumes from Coco Avant Chanel. [British Vogue]
Matt Tyrnauer, the documentarian who spent years making Valentino: The Last Emperor, says the designer was "Difficult." Imagine that. [NYP]
Elie Tahari and his wife, Rory, were profiled by Town & Country magazine, and said a lot of tone-deaf things about their 9,000 sq. ft. SoHo triplex penthouse. "SoHo is like our Hamptons away from the Hamptons," says Rory. Have a nice recession, reader! Hope you still have a job. [The Awl]
Not only does everything give you cancer, according to a television doctor, everyone will get cancer. "Cancer has affected my family and me," says a cheerful Patrick Dempsey. "It's going to affect everybody. Its [sic] just a matter of time." Dempsey's new Nike campaign meanwhile features "an innovative technology piece with the Chalkbot, a mobile unit that will receive messages from consumers (via e-mail and text) and transcribe them in yellow chalk along the roads of the Tour de France." We can imagine so many ways that could go wrong, all of them entertaining. [LATimes]
Richard Tyler's iconic red dress uniform for Delta only goes up to a size 18. [BlackBook]
The reason Ali Wise, Dolce & Gabbana's New York publicist, hacked into designer Nina Freudenberger's voicemail? A boy. Freudenberger says she dated Downtown Records founder Josh Deutsch two years after Wise did and five other Deutsch ladyfriends claim the publicist subjected them to harassment and hacking, too. One was so freaked she contacted a private investigator. Wise spent the night in jail after being arrested on felony hacking charges. [Daily Intel]
Mary Kay is suing Yahoo! for providing keyword-generated ads with links to its products via Yahoo! Mail. Mary Kay only sells directly to consumers, and feels its brand image and trademarks are negatively impacted by unauthorized online sales. [WWD]
Meanwhile, Maybelline might become the official cosmetics sponsor of New York Fashion Week. [WWD]
Project Runway's Leanne Marshall talked to Blogging Project Runway about her line for Bluefly (now on sale) and her future plans as a designer. Marshall didn't mention the blog post she wrote last month about her frustrations working with Bluefly, but she did talk about this one time she tried to make shoes with a pair of old flip-flops and a hot glue gun. [BPR]
Jason Wu's doll business is going gangbusters. The slight designer used to moonlight as a drafter for doll companies, and now that he's made it big, he gets to produce limited-edition dolls in tiny versions of his signature line. In addition to producing dolls for Colette in Paris (215 Euros) and Jeffrey NY (price unavailable), he's also doing a version for Japan that'll cost a cool grand. [Stylefile]
For 215 Euros, if you were perchance Christian Lacroix, you could have paid the top models Vlada Roslyakova, Hanne Gaby Odiele, Daria Strokous, and Siri Tollerød to walk in your couture show, and still had enough left over to buy lunch. [Imaginary Socialite]
Jon Gosselin hasn't been wearing all those Ed Hardy shirts out of the goodness of his heart, or the keenness of his fashion sense. [TMZ]
li>For some reason, the Telegraph decided to run an Anya Hindmarch press release in its style section. The accessories MBE's latest "invention"? The "hands-free handbag," a small handbag with a long, resizable, removable strap. It can be worn across the body "so it becomes part of you, instead of being a nuisance," or, get this, it can be carried inside a larger bag like a pocketbook! Innovative. [Telegraph]
Giorgio Armani's home division is doing the interiors for a 62-apartment historic redevelopment project in Rome. [Reuters]
Sounds like Escada's refinancing plan isn't going so well: The German luxury goods company only has enough liquidity to last through August, and it may cease trading. [AFP]
The September issues of the ladymags are all closing this week, and indications are that they'll be about one third lighter than last year. Cash-strapped retailers and luxury brands have sharply cut their ad spending so far this year, and the September issues, normally the fashion magazine industry's fattest cash cows, will be no exception. [WWD]
Mickey Drexler, the man who made The Gap what it was in the 90s and J. Crew what it is today, sometimes pedals around the office on his bike. [CBS]
Or perhaps the credit for the classic brand's rejuvenation should be shared with creative director Jenna Lyons. [LATimes]
Punky Brewster has a kids clothing line. [People]

Psychedelic Rainbow Monogram Madonna Louis Vuitton Campaign Leaks

TatianaTheAnonymousModel — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:30:00 EDT

Madonna's fall campaign for Louis Vuitton leaked online, and the star captured by Steven Meisel and 23 psychedelic Photoshop layers sort of looks like a marble statue. [Fashionologie]

Roberto Cavalli's and Gianfranco Ferré's Fall 2009 campaigns are also out. In the sense of "On the Internet," not in the sense of "In the magazines." [FWD]
50 Cent's new fragrance deal, for the scent "Power", is unusual in that the star is not simply licensing his name to a company. He actually is a part-owner of Lighthouse Beauty, the business that will release Power. The other partners are a veritable who's-who of the fragrance industry. [WWD]
Clements Ribeiro is the latest British fashion house to announce its intention to return to London Fashion Week for its 25th anniversary. The husband-and-wife design duo join Burberry, Pringle of Scotland, Jonathan Saunders, and Matthew Williamson, in showing their respective Spring 2010 collections in London. Clements Ribeiro last showed in London in September 2005. [Telegraph]
Expectant Victoria's Secret superstar Adriana Lima's wedding to Marko Jaric was witnessed only by the couple's lawyers. "It was really romantic," said the model. Lima said she doesn't know the sex of her baby, due in December, and hopes to have a large family. [People]
eLuxury.com is closing its doors as a retailer today. (Last-minute sale items are an additional 50% off, so if you want Alexander Wang jeans for ~~$375~~ $75, or a D&G corset dress for ~~$495~~ $148.50, now's your moment.) Apparently, eLuxury is planning to relaunch itself as a social networking site dedicated to...luxury. Because in this economy, talking about fancy shit online is still free. [WWD]
Supermodel Angela Lindvall has designed a t-shirt for Edun, Ali Hewson's organic, sustainably-produced fashion line (which is newly owned by luxury mega-company LVMH). The shirt is blue with a white design that Lindvall says "was created from the shadows of trees. Our shadow side is what sometimes pushes us to grow." [Fashionista]
Style.com traced the influence of Kate Moss's gold lamé Marc Jacobs dress and Stephen Jones turban from the Met Ball through the Resort collections. As if we were ever in any doubt that Ms. Moss's style cuts a long swath. [Style.com]
Patrick Dempsey's new scent for Avon (?!) is to be appropriately named: Patrick Dempsey 2. [WWD]
The first rule of working for fashion publicist Kelly Cutrone is: Do not blog about Kelly Cutrone. When the fashion publicist caught one of her summer interns an NYU student, natch writing about her online, she took the girl aside and said: "I'm going to sue the fuck out of your family if you don't take it down immediately and your college tuition is going to seem like a pittance after you face my wrath." [The Cut]
Reebok is launching a maternity division for its NFL line. [WWD]
Michelle Obama wore Lanvin yesterday, should you care. [The Cut]
Brooke Burke, her fiancé, and her four kids, ages 1, 2, 7, and 9, are going to do a Skechers ad as one big happy family. No word on how much the clan nets. [WWD]
Zac Posen did his part for Gen Art at the fashion incubator's fund-raiser Wednesday night. Also? Zac Posen is totally that guy at the art opening who'll say, "I like the Sol LeWitt technique put into something figurative..." [Style.com]
Escada, the struggling fashion house who earlier this year announced its debt had risen to €187.6 million, and its cash on hand had dwindled to just €24.7 million, is about to launch the €200 million bond-exchange program the company hopes will raise it enough cash to emerge from this recession intact. Bondholders, starting Monday, will be encouraged to exchange their old bonds for new ones, at an early-bird rate of €400 in new bonds per €1,000 in old bonds previously held. (After July 14, the bond exchange will net bondholders €375 per €1,000 in debt.) The exchange will only go forward if 80% of bondholders agree to it, but the company says all the preconditions are set. Its two major shareholders, the billionaire brothers Wolfgang and Michael Herz, who together own 24.9% of Escada, are on board. [WWD]
Hartmarx has won court approval to be sold to the private equity firm Emerisque Brands. Emerisque bid $128.4 million for the bankrupt men's clothier, and pledged to retain many of the company's 4,000, mostly Chicago-based, workers. Biggest creditor Wells Fargo bank had argued that Hartmarx should be liquidated to cover its $261 million debt. [NYTimes]
Customs and Border Patrol seized 10,900 pairs of counterfeit Nike shoes off the docks in Los Angeles. The imitation shoes had a face value of $1.8 million. [WWD]

Malkovich Does Menswear; Lagerfeld's Ballet Costume Gets Booed

TatianaTheAnonymousModel — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:30:00 EDT

John Malkovich has a clothing line. Who knew? His collection, branded Technobohemian, is actually the actor's second foray into fashion, he launched a line called Uncle Kimono in 2002. We hope his Milan show models all wear Malkovich masks. [WWD]

Milan menswear week overall is on somewhat shaky ground. Although it's only three days long, there are 93 collections being presented some 15% more than in January. Some organizers are talking like they've seen the bottom of the market, but on the totality of the evidence, that view seems premature. [Reuters]
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Anna Wintour's event planner extraordinaire and the woman behind the annual Met Costume Institute Gala is leaving her position. She actually says it's to spend more time with her family. [P6]
British designer Paul Smith designed some rather innovative trash cans for London's Covent Garden and Holland Park. Shaped like 5' bunnies holding out big plastic bags, the rabbits' ears light up when people throw in their litter. It's a little Donnie Darko but cool. [UnBeige]
A new Dolce & Gabbana ad has Claudia Schiffer, Eva Herzigova, Naomi Campbell, Noah Mills, Fernando Fernandes, and Tyson Ballou all completely naked. And yet the mood of the picture isn't all Calvin Klein tawdry. [FWD]
Those boots from Emma Hemming's W shoot with Bruce Willis, in case anyone was wondering, were Nina Ricci Fall 2009. We were, of course, already familiar. [W]
Alexa Chung's wardrobe from It's On With Alexa Chung is viewable, purchasable, and fully archived via the MTV website. In case one should want to buy anything the host wears. [WWD]
Coach is said to be developing a signature line for its creative director, Reed Krakoff. The company has recently trademarked "Reed," "Reed Krakoff," and "RK." Krakoff has led the company since 1996. [FWD]
Karl Lagerfeld's costume for Elena Glurdjidze, of the English National Ballet, was not the toast of the dance critics on opening night. The Telegraph called it an "awful outfit that put Elena Glurdjidze's Dying Swan in a feathered neck brace, which did nothing to aid her performance of Anna Pavlova's favourite party piece" and the Guardian said the tutu was "conceived with cavalier disregard for the ballerina's working body - the line of the neck broken by an egregious, fluffy ruff, the waistline broken by a too-high skirt." [FP]
There are some behind-the-scenes shots of Pirelli's notable nudie calendar in the making. Fashionologie has the best gallery; these are by Terry Richardson, so you should consider them unsafe for work (and life?) [Fashionologie]
Escada is said to be on the verge of bankruptcy, and needs to raise cash now to survive. [Reuters]
Mulberry's profits are up, on the back of same-store sales that grew 21% in the 10 weeks to June 9. [FT]

Speidi Suits Up For Swim Season; "The Body" Goes To Babeland

TatianaTheAnonymousModel — Thu, 21 May 2009 11:30:00 EDT

In your daily back-to-bed moment of despair for Western culture, Heidi Montag has become a bathing suit designer. [E! Online]
Elle MacPherson reportedly shops at Toys in Babeland. Unless there's some other "toy" store near Schiller's. [FWD]

Claire Robinson, a former model and Canadian beauty queen, is suing her former acting agent, Jack Gilardi, and management company, Los Angeles's ICM. Robinson alleges that Gilardi's friend John Rockwell raped her in 2008, and that Gilardi himself touched her inappropriately in the back of a limousine. Robinson's class-action suit also will challenge the legality of an entertainment industry practice known as hip-pocketing which I actually had to Google, because as it turns out there is an indignity that models are not subjected to and will seek to designate ICM, one of the world's biggest talent agencies, under the RICO statute. Robinson claims that being hip-pocketed left her and others sexually vulnerable to their agents. She also says Gilardi and ICM sent her on fake auditions, or auditions for jobs for which they knew she was not qualified. In addition to actual damages for what she says is her ruined career, Robinson and any women who join her class action are seeking punitive damages to the tune of 10% of ICM's gross earnings for one year. ICM denied any and all wrongdoing through a spokeswoman. [AP]
Calvin Klein finally won approval to tear down his 50,000 square foot castle in the Hamptons. The $5 million beach behemoth was originally built as a much smaller structure in the 1920s, and then renovated and expanded into something that looks like a Disneyland ride you'd take on shrooms by an eccentric junk-bonds billionaire in the 80s. Klein's new home will be a comparatively modest 17,000 square feet. [Newsday]
Blind items: "Which unhinged, avant-garde downtown NYC designer is rumored to be in the running for a top job at Escada? Talk about non-traditional casting." And: "Which super-famous European supermodel fired her NYC apartment-sitter when she came home after an international job and found a condom at the foot of her bed?" [Stylelist]
Whoa. Marvel Comics is creating a series called Models Inc., featuring some of their more fashionable superheroes plus a cartoon Tim Gunn. He saves fashion from evildoers. [NY Times]
Aboriginal artist Gloria Petyarr has designed a scarf for Hermès. Petyarr, who lives in a remote community 250 km from Alice Springs and has no access to a telephone, was paid a "substantial fee" according to an Australian gallerist known to the artist, and would earn royalties from sales of the scarf for 75 years. Her design features medicinal plants used by Aboriginal peoples. [Reuters]
The bankrupt men's wear giant Hartmarx, which owns the brands Hickey Freeman and Hart Schaffner Marx (Barack Obama's suit brand), may have found a savior in the London-based private investment firm Emerisque. Emerisque is said to be offering to keep the chain in operation and give 80 cents on the dollar to Wells Fargo, Hartmarx's $100 million-plus creditor. Union leaders at Hartmarx's Chicago factory have threatened to sit in if Wells Fargo accepts a buyer who will liquidate the business. Negotiations are ongoing. [NY Times]
Ann Taylor is dabbling in a little self-blame for poor sales results. CEO Kay Krill described some of the chain's troubles as "self-inflicted," saying "the product assortment was not compelling or relevant." Beats the old "it's the economy" excuse. And they're revamping their product lines to address it. [WSJ]
Limited Brands suffered a 92% plunge in first-quarter earnings. Sales dropped 10% overall, and same-store sales fell 7%, which means that new stores opened in the past year actually did worse than their established counterparts. The company offered little explanation for the disastrous results in its one-page quarterly statement. [The Street]
Andreas Ortiz, the man who runs Technical Garment USA, a small garment factory in the fashion district which was raided by the New York State Department of Labor last month, denies his business is a sweatshop. Ortiz is accused of failing to pay overtime and violating legal employee rest times. Two employees interviewed in Ortiz's presence claimed to earn $10 an hour, and to be paid on time. [NY Times]
Agyness Deyn, new face of Uniqlo, is in this cute ad spot for the Japanese brand. [Grazia]

Michelle Obama To Receive Fashion Award; Salma To Do Skincare

TatianaTheAnonymousModel — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:30:00 EDT

Michelle Obama will receive a CFDA award but CFDA president Steve Kolb isn't certain she'll attend. "We'll do whatever we can to get her here, but the award isn't about getting her to come." [AP]

The other nominees include: Marc Jacobs, Narciso Rodriguez, and Kate and laura Mulleavy of Rodarte, for women's wear designer of the year; Italo Zucchelli of Calvin Klein and Michael Bastian and Scott Sternberg of Band of Outsiders are up for the men's wear award. Interestingly, the nominees for the Swarovski women's wear award, which celebrates emerging talents, include two designers who shot to acclaim after Michelle Obama wore their dresses: Jason Wu, and Thakoon Panichgul. (Alexander Wang, no lesser light, is the third nominee.) The Council of Fashion Designers of America will host its annual shindig at Lincoln Center a change of venue from the traditional Bryant Park-adjacent Public Library on June 15. [WWD]
Model Tyson Beckford gave up texting, which he doesn't like to do, for Lent. Someone should maybe tell him how it works... [The Cut]
Salma Hayek is reportedly set to debut a range of anti-aging cosmetics. [Daily Express]
Naomi Campbell, meanwhile, is organizing a runway show benefit for victims of the Mumbai terror attacks; she'll walk in the show with Bollywood stars, and afterwards the clothes will be auctioned for charity. [WWD]
So that's what Jil Sander was doing at the fabric fair in Paris: plotting new looks for Uniqlo! The Japanese fast-fashion giant picture American Apparel without the cokey company culture and advertisements drenched in ballsweat has taken on the long-unemployed designer as a kind of creative director with responsibility for all men's and women's apparel. She'll also do a special capsule collection, set to debut this fall, for sale at Uniqlo. [WWD]
People say models look angry. I say anyone wearing a neutral expression always looks about 30% more sullen in a still photograph than they do live; anyone who's ever laid eyes on a photograph of themselves going about daily business without a posed smile has probably said the words, "But I look so angry!" Even though you weren't actually angry at the time. It's the same with models! If you want the camera to catch you looking vaguely sweet-faced, you have to kind of ham it up (slightly raise your eyebrows, widen your eyes, drop your bottom lip, purse your mouth like you're about to say something nice). And there's no fucking time for that kind of delicate facial maneuver on the runway. So you walk with a blank face and, yes, sometimes you look angry. Even though you are not. Is that all right with everyone? [The Cut]
Scott Schuman's book, to be titled, The Sartorialist, will be released by Penguin this fall. To celebrate it, the Times of London is saying there'll be what else? a pop-up shop called Sartorialust selling accessories from pajamas to suspenders inside Barneys New York; Fashionista says the only confirmed store is Colette in Paris. Schuman would love, he says, to consult for a venerable menswear label and make it more modern; he's currently exploring some other kind of deal with Net-a-porter.com and the possibility of writing a style guidebook. [Times of London via Fashionista]
Now that the fall collections are over, the Wall Street Journal is shuttering its excellent fashion blog, Heard On The Runway. I hope they don't somehow rate this a higher priority. [WSJ]
In her CNN: Revealed documentary, screening this week, Carine Roitfeld goes through options for an upcoming cover featuring Scarlett Johansson (the editor was apparently disappointed the actress had dyed her hair brown before the shoot, since it made her look less recognizable). CNN just released a teaser video, which has footage of the potential cover shot. [Fashionologie]
Juicy Couture on 5th Ave. certainly has some imaginative window dressers: their current offering features one mannequin on its hands and knees, in that awkward doesn't-quite-bend mannequinly way, wearing a saddle. Another stands over it, holding a riding crop, in case you didn't get it. Do they think this will sell sweats? [Racked]
Singer Adele, whom Anna Wintour styled for the Grammys and had Annie Leibovitz photograph for Vogue's "Shape" issue, says she would have walked the red carpet in a "jumper" if Anna hadn't rang. "Anna! As if we're on that level! I hate fashion! I had to tell her I've got four bums..." She took Vogue editor Hamish Bowles, her Grammys date, out for In N Out after the ceremony. [Grazia]
JC Penney, the Humane Society has announced, has gone fur free. By which the company means they currently have no fur items and no plans to sell any in future. It's as if McDonalds went "cruelty-free" by announcing that they are definitely never going to serve any foie gras. [HSUS]
A Swedish company owns the rights to Gucci's iconic double-G logo, at least in Sweden, a patent court there has found. Fishy. [UPI]
Various brands, including Lacoste and Coach, are planning price cuts for the coming seasons. They hope to prevent retailers from having to make steep discounts of their own, as happened last year, because seeing something expensive marked down by 70% makes customers question whether the item was ever worth its original price. Lowering the original price by 30% makes customers say, This is surprisingly cheap, let's buy it! Allegedly. [Forbes]
Or will "vengeful populism" destroy our appetite for luxury goods altogether? [AdAge]
Either way, Escada's losses are even greater than originally reported for the quarter. [WWD]
American Apparel, which was saved from bankruptcy with an eleventh-hour financing agreement last week, reported a 29% increase in net profits last quarter. [WWD]
Valentino says if you want to be his friend, you have to love his designs. [VF]

Escada's Honored by Sarah Palin's Patronage...Because She's "Attractive"

Sadie — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:30:00 EST

After Palin names Escada as her fave brand, the creative director is gracious: "If she does wear Escada because she likes it, I mean, I’m honored actually. It’s not politics; it’s clothing, after all. No? She’s an attractive woman, so why not?" [New York Mag]
Fashion's totally in the tank for Obama — but we knew that. [WWD]
Halloween update: Blake Lively was Cleopatra, Martha Stewart was Medusa. [Sassybella]
Andre Leon Talley: "Fashion may not be the most important thing in life, but it definitely helps you get through it," [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Adidas launching high-end SLVR line. It'll include sportswear, accessories and shoes — but no activewear. [WWD]
Stella McCartney introduces kid-friendly windows. "Using just colouring pencils, Gary Card will create over-layered drawings of animals, dinosaurs, superheros and fantasy inspired characters on children's wardrobes in his typically naive and charming signature style." Just what you want to see on your six-year-old's Christmas list! [VogueUK]
SJP's new "Twilight" perfume: just a coinci-dink that it jibes with the teen vampire flick? Synergy! [Fashionista]
Georgia May Jagger's "style" includes derby hats, shiny leggings. [ElleUK]
Prada's costume jewelry is gorgeous, as expensive as real jewelry. [Fabsugar]
Goodwill tries to change its image for the recession; but why? [NY Times]
Not shockingly, Anand Jon's defense lawyer says he's innocent. [Breitbart]
Suits make the man. [Forbes]
Timberland moves into video blogging to woo young men, who allegedly like that sort of thing. [Business Week]
The first YSL retrospective is kicking off in San Francisco and sounds amazing: "The clothes, displayed in a gallery with low lighting and the feel of a giant walk-in closet, are stunningly beautiful: A 1988 Van Gogh "Irises" jacket embroidered with 40 pounds of sequins and beads. A 1997 garden party of a gown with a thicket of pink and green organza flowers, leaves, semiprecious stones and satin ribbons. A 1990 coat flocked with flame-colored rooster, pheasant and vulture feathers. The black wool dress with satin collar and cuffs worn by Catherine Deneuve in the 1967 film "Belle de Jour."" [LA Times]
Supermoddle Jacquetta Wheeler comes from a huge Tory clan! [Daily Mail]
These descriptions of the Australia costumes are totally overcoming our initial resolve not to see it: "Ms. Martin did extensive research for the costumes. She studied archival images and newspapers from 1930s and ’40s Australia and interviewed descendants of the original ranchers around Darwin. 'Whether an indigenous stockman'— or drover — 'wore socks with his boots when he rode a horse, that’s something you either get through a snapshot,' Ms. Martin said, 'or something you have to go talk to the people who lived there about.'" [NY Times]
The new Chanel Unlimited bags, in a "glossy gray canvas material," sound grotesque. Opines Fashionista: These are totally Karl's answer to Prada's nylon bags. But worse, because they're plastered in not just one, but many logos." [Fashionista]
Yeah it's barely past Halloween, but if you have "questions" about Holiday attire, The Washington Post will help you out. [Washington Post]
Rosetta Getty expands her line, beloved of her celeb friends. Nice work if you can get it! [WWD]
Is it just us, or are these new Helena Christensen ads for Agent Provocateur really unsexy? (Oh yeah, prolly NSFW.) [Daily Mail]
Rochas names Marco Zanini creative director; he'll show his first collection for the the fall/winter 2009 season. [WWD]
Princess Di's threads go under the hammer for charity. [VogueUK]

Christina Ricci Is Not The Face Of Louis Vuitton

Jennifer — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:30:00 EDT

How did Christina Ricci respond when someone from Interview magazine asked how she likes being the face of Louis Vuitton? "Well, I'm not anymore. I was one of four actresses that they used in a campaign once and it was really fun. I liked it. I would like to be the face of Louis Vuitton. I am not, however. You know who is? Scarlett Johansson is the face of Louis Vuitton. Wrong interview." Awkward. [WWD, 4th item]
Back in 2007, Harvey Weinstein said of NBC Universal top dog Jeff Zucker (who is, you know, now suing Weinstein for taking Project Runway from Bravo to Lifetime), "You can only have in your life five true friends, and I consider you one of my five friends." All together now, once more, with feeling: Awkward. [Page Six]
We're guessing that Nina Garcia is turning down that editor-at-large gig at Elle since she was seen eating lunch yesterday at Bergdorf Goodman. Working fashion editors don't eat. [Page Six]
How surprising: Prada isn't going public come June, as previously announced. (Actually, no one's surprised about this at all.) [NYT]

Simon Doonan on why he loves Amy Winehouse: "I strongly disagree with her drug taking I mean it's insane but when I was that age I was a mess, too. I think she's triggering a whole movement of eccentricity where people don't want to look like everyone else. She says it's groovy to look completely different and insane; she pulled that beehive out of no where and has her own look. She should be applauded. Because everyone was getting the Kelly Clarkson makeover, everyone ended up looking like pop princesses. What's that about?" [FabSugar]
The blueprints have been revealed at last for the new Prada art museum in Milan. Miuccia+Rem 4Eva. [WWD, sub req'd]
Aw, Vicky Beckham: "I'm still a mom and a wife and I must be up at seven in the morning to get my boys ready for school!" [Fashion Week Daily]
"It's got to be English we're not going to give it an American twist," says Sir Philip Green of the soon-to-open first-ever American branch of Topshop. Does this mean they'll be taking pounds instead of dollars? [WWD, 7th item]
I'm obsessed with Ginnifer Goodwin on Big Love so I'm happy enough, I guess, to hear that she's being honored with MaxMara's Women in Film Face of the Future award. [Fashion Week Daily]
Chanel: Wants you to wear gold makeup for fall. Dear Chanel: how about you just give us some gold instead? [WWD, sub req'd]
Stella McCartney: Now doing sunglasses. [Vogue UK]
Balenciaga: Opening its first e-commerce site on May 15. A new place to impulse-buy expensive shit from the comfort of your own home while drunk! [WWD, 1st item]
Oh! Gucci and Giorgio Armani are also upping their web presences. [WWD, sub req'd]
Hubert de Givenchy, Roberto Cavalli, Giorgio Armani, Gianfranco Ferré, Alberta Ferretti, Antonio Marras, Emilio Pucci and Sonia Rykiel have all donated items from their personal closets for a charity auction to benefit children with leprosy in India. It's just. So. Fashion. [WWD, 4th item]
The shareholders at Escada think the new CEO is being paid way too much. Yawn. [WWD, sub req'd]]

Keith Richards For Louis Vuitton: Old And Leathery

Jennifer — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:30:00 EST

Keith Richards for Louis Vuitton = Awesome. [WWD, sub req'd]
Amy Winehouse played a Fendi party in Paris and talked about her mumps onstage before offering some gratitude to, like, someone: "Thanks for asking me to play. Whoever asked me to play." [WWD, sub req'd]
Meta Kate Olsen came dressed as Karl Lagerfeld for the Chanel show Friday. [WWD, 4th item]
Miss J (Alexander of Top Model) to WaPo fashion critic Robin Givhan on a Nina Ricci model: "She has that hungry walk. She's mad because she's so hungry!" [Off the Runway]
Formerly anorexic model Crystal Renn on why a girl's gotta eat: "How can you be happy if you're working out for five hours a day? People want to hire happy models. You need fat to think!" Um, modeling requires thought? [Telegraph]
Who is the man who would wear Juicy Couture cologne? [BellaSugar]

Sayeth Heidi Klum: "Victoria's Secret should do men's underwear, Seal would love that. Bloomers are just not cool, boxers are all right, but there are so many sexier things we could do for guys." Like, just get 'em naked? [Times of India]
Expensive shit alert! The $110,000 purse, only at Bergdorf Goodman. [Chic Report]
And on that note, Steve & Barry's (home of Sarah Jessica Parker's "Bitten" line) just received an $197 million loan from GE. [WWD, sub req'd]
Agyness Deyn is England's best-dressed celeb. [Telegraph]
Anna Wintour did not attend the Lanvin show in Paris on Friday. But French TV personality Mlle Agnes did...costumed as Wintour: "Getting through security was mighty speedy." [WWD, 2nd item]
The perm is back! [Telegraph]
Sean "Diddy" Combs: Helping people every day! Or at least designing scarves to benefit Dress for Success. [WWD, 2nd item]
Donna Karan: Helping people every day! Or at least having a garage sale of her old shit in the name of charity. [WWD, sub req'd]
Helena Christensen: Helping people every day! Or at least auctioning stamps with her kid's pic on them on eBay for charity. [Sassybella]
Faced with the coming recession, women are cutting back on their spending habits before men are. [MediaPost]
Yay for Lush for no longer using palm oil, since it's wicked bad for the environment. [Guardian]

Patrick Dempsey Welcomes Donatella Versace Into His Family

Jennifer — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:30:00 EST

Now the face of Versace menswear, Patrick Dempsey has started referring to Donatella Versace as his "Italian mother." [Fashion Week Daily]
Model Erin O'Connor musing on the end of another fashion season: "...yes I'm howling, oh how woeful I was when the mini cab rocked up early Sunday morning to collect the regal attire, literally stripped from my back to be sent back to each designer. Kind enough to donate for the week I hear you mutter? Jees, and Cinderella thought she had it bad? Hark, where for art thou my four-door Sports Series Maseratti? Not even a pumpkin post-shows for this lowly creature, just her own two spindly legs to get her from A to B..." [Vogue UK]
The Herve Leger dress that Victoria Beckham wore to the Marc Jacobs show last season is now on sale at Intermix. Er, maybe not? So many people tried to buy it online that the Intermix website crashed. [Fashionista]

Why was this not a challenge on Project Runway this season? Clothing made from plastic bags is the new recycling. [Guardian UK]
Alessandra Facchinetti debut collection for the Valentino label: Hitting the runway on Thursday! [FT]
Fashion folk: Mainly computer illiterate. [IHT]
Jeffrey Kalinsky of luxe boutique Jeffrey, is giving Nordstrom a "makeover." Jeffrey, if you have never had the distinct pleasure of being abused there, is known for its infamously bitchy salespeople. [WSJ]
Yves Saint Laurent's Stefano Pilati wants shoppers to feel like they've been taking opium when visiting the new YSL store in Paris. [WWD, sub req'd]
Oscar de la Renta has just inked two licensing deal for handbags and small leather goods, finding more and more ways to put a little O in your life. [WWD, sub req'd]
Escada's got a new CEO and he's ready to whore out the company by focusing on money-making world of accessories. Didn't we just read like fifty-thousand stories on the death of the It Bag? [WWD, sub req'd]
I will mock my boyfriend ruthlessly if he ever wears a robe like this. [Chic Report]
Recession? What recession? Women's apparel prices areon the rise. [IHT]

Marc Jacobs: Starting His Show Two Hours Earlier Next Year*

Jennifer — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 11:30:00 EST

You may not recall this inconsequential blip on the screen of recent fashion history, but chronically-late designer Marc Jacobs showed up more than two hours late for his September New York fashion show, and a handful of people were annoyed, and so now Marc has apparently thought up a solution: taking an earlier slot next Fashion Week , when the Marc Jacobs show is slated to begin at 7 p.m. [WWD, 1st item]
Meanwhile, Marc Jacobs on the holidays: "I'm not really a Hanukkah person and I'm only a part-time Christmas person. We try to have a non-denominational holiday window every year." [WWD, 1st item]
Isaac Mizrahi, though, loves the Hanukkah! "My boyfriend got a Jack Russell-Beagle mix named Deano over the summer and he's very difficult to find presents for. So for Hanukkah I'll be getting Deano a Kosher bone, a Star of David sweater and a Dreidel chew toy." [WWD, 2nd item]

*Yeah, wink wink. Somehow we're guessing it really doesn't begin till 9:30, but Marc had to read it in the trades before he'd believe they'd actually changed the slot on him.

Matthew McConaughey on his new relationship (professional, of course!) with the Dolce & Gabbana boys: "I talked to Stefano briefly before shooting the campaign in Paris and Domenico and I just bonded over a restaurant meal a few days ago, when we met for the first time. They've hooked me up with some tailored suits and great shoeswhat man could object?"" Ha ha, we know a few straight men who maybe could. [Fashion Week Daily]
Eva Mendes: First she went "naked" in the last issue of Jane magazine, now she's disrobing for PETA. Girl just can't keep her clothes on. [WWD, 3rd item]
Yves Saint Laurent is issuing a limited edition coffee table book. Yours for only $800! Um, please tell me there is still some actual, like, clothing item or accessory I could still get from YSL for that price? [Fashion Week Daily]
Paris Hilton's Swedish Tourist Pizza Boy Alex Vaggo is officially a hanger-on-slash-"model"! He shot a campaign for Alexander McQueen's McQ line. They use his cash to blow the coke she buys with hers. [TMZ]
American Eagle financials: meh. [Reuters]
Ew, we don't think we want to know the origins of lipstick. [BellaSugar]
Want to buy Luther Vandross' wardrobe at auction? Ummmm. [Times of London]

'Fashion Designer' Amanda Bynes: Bad Clothes, Few Friends

Jennifer — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:00:10 EDT

Amanda Bynes is designing a line for Steve & Barry's. It's called Dear. It has a MySpace page. With 9 'friends'. [Racked]
An Italian town named Biella hopes to brand its name and assert its authority in the wonderful world of cashmere. You know how you don't say 'tissues', you say 'Kleenex'? Biella wants it to be like that. [NYPost]
Donna Karan's new fragrance Delicious Night, is said to smell like "the magic of New York at night." Oh, Donna, trust us: New York at night smells like stale Parliaments, cheap wine, sweat, and, er, bad decisions. [WWD, sub req'd]
Vogue impresario/notorious megalomaniac Andre Leon Talley's advice to budding fashion industry drones? "Stay humble." Because nothing says "humble" like velvet loafers and massive fur capes. [WWD, 2nd item]

Oh that progressive Miuccia! The lovely Ms. Prada is now designing costumes! For, uh, an anime cartoon? [WWD, sub req'd]
On the heels of its vows to become more youthful (read: slutty), Escada says it is losing money. [WWD]
Kenneth Cole's new "Awearness" campaign to combat homelessness, AIDS, and probably most yucky stuff. [WWD, sub req'd]
Iconic fashion photographer Mario Testino just bought a $6.3 million condo in Ian Schrager's 40 Bond St development in New York's SoHo. We walked past it the other day, gagged its ugly exterior, and asked outloud, Who the fuck would want to live here? And now our questions are answered. [WSJ, 1st item]
Heart shaped sunglasses are sorta cool when you're four. [Vogue UK]

Jennifer Garner: Young, Gifted And Cracked

Jennifer — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:03:09 EDT

Baby-faced baby mama Jennifer Garner will soon be shilling anti-aging products for Neutrogena. [WWD, 1st item]
Urban Outfitters wants to be your new bff and txt u w all the l8test info 4 nu products + sales etc. Ttyl xo! [WWD, sub req'd]
Trashy fashion designer Anand Jon (whose top celeb clients include, um, Paris Hilton and Paula Abdul) was arrested yesterday for 13 counts of sexual misconduct, including 3 charges involving a minor. [TMZ]
Escada's re-opened Beverly Hills flagship's design sets to reflect its revised design sensibility, which is "young" not in "age, but attitude." Yes! Nipple slips! [LA Times]
Rumors are circulating that billionaire Ron Burkle hopes to oust Garrard creative director/jewelry designer Jade Jagger for designer Steven Webster. [Vogue UK]