<![CDATA[Jezebel: french connection]]> http://tags.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jezebel.com.png <![CDATA[Jezebel: french connection]]> http://jezebel.com/tag/frenchconnection http://jezebel.com/tag/frenchconnection <![CDATA[Lily Sings For Chanel; Claudia Quits Catwalk]]>

  • Handbag model Lily Allen performed live at the farming-themed, hay-strewn Chanel show this morning. [Fashionista]
  • Claudia Schiffer has formally announced she will no longer do any runway modeling. She plans to fill her downtime with a trip to Iraq. [Sun]
  • Marc Jacobs' and Viacom's flacks have denied the reports that Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone are to appear on a gay version of the Real Housewives for the Logo network. [CityFile]
  • Vera Wang, however, says bring on the cameras. "I'm doing a TV show. It's coming. I don't know when, or how, but it's coming," said the designer at the National Arts Awards. Wang, seated at the table of collector Julie Minskoff, said she doesn't buy art because she can't afford it. But if money were no object, "I would buy Tom Sachs, because I like Hello Kitty. And the guy who does all the pills, because I take them all." Should make for some interesting viewing, then. [StyleFile]
  • A Puma branded mobile phone: It's happening sometime next spring. [WWD]
  • Ever phlegmatic Vogue editor Grace Coddington, on fans now recognizing her in the street: "It's probably a short-lived thing. There will be another fashion movie and another person who comes out from that." [Grazia]
  • During the Givenchy show, someone stole Coddington's purse from her chauffeured car while the driver apparently napped. [NYDN]
  • Prince turned up at the Yves Saint Laurent show in a gold sequined suit he designed himself. [WWD]
  • The only odd thing about this sweet article on the art show Rodarte is curating in Paris: who is this documentary crew that's mentioned in passing, and why have they been following the Mulleavy sisters for four years? [NYTimes]
  • Actress Ashley Judd is releasing a perfume, of which she says, "Beloved Red Rose captures the essence of love." Not that she'd be an objective source on that or anything. [People]
  • Meanwhile, Tamara Mellon's Jimmy Choo has signed a 12-year fragrance licensing contract. So expect a Jimmy Choo scent soon. [WWD]
  • The reason Celine had a lag of 13 months between confirming Phoebe Philo as its new creative director and actually giving her a catwalk show is apparently not because the LVMH overlords' were given pause by anything Philo did — it's simply that 2009 was marked off as "Transition Year" in Marco Gobbetti's calendar, and spring 2010, well, that's a whole ball game. [Reuters]
  • French Connection is closing it s21 stores in Japan. The retailer lost $16.8 million in the first six months of this year. [WWD]
  • Cher and Bob Mackie are at it again, creating costumes out of rhinestones, nude tricot, and feathers for the star's Caesar's Palace show in Vegas. What else would you expect? [People]
  • Juergen Teller is working on a book of nude photographs of Raquel Zimmerman and Charlotte Rampling at the Louvre. [WWD]
  • Ellen Tracy is taking its sportswear slightly downmarket. From this spring onwards, its wares will cost $50-$149. The brand has signed an exclusive distributorship deal with Macy's. [Crain's]
  • For those who wish they could be Don Draper: A limited run of 250 suits inspired by Mad Men will be sold at Brooks Brothers starting October 19th. [WWD]
  • Pierre Bergé, Yves Saint Laurent's life and business partner, says he received death threats and was accompanied by bodyguards following his decision to auction two Qing dynasty bronzes from his and Saint Laurent's art collection that China wanted repatriated. [Reuters]
  • Chef Marcus Samuelsson, television chef Giada de Laurentiis, and Zac Posen are cooking this weekend for a $325-a-head event at the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival. Samuelsson muses on the similarities between professional cooking and fashion design: "I've been backstage at a fashion show, and it's like a kitchen. It's a very similar energy." Posen, a home cook, says Martha Stewart and Jacques Pépin saved his life. "I was a very depressed middle-school student and I watched [those shows] avidly, and then Martha Stewart changed my life. Her first cookbook [Entertaining] was given to my mom, but I took it." WWD even re-prints Samuelsson's maple-glazed salmon and couscous recipe. [WWD]
  • Renzo Rosso, the Diesel founder who owns Maison Martin Margiela, has confirmed that the rarely seen Belgian designer, rumored to have departed his namesake house, has been gone for "a long time." Instead, Margiela is "here but not here. We have a new fresh design team on board." This season's collection, just shown in Paris, was rated a disappointment by the fashion press, who would like to see a successor named. Haider Ackerman and Raf Simons are rumored to be under consideration, but anyone named would have to design the label anonymously. [Vogue UK]
  • Roland Mouret: Just another designer broadcasting his show live on the Internet. [WWD]
  • Some Very Important Designer forgot his ticket to Viktor & Rolf and nearly had to stand with the hoi polloi! [Fashionista]
  • The Clean Clothes Campaign is pressuring Europe's biggest retailers, like Tesco, Aldi, and Carrefour, to institute a common guaranteed minimum wage for garment workers across Asia. Its lofty goal? Assuring that the people who make the clothes we wear are paid $475 a month and get a 48-hour workweek. You can e-mail retailers via the Campaign's website. [WWD]
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5375301&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Go Wild, Avoid Pants, And Stand Warned!]]>

  • Yes, this outfit is available! [OC via Racked]
  • Kanye's so-last-week jackassery has spawned a tee shirt. We say: stop trying to make "I'ma let you finish" happen! [InventorSpot]
  • Miuccia Prada has a "passion for knickers," believes deeply in no-pants. [Telegraph]
  • Burlington Coat Factory has accused a NYC pants manufacturer of bribery. The manufacturer is accusing BCF of tarnishing their reputation. [NYP]
  • I think we can all agree that what we need is more celebrity fragrances: in order to boost sales, this holiday season will see more boldface B.O. than ever before. Is our dream of "Joyce Carol Oates: Enigma" about to come true?! [WWD]
  • Aspiring fashionistas, NB: Proenza Schouler's looking for design, production, and sales interns. [Fashionista]
  • Vanity Fair Italia is throwing its weight around: "It's bigger than any international Vogue," says Jonathan Newhouse of the ever-expanding glossy. [WWD]
  • Uniqlo brings its budget cashmere to a Paris flagship: will France dig it? [NYT]
  • Model Sessilee Lopez has broken with Twitter. "Sorry twitter but this is my very last tweet ... we had some good times and bad but now our relationship is over ... " Was it something @ said? [New York]
  • Frankly, we'd kind of forgotten about Enrique Iglesias, but Azzaro hadn't! He's the face of new fragrance Azzaro Pour Homme. [People]
  • Karl Lagerfeld toys are practically a cottage industry: now the Kaiser's a 10" Manga-inspired Tokidoki figurine. Now he can have his own, cryptic Toy Story! [WWD]
  • Jimmy Choo founder Tamara Mellon is for some reason no longer, repeat no longer, suing her mother. [Daily Mail]
  • Paul Smith's iconic signature logo is, in fact, faux: "It was very practical to call it Paul Smith. Then I tried my signature and you couldn't read it, it was sort of ‘Gug Giz' and it didn't quite work! Pauline [Paul's wife] and I asked lots of friends to write it and one just wrote that signature. But I can do it now!" Hold up: Paul and Pauline? Okay, carry on. [Daily Express]
  • Nobody's worn spider silk - "a textile stronger than steel and made from the silk of the golden orb spider, native to Madagascar" - for hundreds of years. But socialite Tinsley Mortimer donned a spider silk shawl at a Museum of Natural History exhibit dedicated to the wonder fabric. [Observer]
  • WWD.com has "tweaked" its site - again - to make it more user-friendly. Yes, most everything is still subscription. [MediaBistro]
  • French Connection has launched a baby's line, thankfully named "fc:baby" rather than "little fcuk." [Telegraph]
  • We knew moving Project Runway to L.A. was a mistake! Here's Nina on why she and Michael Kors have been tragically MIA: "When it was in L.A. and in that time period that we filmed, it was very difficult to be there the entire time. He has another job, he's a designer and work on his collection, and I had to fly to Paris to see the fashion shows for the fall. It was impossible to be there for an entire month." [LAT]
  • Although here's someone who's probably in favor of the move: Lauren Conrad! "I think that for the Kohl's line we wanted a very California brand...We were able to make the California-look very accessible everywhere." [People]
  • Thanks to Ann Taylor's aggressive re-branding efforts, the stock is up 90% and analysts are lowering their rating. [Crains]
  • From their scores of suitors, Zappos has selected Interpublic Group of Cos.' Mullen as its creative agency. Let's cross our fingers. [AdAge]
  • Alber Elbaz spoke at "Creativity, innovation and excellence: from crafts to the design and fashion industry" at UNESCO's First Forum on Cultural Industries, in Italy. He was apparently charming, and presumably was more succinct than Gaddafi. [WWD]
  • Vogue UK is having a "Miss Marple moment." We're guessing they interpret this less literally than we do. [VogueUK]
  • Roberto Cavalli is opening an online shop, and the first 500 customers will receive a free bag "in Cavalli's signature prints." Threat or promise - you decide! [Sassybella]
  • Perhaps inspired by Tim Gunn's Marvel turn (we wish) the Women Paris model agency's show package used a Sin City aesthetic, which sends a sinister message, but whatever. [The Fash Pack]
  • We've heard of strange bedfellows, but Swatch and Tiffany? Says Swatch's prez, "It will be the perfect gift, to a well-educated, beautiful woman, a perfect gift. So man, back to your wallet." [Guardian]
  • Out magazine feted itself at Original Penguin's NYC pop-up shop yesterday. Reports Racked: "Guests guzzled Blue Moons and were entertained by roving models, live mannequins, a soundtrack of diet dance pop, and slightly terrifying larger-than-life prints of October Out covergirl Donatella Versace." [Racked]
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5367630&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Emma Watson Has A Clothing Line; Courtney Says "Rodarte Bitches" Are Awesome]]>

  • Rachel Zoe, on extra-curricular fashion week activities: "I went to a meeting with a potential book publisher, because I am starting to wrap my head around doing my next book, which I am really excited about. I've gotten a little bit of my creative writing fill with doing the Zoe Report, my daily newsletter, and really remembered how much I love writing." Funny, because I met the Zoe Report's ghost blogger a couple weeks back! (Nice girl.) [Time]
  • Jil Sander's line for Uniqlo, +J, starts hitting stores on October 1. The legendary German perfectionist says, "I like the concept of basic clothes in a democratic world. Uniqlo reminds me of Apple computers; fantastic design for everyone. And I like what is Japanese about Uniqlo, a strong sense of tradition, the orderly approach to everything, great know-how and logistics." Uniqlo dreams of taking over the position of Inditex — parent company of Zara — as the world's largest apparel company by 2020. The success of the retail chain's planned expansion will rest in large part on Sander's talents. [Telegraph]
  • Journalistic pet peeve #1: Confusing "discrete" for "discreet." Journalistic pet peeve #2: Spending ten minutes reading an article that tediously explains events that happened a year ago. Who doesn't already know that last fall, "upscale department stores...started slashing prices to unload a glut of inventory. Saks fired the first volley, slapping 70%-off signs on luxury designer clothing in early November 2008. Neiman and Barneys frantically followed suit." [Time]
  • For some apparel trade news that is actually, you know, news, how about this: apparel sales rose 2.4% from July to August, the biggest month-to-month increase since February. Sales were still down 5% on last August. [NYTimes]
  • If more couples are staying home to have sex because of the recession — sex being, as Chip Lambert pointed out in The Corrections, one of the few pleasures in life that's actually free — wouldn't we be buying fewer pajamas, not more? [Telegraph]
  • Courtney Love's fashion week highlights, so far: "Me playing at Alexander Wamg. That was certainly the fucking best. And then the second best was me playing at Alexander Wang." Anything else? "The Rodarte bitches were awesome." [The Cut]
  • Abercrombie & Fitch has lost its appeal in the discrimination case brought by the family of an autistic girl who was not allowed to go into a changing room with her sister at the Mall of America store. The then-14-year-old was shopping with her then-17-year-old sibling, who notified a sales assistant that her sister had a disability and could not be left alone. In court, Abercrombie trotted out a psychologist as an expert witness who said that, "this experience is best considered to be a desirable outcome of active community involvement." Because having Abercrombie refuse to make a reasonable accommodation "offers the parents the opportunity to model social problem solving and coping skills to their daughter, as they have done so well throughout her life, and thus prepare her for such future natural community experiences." Abercrombie was fined $115,264. [MPR]
  • Dan Ariely, the professor who studies branding and behavior and who concludes that wearing counterfeit designer goods makes people more dishonest in their every day life — on the basis of one study, which lacked a control group — is back to explain his nifty ideas in video format. How about this new rule for science: No studies where the scientist explains his methods thus: "We got Chloé to give us sunglasses..." And no studies that are presented at conferences convened by Harper's Bazaar. [BigThink]
  • Dan Caten, one half of DSquared, on the brand's new eyewear line: "It's a way that people can buy into the brand. Maybe some people can't afford to buy the clothes or fit in the clothes." Instead of making clothes above a size 10, let's license out some sunglasses! (Average price: $391.) Perfect solution. [WSJ]
  • Ann Taylor is holding an in-season runway show tonight in New York, with a real fashion quotient: Kate Young will be styling. It's all part of the retailer's attempt to turn around its dowdy image. (You may have noticed the new ad campaign starring model Cameron Russell.) [WWD]
  • Heidi Klum, whom you may have heard of, is taking Cameron's spot for the retailer's holiday ads. But don't expect her at the show, because she's expecting, and can't fly to New York. [NYPost]
  • Vogue's publisher, Tom Florio, doesn't want to talk about McKinsey — but he will take a softball on why he goes to fashion shows: "I look for trends in the business. Like the whole idea of luxury at a better price point, which is something Tory Burch is doing. I try to get a sense of the sociological trends which our editors will adapt. It just adds a little context. You need to understand the business trends like global warming and fabrics getting lighter and more transitional pieces in fashion. If you can speak intelligently about these things when you sell ad pages, you can sort of take their [advertisers'] point of view." [NYObs]
  • Burberry, which already has around 600,000 Facebook friends, is launching its own social networking site at artofthetrench.com. Christopher Bailey has commissioned Scott Schuman to take pictures of people wearing Burberry trench coats around the world for the site. Users will also be able to send in pictures of themselves wearing Burberry trench coats. [FT]
  • The British brand will also stream its Prorsum fashion show live over the Internet. It's scheduled for September 22, 6:30 p.m., London time. [WWD]
  • Avon president Elizabeth Smith is leaving the company. No replacement has yet been named. [Crain's]
  • French Connection has laid off 50 workers at its head offices and closed its offices in Denmark and Sweden as a response to continued weak sales. [Independent]
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5361696&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Doonan Jumps To Ed Hardy's Defense; Smell Like Kate Moss For Fall]]>

  • Barneys' Simon Doonan: "Criticizing Ed Hardy for being cheesy is like saying that Elvis was 'flashy' or that Liberace was 'tacky.' It's a giant case of DUH! Of course it's cheesy! That's the whole point, you doo-doo heads." [NY Observer]
  • "Ed Hardy is fromage-y and hedonistic and naughty and badass and-the ultimate crime in the world of haute fashion — Ed Hardy is FUN!" Doonan, in his entertaining op-ed dissection of the concept of "good taste," paused to riff on Christian Audigier's design efforts. "The unrestrained, bedazzled, heavy-metal-goes-Bollywood aesthetic rivals the gaudy heyday of Gianni Versace. Instead of knocking it, the style arbiters of the world should be grateful. Monsieur Audigier has done a real mitzvah to the insecure fashion cognoscenti: He has given them something about which to feel superior. If Ed Hardy did not exist, they would have to invent it in order to get their snooty fix." Also, "popped his sabots" is the best euphemism for dying, ever. [NYObs]
  • Cynthia Rowley is starting a kids' line. [Stylelist]
  • Comme des Garçons' Osaka store is inaugurating a floor that will serve as an art gallery with a show by Yayoi Kusama. [WWD]
  • Kate Moss's fourth women's fragrance, Vintage, launches this September, and the ads are coming out now. [NowSmellThis]
  • Apparently, when a woman cuts her hair after a breakup, that's called a "breakover." Who knew? [Glamour]
  • All those who remember fondly the extraordinary 26-page Daphne Guinness spread from Vogue Italia's September, 2008, issue, rejoice: the couture-loving heiress and photographer Steven Klein have teamed up again, and have another 20+ page editorial coming in Vogue Italia's September issue. Guinness says this one will be "moodier" and is inspired by a cult French film from the 60s, though she won't name which one. [Style.com]
  • "Everybody thought they had to spend money. They thought it was a new way of life. Now they're rubbing the dust out of their eyes. ‘I don't need that handbag. What was I doing?' " said a brave, but anonymous, Condé Nast editor to Cathy Horyn. [NYTimes]
  • Christina Binkley of the Wall Street Journal reports on a well-known industry secret: that the same firms who supply raw materials, and in some cases manufacture, for high-end brands also sell the same items to more down-market brands. Binkley compares a $1,750 cardigan sweater made in Italy by the Quarano, Piedmont, wool company Loro Piano, and a $145 J. Crew cardigan "spun from supersoft, luxurious Italian cashmere from a world-famous mill in the foothills of Piedmont." Lesson: some less-expensive brands still take immense care in their sourcing. [WSJ]
  • Which may just be why CFDA executive director Steven Kolb became a J. Crew fan on Facebook. [FWD]
  • A gaggle of minor celebrities — some dude who was in a Britney Spears video, the guy from North Dakota who plays Emmett Cullen in Twilight, etc — availed themselves of a pre-season event at French Connection in Los Angeles. Instead of merely being given bags of free clothes to wear when waiting for the paparazzi, the store embarrassed them by making them all play French Connection-themed Twister, whatever that is. [WWD]
  • Dania Ramirez, a.k.a. Maya on Heroes, is a newly minted Covergirl. [People]
  • Footwear brand Penny Loves Kenny has filed for bankruptcy protection. The company founder, Kenny Robinson, explained the filing as a tactical move in a 6-year legal battle with two China-based agents, and said he expects the brand to emerge intact in 3-6 months. [WWD]
  • Philip Lim stepped into his SoHo boutique last weekend and helped some customers find the right sizes and pick out flattering items — all without telling them who he was. Then some fashion-savvy shoppers blew his cover. If more designers did thoughtful things like that, they'd certainly sell more clothes. [Fashionista]
  • Burberry's second store in Canada, and its first in Toronto, opens this Friday. [WWD]
  • Benetton's profits fell 63% in the first half of this year. [WWD]
  • Barneys New York is putting a brave face on its 13 months — and counting — without a C.E.O., its double-digit sales declines, and its recent credit rating downgrade, to Caa3, for "very high investment risk." The company recently received $25 million from parent company Istithmar World Capital to shore up liquidity, and this week it hired an asset management company to help it restructure its $500 million debt. [WWD]
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5331410&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Rene Russo Finds Other Uses For Footwear; Sarah Silverman Becomes A Model]]>

  • Behold actress Rene Russo, doing moderately fetishistic things with designer Brian Atwood's shoes and a hunky model, for a limited-release book, which sounds suspiciously like a fancy lookbook. [NY Mag]
  • Nordstrom is recalling about 31,000 pairs of girls' shoes sold under their store brand. The shoes, which were made in China, do not meet new federal standards for lead levels. Girls shoes affected by the recall were sold between September, 2006, and February, 2009, and can be returned to any Nordstrom store for a full refund. [WWD]
  • And in more news of the increasing weirdness of lookbooks — seriously, a couple years ago these were just collections of snapshots intended to document the coming season's line for buyers, not even everybody bothered doing them, and now they're as ubiquitous and heralded as campaigns and as lavishly shot as editorials — Band of Outsiders picked Sarah Silverman to model their offerings for their other label, Boy. [The Moment]
  • In a blast right from 1997, Liam Gallagher is launching a fashion line. "I'm doing it cuz [sic] there's a lack of stuff out there of the things I would wear," said the ever-articulate rock star. [Telegraph]
  • Writer Rowan Pelling held a panel discussion at the Victoria and Albert museum in London to discuss the greening of fashion. After talking with such luminaries as Dame Vivienne Westwood ("don't wash your clothes, thus saving water and reducing the flow of harmful chemicals into our rivers"), Pelling remained unconvinced that the fashion industry could ever do any real good for the environment. Perhaps someone who admits to sending really special clothes to "expert" drycleaners in Florence, Italy, wasn't the best choice for an environmental consciousness-raising? [Telegraph]
  • Bold words from Council of Fashion Designers of America president Diane von Furstenberg at the party celebrating this year's nominees. "We will surf the tsunami and do very well," announced the designer. Executive director Steve Kolb explained the CFDA's decision to give Michelle Obama a special award in June, saying that the First Lady was eligible for nominations almost across the board for categories like Style Icon. But, "the board wanted to give her a serious award. As part of the award, we will establish a grant in her name to support young talent, because she has really epitomized that." No word yet on whether the Obamas will attend; I'm sure the CFDA can only hope. [WWD]
  • A reporter for The Cut witnessed the taping of Valentino's Martha Stewart appearance — and says that the audience was more interested in Martha's demonstration of lemon cleaning copper than in anything Vava had to say. It airs Friday, so, uh, mark your calendars. [NY Mag]
  • Women's Wear Daily reports that Valentino also used the opportunity to shoot down the rumors that he had a designing hand in the collection that just walked in Paris. All while referring to the new designers, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, as his "assistants." [WWD]
  • Jil Sander is just settling in to her new position overseeing men's and women's wear at Uniqlo. And she has some grand ideas for the brand. [WWD]
  • An 18th Century masterpiece by the German-born British painter Johann Zoffany — a royal portraitist and a favorite of Geoge III — has been withdrawn from the auction of items from Gianni Versace's Lake Como villa. The portrait of Major General Maule was described as the centerpiece of the art sale, but descendants of the army officer featured say that the painting was stolen 30 years ago. Versace, who is believed not to have known the work's value, bought it 15 years ago. The painting had been estimated to fetch £40,000-£60,000 at auction. [Independent]
  • Also selling cast-offs is Rachel Zoe. 50-100 pieces of costume jewelry will go on sale to a crowd of invited guests at L.A. vintage institution Decades Two next Thursday. However, any unsold items will be put on eBay, so you can overpay for gold-toned owl necklaces and chunky beads from your own home. Some of the proceeds will go to charity, and the in-store melee will be filmed for, what else, Bravo's The Rachel Zoe Project. [Fashionista]
  • Katy Perry, on being a fashion 'Don't' for her outrageous(ly unfortunate) style: "I like experimenting and I'm totally OK with ending up in the ‘worst dressed.'...I have my own look, which I call ‘Lolita meets old Hollywood Glam.' " So is she in on the joke, or not? [People]
  • British ex-model and television presenter Alexa Chung: gets invited to Paris to see the Louis Vuitton show ("I was presented with a pair of severe skyscraper heels for the event which I smugly paraded about atop of until the cobbled streets outside of the Louvre betrayed me") and DJ the Fendi party ("almost like a scene from Zoolander.") Then she runs into Beth Ditto and shares a nervous laugh about the whole scene. [Independent]
  • Tattoo artist Scott Campbell is responsible for most of Marc Jacobs' torso. He's a sucker for romantic declarations in permanent ink — he should know, he has four women's names on his body already. [Observer]
  • Amber le Bon, daughter of Simon and Yasmin le Bon, is the new, er, face of Myla lingerie. [Sun]
  • Tamara Mellon of Jimmy Choo has designed a series of makeup bags for this fall — which Fashionista says could easily double as clutches. Everyone likes a bargain! Unfortunately, the Jimmy Choo/Hunter croc-embossed rubber rainboots pictured cost $395. Which is ridiculous. (There's already a waiting list.) [Fashionista]
  • Pretty boy Zac Efron got down and dirty in a sandbox with Lithuanian model Edita Vileviciute for Interview. Edita didn't know who he was. [E! Online]
  • L'Wren Scott, the towering ex-model/stylist/designer/Mick Jagger consort, says her line is all about timeless pieces — and power. "Women of every age and size really just want to look sexy, while retaining their power and dignity," she says, noting that her line is produced in sizes up to an Italian 48 (approximately a US 14). Which ain't great, but I've met designers who wrinkle their noses at the thought of making a size 8 dress, so at least it's not just lip service. Perhaps the 6'4" Scott has a more intrinsic grasp of the frustrations of having a body that is unnecessarily hard to fit in conventional stores' offerings? [Daily Beast]
  • Following the announcement of a 45% fall in net profits for 2008, Alberto Nathansohn, the CFO of Bulgari has unexpectedly resigned. Flavia Spena, who has been with the company for 20 years and currently holds the position of head of human resources, will take over Nathansohn's duties. Shares fell 5.27% in the remainder of the day's trading in Milan as many analysts downgraded their ratings to "sell." [FT]
  • French Connection, owner of the brand FCUK, has posted a £17.4 million annual loss for the year to January 31. [Telegraph]
  • Guess? Inc. is doing comparatively fine. Fourth quarter global revenues increased by 9%, and 18% in Europe. However, same-store sales for the quarter in North America decreased 6.5%, and 1% for the year. [Breitbart]
  • Susan Kellogg has resigned her position as chief executive at Tahari. [WWD]
  • Azzedine Alaïa's 9-month-old St. Bernard puppy and his four cats all sleep together in one big pile. Nomnomnomnomnommmmm. [Paper]
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5173431&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Sarah Palin Returned All Those Clothes, Silly!]]>

  • McCain campaign claims that it didn't keep a lot of those Fashiongate duds: "about a third of it was returned immediately" when they didn't fit. Yes, that'd be $50,000 worth. [AP]
  • Roseanne offers a McCain-Palin Hitler smiley-face tee on her website. Genocide sensitivity: ur doin it rong. [Oh No They Didn't]
  • Tom Ford makes over 007: “It was time for a change and, whereas Brioni is very polished, this new Bond is edgier and darker...Tom Ford’s tailored suits work better for him.” [FT]
  • Sarah Jessica Parker's hard at work on her new fragrances, Lovely Moments. "The collection will include three fragrances based on different expressions of time — Dawn, Endless and Twilight." What? [WWD]
  • Moscow Fashion Week is uncharacteristically subdued. [Reuters]
  • Because shopping at French Connection is a good indicator of your civic acumen, the chain is offering a 15% discount to those who can prove they voted. Seems ripe for voter fraud to me... [Nylon]
  • Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell are co-hosting a Halloween party. What happens when they both come dressed as the Queen? [Fashionista]
  • Quoth the creative director of Moschino: "The glossy, glamorous and cool world of fashion have never particularly fascinated me: I adore fashion and many of its representatives not for those aspects but for the creativity, the research and the effort that remains behind every collection." This translates to a front row filled with stuffed animals. [IHT]
  • Zara continues to defy the market. In a good way. [Reuters]
  • Ditto Avon; a gal still needs her undereye concealer. [Business Week]
  • Other stalwarts? Plain white shirts. "Fun" men's shirts are out. [Telegraph]
  • Tailoring, however, is in! [NY Times]
  • Not to be left behind the, um, phone craze, Ralph Lauren launches an iPhone app, should you wish to gaze at madras at your whim. [MobileCrunch]
  • British designer complains she can't find Size 10 (that's a U.S. 6) models to walk in her shows. "I have always been someone who would request that model agencies send me their curviest girls. But this time even they were too tiny to fill a pair of size 10 trousers and make them look great." [Guardian]
  • The economy's climate of "retail darwinism" takes its toll on experimental fashion. [Portfolio]
  • The carnage continues: although Elle is strong, Elle Accessories is suspended, loses four staffers. [NY Magazine]
  • WWD names Natasha Poly and Lily Donaldson "the hottest models of the season." [WWD]
  • Twiggy: "Just because you’re middle-aged you don’t have to live in flannel knickers!" It does mean you have to diet, apparently! [Mirror]
  • "Sitting at his kitchen table recently, Mr. Siriano mused that he had a few days ahead of him with no bookings. I am like, 'Am I out? Is everyone over me?' That's kind of scary.'" Don't worry, Christian, you're fierce! [Wall Street Journal]
  • Clothing line gives 400 poor little babies rashes on their backs! [USA Today]
  • Alexander McQueen: "I was thinking of the British Empire...because we don't have one any more. Of course, it's not right for one nation to govern another, but I have no other mentality apart from a British mentality. We've lost our way as a nation at the moment, I think, and I wanted to unify myself with Britain throughout history, and to celebrate any heritage. The idea was to look at tradition as opposed to being anarchic." Translation? Rock necklaces. [Independent]
  • Ecko employee sues over sexual harassment after a male colleague allegedly "threw a fistful of coins down into the crack of her buttocks." [NY Post]
  • Lagerfeld is lukewarm on the contents of his Chanel pavilion: "The pavilion is the most exciting. Whatever may be in there—that is not my problem.” [The New Yorker]
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5069226&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Gossip Girl's Nate Archibald For Versace?]]>

  • Is Gossip Girl pretty boy Chace Crawford set to replace McDreamy as the face of Versace? [Perez Hilton]
  • Fashion slang seems to have no regard for a word's actual meaning: "Designer Ashleigh Verrier said her favorite fashion word was "diaphanous" — an adjective characterizing fineness of texture. 'As in, 'That dress is so diaphanous!'' she said. 'I like 'Glamit'," said fashion designer Marc Bouwer, who uses the term for a fashion line. 'It is so gorgeous and glamorous. You don't want to use cliched words.'Designer Thuy Diep said 'prune"'was popular within her fashion crew to express disapproval." [Reuters]
  • Vogue-interning hockey playing fashionisto Sean Avery on who should play him in the rumored movie about him: "'Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit, man. I dunno I dunno I dunno I dunno I dunno. Fuck. I dunno!...I don't know anything. That's what casting guys are for! Shit. No questions!'" Sounds like that'll be some sparkling dialogue! [Radar]
  • This is like telling us the Earth is flat! An "expert in visual perception" claims that vertical stripes are actually unflattering! Prune! [Guardian]
  • As if her life was not sufficiently charmed, stunning editrice spawn Julia Restoin-Roitfeld is now art-directing! "Casting fellow model and brother Vladimir as the male lead, Restoin-Roitfeld art-directed the campaign from start to finish. The result is a super-sexy music-inspired campaign that lends Rock & Republic's image rock and roll cool." [Daily Mail]
  • Eva Mendes is feeling her banned CK ad: "It’s very rock ’n’ roll; I kind of like it. I want to do more. I want keep pushing the envelope.” [WWD]
  • Apparently "pushing the envelope" means working on a home decor line with Macy's. "The line, created with Mendes' boyfriend, film producer George Augusto, will be called "Vida" and will initially feature five bedding styles." [Crains]
  • High-street brands making token (read: "almost no") effort to improve the conditions of overseas manufacturing. [Guardian]
  • More on the kinda heartbreaking Sears Fashion Week tent. [AdAge]
  • Embattled retailer Steve & Barry's now getting sinister emails from a supplier: "When customers 'happily shop' at the chain, 'they are actually buying clothes … soaking of blood and tears of worldwide vendors,' one e-mail read." [NYT via a href="http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/12/supplier-has-harsh-words-for-steve-barrys/>The Post]
  • In honor of fashion week, Luca Luca executives will ring in the closing bell of the NASDAQ Stock Market. Brokers will almost certainly not care. [WWD]
  • After years of giving it short shrift, Calvin Klein focuses on high-end collections again. [WSJ]
  • Teen spending down. [Portfolio]
  • Gok Wan (the British Carson Kressley) on his idols: "Sarah Jessica Parker - she has amazing style, and when I saw her and Vivienne Westwood [another one of Gok’s favourites] on the red carpet at the same time, I didn’t know whether to throw up or fart - I was so excited!" Why not do both? [Mirror]
  • Albino model Shaun Ross breaks the mold. [NYT]
  • Things are looking gloomy for French Connection. Has FCUK had its day? [FT]
  • Fashion minions give the Nuclear Wintour a piece of their minds - okay, anonymously. "Painter Geoffrey Raymond hawked his portrait of Wintour, dubbed The Annotated Anna, to Bryant Park and asked fashionistas to write a message to Wintour on the canvas. Comments ranged from 'Scaaary!'‚ to the more flattering 'You look great without the sunglasses"' Raymond plans to sell the painting on eBay, with a starting bid of $3,500." Wait, that's the best they can do? Pass that thing around Jezebel! [The First Post]
  • This pleases us: fashionistas waiting on line get into the Target "pop-up bodegas." [WWD]
  • Tory Burch seeks outside investors for her boho-country club empire. [WSJ]
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5048963&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[New DKNY Designer Rachel Bilson Can Neither Sketch Nor Sew]]>

  • DKNY Jeans has announced a "partnership" with Rachel Bilson, who will be doing her own denim line for the brand. "Fans of 'The O.C.' really like DKNY Jeans, and I know they make great stuff, so I thought it could be good... I can't draw at all, so I won't be doing any sketches, but I am learning to sew," she says. [WWD, sub req'd]
  • Good for designer Bradley Bayou for organizing a forum on the fashion industry and eating disorders. Bayou said fashion editors and the CFDA are at great fault for the growing number of young women developing eating disorders: "We have girls getting very sick because they can't beat the system and look like what's on the cover of the magazine...There are two ways to become a size zero: Starve yourself or take drugs. Or both. And yes, [models] all do it." [WWD, sub req'd]
  • "She is a very modest woman." That's Fashion Fringe co-founder Colin McDowell on Donatella Versace. Um, sure. [Fashion Week Daily]
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=367398&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Donna Karan Has A New Boyfriend (Emphasis On "Boy")]]>

  • Donna Karan's in love! The lucky guy is a male model, and a full two years older than "half her age." [Page Six]
  • Barney's New York Creative Director/bon vivant Simon Doonan has a new book coming out in April 2008 titled Eccentric Glamour. Tagline: "Say no to ho." And yes to fashion appreciated exclusively by homos! [Fashion Week Daily]
  • Diane von Furstenberg to Amex cardholders who forked over $550 to hear her speak at her NYC flagship store, "For those of you who don't know, this is the Meatpacking District. A lot of Japanese tour buses go around and say, 'Oh, this is where Diane von Furstenberg lives.'" Uh, they do? [Fashion Week Daily]
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