• Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal have broken up, for real this time.

It is, naturally, "amicable and mutual." [Extra via Gossip Cop]

• Robert Pattinson and his Remember Me costar Emilie de Ravin had a "secret" date! Except it's not a secret, because we know about it. And it wasn't so much a date but a photoshoot for Vogue. Apparently the "theme" of the photoshoot is a date at the museum (LACMA, Los Angeles County Museum Of Art) and the look is edgy, tattered high fashion. [E!]
• Jessica Simpson went to see sister Ashlee in Chicago on Broadway and asked for popcorn in the lobby. [Page Six]
• Roman Polanski will spend Christmas and New Year's Eve in his Alpine chalet: "Swiss authorities say they will decide early next year on whether to extradite director Roman Polanski to the United States." [AP]
• Apparently Elin Nordegren is "not going to be one of those 'stand by her man' women," according to a source: "Forgiveness isn't exactly around the corner." Next stop: Splitsville. [MSNBC Scoop]
• This report claims that Elin Nordegren wants half of Tiger Woods' $548 million. I can barely even wrap my mind around how much money that is. [Mirror]
• Um, Charles Barkley and Spike Lee are concerned about Tiger Woods. Apparently he's not speaking to Barkley or any of his famous friends. In a one hour special, to air Sunday on HLN, Barkley says: "I think when you have these fires in your life, as I call them, you need to talk to somebody else who is famous who [has] been through things in their life… I don't think you can talk about it to your family and friends, because your family and friends, they're not famous." Lee says: "He's insulated… If Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan can't get to him, and those are his boys, then other people are making bad moves." [CNN]
• Tiger Woods' high school girlfriend says Tiger was devastated by his father cheating. "He would just call crying and say, 'My dad is with another woman,' and that would be all he could say," she says. "He would be so upset, so I just tried to be there for him and listen to him." Hopefully he is talking about this in therapy. [E!]
• Tiger's ladyfriend Jamie Junger says she partied in Las Vegas with Tiger Woods and Charles Barkley, gambling for hours in a VIP area: "Tiger would occasionally put his hand on my leg but it was underneath the table… There was nobody around except the blackjack dealer, the roulette dealer and a cocktail waitress who would come in the room. There was nobody in that room except for myself, Tiger and Charles Barkley." [Radar Online]
• In an exclusive story, People is reporting that Elin Nordegren plans to divorce Tiger Woods. A source says: "She's made up her mind. There's nothing to think about: he's never going to change." [People]
• This report claims Elin is planning to take the kids to spend the holidays with her family in Sweden. [NY Daily News]
• Lady Gaga is the most-listened to artist of the year, according to Last.fm. [Mirror]
• Carrie Underwood is on the cover of Self, and inside, she says: "Before I die, I want to get rid of all my money… Recently, I started a foundation to benefit my hometown [the Checotah Animal, Town and School Foundation: C.A.T.S.]. I'm looking forward to doing a lot of good for a community that's a big part of why I am who I am." [People via Self]
• Young Victoria star Emily Blunt says she sees a correlation between being a celebrity today and Queen Victoria: "Queen Victoria was a celebrity of that time." She also says, of being famous: "I'm not hounded in any way, like so many people are. It's not that life changing or life inhibiting. I feel like you can make a choice. I really do. And you can have an aura about you that doesn't attract that kind of attention. You just find the dive bars. That's my advice. Go get a cheeseburger and find a dive-bar. But that's how I like to live my life. Some people don't like to live it that way. Some people want to go to those places, the chic, chic places and go to the scenes. That's their choice." [BlackBook]
• A "source" says A-Rod broke up with Kate Hudson a week ago, but wanted to break up with her over a week ago. [Us]
• Kate Hudson and her mom Goldie Hawn did some "boy-bashing" at a bar Monday night over drinks. [Gatecrasher]
• Kate Gosselin is lonely. [MSNBC Scoop]
• Newsflash: Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker actually like each other. [Daily Express]
• Sarah Jessica Parker calls motherhood "the most perfectly overwhelming experience." [People]
• The dude who tried to blackmail David Letterman tried to "mask" the transaction s a business deal, prosecutors said in court Tuesday. [USA Today]
• This column alleges that the guy was so paranoid that he thought David Letterman might kill him over the extortion plot. [Page Six]
• The man accused of secretly videotaping Erin Andrews naked pled guilty to one count of interstate stalking. [TMZ]
• Usher, Michelle Trachtenberg, John Legend, Leighton Meester and Beyoncé were spotted at Robin Thicke's album release party. [Page Six]
• Snoop Dogg smoking weed? You don't say. [Page Six]
• Gossip Girl pseudo-spoiler involving Chuck Bass at the link. [Gatecrasher]
• Before the Golden Globe nomination announcements, Quentin Tarantino said, "I'm not nervous… I'll either get something or I won't. We'll see." Inglourious Basterds got a best supporting actor nod for Christolph Waltz, as well as best motion picture, drama; director and screenplay. [LA Times]
• Rumor has it Tobey Maguire will play Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, but he says: "I have not met or spoken to Guillermo del Toro or Peter Jackson or anybody. Nobody has given me a script or approached me about it. Somebody actually sent me that link that said that I had a conversation with the director and it was just not true." [Access Hollywood]
• General Hospital and "Jessie's Girl" fans: Rick Springfield is working on a memoir, Late, Late At Night, which will detail his long battle with depression. [AP]
• Diddy is not, repeat, not getting married. Adjust accordingly. [Page Six]
• Motley Crue's Vince Neil allegedly owes $62,000 in unpaid legal fees. [Contact Music]
• Alec Baldwin has donated $1 million to Tisch School of the Arts at NYU for a scholarship fund. [Gatecrasher]
• Isabella Rossellini has been studying at NYU for her final exams in animal behavior and environmental science. [Gatecrasher]
• "The administrators of Michael Jackson's estate and a cadre of attorneys are seeking millions for managing the King of Pop's affairs after death, court documents filed Tuesday show." [USA Today, TMZ]
• Morgan Spurlock versus Harvey Weinstein? Details at the link. [Page Six]
• RIP Joseph Tierney, who served 16 years on the Boston City Council — and is Maura Tierney's dad. [Boston]
• Blind items! "Which television anchor is frantically denying he had an affair with his wife's sister?" And: "Which Hollywood hottie is less than impressed with her ex-boy friend's equipment? She's telling friends he's a flop in the sack." [Page Six]
• "If she's angry, I allow her to say, 'Damn! I'm so frustrated today!' We have our moments when we clash, but we have a good relationship. I want her to count on me to try to understand what she's going through. No damnation, no condemnation, nothing that's going to make her feel like she can't come to me." — Whitney Houston on daughter Bobbie Kristina, aka Krissy. Whitney's looking good on the cover of In Style, there's a pic at the link. [People via InStyle]
• "I have always performed. I have always brought music to people. I know that the sound at the O2 is phenomenal. I know that it holds about - be still, my heart - 15,000 people. And I hope that our lovely show will satisfy and fill that vast arena. I think it will, but I also know that it will be very daunting…I can sing-speak, I do have some bass notes that I discovered, and I do have just a couple of tricks up my sleeve that I think will surprise people. I'm a little nervous, more than a little nervous. I'm also excited and pleased to be bringing this concert to London. It's a gorgeous evening of music and I'm thrilled to be bringing it to London. As far as I'm concerned, they're not going to be hearing the Julie they used to hear. But I will be using my voice the best I know how these days. Some notes I can't try again. The truth is I don't have the soprano voice I used to have. But I do have a few solid bass notes that I will employ to the best of my ability." — Julie Andrews, on her concert, coming in May 2010 — her first since a throat operation threatened to silence her forever. [Daily Mail]
• "I made this terrible decision early on when I said I thought Watson should have a starched collar. Then, with it on, I could barely swallow my sandwiches at lunchtime." — Jude Law, on his Sherlock Holmes wardrobe. [Telegraph]
• "When Rob Marshall called me up and said, 'We are going to do this film about the story of Fellini and I would like you to be in it,' I was very proud of it because I was the only Italian in the film to be able to say Italian movies are still wonderful all over the world. So, I accepted in a very nice way and Rob told me — he was lying, of course — that he was not going to do the film if I wasn't in it. So, I said, 'For the sake of his career, it's OK, I'm going to be in it.' I did it and here I am to answer your questions… Italians will be the same always, all the time… Italians are a people that have a lot of heart, a lot to say in every field and we will always be very successful ... and proud of being Italian." — The legendary Sophia Loren, on Nine. She has probably not seen Jersey Shore. [UPI]
• "Animals aren't easy, but what's annoying about children is that everyone loves them and I resent that. I only work with ugly children." — Hugh Grant. [People]
• "I thought I was promiscuous, but it turns out I was just thorough, to get the right one." — Russell Brand. [Page Six]

The list of celebrities willing to publicly criticize Polanski is still pretty short, and so far, Team Child Rape Is Bad is not well-stocked with winners — when two of the biggest names are Kirstie "I wish I was black" Alley and Sherri "the earth is round?" Shepherd, we have a problem. Hell, the anti-Polanski side even lost the Little House War: Half Pint defended Polanski on The View, while we get Nellie Oleson. As it turns out, Alison Arngrim (Nellie) is one of the few actors publicly asking the obvious question about Hollywood's wagon-circling: "If Roman Polanski were a Catholic priest or a Republican senator, would these people feel the same way?"

The L.A. Times casts the tension between celebrity rape apologists and those who believe Polanski is not above the law as typical of the gulf between Hollywood liberals and "real" Americans, but Jill Filipovic at Feministe calls bullshit on that: "No, LA Times, it is not 'Hollywood vs. Middle America' in the Polanski case. It is a self-protective and sometimes tone-deaf industry against the entire rest of the country." Bingo. Can we please put a stop to this "Liberals don't care about child rape" meme? Yes, many conservatives are on the right side of this debate, but so are a whole lot of liberals who don't happen to work in the film industry. As Melissa Silverstein points out at Women & Hollywood, rape is a feminist issue. Most of us haven't forgotten that, even if Feminist Majority founder Peg Yorkin told the L.A. Times "It's crazy to arrest him now. Let it go." (The HELL, Peg Yorkin?) Eve Ensler and Katha Pollitt, off the top of my head, very much say otherwise. Not to mention pretty much every feminist blogger in existence. Hollywood doesn't speak for the left; Hollywood speaks for itself.

But what's going on with the apologism from so many, and the silence from so many more, if it's not liberalism gone mad? Well, The L.A. Times has a pretty good suggestion elsewhere in that piece. Referring back to Mel Gibson getting a pass on his anti-Semitic bullshit, John Horn and Tina Daunt write, "The criticism of Hollywood at the time was that in a business contingent on relationships and currying favor with the powerful, no one was willing to denounce such a prominent artist." Same deal here. As Silverstein told them, "I think people are afraid to talk in Hollywood. They are afraid about their next job." (Silverstein, an independent marketer of women's films, is very conscious that she's risking her own professional ass by speaking out, by the way.) When you've got people like Harvey Weinstein out there pushing the petition, bloviating about government irresponsibility and characterizing child rape as a "so-called crime," who's going to stand up to that?

People who don't work in film, people who are already well-known for their unpopular opinions, and people you've never heard of, for the most part. Otherwise, say Horn and Daunt, "It's almost impossible to find anyone [in Hollywood] publicly condemning Polanski." It's understandable, but no less disappointing for that. I like to imagine Kate Winslet and Rachel Weisz having screaming matches with their petition-signing partners at home, but I have no idea if their own failure to sign (so far) is in any way meaningful. Perhaps they're conflicted. Perhaps they're indifferent. Perhaps they just haven't gotten around to it yet. That's the benefit of silence: Nobody knows what you're thinking.

Unfortunately for rape survivors, liberals, feminists, parents, 13-year-old girls and other decent human beings dying to see some high-profile celebrities follow the French government's lead and say, "Hey, wait a minute, upon further reflection, dude committed serious crimes and is not actually above the law," that's also the enormous drawback of silence.

In Roman Polanski case, is it Hollywood vs. Middle America? [L.A. Times]
Backlash builds against support of Polanski [CNN]
For Studios, Polanski's Box Office Is the Key [NY Times]
Dissent of the Day [Daily Dish]
Does the Brotherhood of Fame Endow You With a Lifetime Exemption From Accountability? [Huffington Post]
Roman Polanski Has a Lot of Friends [The Nation]
Rape Is a Feminist Issue [Women & Hollywood]
Heartbreakers [Feministe]

• Supposedly, Johnny Depp doesn't want to make another Pirates of the Caribbean because he knows the last two "sucked." Disney will offer him a huge paycheck and if he refuses, he'll be replaced by a younger Zac Efron-type.

• The book On Stranger Tides, upon which the fourth Pirates film will be based, leaves room for a younger character to take the lead, but could someone like Shia LaBeouf or Robert Pattinson really fill the void left by Captain Jack? [MTV]
• Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy got married earlier this month in a small ceremony in France. [Life And Style]
• Jessica Simpson is doing some damage control after the negative reaction to her complaints about having to sleep under a mosquito net in Uganda on Friday. Her rep said, "The accommodations were certainly interesting, but Jessica enjoyed being a part of a totally different culture." And the next day Jess Tweeted on Sunday: "Uganda was truly a beautiful adventure... I will carry the spirit of all the people with me always. God Bless." [People]
• Roman Polanski's lawyer called into Good Morning America today to say that though his client was arrested in Switzerland on Saturday, he's in "very good shape" and he believes it will be possible for Polanski "to obtain his freedom." [TMZ]
• French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner called Roman Polanski's arrest a "bit sinister" and a petition protesting his detention is going around Hollywood. So far Monica Bellucci and Fanny Ardant have signed. Harvey Weinstein said, "We're calling on every film-maker we can to help fix this terrible situation." [BBC]
• Roman Polanski has refused to be extradited from Switzerland to the United States. [AFP]
• Two previous attempts to arrest Roman Polanski when he travelled to countries that have extradition treaties to the U.S. failed because he learned of the plans and cancelled his trips. But he travels to Switzerland frequently and "had no suspicion he'd be entrapped" according to a source. [People]
• TMZ has obtained the 911 call that lead to David Hasselhoff being taken to the hospital last week. In the first, one of his ex-wife Pamela Bach's friends calls 911 to report an incident at Hasselhoff's home, but when the dispatcher calls the house and get his daughter Hayley, she says, "Turn around ... we're completely fine... My mom is trying to cause something ... nothing happened here at all." [TMZ]
• Burglars broke into Gwen Stefani's London mansion to steal her jewelry on Saturday night while she was at a concert in Singapore. They got into a flat Stefani rents to Dame Elizabeth Forgan, head of the Arts Council, but were unable to get into Stefani's flat. [Daily Mail]
• Britney Spears went to the Sugar Factory candy store in Las Vegas this weekend and spent $3,000. She bought three Halloween baskets, two buckets of Swedish Fish, a box of milk chocolate, and 25 of her own Circus Tour lollipops for $25 a piece. [TMZ]
• Pleasant Bridgewater, the Bahamian senator who was charged with extortion over a document regarding medical treatment for Jett Travolta, may have destroyed the document in question, a Refusal of Treatment/Transportation order signed by John Travolta. [People]
• Pamela Anderson is denying that she didn't pay contractors who worked on her home because she's broke, explaining, "I'm financially secure... It is true that I am in a dispute with some of the contractors working on my home. This is because after paying millions of dollars to build the house I continue to get bills from the contractors." [People]
• She adds, "Mistakes may have been made in calculating taxes owed and we are now in the process of ensuring that any taxes owed are paid." [TMZ]
• Kim Kardashian Tweeted after her sister Khloe's wedding: "Tonight was one of the best nights of my life!" [People]
• The day after Khloe's wedding Kim Kardashian supposedly took a flight to New Orleans to see Reggie Bush. "The wedding made her miss him, so she flew to see him," says a source. [E!]
• This week, Lady Gaga will be honored as Billboard's "Rising Star" as the publication's annual Women in Music event. [AP]
• Evi and Randy Quaid's former private investigator Becky Altringer says that Evi frequently used a bad credit card under the name Janet Cross. [Radar Online]
• Altringer adds, "Randy told me that none of his family will see or talk to him because of Evi... He told me that he really misses his mother and his brother Dennis, but that they are all afraid of Evi. I used to see him tear up when he'd talk about them." [Radar Online]
• Mackenzie Phillips says of her family's reaction to her incest allegations, "Don't get me wrong, I understand that my family doesn't want this played out nationally, but the people who are saying that I'm lying have known about it for such a long time. [They're] trying to discredit me in a public way to either protect the brand of The Mamas and the Papas or to protect the memory of [my father.] ... I absolutely loved my father, but he wasn't a good man. He was deeply flawed." [CBS News]
• Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt adopted a second puppy. Nine weeks ago they got a maltipoo puppy named Dolly and they says, "We're getting Dolly's brother and naming him Inky the Ninja!" [People]
• In the audiobook of Patrick Swayze's book Time of My Life, which he narrates, he says he felt "anger, bitterness and despair" when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. [People]
• Ben Lee and Ione Skye welcomed a daughter, Goldie Priya Lee, on Thursday. [People]
• First Republic Bank has put a hold on Frances Bean Cobain's $1.2 million trust fund because there's a dispute over whether Courtney Love or the Laird Norton Tyee Trustee Company has the right to access her account. Love's attorney says the band is just stalling because she and the trustee had agreed to move the money to a different bank and First Republic doesn't want to lose the account. [TMZ]
• Jaime Kennedy is claiming that a now-former assistant is responsible for the reports that he was cheating on Jennifer Love Hewitt. Perez Hilton suggests that Kennedy himself may have called and accused "Miguel" of making the rumors up. [Perez Hilton]
• Fred Durst and wife of two months, Esther Nazarov, have split up. He announced on Twitter: "For those of you inquiring, I will confirm that Esther and I have decided to go our separate ways and we both thank you for your support." He added, "We remain very positive and wish only the best for each other." [Perez Hilton]
• Jude Law says of playing Hamlet on Broadway, "He demands such a reveal of your inner feelings and thoughts that you have to open yourself up to him and see where he takes you." [Style.com]
• Kristin Cavallari says of working on The Hills, "I pretty much do anything they have me do because I don't care... I mean, we're filming a TV show. Let's make it interesting. Let's have a good time with it."
  [L.A. Times]
• Jeremy Piven's RocknRolla co-star Ludacris is clearing up the murcury poisoning rumors once and for all. He says: "A lot of people thought he was making up the mercury poisoning thing. I'm telling you, as his friend trying to look out for him, when he was around me, he definitely OD'd on fish."
  [N.Y. Observer]

• Bar Refaeli let Esquire write the opening of a Stephen King story on her body for its cover. The weirdest part of the process sounds like the proofreading. [Esquire]
• Michael Jackson is rocking this fall collection women's Balmain jacket. [Grazia]

• Kimora Lee Simmons and Djimon Hounsou named their son Kenzo Lee Hounsou, proving that Kenzo flower perfume really is universally loved. [P6]
• Harvey Weinstein, when asked why it took him a year and a half to schedule his honeymoon with Marchesa designer wife Georgina Chapman, replied "Every day with me is like a honeymoon." He then complained about how much his wife packs. [The Cut]
• "It's amazing what happens when you turn an item of clothing upside-down. It transforms. You can stick your legs through armholes or wear a shirt as a skirt," says a three-year-old stylist and designer Fi Doran. [Telegraph]
• Hermès shot its fall campaign in the Swedish province of Lapland. It features reindeer, orange boxes, and giant chunks of ice, and I am ready to love it already. [WWD]
• Oh, look. Nine West shoes for this fall are knocking off Giambattista Valli's shoes for last fall. Fashion is so creative! [Racked]
• On Sunday, Coco Rocha and 20 other models from Elite Canada went to Barrie, Ontario, for a fashion show that benefited a children's cancer charity. [WWD]
• Then, Rocha, who last dyed her hair red at Steven Meisel's insistence, promptly changed colors again — to "almost-black." Let the speculation as to which campaign or editorial it's for begin! [Oh So Coco]
• Henri Bendel announced a month ago that it would eliminate 8% of its workforce and no longer sell clothing after this summer, and instead carry only higher-margin items like cosmetics and accessories, while leveraging its name for its own lines of branded products, like chocolates and boxes of tea. But a little bird says that the iconic New York department store has ordered some coats and jackets for fall — so which is it? [Fashionista]
• Anya Hindmarch was awarded an MBE, the lowest ranking honor in the Order of the British Empire, at Buckingham Palace yesterday. [Telegraph]
• A.P.C. is going to do a unisex perfume for fall. The name and all other pertinent details are being kept secret. [WWD]
• Photographer Miles Aldridge: "I always want my models to have a kind of blankness of expression, which I don't see so much as a blankness as that look of contemplation I see on people's faces when they ride the bus or wait at the airport. That's the thing about being a fashion photographer — you spend a good amount of time waiting around in airport lounges and places like that, so you have a lot of opportunity to observe people. And it's like, there's a Martin Amis book, The Information, where the main character imagines all the men around him at home at night, crying in bed. In a way, that's what I'm doing when I'm waiting around." In New York, you can see a selection of Aldridge's surreal, acid-bright, Almodovar-esque work in a just-opened show at Steven Kasher gallery. [Style.com]
• Richard Chai is obsessed with t-shirts from those Japanese problem-solvers at Muji. But who isn't? [The Cut]
• One year on from his death at age 71, Yves Saint Laurent was remembered at a public memorial mass in Paris. [WWD]
• Laura Ashley's same-store sales rose 6.9% in the quarter ended May 30. [Daily Mail]
• Miley Cyrus, Max Azria, and Wal-Mart are in some kind of unholy branded-apparel deal. [WWD]
• Yesterday in bankruptcy court, the judge approved private-equity firm Emerisque's revised bid to buy Hartmarx. Emerisque raised its offer for the company's assets to $128.9 million, after principal creditor Wells Fargo rejected a $119 million bid as too low. [WWD]
• Christian Lacroix's company was placed under administration for the next six months. It only took Hartmarx four months to nail out its deal, so... [WWD]
• Random unconfirmed rumor to get ridiculously excited about for the day: The Face might be coming back. [Fashionologie]

• Lindsay Lohan's spoof singles video doubled as an ad for her leggings line and self-tanner. [WWD]
• And Zooey Deschanel wrote and performed a ditty about cotton — the fabric of our lives! [Videogum]

• Could Madonna be returning for another season's duty as the face of Louis Vuitton? Rumors say this fall's campaign will maintain both her Madgesty and photographer Steven Meisel. [Fashionologie]
• Eddie Van Halen is launching a namesake sneaker, the EVH. They look exactly like chucks. [WWD]
• Not to be outdone, Puma and Yves Saint Laurent have released a sneaker. (Puma also did kicks for Alexander McQueen and Sergio Rossi, which are both, like YSL, brands owned by parent company PPR, which makes sense since Puma is itself part-owned by the luxury goods giant.) The shoes are surprisingly...ugly. The toe box looks like one of those godawful Clarks Wallabee shoes that came briefly into fashion and set the bar of taste low enough for Crocs to duck under shortly thereafter. I had a friend who called those shoes with that terrible toe "piss-catchers." Which was accurate. [WWD]
• Diane Pernet reports on a rumor "from a very good source" that ex-Nina Ricci designer Olivier Theyskens will be brought in to revive the house of Elsa Schiaparelli. Which would be a much better fit for Theyskens than Halston, which was last week's rumor. [ASOF]
• Georgina Chapman, otherwise known as the co-founder of Marchesa and Mrs. Harvey Weinstein, says she made her own wedding gown. "I didn't finish my dress until about three days before my wedding — I had the flu and was stitching it from my bed," she told New York. Her only advice for the "impulsive" bride who might choose one of her $3,100-$6,500 dresses off the rack on her way to the registry office, is that she make sure she can walk in it. [NYMag]
• Same-store sales at H&M, the world's third-largest apparel retailer by revenue, fell 3% in the month of March. Sales at fast fashion chains had been more resilient in this downturn than the figures for department and boutique stores; this drop took analysts surprise. [WSJThe thing about this economy is that there's always ample evidence business could be worse: Levi's earnings fell 50.5% last quarter. [WWD]
• The Texas-based private investment group that took J. Crew public three years ago has sold its last remaining shares in the troubled retailer. J. Crew's share price has fallen more than 60% in the past year. [Crain's]
• Duncan Quinn, the brand whose last ad featured a man strangling a nearly naked woman on the hood of a car, went for restraint this season. The new campaign is a man holding a sawed-off shotgun. [Racked]
• Tory Burch and David Yurman are now ratified members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America board. [WWD]

[New York, March 23. Image via INFDaily.]

[Paris, March 12. Image via Getty]

• Tilda Swinton, one of the few celebrities who can actually pull off avant-gard fashion, looks predictably stunning on the cover of Another Magazine. [Stylefrizz]

• Also heralding the opening of London fashion week is Chloe Sevigny, who threw an opening party and showed her new collection for Opening Ceremony there this weekend. [UK Elle]
• The first show on the British Fashion Council's schedule, however, was a showcase of ethical fashion by a slew of different designers. Click through for another picture of models with TP in their hair. [Guardian]
• Tyson Beckford turned up to support the Central St. Martins fashion students showing at fashion week. [WWD]
• Giorgio Armani says he was totally kidding about that one time he called Dolce & Gabbana plagiarists. [Time]
• The Calvin Klein show was last Thursday, but this is still big news: for the first time in the label's history, it favored a black model, Lyndsey Scott, with one of their coveted exclusives. (An exclusive is when a model is chosen by a label to walk only in its show during a given fashion week, and in New York, the only exclusive that matters is Calvin's.) [The Cut]
• The creative director of Mulberry, who seems like an otherwise reasonable woman, says "I think everyone should be able to participate in a brand, but you have to be careful what you do. A key ring at £50 is okay, but don't try to make a bag that looks cheap. I won't have tat on my watch." Just so we're clear, she's talking about a $73 thing to hold your keys. [Times of London]
• Henry Holland talks an awful lot about his mum in this interview. Which is really very sweet. [Independent]
• Christian Siriano's second collection might finally earn him some retail love. His front row was crammed with buyers who seemed receptive to his particular brand of drama. [WSJ]
• He already has a deal with Payless — but tell me if you don't take one look at the spiked shoes and think, Rodarte Fall/Winter 08/09? [The Cut]
• Rodarte's Kate and Laura Mulleavy flew back to California after their New York show — and threw a tea party for Jenny Lewis and assorted friends. Kate says the next collection will be inspired by "houses in various states of construction." [WWD]
• That was quick: Celine Dion's ad for her just-announced fragrance, Chic, is out. [People]
• Ed Westwick for K Swiss is also out. [ONTD]
• Laura Ashley's husband, Bernard, was apparently a terrible tyrant and bully to her and their children. [Daily Mail]
• Lauren Bush's clothing line is hitting Barneys and Intermix next month. She's releasing it under the name "Lauren Pierce." Proceeds go to charity, and her UN World Food Program "Feed" bags are also still available. [The Cut]
• Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé's art collection went on public display in Paris this weekend, and will be auctioned today. Christie's is cutting 300 jobs, or 14% of its workforce, because of the depressed state of the art market. Some wonder if the more valuable pieces in the catalog — which includes works by Picasso and Matisse — will find buyers. [Times of London]
• Robin Givhan wants celebrities to do the patriotic thing and show their support of their favorite designers by buying, as opposed to just wearing, their clothes. [Washington Post]
• Harvey Weinstein on Project Runway's legal troubles: "Apparently there is some contention." No shit. [People]
• Are these people for real? "I am going shopping less, too," says a 22-year-old model from Miami. "I love shopping. This year, I've only gotten three pairs of shoes." What financial heartbreak! [UPI]
• More pictures of Kim Gordon's Mirror/Dash capsule collection for Urban Outfitters have become available — and it looks good. [LA Times]
• Kanye says he doesn't dress as well as Michael Jackson — yet. [Daily Intel]
• Ever wonder, 'What's Naomi Campbell doing right now?' The Daily Mail is on top of that: the 38-year-old supermodel is settling down in Moscow with her Russian real estate tycoon boyfriend. [Daily Mail]
• The New York City Economic Development Corp. is expected to announce plans today to help the fashion industry. [WWD]

[London, January 28. Image via Flynet]

• Joaquin Phoenix's rap career: An elaborate hoax? Sort of.

More of an "art project," in which he's pretending to have a meltdown and change careers. While bro-in-law Casey Affleck films it all. [EW]

• Amy Winehouse. Topless. Playing Scrabble. [The Sun]
• Oh no: Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson, is making robocalls for Scientology. Using Bart Simpson's voice, and saying, "Hey, this is Bart Simpson — Just kidding!" This is bad news bears. [Perez]
• Gary Oldman has a simple explanation for how he came to accept Heath Ledger's SAG award: "We went for a wonderful meal with [Heath's] family in New York, we got on very well. [Later] they called and said, 'Would I pick it up for [Heath] if he won?'" [Mirror]
• Did Kate Winslet "blow her chance" to win an Oscar by forgetting Angelina Jolie at the Golden Globes? [Telegraph]
• The parents of two kids in Slumdog Millionaire claim the movie may be making millions, but they continue to live in "grinding poverty." One father says: "I am very happy the movie is doing so well, but it is making so much money and so much fame and the money they paid us is nothing." [Telegraph]
• More Slumdog issues: A social activist in Mumbai has filed a complaint in a local court against director Danny Boyle, saying the film's title is damaging and discriminating. The guy has also named some stray dogs after the Danny Boyle and the stars of the film. He explains: "When the British ruled India, they called Indians 'dogs'. Why do we want to call these poor children 'dogs' 60 years after we got independence?" [Yahoo News via Reuters]
• Jessica Simpson's workout 2005 video was squashed by Big Daddy Joe Simpson, but if you follow this link you'll find a clip from the tape and audio from Jessica's business manager, in which he calls Jess a bitch and Joe an asshole. [Defamer]
• Guy Ritchie's dad, John, is pretty damn pleased his son is not with Madonna anymore. He tells In Touch: "The worst thing would be if they reconciled" and he's happy Madge has "lots of boyfriends" since it means she'll leave Guy alone. He also says: "There are no big arguments between them. All they discuss is the children." [Perez]
• Will Paris Hilton hit on Prince Harry now that he's single? "I think he's a nice guy, I love Chelsy though - I think she's so sweet - so I wouldn't try anything." [Telegraph]
• Why did Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy break up? Maybe time and distance pulled them apart. Maybe the relationship had "run its course." [People]
• Wait a minute: Kate Middleton is allergic to horses? Does polo-playing Prince William know? Does the Queen know? [Daily Mail]
• Whoa: Kelly Rowland has fired manager Matthew Knowles, who's always been like a dad to her. Was she sick of playing second banana to Beyoncé? [Bossip]
• Michael Jackson has serious, serious problems, including massive debt and, um, the Thriller musical. [Fox 411]
• Salma Hayek and Harvey Weinstein threw a Hollywood Hills bash to honor Penelope Cruz's Oscar nod, and everyone was there: Scarlett Johansson and hubby Ryan Reynolds, Ashton Kutcher and wife Demi Moore, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Antonio Banderas and wife Melanie Griffith, Charlize Theron and partner Stuart Townsend, and Angela Bassett and hubby Courtney B. Vance. Oh, and Colin Farrell. And Prince. ScarJo has dark hair now. [Gatecrasher]
• Catherine Zeta-Jones has homegrown kitchen beauty secrets: Honey and salt to exfoliate; beer shampoo; apple or strawberry for toothpaste. [Daily Mail]
• Apparently, when Jessica Alba called Bill O'Reilly "kind of an a-hole," he shot back and called her a pinhead for telling a reporter to "Be Sweden about it," assuming she meant Switzerland. Alba blogged on her MySpace: "Last week, Mr. Bill O'Reilly and some really classy sites (i.e.TMZ) insinuated I was dumb by claiming Sweden was a neutral country. I appreciate the fact that he is a news anchor and that gossip sites are inundated with intelligent reporting, but seriously people... it's so sad to me that you think the only neutral country during WWII was Switzerland." Turns out Sweden was neutral and Alba was right. And O'Reilly is an a-hole. [MSNBC]
• Who comes from royalty? Whose family owned slaves? Sarah Jessica Parker and Susan Sarandon will star in NBC's genealogy reality series Who Do You Think You Are? Lisa Kudrow is executive producing the show, which explores celeb ancestral histories. [Reuters via Hollywood Reporter]
• The ladies pictured with Russell Brand yesterday have spoken to the press. "Russell took his clothes off as soon as we got through his front door. He was definitely wanting a threesome — and he thought he was going to get one," says the one who was wearing a blue onesie and white stilettos for the night. The women left because they "had a photoshoot." Russell gave the paper a different version of events: "Those women were at Brand Towers as they assured me they were qualified engineers and could fix my washing machine. I only took my clothes off 'cos I wanted to bung a load in. The washing machine is still broke but my clothes are remarkably unstained." [Daily Mail]
• Keith Olbermann, Tyra Banks, Suze Orman, Gus Van Sant, k.d. lang, Ellen DeGeneres and Rachel Maddow: All nominated for GLAAD awards. [Page Six]
• NYC socialite Olivia Palermo wants to be a serious actress. That's why she is on The City, a "reality" show. [Page Six]
• Blind item! "Which married Oscar winner was caught pants- down in a club closet, getting naughty with a tranny? The waitress who walked in on the pair was so stunned, she dropped her drink tray." [Gatecrasher]
• Hotel mogul and Las Vegas billionaire Steve Wynn has split with his wife Elaine. [Page Six]
• Private Practice/Grey's Anatomy crossover alert! Kate Walsh, Audra McDonald and Taye Diggs will be on the February 12 episode of Grey's. [UPI]
• Kylie Minogue has recorded a song with kiddie band The Wiggles, because she has a 2-year-old nephew she wants to impress. "Now Charles really will think I’m cool," she says. "I hope he likes the song. It was fun to do. I might even grab a shirt and go on tour with the boys. I’m not sure what colour I will be." [The Sun]
• Debbie Matenopoulos's ex-husband claims she "pays for nothing" related to their multimillion-dollar Los Angeles home. He's demanding that she help pay the mortgage, agree to refinance, or move out and sell the home. He also admits that they both "continuously lived beyond our means during our marriage." Messy business! [People]
• Paul McCartney's publicist on the Paul McCartney wedding rumor: "No truth to it." [Yahoo News via E!]
• 50 Cent's manager is among the many who lost money via Bernie Madoff. How much? "Nothing to talk about. It's not life-threatening." [Page Six]
• Lauren Hutton was seen yelling at her help. [Page Six]
• Gene Simmons has signed on with Universal Music Canada and created his own record label, Simmons records. He writes: If you’re reading this and you’re in a Canadian band (only!!!)….and you believe you’re the next Elvis or Beatles (don’t we all…)…go to SIMMONSRECORDS.COM and we will tell you how YOU can submit your electronic demo. This is serious.” Well okay then. [Rolling Stone]
• Noel Gallagher says Oasis saved him from a life of crime: "There’s one less criminal in Burnage because I picked up the guitar. There’s one less shoplifter in Manchester." [The Sun]
• Michael Crichton left money to tons of people in his will. [TMZ]
• Isla Fisher has joined the cast of Rango, a Gore Verbinski-directed animated flick about a pet who goes on an adventure; Johnny Depp is the lead voice and Abigal Breslin has also been cast. [Variety]
• Chic people like Liz Goldwyn, Emmanuelle Seigner and Lou Doillon were at the Givenchy show in Paris, and you were not. [WWD]
• What do we think about Solange covering a Coldplay song? [Concrete Loop]
• This was bound to happen: Kanye West has changed his name. You may now call him Martin ‘Louis’ The King Jr., because he has his own Louis Vuitton shoes now. [Pop Crunch]
• "Love and light is mentioned a lot on the album. Parts of it are dark and edgy. It could be because I’ve been through a dark place. I am a man who needs love. Every man needs love, guys like romance. I do anyway." — Paul McCartney on his latest album, and maybe that "dark place" is the soul of Heather Mills. [The Sun]
• "That sweat is real and there is a lot of it. I said, 'Listen, we're going to show me exactly as I am and I'm going to sweat. Just towel me up.' Luckily, I had good waterproof makeup on and my hair stayed looking kind of cute. But that's the real deal. I'm sweating like a pig." — Lisa Rinna on her workout DVD. [Parade]
• "For five seasons I was stuck doing this character. It was kind of hard always having to play that character when it's not who I am… I just say jokes but people think I'm serious which I think is funny and I think I kind of play up to the image sometimes because - whatever - it's entertainment." — Paris Hilton. [Mirror]
• "My typical morning these days would be to get up at 6:30am, make breakfast, get Beatrice up, get her dressed and watch some TV. I don't have a nanny I do all the regular stuff myself. I take her to school, talk to all the mums, talk to the teacher then pick her up from school. I love every second of it and I'm not exhausted at all. People say, I'm up at 6:30am, what is going on? But I genuinely love it. It's a thrill bringing up a young kid, it's such an education. I am a different dad now but it's good." — Paul McCartney, 66, on life with a five-year-old. [Telegraph]
• I am completely disgusted by the headlines concerning my sister's weight. A week after the inauguration and with such a feeling of hope in the air for our country, I find it completely embarrassing and belittling to all women to read about a woman's weight or figure as a headline on Fox News. All women come in different shapes, sizes, and forms and just because you're a celebrity, there shouldn't be a different standard. Is this something you would say to your wife, daughter, mother, grandmother, or even a friend? I seriously doubt it. How can we expect teenage girls to love and respect themselves in an environment where we criticize a size 2 figure? Now can we focus on the things that really matter." — Ashlee Simpson. [ONTD via MySpace]

• Scarlett Johanson is the new face of D&G cosmetics. A face that looks mightily like Marilyn Monroe. [Popcrunch]

• In other news from the infinite space that is the overlap of the "celebrity" and "fashion" Venn diagram, Penelope and Monica Cruz's fourth collection for Mango is out, and they star in the campaign. Looking hot as per usual. [Thelifefiles]
• Portia de Rossi — who "tries to wear leather as little as possible" — is going to do a vegan shoe line, although it's not known which brand she will collaborate with. Let's hope it goes over a little better than Natalie Portman for Te Casan. [FabSugar]
• Oh, consider my heart warmed. Fashion people took a break from menswear week to watch David Beckham's AC Milan game on Saturday evening. The gaggle of designers and editors watched from a private box — of course — but were refreshingly not too cool to cheer "Beckham! Beckham! Amore! Amore!" [WWD]
• Sunday night in Milan, Miuccia Prada addressed the recession just prior to her menswear show. The political science Ph.D. said: "I’m really pleased that we’ve always worked much more on the product than on the brand and I think this pays back. Crisis always pushes you to do better." [WWD]
• In a video, The Street rates Victoria's Secret, and fellow Limited Brand company Bath & Body Works, a stock not to invest in. December sales didn't hit the mark, and analysts are cutting their return estimates for the chain. "When I don't have a lot of money, I like to go and make a small purchase to cheer me up," says one presenter. "But when that small purchase is a bra for $50, a lot of women aren't doing that anymore," replies the other. I will say I rejoiced at the savings when I finally stopped wearing bras altogether. [The Street]
• Roberto Cavalli has admitted the rumors are true: he is in talks to sell a 15-20% stake in his company to a private equity group. [WWD]
• For his part, John Varvatos has no cause for concern — yet. His same-store sales are up across the board, led by footwear (that lucrative deal with Converse must keep his spirits up) and diffusion line Star USA, which is up almost 40%. He's showing in Milan for the first time since 2003, and intends to make the move permanent. [Portfolio]
• Sephora is experimenting with a pilot program that allows shoppers to access reviews of products via their mobile phones. [AdAge]
• In more news of the unstoppable 90s supes, Helena Christensen — Nylon co-founder, photographer, and all-round sexy-ass Dane — is to be the "ambassador" for a limited-edition Tommy Hilfiger bag, to benefit breast cancer. It's unclear what her ambassadorial duties will entail. [Hindustan Times]
• Guess who else is back: Romeo Gigli. Despite having lost the rights to his own name, the designer will show his new label, Ipse Idem, at Paris menswear week. [IHT]
• A British model named David Gandy — that's this guy, possibly NSFW, thank me in the comments — is going to start writing for a yet-to-be-named politics and fashion magazine. He'll be sticking to covering style and "motoring" while political contributors will include London mayor Boris Johnson. [WWD]
• Are Dov Charney and his PR team spending hours online posting to newsgroups, buying Google Ads, and sock-puppeting domain names to smear the L.A. lawyer involved in most of the company's current lawsuits? Unauthenticated company e-mails point to yes. And the top search result for Kieth Fink, the J.D. in question, is now a site called "The Keith Fink Files: Keith Fink: The Worst Lawyer in Los Angeles," which points to definitely. [NY Post]
• When Harvey Weinstein gives Marchesa co-founder Georgina Chapman the gift she picks out, she has the good sense to "act surprised." Oh, love. [Telegraph]

Kenley's dress was inspired by purple leaves. Jerell said it looked like "Kenley the dragon slayer" or a "purplezilla costume." Tim Gunn thought the bottom of dress looked like fish scales, which Kenley took as a compliment. I wanted to smack Kenley when she said, "I wasn't going for elegance, Heidi." You do not get snippy with Heidi Klum!

Guest Judge Georgina Chapman (sure, she runs evening gown company Marchesa, but she's also conveniently married to producer Harvey Weinstein!) loved Leanne's gown, which was inspired by a blurry picture of lavender flowers. But Michael Kors thought there was no "joy" in the elaborate ruching.

Michael Kors thought Korto's evening gown contained "every cliché." Nina Garcia seemed angry, and Georgina Chapman looked disappointed.

Jerell was the winner of this challenge, even though his hem was totally unfinished, messy and wonky. Still, his gown inspired by layers of rose petals was one of the better ones on the runway.

So: The "twist" is that all four designers will go home and create collections, even though only 3 will "compete" on the runway at Bryant Park. When I was watching the shows during Fashion Week, I felt sure that the three ladies were the three finalists; now I'm not so sure!

In case you want to see the collections again, find them here:
Project Runway Fashion Show: Jerell
Project Runway Fashion Show: Korto
Project Runway Fashion Show: Leanne
Project Runway Fashion Show: Kenley

Project Runway Season 5 [Bravo]

What does this mean for Nina Garcia? For Tim Gunn? For Marie Claire, the magazine taking over the role previously played by Elle on the show? What about guest judge Lindsay Lohan? What about the contestants??? Lately, the show seems a little… uninspired. But the concept: To showcase emerging talent in the fashion world, to give the designers "challenges" in a way that allows the audience to witness a garment go from thought to sketch to runway — is still really powerful entertainment. It's too bad all the product placement and money troubles cloud the vision. Maybe the show should go to a pay channel, like HBO, where, ironically, it could really run free? Let's just say you were Harvey Weinstein: How would you save Project Runway? Do you think it can be saved?

Bad News All Around... [WWD]

[London, August 28. Image via Flynet]

• OMG: Rachel Zoe has been disinvited from the Anna Wintour-hosted Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala, taking place Monday night in New York. This is what you get when you tempt the gods and proclaim yourself more important than Vogue. [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• Also, Wintour has instructed Vogue staffers that they may only wear white, silver, or other "pale shades." Just like the colors of faces that she likes to see on her magazine's cover! [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• French Vogue editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld and designer/Chanel creative director "Krazy" Karl Lagerfeld were both named to the Time 100 List, as influential members of the fashion community. Something about the way they both made fashion about "the street" or something. [Vogue UK]
  
• Gisele Bundchen is still the top-paid model, according to Forbes. Heidi Klum is the second. Take that, Moss. [Sassybella]

• Agyness Deyn: The mannequin. [BlackBook]
• The Rogan for Target collection is also going to be sold at Barneys. Which is not Target at all. [WSJ]
• Steve & Barry's is going to be shilling Sex and the City movie merchandise, which will be licensed for the store under Sarah Jessica Parker's "Bitten" label. [Sassybella]
• Uh oh: Seems the women behind the red carpet label Marchesa are having a bit of a tiff. While Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig used to be knows as the label's "co-designers", their titles have been changed on their website: Chapman is now listed as "designer" and Craig is noted as "co-founder." [Page Six]
• Dockers: Trying to reach out to the hip and the young. LOL. [MediaPost]
• Christian Siriano: Designed a dress for Puma. [Chic Report]
• Helena Christensen on why she loves photographer Peter Lindbergh: "Even when I looked pretty funny back in the day with my baby fat, perm, and hippie clothes, he put me on the cover of British Vogue!" Oh, models. [Fashion Week Daily]
• The latest beauty tool you didn't know you needed: An eyelash comb. [BellaSugar]
• The Versace resort in Dubai is... sorta exactly what you would expect a Versace resort in Dubai to be. [Chic Report]
• Diane von Furstenberg, Dolce & Gabbana, Oscar de la Renta, Akira Isogawa, the members of Coldplay, Jeff Koons, Philippe Starck and Tory Burch have all been asked to create "themes" for iGoogle's new customized homepage thingies. [Sassybella]
• Vanessa Paradis: The new face of Miu Miu? [Glaumrama]
• Calvin Klein went on a little field trip to Dubai last week. Blah blah, models behind plexiglass. The usual. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Jones New York: Stock is up, profits are down. The usual. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Kohl's: Gonna slow down its expansion plan 'cause their scared of the economy. The usual. [WWD, sub req'd]
• If you want to wear a pantsuit, make sure it's not double-breasted. [WSJ]
• Blue's Clues's: The shoes — at a Payless near you. [BrandWeek]

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

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

• "We'll get her," says Harvey Weinstein of ELLE's Nina Garcia (Weinstein) is being sued for breach of contract for taking Project Runway from Bravo to Lifetime. While Weinstein is probably the first person to say anything about wanting to continue to work with Garcia, we find his statement more creepy than encouraging. [WWD, 2nd item]
  
• "I am fine alone now, but not when I'll be 90," says Giorgio Armani of having a private equity firm get involved in his business. [WWD, 2nd item]
  
• "Buying vintage or revamping clothes and making things myself is my take on helping the environment." Oh bite me, Zooey Deschanel. [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• "I used to consider myself Italian, but now I feel very European." —Margherita Missoni. [Fashion Week Daily]

• PETA is trying to make nice with Beyonce and has issued a statement congratulating the pop star on her marriage to Jay-Z. They even sent her a faux fur stole as a wedding gift. Aw. [Sassybella]
• Wanna be on top? Says Sarah Doukas, who discovered Kate Moss: "You need the cheekbones, you need the jaw-line. You can look at someone who is gorgeous but perhaps has quite a round face, without the definition that you need for a camera and light to turn it into this fantastic canvas." How not encouraging. [Vogue UK]
• Tommy Hilfiger has his own TV channel. On the internet, that is. The just-launched Tommy TV will not be about fashion, however, but music. Says Hilfiger: "I became a fashion designer because of music and music has remained at the heart of Tommy Hilfiger." [WWD]
• Today is not Talbot's happiest day: Bank of America and HSBC are both pulling their lines of credit from the company. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Liz Claiborne Inc. wants someone to buy its fragrance holdings. Good luck with that, friends. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Marc by Marc Jacobs design director Fred Tremblay is leaving the label, or so the rumors go, to head to Coach. [WWD, 1st item]
• The latest expansion of the Vera Wang Bridal brand? Bed linens. Perfect for losing your virginity on top of on your wedding night, naturally! [WWD, sub req'd]
• Fendi: Busy busting counterfeiters. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Jim Belushi's wife, Jenny: Has a children's clothing store. [WWD, sub req'd]
• The Lord & Taylor logo: Indecipherable. [BusinessWeek]
• Nike and Adidas: Fighting over soccer star Zhang Zhi. [Guardian]
• Recession. No one's buying. Prices dropping. The end. [MSNBC]
• Accessory designer Jessie Randall says a "pootie" is a cross between a pump and a bootie. I say it's a vagina. You? [WSJ]

Let me put it this way: "Television For Women" does not equal "Television For The Gays And The Folks Who Love The Gays And Folks Who Are Actually Just Inherently Interested In Design." Bravo has ingeniously marketed itself as the home of the thinking (wo)man's pop culture. It isn't just good bad TV, but plain ol' good TV. I challenge anyone to say the same about anything on Lifetime, without even the slightest hint of irony. Clearly, there is some audience for the saccharine froth being served up by the television equivalent of light FM, but it is not the Project Runway audience.

What's to come for The Greatest Show On Earth? Will there be competitions like "Design an outfit for a nice-girl-in-bad-circumstances using food stamps to purchase your supplies"? Or "Whip up an ensemble for a mother whose child has been kidnapped from her by her ex-husband and now has to take a covert flight to an unnamed Middle Eastern country to save her daughter" ? Will the Lifetimeization of Project Runway mean Heidi hosts while pregnant, except she will actually look bloated and matronly, thus tapping into the hearts of "real" women everywhere? Will Michael Kors cut back on the sass, exchanging his signature bitchy evaluations for crocodile tears? Will Nina stop giving verbal evaluations and saunter right over to the runway to hug the contestants? Can one be bitchy on Lifetime? Who knows, maybe the new network will allow for some cross-promotion: Can't you just see To ELLE And Back: The Nina Garcia Story as the next Lifetime Original Movie?

In Bed With 'Runway': A Lifetime Story [NYT]

• A Brazilian model I've never heard of left her new agency to go back to her old agency and now it's war. Here she is. Fuck, the Peloponnesian broke out over less, right? Or was that one about democracy and self-determination? Whatever; it's on between Elite and Next. [Page Six]
  
• The bitter battle over the rights to Project Runway, which is switching networks from NBC to Lifetime, is also approaching Total War. Can David Boies deliver Harvey Weinstein the victory he couldn't deliver Al Gore? Is it kind of funny that the Times is now referring to reality show "seasons" as "cycles"? [NYT]
  
• Anna Wintour has been sending little care packages to tennis star Roger Federer for many months now — in a motherly way? a cougarly way? are you really forcing me to think about that? — but last week when Federer was defeated by Andy Roddick, she abruptly canceled her trip to a tennis match. Oooh, nuclear Wintwar! Page Six]

• NYLON got stood up at its own party for cover girl Chloe Sevigny and now they post this image of her severed head on their blog. [Nylon]

• Karl Lagerfeld has had a figurine, a teddy bear, a vinyl doll, and now a character in a bestselling video game made in his own likeness... [Fashionista]
• But the young plebe Chanel hired to "nanny" Karl's collection of 100 iPods is striking back through the press. [NY Mag]
• No real war angle here, but Posh Spice clutching a red bag to her face in ecstasy in the latest Jurgen Teller Marc Jacobs ad is probably enough to make someone go batshit on an archduke, right? [Sassybella]

• The facts speak for themselves: Heidi Klum is designing a capsule collection for Jordache, for which she has been modeling over the past year. Think she'll offer hair extensions to cover nipples as well? [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Kathy Hilton just released her own perfume. It's called "My Secret." We don't really want to think about what Kathy Hilton's secret might smell like. [BellaSugar]
  
• Gloria Steinem would not approve: Georgina Chapman, Marchesa designer and wife of Halston co-owner Harvey Weinstein, was named "Georgina Weinstein" on her front row seat at Halston yesterday. Only, as Chapman herself put it, "I didn't change my name, they did it for me." [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Jimmy Choo's CEO Tamara Mellon thinks that boyfriend Christian Slater should take a more active, or acting, role in fashion. Mellon says Slater would be "perfect" to play Halston in any upcoming biopic on the designer. [WWD, 1st item]

• One last Halston item! Rachel Zoe, who sits on the label's creative advisory team, wasn't at yesterday's debut show. A rep for the label was quick to issue a statement that Zoe has not been fired. Um, the lady doth protest too much? [WWD, 2nd item]
• Does the fashion industry hate the Bush Administration? Laura Bush is having a luncheon next week for all the designers who participated in this year's The Heart Truth's Red Dress Collection but Nicole Miler, Donna Karan, Carmen Marc Valvo, Tracy Reese, and Marchesa designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig have all said that they won't be able to attend. [WWD, 3rd item]
• Is anyone else depressed that Naomi Campbell and Andre Leon Talley collaborated to star and style in a SoBe "Thrillicious" commercial? [Fashion Week Daily]
• Burberry faux-fur parkas actually use dog fur. Fun! [UPI]
• Charges have been dropped against the manager of the Abercrombie & Fitch store in Virginia Beach, who was scapegoated by a cop whose delicate sensibilities were offended by A&F ads. [MSNBC]
• The latest item up for sale under Bono's (Product) RED line: The Mulberry Roxanne bag, done in sweatshirt material (red, naturally), for the Gap. [Sassybella]
• Count Fergie in as the latest face of MAC Viva Glam lipstick. [WWD, 2nd item]
• Brittany Murphy on Mr. and Mrs. Max Azria: "They're a very nice family, with great morals, very grounded. Plus, they'll even invite you over for Shabbat dinner. Who would turn that down?" [WWD, 4th item]
• Model Caroline Trentini has declared that she will be donating a percentage of her earnings from New York fashion shows to the Center of Support of Underprivileged Children with Cancer in her native Brazil. [WWD, 5th item]
• Is model/First Lady of France Carla Bruni pregnant with a son? [Vogue UK]
• Just what the world needed: Chocolate Armani Easter eggs. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Avon profits have dropped by 30%. There is no time for beauty in a recession. [Breitbart]