• Eva Mendes got all verklempt at a Cartier press conference talking about a charity that matches actors and musicians with sick kids. "Thank God for waterproof mascara," said the star of such films as Ghost Rider and 2 Fast 2 Furious. [WWD]

• Marc Jacobs, man of 31 tattoos, on his latest: "Elizabeth Taylor in Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf with 3-D sunglasses on." [Style.com]
• Add Jacobs-helmed Louis Vuitton to the list of brands that are sticking with what works: Australian model Catherine McNeil, face of last year's resort campaign, will shoot this year's campaign tomorrow in St. Tropez. [Karen Kooper's Twitter]
• The First Lady's deputy press secretary, Semonit Mustaphi: "Mrs. Obama does not wear fur." [Washington Times]
• Reese Witherspoon is releasing a fragrance with Avon. It's gonna be called "In Bloom". [WWD]
• And Claudia Schiffer is to be the face of Alberta Ferretti's as yet untitled first scent. [Elle UK]
• The Sun is reprinting Karl Lagerfeld's four-month-old dis of Heidi Klum as news. (Either that or the Kaiser still doesn't know who she is, German Vogue or no.) [Sun]
• Kanye West, on life fashion: "I've made some mistakes, some good moves, some bad moves, and I've just grown every day. I think just learning from my mistakes, and the amount of exposure that I've had, has made me become a very influential person." [NYObs]
• Kanye text-buddy and model Chanel Iman gave a more or less brain-dead interview to The Cut, in which she asked, "What's the day today?" [The Cut]
• Diane von Furstenberg settled out-of-court for an undisclosed sum with the owners of Mercy, the Canadian label whose floral jacket her fashion house copied. As CFDA president, von Furstenberg has been an advocate of greater protection for fashion designers' intellectual property, including lobbying for the passage of the Design Piracy Act, which would extend copyright protection to fashion designs. "While this is an isolated incident for DVF, it is unfortunate that way too many others intentionally build businesses by stealing the work of other designers," said von Furstenberg. "I greatly appreciate DVF coming forward to resolve this issue in such a forthright manner and for acknowledging our ownership of the jacket design," said Jennifer Halchuk, of Mercy. [WWD]
• When André Leon Talley is over something, boy is he upfront about it: "Designers with an obsession for towering torture chambers, often poorly designed for the well-being of the foot, must get a reality check. I, for one, am over the mania for the high, high heel. Too many career women look like a herd of fashion beasts, aping one another in impractical shoes." [Vogue]
• In a strange conflagration of fashion nepotism, the son of Jeremy Irons became the face of Mango's menswear line. He replaced the son of French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld. The photographer who shot the campaign? None other than the son of Italian Vogue editor Franca Sozzani. [WWD]
• The Gap's CFDA Design Editions collaboration — wherein designers nominated for a Council of Fashion Designers of America Award redesign something ubiquitous to the chain, generally a white shirt, which tends to be boring — launches in stores today. This year is different: Vena Cava, Alexander Wang, and Albertus Swanepoel all took yards of Gap's typical khaki fabric and turned it into hats, printed dresses, shorts, and a bitchin' motorcycle jacket. [Fashionista]
• Ecko has sold its Avirex brand to Kids Headquarters to raise some cash. How much was not disclosed. [WWD]
• The bankruptcy of men's clothier Hartmarx takes another odd turn with the announcement that Hickey Freeman, one of the labels owned by the company, plans to open a "pop-up" store at 545 Madison Ave. in Manhattan. Hickey Freeman had to vacate its 666 Fifth Ave. flagship last month when it couldn't pay the rent. [WWD]
• Prada has been approached by private-equity funds wishing to buy a minority stake in the brand, but the family-owned label has rebuffed the interest. Prada apparently owes around €600 million in total debt, €350 million is set to expire in mid-2010 — a sum it would struggle to repay. The family holding company has begun talks with banks to renegotiate terms. [WSJ]
• Joseph Abboud has won back the legal right to use his own name in relation to his men's wear line, Jaz. [WWD]
• A kind of chenille robe made by Blair and sold through its catalog is being recalled after six deaths. The robes, made in Pakistan, can easily catch flame. Five of the six victims died while cooking. The recall affects 162,000 robes. [CBS]

• Meanwhile, an expert on veteran mental health says that the medical community needs to come up with an effective response to domestic violence cases that involve the growing number of abusers that are veterans with PTSD. • After bad publicity over their backlog of untested rape kits, the LAPD announced a plan to seek funding to reduce its "massive backlog" of unexamined DNA evidence from violent crimes. • Carol's Daughter, a beauty brand marketed to African American women, is suing Carol's Express and its distributor, CVS, over trademark infringement. • Facebook removed a group titled "Dead Babies Make Me Laugh" which was based on those boring jokes about dead babies that dumb people tell. • Female gymnasts can avoid worsening wrist injuries, the most common injury for female athletes, by seeking quick treatment and assessment even if they feel a low level of wrist pain after an injury. • Good news for migraine sufferers: A new study claims that women who suffer from migraines have a significantly lower risk of getting breast cancer. • A Norwegian management researcher has found that leaders that displayed both feminine and masculine traits were the best at creating a climate of innovation. • The Lifetime network is currently developing a biopic about Georgia O'Keeffe starring Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons. •