• 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]

• Michael Jackson's entire family — including the kids — reportedly wore Versace to his memorial service yesterday. The singer was a longtime admirer of Gianni Versace's work, and LaToya Jackson contacted Donatella Versace to arrange for the custom outfits. [InStyle]

• The above would seem to fit with the findings of this trend story on celebrities increasingly bypassing stylists to contact designers directly. [NY Observer]
• An hour after the end of his own couture show — which may prove to be his last — designer Christian Lacroix paid a visit to Givenchy. Lacroix then went backstage to greet designer Riccardo Tisci and Delphine Arnault. Givenchy is owned by Bernard Arnault's luxury conglomerate LVMH; so was the house of Lacroix, until LVMH sold it to current owners the Falic group because it wasn't making any money. Despite the fact that Bernard Arnault is nothing if not a canny businessman unlikely to send good money after bad, Lacroix's visit in the midst of his company's bankruptcy has set tongues wagging that LVMH might re-invest. [FWD]
• Precisely because it is incredibly expensive and very limited in its customer base, couture is a sensible business for many kinds of fashion house to be in — the revenues from selling couture may be small, but the brand awareness having a couture collection builds moves a lot of perfume, scarves, sunglasses, shoes, handbags, and ready-to-wear. Companies that tend to do well with couture are either mega-sized Dior logo-behemoths that work the market from all those angles, or really tiny, esteemed couture houses that don't try and wager couture's tiny revenue stream on retail stores or other big costs. According to this story, Christian Lacroix's problem was that his company was in the middle — it expanded in recent years, got the new stores, got the perfume deal, but the core of his business, and its most reliable profits came from couture alone. [WSJ]
• But this season, neither Anna Wintour nor André Leon Talley has been spotted at the couture shows. [FWD]
• Karl Lagerfeld says there's nothing whatsoever to those rumors that he is planning retirement, and will be replaced by Lanvin's Alber Elbaz. He told Cathy Horyn of the Times that he expects to die at the house of Chanel. [OnTheRunway]
• But Lagerfeld, a legendary haver of minor spats, has already found a reason to dislike Audrey Tautou. He wasn't involved in her casting, as Coco Chanel, in the movie Coco Avant Chanel, and says he didn't have anything to do with her selection in the recent Oriental Express-themed No. 5 ad, either. The point of origin of their tiff is purportedly a statement Tautou made about Chanel in the French press. When asked if she often wore Chanel, the actress replied, "Sometimes. This morning I wore the rain boots." This remark Lagerfeld found dismissive. [WWD]
• Armani might be outfitting the Italian swimming team at the World Championships this summer in Rome, but that hasn't stopped Dolce & Gabbana underwear launching an ad campaign starring the men's team's biggest stars. You're welcome. [FWD]
• Are you pale and thoughtful? Do you like boys who sparkle in the sunshine, and hanging out in the woods? Then this $64 "Twilight" hoodie — featured in the movie, fangirls! — is just the thing for you. [FF]
• Alternatively, here are instructions and patterns to make your very own Matthew Williamson caftan out of 2.5 meters of chiffon or georgette. And a sewing machine. [LondonObs]
• Because Jil Sander cannot use her own name —Raf Simons designs Jil Sander, thankyouverymuch — the capsule collection she will produce with Uniqlo will be called +J. As a creative director for the whole brand, other garments that Sander designs for Uniqlo will be simply branded Uniqlo. [WWD]
• The line-up for September's New York Fashion Week is looking strong — organizers say although there are a greater number of presentations (which are cheaper to stage) than runway shows, the total number of presentations and shows matches the total number of presentations and shows from last September. [WWD]
• Seventeen employees of the New York-based retailer Scoop are suing the company, claiming that it gave them bogus promotions to salaried positions to avoid paying them for their overtime hours. Stock handlers and security guards allege that after being hired to work for hourly wages, they received promotions to salaried assistant managerial positions, but didn't actually have any change in their duties whatsoever. Nonetheless, as "managers", they were expected to work 50-60 hour weeks for their salaries. [Crain's]
• Fashion journalist Sarah Mower hates miniskirts ("the aim is a brash, sexy glamour of the most repulsive brassiness") and wearing tights in the summertime. She also hates sales, because "They drag on for months and the shops are a mess. Plus, I do not like the experience of looking at things I've bought at full price hanging there at 70 per cent off." [Telegraph]
• Somebody named Tahnee Atkinson has won a season of Australia's Next Top Model. She's no Alice. [SMH]

• Fresh off his CFDA award women's wear nomination, Marc Jacobs is reportedly engaged to his Brazilian boyfriend of one year, Lorenzo Martone. Mazel tov to the happy couple! [WWD]

• Anna Sui, who is being given the Geoffrey Beene lifetime achievement award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, talked to Style.com for the occasion about New York's garment district, which has been threatened by rent rises and zoning changes, not to mention the increasing number of designers who outsource their fabric and notions sourcing, and their sample construction. "So much of my work is based on the resources in that neighborhood — the lacemakers and the pleaters and so on," said Sui. "I have my design studio here; I drape on a mannequin; we sew our own samples. That's how I know how to make clothes. I can't make sense of a dress without seeing how a fabric drapes, for example...I would just really hate to see the fashion industry go the way of all industry in America, and give up and go totally outsourced. We used to have the most beautiful woolen mills here, and the best denim. There was a sense of craft." [Style.com]
• Louis Vuitton, a company whose zealotry in protecting its intellectual property is well-known, is taking on Google in the European Court of Justice. At issue: the fact that the search giant sells ads to companies that make counterfeit Louis Vuitton products, and that those ads appear above the legitimate search results. Louis Vuitton says it's tantamount to copyright infringement, Google says it's up to users whether they click on any ads or not. [The Cut]
• Spring at H&M involves a wide-legged drop-crotch zebra-print jumpsuit. Don't say nobody warned you. [Fabsugar]
• This otherwise fine profile of Lauren Hutton begins by calling her "fashion's most wondrous wrinkly." Which certainly made me wrinkle my nose. [Telegraph]
• Even though he, like Hutton, is increasingly an actor these days, Tyson Beckford wishes magazines would use more models on their covers. [AP]
• And as if to taunt him, here's Penelope Cruz, looking sort of like she needs to pee, on the April cover of Spanish Vogue. [Popsugar]
• There are all kinds of fashion-y things going on with your television this week. Today is the premiere of CNN International's Carine Roitfeld documentary, which you can watch online, Friday is Valentino Day on Martha Stewart, and Saturday is the debut episode of the newly revived House of Style with Bar Refaeli and Chanel Iman. In case that's not enough, Valentino: The Last Emperor is opening in select theaters today, and soon enough we'll be treated to whatever Morley Safer cooks up on Anna Wintour, too. Phew. [Fashionista]
• Speaking of Valentino: his half-dozen pugs might guest-blog on Martha Stewart's dogs' blog, the Daily Wag. I thought the whole point was that on the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog? [The Cut]
• Meanwhile, Gwyneth Paltrow (who says those pugs are "not good kids dogs") said at the New York premiere of the film that it had failed to reveal Vava's "naughty" side. "He's the naughtiest [man]-slash-gentlemen in the entire world," said the actress. [WWD]
• Catherine Zeta-Jones can be seen moonlighting in a seven-minute advertisement for Unilever's Lux hair product brand, developed for the Asian market. [AdAge]
• Nike's sales for the third quarter declined slightly, but there may be worse times ahead: the company largely sells according to futures orders, orders for clothing and shoes scheduled one season ahead of time. And those have contracted by 10% this quarter, to $6.5 billion. [WSJ]
• The company that makes Crocs is likely to go under. At least, that's the opinion of its auditor, as disclosed in the business's annual report. Falling revenue makes it all but impossible that the company will be able to secure a new revolving credit line after its current one matures on April 2. [The Street]
• Eddie Bauer also says it's at significant risk of violating its debt obligations. After two attempted debt restructuring deals were rejected by creditors, a third amended debt deal was made, under which the company will pay higher interest rates and issue warrants for its stock. Fourth-quarter revenue fell 5.7%, and the company has seen a wave of recent layoffs and store closures nationwide. [Reuters]
• The auction of items from Gianni Versace's Lake Como villa netted some $10.3 million — far exceeding the original estimate of $3.3 million. And that was after the withdrawal from sale of the 18th century Johann Zoffany painting whose ownership is now in question. [Telegraph]
• Hermes beat its profit forecast for 2008, and says it is on track as of right now to meet its expectation of stable sales in 2009. [FT]
• Proctor and Gamble-owned Rochas, which in the years since firing Olivier Theyskens has existed only as a perfume brand, is a fashion house once more thanks to Marco Zanini. Zanini was most recently heard from as the guy hired to relaunch Halston. (It didn't go so well.) The new collection looks a little bland, and it's interesting that only now, in the post-shows news gulch, is this a story. [WSJ]
• And in news to make you barf, Goyard has a "limited-edition" pink trunk for sale at Colette in Paris. It's large enough to fit a Barbie doll and her accoutrements, and it costs $3650. [Forbes]

• 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]

• Detroit milliner Luke Song has received more than 5,000 orders for the spring (pink! cream!) versions of the Aretha Franklin Presidential Inauguration Hat. The original's going to the Smithsonian. [IHT]

• "Which aging supermodel is planning a fake lesbian romance to get the tabloids interested again in her flagging career?" If it's not Janice Dickinson, we don't care. [BlindGossip]
• Shepherd Fairey, designer of the iconic Obama "hope" poster, is making a limited edition tote for Saks Fifth Avenue. The best part? It's only $20. [LA Times]
• American Apparel has signed a financing agreement with London-based private equity firm Lion Capital. [WWD]
• The jersey-mongers were in danger of defaulting on $16 million of debt. [NY Times]
• Perhaps in response, the company's latest ad bears the weirdly earnest, "American Apparel is ... Jobs." As AdRants describes it, "this crucial message is illustrated by a muscly bald dude who appears to be in the stock room" rather than some barely-legal porn spread. [AdRants]
• Spotted: Katie Holmes in stirrup leggings on the red carpet. Let us speak no more of this. [E]
• Sotheby's London has recreated Versace's incredibly garish Lake Como house for a sale of his equally garish furnishings. [WWD]
• "Versace's sister Donatella writes in Sotheby's publications describing the sale that her brother meticulously picked each item to create a sensual and glamorous environment: a fantasy 19th-century villa built on the water's edge by the eccentric English lover of all things Italian, Lord Charles Currie." [WSJ]
• Said the late designer himself, "The house in Moltrasio is a Proust house, whereas the ones in Milano and Miami are more Batman...It is the house that really belongs to me, reflecting a mirror image of all that I am, for better or worse." [Telegraph]
• Phoebe Philo is rolling out her Celine collection earlier than expected, to the undoubted delight of fashionistas everywhere. [VogueUK]
• The biggest challenges of being a designer, according to Andre Benjamin? "First, he said, being an African-American was a challenge, as there's a perception out there that "hip-hop stars will just throw their names on anything." Then he added, "I'm not a gay man." Says Canadian columnist Shinan Govani: "Basically the OutKast star says his challenges included a) being black, and b) not being gay." [New York Post]
• Andre will either be gratified or pleased, then, that Pharrell Williams is collaborating with Bionic Yarn to produce fabrics made from recycled plastic bottles. [IHT]
• And that the also-vehemently-not-gay Kanye West's Louis Vuitton sneakers are going to sell for like a grand a pop. [Nicekicks.com]
• This European couple is heading the creative aspect of J.Tim's William Rast. "He's sporting the sort of vintage motorcycle jacket that would be a once-in-a-decade find at the Rose Bowl Flea Market, styled with paint-splattered jeans, an Ann Demeulemeester necklace and a bushy beard easily mistaken for the latest in hipster affect, except that he's worn his for two years. She has the look that starlets often attempt, with varying degrees of success: a black peak-lapel blazer, loose T-shirt, leggings and leather ankle boots covered with black fringe. The kicks are from William Rast, though the brand has yet to release its footwear collection." [LA Times]
• "Which model made Karl Lagerfeld so angry at the end of last season that he told her she couldn't walk Chanel ever again, even though she used to walk all of his shows?" [Fashionista]
• We're guessing not Kate Moss, to whom he's apparently joined at the hip. [Fashionologie]
• Eva Longoria's in a Nike ad, for some reason. "It features Eva Longoria, in best Desperate Housewives mode, throwing real life husband Tony Parker's trainers off the balcony of their high rise flat and then his triumph in revenge." Great. [Mirror]

• Bijou Phillips on Michelle's Narciso "hell dress": "It made her look fat...It didn’t fit her properly... If you print that you need to print that I would have voted for her." [BlackBook]

• Get out your fantasy checkbooks: Carla Bruni has donated a Dior to an AIDS auction. [WWD]
• Anna Wintour's infamous ram's horn Chanel gown has made Time's worst-dressed list. [Time]
• OMG. Louboutin is designing a Barbie pump in "Barbie Pantone 219 Pink," for the doll's 50th anniversary. Chewability yet to be assessed. [WWD]
• Breaking! Marc Jacobs goes to party, canoodles with boyfriend. [NY Post]
• According to Lagerfeld, excess is demode: "I have moved to a smaller house in Paris, and I don't fancy having so much staff now...The chambermaid, chauffeur and chef are still musts, around the clock." [New York via WSJ]
• Not Christian Siriano! "It's a bit inspired by Egypt, but more like the colors of the desert. It's really warm, it's really badass. Strong, like rock. It's hot. It's beautiful," quoth the wunderkind. [New York Magazine]
• Belgian ad shows men a use for socks. [AdRants]
• The cultural institution that is Gianni Versace's Miami mansion is now open to the public, by popular (?) demand. "Tourists get a look at the house's exquisite central courtyard, dining room, lounges, pool and a marble toilet with a golden seat, billed as one of only three in the world." [CBSNews]
• Awesome. The estrogen in many moisturizers may worsen breast cancer. [Reuters]
• Talk about multiculturalism in action! "I'm a Canadian living in East Africa and we make cowboy shirts in Kenya from secondhand clothes that end up in the marketplaces." [BoingBoing]
• Target ups the ante with artist-designed towels for summer. [WWD]
• Louis Vuitton abandons plans for a Tokyo flagship. [Reuters]
• Not Frederick's of Hollywood! The campy fixture posts major losses. [WWD]
• Wait, what? Zac Posen's not launching a cheap line?! “In light of the current economic conditions, any plans for a secondary line are on hold,” said a rep, nonsensically. [WWD]
• The Brooklyn Museum is selling its (apparently incredible) costume archive to the wealthier Met. [NY Times]
• Ann Demeulemeester: open-minded or patronizing? "I saw pictures of Herman Hesse and I really liked the man. He was so beautiful in his fragility, so old and so fragile and so rich in spirit that I had to do something with it! I thought it would be beautiful to do a show where you have the fragility of the very young and the fragility of the very old and put them together. The older you get, the wiser the clothes would be. The young would be black and the older would be beautiful, shining and white, like an angel. It was an experiment, I wanted to break the rule of the young and the beautiful. I wanted to show the old and the beautiful. The oldest model was 87! I thought he was the most beautiful. It was amazing to me how proud they were, they had so much dignity." [DazedDigital]

• You, too, can look just like Kim Kardashian! The professional rich person, TV personality and cattle-driver is auctioning off a personal styling session to benefit Russell Simmons' Art for Life philanthropic event. Which is very laudable and all — but does nothing to explain why Kim's fashion savvy has already fetched a bid of $1,000! [LA Times]
• Justin Timberlake, reluctant muse, didn't want to be the face of William Rast. Unless, you know, he was in character. Says a Rast creative director: "We came up with this idea for him to play a role as this guy named William Rast. So it isn't meant to be Justin, it's Justin playing a role, as an actor. When we explained the idea, he instantly loved it and got really into building the profile of this character." [WWD]
• Correction! Kitson says that rumors that Victoria Beckham's men's denim line has been pushed back are 100% false and that the collection will appear at holiday time as originally scheduled. [New York Magazine]

• Naomi Campbell: "I'm not a bad person...I'm blessed to be able to do charitable work and good things but no one focuses on that because I don't throw it in people's faces." [E!]
• Naomi's also doing another bizarre SoBe Life Water ad. This time dancing to "Black Magic Woman." [Fashion Week Daily]
• Is Bravo deliberately sabotaging Project Runway? Folks have been noting that the normally ubiquitous posters have been MIA in the run-up to the show's final season before departing for the dowdier waters of Lifetime. Bravo execs say it's to preserve contestants' "anonymity" but such scruples have certainly never troubled them before...[Fabsugar]
• We have to wait a endless day for Project Runway to start. But the Australian version has already begun! As one of the commenters puts it, "the one guy with the hair reminded me of a smaller, nicer, less irritating Bobby Trendy." True, true. [Oh No They Didn't]
• eBay bests Tiffany in landmark ruling over counterfeit-policing responsibilities. [WWD]
• As Scott said, the rich are different from you and me. "Like the husbands who pay the bills — anything from £50,000 to £150,000 for an elaborately jewelled creation — these women don’t give tuppence for the avant-garde. They want a waist where God intended; they don’t want flashes in embarrassing places and are bemused by garments with three sleeves. They want everything just as it always has been — at least, since the 1950s. And Paris couture survives by meeting their needs." [The Times]
• More about Dubai's new "Fashion Island", aka "Hell." [MyrtusWe recessionistas like consignment shopping! Despite its "stigma." [Star Tribune]
• In case you were wondering: Jessica Stam, the 22-year-old model known for dating both Flea and DJ AM, has now hooked up with Huey Lewis' son, Austin Cregg. [Oh No They Didn't]
• Stock upgrade dramatically boosts Macy's shares. [WWD]
• Converse debuts the video for its much-hyped Julian Casablancas-Pharrell Williams-Santogold single, "My Drive Thru." The Times of London calls the song "a three-headed Frankenstein's monster of coolness." I'm keeping mum. [Brand Week]
• Wanna predict the market? Watch the runway shows. "Although designers always dismiss the correlation between skirt lengths and financial markets as a fashion historian's fantasy, the parallels are striking. Up went hemlines to dizzying heights in the financial and social whirl of the roaring 1920s - revealing women's legs for the first time in recorded history. Then came the bear market and bare was out - except for low backs on the floor-length gowns that dropped hemlines just before the 1929 Wall Street crash." Is it a coincidence that designers are quite literally tightening belts for fall? [IHT]
• Liberty prints take the high street. [ElleUK]
• It happened on this date: 1997, Gianni Versace murdered. [US News]
• Claudia Schiffer for Ferragamo. [Models.com]
• And for Dolce and Gabbana! [fashionista]
• Lauren Conrad on snubbing Marc Jacobs: "I met Marc Jacobs when we were filming and I got so nervous when I saw him that I didn’t really know what to do. I was trying to act cool, but I didn’t even stand up to shake his hand. I actually came off a little bit too cold, like I didn’t really care and I felt kind of bad. I get really starstruck over really random people and designers." [New York Magazine]
• British biker label Belstaff to outfit Batman. [ElleUK]

But it seems like they might be the very ones who just might get the last laugh. Santos Versace's daughter Francesca just graduated in 2006 from the renowned Central Saint Martins College design school in London and is already debuting her own fashion line — called Francesca V, which we think is both subtle and, uh, kinda porn star-sounding — during the Paris ready-to-wear shows next week. Apparently the "critics" were all wowed by Francesca's senior collection when she finished school (it's like the anti-Versace, refined, minimalist, elegant). Fuck inheriting an art collection!

Fashion World Holds Its Breath For New Versace In The House That Gianni Built [Guardian]

At twelve, Donatella had her first highlights— "'Lighter and lighter and lighter,' I told them!" she recalled. At fourteen, she was suspended from school for wearing eyeliner to rival Cleopatra's; by sixteen, she was a platinum blonde.

It seems, however, that it is a lifetime of loss as much as a life lived among luxury that created the woman known as Donatella Versace. Collins tells us that Gianni wasn't the only Versace child to have died a premature death: The eldest child, Tina, died before Donatella was even born. (Knee-scrape. Tetanus. Almost-instant death.) Says Donatella on the 10th anniversary of her older, more-famous brother's death:

What happened to him, you know, this is a tragedy. He die, he's not alive anymore. This is really the worst thing that can happen to you, to lose your life. So I say to myself, 'You're going to make it. Grow up, you're a grownup here, you can do it.'

You know, you think you're in control, and you try to stop, but you're not. What happened was I was in a severe depression. I start to isolate myself from everybody, and I would see my children suffer seeing my life that, but I didn't have the strength to talk about it....Elton [John] said, 'Donatella, you know what, we're not forcing you, but you need to go to rehab. There is a plane waiting for you.' But I say yes. I was ready. I had no idea what rehab was, but I left that night.

Mondo Donatella [New Yorker]

But as it happened, I was in the throes of fixing my nerdiness on a wholly new obsession: fashion magazines. I was gangly, and introverted, but suddenly, surrounded by other gangly introverts that didn't seem so shameful. For the first time, in fact, I was able to see myself as something other than a mere nerd. I could be a vaguely stylish nerd. But more than that, I could start to see clothes as something other than a caste system, and Versace was a testament to that. It wasn't the sort of label a 13-year old nerd — or a 23-year-old nerd — wants to aquire for oneself. (I've never purchased anything Versace because, well, duh.) But it did represent something fun, and vibrant, and almost wholesome in its decadence. Versace seemed above the fashion editor fray — it had a whimsical irrelevant spirit, an unabashedly explosive color palette, a version of sexuality so amplified that it was almost camp. (Well, "almost" is debatable.) And it never seemed afraid to laugh — at itself, at life. Versace was so celebatory, so liberating — to me it represented what fashion was at its very best, even if its aesthetic was worlds away from the black-on-black-on black uniform I started sporting around then and still live in. Versace made fashion look like nothing but carefree fun — it was like the very best game of dress-up. If you live in suburban Atlanta, can anything seem more fabulous than a life where one might be able to where a giant safety pin dress (a la Liz Hurley) to the grocery store? Or the dry cleaners, perhaps? Because that was what I loved about Versace: Its humor was so obvious my fantasies or running mundane errands while clothed and accompanied by Gianni himself seemed so...possible.

Which is why it was so hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that someone would want to kill this man. Not only had he not done anything wrong, but he had done something right! He made people smile! How could you not feel better just looking at Gianni Versace-designed garments? I sat in a stupor on the stoop outside my dormroom. I hurt because this kind of death seemed as innocent as my ideas of fashion itself: There were no motives other than insanity.

Cathy Horyn clearly felt differently. For her, the Versace death revealed to her how financially fragile the whole family was, how fragile the people behind the impossibly confident name. His death, for her, was an event to which she was jaded before it even occured. After all, Graydon was calling and hounding her with questions (what a bother!) and someone else had landed the story at Vanity Fair (how unfair!) and those Versaces were at last exposed that they weren't as glamorous or carefree or optimistic as they made out to be.

Well, of course they weren't. But for me, the murder of Gianni Versace somehow solidified my naivite, or, perhaps, my desire to find fashion perfectly beautiful. I didn't know about Donatella and her tanorexia or Allegra and her anorexia or the silly excessive Miami lifestyle or the silly excessive lifestyle anywhere. I didn't even get that the Medusa logo was hideously absurd. Versace's death managed to permanently preserve for me what I believed to be the Versace spirit: the impossibility and lack of reason behind his muder seemed, in my adolescent mind, to somehow go hand-in-hand with the impossibily and lack of reason behind the palpable Versace zest for life and beauty. Versace to me will always be Versace then: Gianni Versace and his death will always be simultaneously just-happening in my mind, one just developing its own opinions and style and which will always hold Versace out to be that as it should have been.

The Murder On Ocean Drive [NYT]

• Actor Djimon Hounsou is the new face of Calvin Klein underwear for men and took "months" at the gym to prepare for his photo shoot. One of the flagship billboards is being erected around the corner from our apartment. [Fans self]. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Gisele Bundchen is in talks with Bono to star in U2's next music video, which is almost as admirable as being in talks with Bono to personally eradicate poverty. [Vogue UK]
  
• Yves Saint Laurent was released from the hospital with a mild case of hypochondria. [Vogue UK]
  
• Abercrombie & Fitch is expanding its European presence with the opening of stores in Denmark and Sweden. We assume they'll have better luck with the class-action, race-discrimination suits in Scandinavia. [WSJ, sub req'd]

• Fucking tsunamis! If it weren't for them and, uh, terrorism, people would actually want to buy new clothes for Christmas. Or something. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Quote of the day: "The problem is that today, everyone wants to be a handbag designer and wants to touch some kind of reptile." Spoken by one bitter Carlos Falchi, accessories designer we've never heard of, on being cornered out of his market by snake-loving girls with whom we are not friends. [WWD, sub req'd]
• The family Beckham isn't the only thing coming to America from across the Atlantic. Today we learn we are getting a visit from D&G jewels. Which may be only nominally classier. [WWD, sub req'd]
• More news from abroad: France's First Lady Cecilia Sarkozy is apparently a quick study. After causing a national outrage for wearing Prada to her husband's inauguration (An Italian designer! On a French woman! Mon dieu!!) Mercifully, she stuck with Dior for official Bastille Day festivities. [WWD, 3rd item]
• Louis Vuitton is commissioning an art exhibit for its Champs-Elysees flagship store titled "Moscopolis," featuring 11 Russian artists who are creating pieces to invoke Moscow. Memo to Japanese tourists: Book your flight today! [WWD, final item]
• No more fur for Guess! We care because we totally shop there. [WWD, sub req'd]
• The ballet-memorial for Gianni Versace commenced last night with Donatella Versace saying that she coud not "think of a better way to mark this anniversary." Except for maybe sixty lines of coke and six hours at the tanning booth. That would probably be better. [Vogue UK]
• In designing jewelry for the royals, one day you may be in, and the next day you may be out. Auf weidersehen, Garrard. Queen Elizabeth will no longer be needing your services. [Portfolio]

• 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.]

• Daisy Fuentes' clothing line for Kohl's has been earmarked by the National Labor Committee for using sweatshop labor. The weird thing is that this is the odd celebrity sweatshop scandal where we are more surprised by Kohl's (does Vera Wang know?) than Fuentes. After all, celebrities who stoop to doing infomercials are not, we bet, keeping close watch of their personal brands. [WWD]
  
• Mariah Carey's new fragrance, M by Mariah Carey, has top notes of marshmallow and sea breeze... like an awesome Cancun bonfire! [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Nicole Miller CEO Bud Konheim seems to be under the impression that if it weren't for the Civil Rights movement, we would have never seen the trend towards the casual in American apparel. Racism, formality of dress, racism, formality of dress: Hmm, tough choice! [WWD, 2nd item]
  
• In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of Gianni Versace's death, a street is to be named after him in Milan and an original dance performance created in his honor. [Vogue UK]
  
• Though Guess is currently experiencing moderate success Stateside, the Europeans are gobbling its shit up. [WSJ]

But luckily, disaster was averted when Gianni had the bright idea of sticking Penelope's dress in a washing machine with a shedload of bleach. Then a quick fiddle with the neckline, and hey presto! The WEDDING OF THE CENTURY is back on.