• Marisa Miller has earned the most coveted position of all the Victoria's Secret runway girls: Wearer Of The Diamond-Studded Bra. Her equipment costs $3 million. "It's surprisingly comfortable," says Miller. Sure looks it. [People]

• Sir Paul Smith would love it "if fashion shows died out completely." The 63-year-old British designer explains, shows are "pure, self-indulgent theatre. How many girls were there this year in horns or neck braces with bare breasts? It wouldn't matter if they didn't take it all so seriously, but the fashion world is a dangerous, superficial and fickle place." [Telegraph]
• Although the press sometimes jumps all over Anna Wintour for repeating her outfits, it's something she does all the time, and will continue to do, because who wears clothes once, for God's sake? "I usually wear the same dress twenty times. I think it's always fun to have something new, but it doesn't mean that everything you already have in your closet has to be thrown out, you know? Recycle." [The Cut]
• The USAToday and W did the hard work of "parsing" Amelia Earhart's style. You know her, she's that woman famous for...wearing pants. [USAToday]
• Donatella Versace tells a Vogue reader who says she would buy clothes in larger sizes, if Versace made them, that "I certainly wouldn't want to do a plus-size line, as I have no problem with women of any size wearing my clothes. I guess some styles lend themselves to being scaled up, while some others just don't work." Versace's own daughter, Allegra, has struggled with anorexia. [Style.com]
• Donatella hosted a party for the Whitney, and a lot of celebrities came. (Since when are Lindsay Lohan and Taylor Momsen "just-wanna-have-fun blondes"?) Also in attendance at what was, you know, an art benefit were Chuck Close and Ellsworth Kelly. [Style.com]
• Meanwhile, that equally tanned and fashionable Italian female, Gucci creative director Frida Giannini, is headed to Yonkers today to cut the ribbon with Mary J. Blige on something called the Mary J. Blige Center for Women. [P6]
• Somebody should tell Mark Ronson that what he has designed for Gucci is not in fact a sneaker, but a boat shoe. The eyelets give it away. [Hypebeast]
• Karl Lagerfeld is heading to Argentina. Lest you think it's to enjoy some steak and a nice Malbec, know this: "I only go to places if I have a professional reason. I'm not a tourist." He'll be shooting Freja Beha Erichsen, Baptiste GIabiconi, and Claudia Schiffer in the next Chanel campaign — what, no Lara Stone? — and researching a book about Argentine architecture. [WWD]
• London Fog's holiday ad campaign features Tony Parker and Eva Longoria. There's got to be a Mad Men joke here somewhere. [People]
• Meanwhile, John Galliano himself has revealed that the spring Dior campaign will star Karlie Kloss. [WWD]
• Grace Kelly and Cartier are each getting stars on the Walk of Style on Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles. [HoustonChronicle]
• Angelina Jolie is apparently in talks with Ridley Scott to star in a film about the 1995 murder of Maurizio Gucci. [Variety]
• Tom Ford, the man Maurizio had hired to revitalize the brand, says he will do women's wear again. Just as soon as he can get financing. [WWD]
• The Times' Critical Shopper, Cintra Wilson, went to Ann Taylor. She didn't expect to like it, but then: "Clothing companies, when they panic, tend to go rococo. They get flashier, busier and more disposable by slapping on bigger logos and more useless bows and frippery. Ann Taylor must be commended for choosing less clutter and better details that aren't always: the finished seams inside a little faille opera jacket; the velvet ribbon inside the waist of a peplum coat; the Italian three-season wool." [NYTimes]
• Iconix Brand Group, the company behind everything from Candie's to Badgley Mischka, has been fined $250,000 by the Federal Trade Commission for violating certain provisions of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act when it collected information during some of its promotions last year. [Crain's]
• Burberry is suing the U.K.-based pet supply store Pets At Home for using a checked fabric the company says is too similar to its own. Pets At Home, which has 250 stores, has pulled the offending products, but the dispute is ongoing. Burberry creative director Christopher Bailey told the New Yorker earlier this year about suing a pet store that advertised a dog cushion "in the famous Burberry check." [Guardian]
• Maybe the answer is that Burberry should make like Mulberry, and do its own line of pet clothes. [FWD]
• More details about the city's planned fashion incubator in the garment district have emerged: New York will subsidize 12 slots in a 10,000 sq. ft. space, reducing the rent from $2,900 to $1,500 a month. The designers, who are being selected right now, will also have access to mentoring and support from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. It's not for students fresh out of school: every designer must have already been in business for at least a year, and employ a staff (even if that staff is volunteer). What a wonderful use for a vacant showroom floor. [NYTimes]
  
• Australian denim brand Ksubi is going to do a lower-priced line with the department store David Jones. And possibly another one with Topshop. [Sassybella]
• Anhropologie is extending its reach across the Atlantic. Its first European store opens on Friday in London. [WWD]

• "It's not up to him to give her lessons; Michelle Obama is of her time; Oscar de la Renta is no longer," scoffed designer Azzedine Alaïa. Ooh, breaking: Oscar is on the View now. [WWD]

• Chloe Sevigny might not do her Opening Ceremony line every season, because she's busy being on the TV. Still with the I-actually-design-this-crap pretense! [The Cut]
• As promised, The Daily Beast now features advertising! Read all about HOW BOTTEGA VENETA IS KEEPING LUXURY RELEVANT. (Presented by Bottega Veneta.) [Daily Beast]
• Isaac Mizrahi just made an announcement on The Today Show: Women, we need to be spending all our money on our hair! It's what's important in life. [Anna's Twitter]
• Ads for Matthew Williamson's collection for H&M, which goes on sale May 14, have leaked. Daria Werbowy prances, mantis-like, on a beautiful beach wearing acid bright paisleys. And a bikini I really want. They gave Werbowy the same rope of loosely braided fake hair that the current H&M collection models sport in their campaign, and which I assume is not even supposed to look real. [Nitro:Licious]
• Depending on the outcome of a lawsuit, Forever 21 may find itself no longer able to copy designers' offerings willy-nilly. Trovata, whose shirts the fast fashion chain shamelessly ripped off several seasons ago, has been suing the company since, and the case is finally set to go to trial. Which means a jury would decide if the "inspiration" (which extended to the placement and choice of buttons and other unique design features) was illegal. [WWD]
• The chief executives of faltering fashion companies continue to get raises! After Kay Krill at Ann Taylor and Glenn Murphy at the Gap each got hefty pay hikes, Jones Apparel Group has raised the compensation of its CEO, Wesley Card, by 38%, to $5.5 million, for 2008. That was the same year Jones Apparel Group lost $765 million. The company owns brands like Jones New York, Anne Klein, and Nine West, and its sales fell 6% last year. Its share price has dropped by over 60%. [Crain's]
• Experts estimate global sales of luxury goods will shrink by 10% in the coming year. [WSJ]
• Marc Jacobs opened a store for his slightly lower-priced Marc by Marc Jacobs line in London. [Independent]
• While women's apparel sales have been falling sharply, menswear is up 1%. Tom Ford says his stonkingly expensive eponymous men's line is doing just fine (although we can't imagine he's sold many $30,000 cufflinks lately). Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard — where Alexander McQueen once trained — say they've had 20 new clients in the past month, which is a significant increase for a small business. [FT]
• Splitting the difference this spring: pant suits, especially when the jackets are in that slouchy 80s boyfriend style. The Times does an apt enough job tracing the trend to its point of origin. [NY Times]
• Frida Giannini, the woman who's transformed Gucci's look (and who did groundwork for that blazer trend), says she's keen to start a Gucci cosmetics line. [Times of London]
• Oh, my. This latest ad for edgy lingerie company Agent Provocateur sure is very racy. I hope all the attention they get for it won't hurt their brand. [Independent]

• Oh sweet Jesus: There are reports that Victoria Beckham will serve as the stylist on Tom Cruise's new movie, The Hardy Boys. [Fashionista]
  
• It's confirmed: The all-black Italian Vogue cover shot by Steven Meisel is a go and Jordan Dunn is set to star. [Vogue UK]
  
• Claire Danes: The new face of Gucci jewelry. Says Gucci creative director Frida Giannini: "Claire Danes is a modern icon...[Her] sensual, confident beauty and her passionate, independent and strong character embodies today's Gucci woman." Also, Claire Danes always looks totally bored by everything. Just saying. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Lindsay Lohan is the face of Visa's new glorified Salvation Army stores where old clothing can be swapped for other people's old clothing. How far she has fallen. [WWD, 5th item]

• Yay for the Humane Society for demanding for revised (meaning, honest) labeling practices for fur garments. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Barneys New York creative director/ my imaginary best friend Simon Doonan on the infamously red-soled Chrisitan Louboutin shoes: "Christian's shoes are like the circus coming into town. Louboutins are a total drug and there is no methadone." [WWD, 2nd item]
• Start counting down now: The McGraw by Tim McGraw fragrance enters drugstores in August. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Model Maggie Rizer wants to open up a doggy day care center and spa in New York's West Village. Of course she does. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Salma Hayek has been named the godmother of Puma's ocean-racing team. [Fashion Week Daily]

• Skincare guru Dr. Murad says that "being isolated isn't good for you." Is he saying that it's unhealthy that I work by myself from my couch watching Bravo reality shows all day? [BellaSugar]
• Maria Sharapova: Scared of Anna Wintour, and with good reason. [Page Six]
• Looks like Richie Rich and Trevor Rains' Heatherlette label has finally gone belly up. [NY Daily News]
• The new John Varvatos store in the old CBGB's space still smells like piss, beer and cigarettes. [NY Daily News]
• Africa: It's like totally inspiring. And fashionable. [Houston Chronicle]
• No shit! Celebs are good for selling products. [Forbes]
• Why hold out for the new iPhone when you can hold out for the new Prada phone? [Guardian]
• Why must Agyness Deyn continue to insist on her own importance? [NY Mag]

• Continuing his (Mc)dreamy stint as a model, Patrick Dempsey is adding to his fashion portfolio: The face of Versace menswear is now also the face of Avon's new men's fragrance. If it's got our favorite ER doc's face on it, then we know it'll be a little peppery, a little sweet, and really good at tending to your needs. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• As the weather warms, the hottest item to have now is a jacket! Whether bell-sleeved, belted or both, a jacket completes a look and protects you from weather patterns as unpredictable as the economy. Stability, style, and warmth? Yes, please. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Says Nicole Richie of her upcoming maternity line, "My line will be about making women look and feel good at a really emotional time. It's about showing your best self, not your tired, worn-down self." Oh, Nicole...but you always look so dazzlingly fresh! [WWD, 4th item]

• Fabulous news! (For those on a budget). Kimora Lee Simmons is launching a new junior's clothing line for J.C. Penney's called Fabulosity, priced between $29 and $108. [WWD, sub req'd]
• H&M's summer collection as modeled by Daria Werbowy is hot and mod, stylish and sweet. [Vogue UK]
• Prada SpA's profits are up by 66%. It turns out Miuccia didn't need our splurge on art nouveau-inspired platforms to make the rent these days! Which is exactly why we keep snapping up her every collection. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Speaking of which, if dry shampoo is good enough for Miuccia Prada, than it's good enough for us. [Sassybella]
• Gucci will be showing its resort collection this July in Rome, designer Frida Giannini's hometown. We're sure it will be a homecoming of Augustan proportions. [WWD, 1st item]
• Ooooh! Both Nike and friend-of-Adidas Yohji Yamamoto will be showing in Beijing's Forbidden City in the lead-up to the Olympics, in what is sure to be the most controversial Beijing showdown since Tiananmen Square. [WWD, 2nd item]
• "African women are very coquettish, and we love to dress up and we like to transmit a message. We are sending messages to society and to our husbands, or to the other wives of our husbands," says journalist Franceline Qubida of Burkina Faso. Take a page from our African brethren and always remember: How you dress is how you express yourself to the world and prospective suitors! Do you really think the eligible bachelor at the deli (or you boss!) wants to know you liked the Ramones in college? (Please, can you even name all the Ramones?) Didn't think so. Leave band T-shirts at home. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Congrats to power publicist Lara Schriftman on the birth of her baby son Lucas! [Fashion Week Daily]
• Spring cleaning never felt so good! Luxury denim line Earnest Sewn is launching its Make An Earnest Difference initiative, where your old True Religions — come on, we know you still have a pair or two hanging around! — can be donated to be recycled into insulation for homes for the needy. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Versace for the home: we agree, it may be too statement-y for full-time. But picture this chaise in the summer home: sublime. [Chic Report]
• Oh yes, I can overcome my fear of clowns for the Miu Miu Harlequin blazer. Love it or hate it, they ask. Is Fabien Baron French? [FabSugar]
• When we were a child our parents would take us to the North Georgia mountains to go panning for gold. Fool's gold, that is. But you'll be nobody's fool in the Laura Mercier Summer 2008 Gold Digger collection that gives you the right kind of shine in just the right places. [BellaSugar]
• Lingerie designer Collette Dinnigan is readying herself to launch a collection of skivvies for Target Australia, all priced for under $20. Pieces like this at a price like that makes us want to head down under and get under the sheets with someone special ASAP! [News.com.au]
• The new high-end J.Crew Collection is a little prep, a little boho and just what we want right now. [FabSugar]

• Despite toiling for so many years educating Americans on the merits of croc-skin bags on a certain premium cable TV show, Kim Cattrall says she has seen the PETA light: she's donating all the furs she wore in making the SATC movie to the animal rights organization so they can be donated to homeless people who no one will ever mistake for trendsetting style icons. There's just one flaw in that plan, and we think you might know what it is. [Page Six]
  
• Spanx is getting into the business of making bras. Shudder. [FabSugar]
  
• Gisele is the latest model to think she's a fashion designer. Ms. Bundchen's collection will be in stores in March 2008, but she didn't do it alone (surprise, surprise) — she's partnered with an obscure little duo known as Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. [Vogue UK]
  
• Gucci will release a limited edition collection in honor of the Beijing Olympics. Wonder if anyone will follow up with a "Genocide Olympics" line? Yeah, probably not. [WWD, sub req'd]

• Why was Colin Farrell wearing Juicy Couture at the screening of his new film (directed by Woody Allen) the other night? "I got it for free. My personal style is quick." [Fashion Week Daily]
• French Vogue's Carine Roitfeld is being honored by amFAR this January for her philanthropic efforts to fight AIDS. We always knew she was a hooker with a heart of gold! [Fashion Week Daily]
• Pastel-colored condom compacts: Oy. [Sassybella]
• Leather jacket experts Belstaff: Costumed not only Steve McQueen way back when, but also Will Smith for I am Legend and Johnny Depp for Sweeney Todd. We will take an excuse to write about dreamy Johnny Depp. [Vogue UK]
• The latest pursuit by Donna Karan's holistic health care organization the Urban Zen Initiative: a celebrity DJ-created mix tape, natch. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Oh no! The writer's strike might mean celebs may not want to attend the big awards shows this winter like the Oscars and the Golden Globes? Which means that designers houses won't be able to tactfully loan out their garb to the pretty stars and get lots of free advertising? Well if that's not a reason to care now about the poor writers, we don't know what is. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Jade Jagger, Katharine Hamnett, the Scissor Sisters, Rihanna and Timbaland are amongst the celebs to join forces in creating yet another celeb-clothing-line-with-a-cause: Fashion Against AIDS. The line will be sold at H&M and 25% of the proceeds actually go to charity. [Vogue UK]
• Target: Sorta doesn't give a shit about Christmas this ear. No special decorations, no special merchandise. Bah Humbug. [WWD, sub req'd]

As Milan winds down, some of our favorite fashion critics [Ou est tu, Robin Givhan?] waxed not-so-poetic on what they've seen over the past few days. Gucci was universally slammed. Marni, Ferragamo, Dsquared, and Missoni got words good, bad, and ugly all thrown at them. The poison pens are out, there, and we're looking forward to the start of Paris Fashion Week on Monday - who shall be Cathy Horyn's next victim? In the meantime, we mourn those slain by Horyn this week.

"[A]nother Gucci glam slam for after dark" "energetic attempt to turn rock chick into rock chic just didn't happen" "pert party dresses and 1960s graphics...just seem so passé" "for people who party harder than they work" "many of her instincts are good" "parade of cute, commercial outfits" —Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"[A] difficult thing to categorize" "boyish checked shirts, and the odd little cropped biker jacket, including a noticeably good one in black snakeskin" "unrelenting combination of black, white, and a particularly harsh sunflower yellow" "the show was bumpy" "an off moment" —Sarah Mower, Style.com


Marni:
"A dungeon might be more fun than some of Consuelo Castiglioni's sad sacks" "cruelly linear shapes" "take some expensive cotton, print it with a streaky esoteric pattern and then make a shift that's gathered in random places" "If this weren't such a cool label, you'd wonder how much design or thought was involved." "just seemed boring" —Cathy Horyn, The New York Times

"[T]he story of the season" "the colors were a modern art riff" "intriguing example of the Marni duality" "plasticized finishes have lost their shock value" "powerful collection" "interpretation of the new fashion volumes" —Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"[A] staple formula" "one of the brands upon which Italy's pride as a style leader rests" "Castiglioni took the don't-mess-with-success approach" "easy-on-the-body loose-waisted shifts" "wonky-but-right abstract gathers and tucks" "seen before" "cute petaled cone hats" "didn't seem overly concerned with breaking too much new ground" —Sarah Mower, Style.com


Missoni:
"[F]resh" "sensuous lightness" "terrific tunics and smock dresses" "[o]ccasionally it worked" "hard to see what connected a baby-doll dress of beige silk knit and stone-embroidered chiffon with a mustard tunic of lace-cut cotton" —Cathy Horyn, The New York Times

"[A] friendly-scale line of highly identifiable knits and prints" "a bit of this and a bit of that" "has a place in a sunny holiday setting" "any piece would make a girl stand out at a relaxed party" "Missoni would do better to devise a more intimate way of showing them" —Sarah Mower, Style.com




D-Squared:
"[G]leaning the top notes of a supermarket tabloid and spitting them back to us" "a knucklehead version of Dolce & Gabbana" "popular fashion fantasy of an auto-repair garage" "you might wear at Cannes if your film career was tanking" "Rihanna looked fabulous and the gross guys in the front row grinned their heads off" —Cathy Horyn, The New York Times

"Rihanna...took to the runway for a very believable turn as a top model" "a lot of skin for a 9 a.m. show" "pretty standard stuff" "theme, loosely, was party girls and the grease monkeys who love them" "wasn't all trash and vaudeville" "cheap yet satisfying thrills" —Nicole Phelps, Style.com


Ferragamo:
"[O]n the wild side" "just a whiff of Africa" "sophisticated clothes" "accessories are king" —Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

"[S]eized on the seventies" "hopscotching back through the decades...probably wasn't the best tack" "not without its better moments" "[t]he clothes could stand to be more distinctive" —Nicole Phelps, Style.com

• Victoria Beckham's latest professional endeavor is a makeup line called "V-Sculpt," which is supposed to give its users finer features. It launches today in Tokyo. Because Asia is known for its coarse, exaggerated features? Also: what? [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Kate Moss had 18 advertising contracts last year; now she has 11. DO WE SMELL A DOWNFALL??? [The Sun]
  
• Andre 3000 is launching a clothing label! Dandy! (Heh.) Menswear comes first, to be followed by lady wear. [WWD, 2nd item]
  
• Italian cabdrivers share Anna and Moe's sentiments regarding the fashion industry. [GlamChic]
  
• Le SportSac's creative director on how she envisions her company's bags: "I want them to be like your friend who helps solve your problems!" Ha ha ha, like all that excess money in your pocket [Fashion Week Daily]

• Russell Simmons is clearly a more evolved person than us, and only has nice things to safe about his crazyass ex: On appointing her creative director for all the Phat Farm labels, Simmons says, "Kimora has watched me do it for 15 years and she has already come to me with some great ideas for the men's lines." Zen Master Jay! [WWD, sub req'd]
• Christina Aguilera goes nude in fragrance ad: Evaluate here. [Sassybella]
• Claudia Schiffer "not really into acting." [WWD, 3rd item]
• H&M profits are up 25% in the second quarter. Which gives us pause because we feel like we haven't seen anything good there in OMG forever. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Our girl-crush on Gucci creative director Frida Giannini deepens: she was behind the pairing of David Lynch and Blondie for first television commercial for Gucci. Seriously, we think we're in love. [Vogue UK]
• Fashion photographer Mario Testino is auctioning off a signed photo he took of Princess Diana, with proceeds, as Kathy Griffin would say, "for the children." [Vogue UK]
• Paint manufacturer-discount retailer collaborations are the new designer-discount retailer collaborations! Uniqlo and Pantone are collaborating on a series of cashmere sweaters together. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Oscar de la Renta: Now designing men's shirts! [Fashion Week Daily]

• A star is born? Halston has at last named its new creative director (and it's not Harvey Weinstein GF Georgina Chapman), Versace senior women's and men's designer Marco Zanini. Good luck, buddy. May the ghosts of Roy and Jackie O bless your journey. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Hermione Granger herself, actress Emma Watson, has been signed by really, really big-deal agency (they rep Kate Moss, yo) Storm — and now rumors are abuzz that she's about to become the next face of Chanel. [Vogue UK]
  
• Maybe we're just tired, but we literally cannot stop giggling aloud at the idea of the forthcoming Karl Lagerfeld: The Fragrance. Top notes of anorexia with an undertone of narcissim! [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Former Cover Girl Josie Maran is taking her name somewhere else — to her own eponymous line of organic cosmetics. She thinks the products are really good blah blah...but they're not going to do any national advertising on them. So, uh, they can't be that good right? [WWD, sub req'd]

• Today's winner for using our (uh, we just decided) word of the day, re-branding!, is Lorac cosmetics! They're "re-branding" themselves as Lorac: The Red Carpet Authority and debuting a color palette developed with indie It Girl fashion line Miss Davenporte. [WWD, sub req'd]
• For the pageant girl in all of us, Freeze 24-7's newest product is sprayed on over makeup to prevent fine lines and wrinkles... and freezing on your pageant-perfect smile? [WWD, sub req'd]
• It's just like freshman year of college all over again! Animal testing is once again a hot issue as the EU's and the US's regulatory agencies try to find alternatives to current testing methods involving animals. The EU has developed 4 alternative tests (out of the 8 tests currently done on animals_, but the US only approved 2 of them. In the meantime, we continue to use our favorite make-up and look the other way. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Gucci designer Frida Giannini is now moving her rebel ways into fragrance, with this fall's Gucci by Gucci being the first fragrance she herself has developed since starting her tenure with the label. Her goal? For it to be the next Chanel No. 5. Don't underestimate yourself, Frida! [WWD, sub req'd]
• Smug central at L'Oreal HQ, surely, today: Their second quarter earnings are up by 10.4% [WWD, sub req'd]
• The performance being held to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of Gianni Versace's death is this Sunday night: "I can already see Gianni shaking the crystal chandelier and directing the ballet," says Donatella Versace. Aw! And we can already see our favorite tanorexic cutting the coke! [WWD, 3rd item]
• Lauren Goldstein Crowe decides that it is her blog that has directed the state of modelling regulation in Britain. Humble! Hey, is the URL "Solopsista" still available? [Portfolio, Inc.]