• Michelle Trachtenberg is designing a line of jewelry for Coach's Poppy brand. Expect "colorful crystals." [WWD]
• Zac Posen is doing a lower-priced line, Z Spoke, which will be available exclusively through Saks Fifth Avenue come spring. It starts at $78:

• And it's a marked departure from his evening wear-heavy main line. "It's not Zac-for-less, it's not the little sister collection at all," says the designer. "The dresses — that's something I can do with my eyes closed. This is about a new identity." Hopefully that new identity includes solvency, given Posen, subject to continued rumors about his company's financial status, was forced to lay off staff recently. [WWD]
• Why is Cintra Wilson reviewing the Fifth Avenue Armani store now? That opened months ago. And it was extensively covered and reviewed in the Times back then. [NYTimes]
• Sophie Theallet's friend and longtime supporter Rupert Everett is happy she won the Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund Award. Theallet is going to collaborate again with Manolo Blahnik on her runway show footwear for next February, and this time, some styles will be available in stores. [WWD]
• Some "legendary" male models we've never heard of (OK, male models we have heard of comprise exactly Tyson Beckford and that guy who was in Calvin Klein ads before he played Samantha's boyfriend on Sex And The City) are in this month's VMAN. [Independent]
• Claudia Schiffer has been thinking more about that clothing line she mooted a week or so back. "I have no definite first product in mind, but I would love to do cashmere. It's something I wear all the time myself, but I'd love to do something a bit more price-friendly. Plus a lot of cashmere lines are very classic and timeless, while I'd want to do it a bit more fashion. Or I could imagine doing handbags." You know. Cashmere. Or handbags. [WWD]
• If you need a fresh reason to hate the fashion industry this morning, how about an over-privileged under-informed 17-year-old heaping scorn on Luella's closure, and bragging about how she has, like, a ton of Lacroix — in the garage? Jane Aldridge probably kisses her Vogue portrait before going to bed each night. Right after inclining her head to say her prayers to Anna. [Fashionista]
• Vivienne Westwood says of the same closure, "It's very sad, but English fashion will survive, and be stronger." [Style.com]
• A four-day auction of the last contents of Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent's home has begun in Paris. Everything from the chandeliers to the pots and pans is for sale, some 1,185 objects in all. [Breitbart]
• Lanvin has attracted a minority investor. An unnamed entity, believed to be a European family, has bought a 12.5% stake in the business, for an estimated tens of millions of Euros. Last year, sales at Lanvin rose 29%. [WWD]
• Apparently it takes £230 worth of creams to look like Jane Birkin, along with Clarins and Dr. Hauschka makeup. And we always thought her so low maintenance and carefree. [Daily Mail]
• Birkin's daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg may be the face of the new Balenciaga perfume, but that won't stop Olivier Zahm from photographing the bottle between the breasts of a topless mannequin. Stay classy, Olivier! [FWD]
• John Bartlett, the recently fired men's wear designer for Liz Claiborne, has announced a collaboration with Alex Carleton of Rogues Gallery. RG/JB will launch in December at John Bartlett's Greenwich Village store, and will include a handcrafted leather log carrier and bankers' envelopes. Sounds practical. [WWD]
• Porsche is bringing back Yoko Ono's favorite sunglasses. [Luxist]
• A Gap store in Vancouver turned itself upside down to sell shoppers on a new kind of reward program called, for some reason, Sprize. They hung all the mannequins from the ceiling and turned the signage upside-down, but what you really need to know is this: Sprize reimburses you the cost difference automatically if merchandise you buy full-price later goes on sale. It's like everything you ever buy will be on sale. And it's not in the U.S. yet why??? [BrandFreak]
• Rosita and Tai Missoni seem like an adorable old couple. [Scotsman]
• Expect Burberry handbags, shoes and belts, as well as children's wear, in the near future. [Reuters]
• In coordination with something called cryptically "more trees," Louis Vuitton is paying 10 million yen (about $112,000) to reforest a 104-hectare area of land in Japan, to be known as the Louis Vuitton Forest. (Insert your own where-handbags-grow-on-trees joke.) [Japan Tourism]

• Kanye West and Amber Rose hit up the American Apparel in NoHo for hoodies and sunglasses. "He was really nice about getting his photo taken for our blog," said the store manager. Doesn't he look it! [AmApp]

• Last week, Kanye apparently stood up Agyness Deyn. [Mirror]
• Uh oh. Tim Gunn's Tide commercials were truth-squadded by Consumer Reports, who found that not only was his claim that Tide Total Care doesn't fade clothes after 30 washes untrue, but that another Tide product, Tide 2x Ultra Coldwater, performed just as well as Total Care, for half the price. [CR]
• Stephen Colbert's camouflage suit: custom made by Brooks Brothers. [The Cut]
• Is Vera Wang really going to Dancing With The Stars? [E!]
• Recent Columbia grad Bee "fashion is a really weird industry" Shaffer, everybody: "Right now I am looking for a job, but I also want to study acting." Because if there's one industry where all the people are well-adjusted and normal, it's acting! [FWD]
• Stella McCartney has announced a new partnership to create one-off collections for Gap Kids and Baby Gap. It's the first time the designer has ever done children's wear, and the clothing will hit stores late this year. [WWD]
• Clairol's Nice 'n' Easy at-home hair color is apparently in for a big relaunch, with The Office's Angela Kinsey. In the year to March, Procter & Gamble already spent 97 million on Nice 'n' Easy ads, almost double what it spent on advertising for the brand in the whole of 2008. As for Kinsey, it sounds like she'll play a sort of underminey girlfriend who tells women things like, "Remember when your friend Kelly said she liked your hair color? She lied!" [AW]
• Well, somebody must still have money: Stefano Pilati's "New vintage" collection for Yves Saint Laurent is all but sold out after one day on Barneys' sales floor. [WWD]
• New Yorkers stuck for Father's Day gift ideas, take note: designer John Bartlett's first collection with Liz Claiborne will be sold for four days starting June 18th at a pop-up store at 143 Seventh Avenue South. Shorts will be $55, polos $39.50, and sport coats $89.50. We imagine there'll be some nice socks and hankies, too. [The Cut]
• Pieces from Yigal Azrouël's current Spring/Summer collection, along with Alternative Apparel t-shirts hand-screened with woodblock-esque prints by the designer, are currently for sale on eBay. The items are offered at fixed prices, and while they are below retail ($215 for a cardigan), they're not exactly sample-sale affordable. But all proceeds go to the Natural Resources Defense Council. [eBay]
• Fashion blind item: "Which design collaboration's not actually going so smoothly? Major licensing and financial problems mean the summer-turned-fall launch is now looking like late winter. And if that's not enough drama the designer now 'despises' the collaborator." We'd say famously difficult Jil Sander and Uniqlo fit the bill here, except that line was always supposed to launch this Fall. [Fashionista]
• Net-a-Porter increased its sales by 47.8% in the year to January 31, to a volume of £81.5 million. [FT]
• Versace has named a new chief executive after the hasty departure of Giancarlo di Risio following tensions with the Versace family: the new guy is Gian Giacomo Ferraris, who led Jil Sander since 2004 (the year Sander herself was finally forced out of her design position by owners Prada). [WSJ]
• Jewelry can be a notoriously unethical business — and we don't just mean blood diamonds. Conditions in gold mines are often unsafe for workers, the chemicals used in mining, such as cyanide, can wreak havoc on local ecosystems, and the trade in precious gems like rubies and emeralds is often under the control of third-world strongmen. "Most gems are found in the poor parts of the world and they end up on very rich people's fingers and it's complicated," says jeweler Stephen Webster. The industry is taking a variety of voluntary measures to change its ways. [Telegraph]
• Things are head-spinningly complicated at Interview magazine — still. Fabien Baron and Glenn O'Brien used to be co-editorial directors; then, five months ago, Baron was fired, and O'Brien retained his position while a new creative team was brought in by Brant publications. Now, as of Friday, O'Brien is out — and Baron is back in his old job. [WWD]
• Shares in Men's Wearhouse gained 16% to $20.70 in trading on Tuesday, after the announcement that an affiliate of the company would buy the bankrupt Filene's Basement discount department store chain. Despite same-store sales that fell 5%, Men's Wearhouse still posted a first-quarter profit, and expects earnings of 50 to 60 cents a share in the next quarter. [TS]
• But another bidder in the Filene's auctions says the Men's Wearhouse bid should be invalidated because the auction was "a sham." [Crain's]
• Eddie Bauer might declare its bankruptcy as soon as the end of this week. [WSJ]

• In a 90's flashback, Kate Moss sings on the Lemonheads track "Dirty Robot." It's mostly her Rex Harrisoning "You're a dirty robot" over an electronica track. Is moderately awesome. [Fashionologie via Dazed Digital]

• The Paris Museum, which is putting together an exhibit on the creation of the "Kate Moss myth," has postponed it due to the overwhelming body of submissions. [WWD]
• The new Bjorn Borg store in SoHo may seem like an odd recession gamble, but the brightly-hued panty-and-tennis emporio sure is cute! [Fashion Week Daily]
• The latest crop of H&M's Designers Against AIDS includes Dita Von Teese, Katy Perry, Yoko Ono, and Cyndi Lauper. Bring it! [Just Jared]
• Maybe it's karma? H&M sales are slightly up, prompting hopes of a rebound. [Reuters]
• Or maybe it's the runaway success of its Matthew Williamson collection? They've re-stocked! [Racked]
• The tanking economy has led to a new phenomenon of high-end discount retail: think Filene's, um, parlor? [Reuters]
• John Bartlett, who was, apparently, a major fashion bad boy for a while, now has a really grown-up apartment full of dogs. [WSJ]
• Ouch: Nordstrom posts a 32% profit decline. [The Street]
• And Eddie Bauer, around whom sales rumors are swirling, has more than doubled its losses. [The Street]
• And if you're hoping for a reprieve, stop reading: Nike's cutting 1,750 jobs worldwide. [MSNBC]
• Abercrombie and Fitch is still in free fall, re-strategising like mad. [WSJ]
• Meanwhile, U.S.-made apparel prices, while down for April, are up for the year. [WWD]
• Necessity being the mother of globalization, Oscar de la Renta's hoping to boost worldwide sales by expanding to the Arabian Gulf. [WWD]
• Neither Soon-Yi Previn nor Mia Farrow will be called to testify in the Battle of the Nebbishes, Woody Allen versus American Apparel. Maybe because they have nothing to do with the case? [Reuters]< li>More previews of the Anna Wintour 60 Minutes interview! It's actually really dull! "It's very important to me that I look good when I go out publicly...I like looking at my clothes rack in the morning and deciding what to pick out. I enjoy fashion, Morley, I mean, I wouldn't be in this job if I didn't." [New York]
• Meanwhile, the editrice is teaming up with New York hizzoner Michael Bloomberg for an initiative to jump-start NYC retail. [WWD]
• We're only so-so excited about Tracy Feith's upcoming line for Target, which feels more fast and girlish than really adaptable. "Think super-short skirts, bloomer shorts and ruffled bikinis. Feith is known for his spirited, acid-floral prints and here, some are better than others." [LA Times]
• Talking "fast," Forever21 is rolling out a new "contemporary" line, Love21. Not sure what this means, as it's not like the current clothes are exactly "vintage." [Fabsugar]
• Jessica Hart, who apparently made waves (sorry) in the SI swimsuit issue, will be hitting the Victoria's Secret runway. But wait, we don't remember her appearance on The City! What did she do? [News.com.au]
• Speaking of The City! Is Olivia Palermo moving to Elle? But what about her special assignment to Paris? [New York Post]
• Read it and weep: some truly amazing vintage couture is going under the hammer in Paris in July. [WWD]
• Karl Lagerfeld was two hours late for a dinner in Venice. But doesn't he travel with his own boiled quail or something anyway? [Style.com]
• Louis Vuitton has funded artist Richard Prince's latest public installation: wrapping the Hong Kong Museum of Art in pulp fiction covers. [WWS]
• In concert with Cannes, Louis Vuitton is collaborating with Spanish actress Rossy de Palma on a $546 fan. We're sure Lagerfeld will eye it longingly, like a high school love. [WWD]

• Courtney Love vs. PETA: "Yep, I'm a fur whore... I've been very, very good for a very, very long time, and this ermine is ancient and tattered and feels like it belonged to a Queen." [Daily Express]

• We know Kate Moss has been a big hit for TopShop but...Christina Aguilera? The megastore “believes she would add something new to TopShop. Christina is the blonde bombshell who is into pop whereas Kate is the rock chick and model." [The Mirror]
• The utilitarian shoes famously ducked by lame-ducker Bush has become best-sellers for their Istanbul cobbler. "I have a sensitive relationship with this shoe. I designed it myself, so it's like a father and a child. I was very happy when I saw it on the video," quoth he. [Christian Science Monitor]
• Boyfriend jeans have spread their poison to India. "You might soon see Bipasha Basu in John Abraham’s jeans and Kareena Kapoor in Saif’s denims. This trend — ‘Boyfriend jeans’ — has become quite a rage in west and is fast catching up here, with Delhi’s hi-street brand outlets stocking the style." [Hindustan Times]
• Embattled jersey-porn peddlers American Apparel are being sued by an alleged European whistle-blower. [WWD]
• The New Yorker does the wincey treatment on Marni."This holiday season, I longed for world peace, universal health care, an end to poverty and disease, and, most of all, one of those chunky Marni necklaces made from colorful shapes of melted and stretched bovine horn. Oh, and could I also have that strand of fabric-covered beads anchoring a large plastron of midnight-blue resin? And the pendant that looks like a conference pass except that, instead of a name tag inside the clear plastic pouch, there’s a grid of acrylic gems?" [New Yorker]
• Sahar Daftary, the model who tragically fell to her death from a Manchester apartment, may have recently suffered a miscarriage after learning her boyfriend was married. Her family denies suicide and has requested a second post-mortem. [Telegraph]
• Dspite generally disappointing results from Target's accessories collaborations (accessories just can't help looking kinda budget, we suppose) we're cautiously optimistic about Hayden-Harnett's upcoming line. Quoth the Brooklyn twosome: “The thought, print development and design approach for the Target collection was exactly the same as for our own collection - style, quality, function and uniqueness...The only real difference is that we didn't do the Target collection production ourselves.” [The Fashion Informer]
• Chanel lays off 200 as luxury market continues its slump. [Guardian]
• The luxe sector is hoping Asia will be a more fruitful market. [CBS News]
• Online sales were slightly better this holiday season...which is not to say good. [WSJ]
• Is this because more women are online nowadays? Because why would we be online except to SHOP TIL WE DROP?! [WWD]
• NB kids: the much-ballyhooed Thakoon for Target is spreading cut-rate patterned cheer as we speak! [Fashionista]
• Fabsugar has named Leighton Meester aka Blair Waldorf the year's best-dressed. What say you? [Fabsugar]

Just this past February, the company's stock fell 18% in a day, proving that Gunn's name was not enough to translate into action at the cash register. Even Gunn's attempts to up the company's fame factor — Isaac Mizrahi was hired to be creative director of the Claiborne womenswear line and John Bartlett hired to oversee menswear soon afterwards — haven't helped. (Sure, the day Mizrahi's new role at the company was announced the company's stock was up 25%, but "much of that evaporated within a few weeks.") It remains unclear on how this acquisition, helmed by Gunn, has done anything to get Claiborne out of the red and into the realm wildly popular. Says Gunn: "I honestly think that in the not-too-distant future, this company will establish new paradigms of operations, the likes of which I don't think this industry has ever seen. I think we're going to be a Harvard Business School case study." Sorry, Tim: I'm a major fan, and I know that your new starpower designers' stuff won't be seen until next spring, but I remain unsold on your products and verbiage, both.

Project Rehab [Fast Money]

Earlier: How Tim Gunn Is Connected To J. Edgar Hoover, And Other Surprises About Project Runway's Favorite Father-Hen

• Kirsten Dunst looks almost as evil in these Miu Miu ads as we somehow believe she actually is. [Sassybella]
  
• The latest ads for British lingerie label Agent Provocateur features model Vahina Giocante playing "a bored housewife drawn into a love affair with a reform school tomboy." Um, based on this image, she doesn't look so tomboyish to us! [Vogue UK]
  
• First no black models, now no black customers: ck Calvin Klein Beauty Collection cosmetics for Caucasians only. [BellaSugar]
  
• This is what diplomatic disputes look like in Western Europe: The mayor of Paris v. H&M [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Donna Karan: Still trying to cure cancer through yoga with her Urban Zen initiative. [NYMag]

• Ooh, images from the Jovovich-Hawk for Target line. Yeaaaah, jury's still out. [Sassybella]
• Elle fashion director/ em>Project Runway judge Nina Garcia is no stranger to shilling for Blackberry, but now she's shilling a pink Blackberry. [Fashion Week Daily]
• This year, the Make-A-Wish Foundation fulfilled the dreams of a teenage girl named Yali, who had always longed to collaborate with Kate Spade in designing a handbag. "This was the most inspirational and gratifying experience of my life," says Yali. Um, so how's Yali holding up? What's her affliction? What's the prognosis? Yeah, they don't say. But Kate Spade ooh! [Fashion Week Daily]
• Diane von Furstenberg is now designing shoes. "My shoes are not just pretty accessories; they are functional and serve a purpose." Shoes? A purpose other than retail therapy? Shock. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Here's a handy place to hide your ill-gotten subprime mortgage hedge fund gains: a $18,000 belt. [UPI]
• Alexandre de Paris, Elizabeth Taylor's favorite hairstylist, passed away over the weekend at the age of 85. [Independent]