• Kate Moss was shot by Mario Testino for the September cover of British Vogue. That trench coat looks very Gisele photoshop-gate/neighborhood flasher, no? [Design Scene]

• Speaking of Gisele, she has signed on to voice a series of web cartoons intended to educate children about the environment, finance, and science. The supermodel will record the role of Gigi, a supermodel who doubles as an environmental superhero. [UK Elle]
• Another image from Victoria Beckham's Armani campaign has dropped. [Daily Mail]
• Transformers director Michael Bay shot the Victoria's Secret holiday commercial. [P6]
• For some reason, Lady GaGa apparently told the News Of The World that she spends all her money on clothes. "Every single dollar that I've earned I put into my tour. Mainly into my crazy outfits. My performance is my life. And I'm not that great with money. I've gone bankrupt four times already." Um, hire a financial planner? Or a stylist who can pull Jean-Charles de Castelbajac Kermit coats for free? [NOTW]
• "My fashion wisdom comes from gardening. This is a difficult time for many, but I am not in crisis mode. Like the seasons of gardening, there is a time to plant and a time to harvest, and now is a time to weed. This will pass." Oscar de la Renta, like everyone else, is hoping he has green thumbs. [WWD]
• Mid-size fashion businesses, those who expanded in the boom years to $7-$10 million in annual sales, are at a greater risk in this recession than any other tranche of the industry, so Oscar will in fact probably be safe. But not so designers like Peter Som and Jane Mayle. As retailers continue to contend with falling consumer spending by cutting inventory and ditching labels that don't move swiftly from the racks, more designer bankruptcies over the coming season are likely. [WWD]
• Zandra Rhodes, on her style icon: "Me! Otherwise what am I designing for?" [Independent]
• We are not sure why this story, which has no news about Alexis Bledel and her projects, but several large photos of the actress wearing a leotard with incredibly teased hair, exists. But it does. Also, Alexis Bledel is not Rory Gilmore in real life. Who knew? [WWD]
• John Varvatos, who in the past has chosen rock stars like Iggy Pop as models, this year selected ZZ Top for his fall campaign. The group was shot against a diorama of water buffalo at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History. [WWD]
• The British Fashion Council is moving its headquarters — and its largest event, fashion week — to historic Somerset House. This September, London Fashion Week is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and British designers from Matthew Williamson to Gareth Pugh have vowed to show in the city. [Telegraph]
• Bobbi Brown and Lauren Bush are co-launching a FEED makeup bag. The model's charity project supports the U.N. World Food Program. The makeup pouch will cost $50, including three Bobbi Brown lip glosses, and Bush says the cost will support 10 women in the UNWFP's Food for Work program. [WWD]
• Alexander Wang's e-commerce venture is now live. When it asks for a password, type in AWSTYLE.COM. [AlexanderWang]
• Ciara supports not texting while driving. [WWD]
• Lela Rose may be on to something as an ice cream cook. When asked her favorite flavor, the designer replied, "My own homemade ice cream called Brown Bread. It's an almond base, with bread crumbs that have been baked in butter and brown sugar with almonds. It's just delicious." [WWD]
• Roland Mouret, on quitting smoking: "I read Allen Carr books. I was hypnotised. I am now a non-smoker, and I smoked for 20 years. It's over." [Guardian]
• Catherine Deneuve and L'Oréal principal shareholder Liliane Bettencourt are among those inducted this year into the International Best-Dressed List Hall of Fame; that, in case anyone's wondering, is Vanity Fair's made-up list of well-dressed people. [VF]
• Following the news that leather suppliers were selling skins from cattle involved in illegal deforestation of the Amazon, Clarks, Timberland, Adidas, and Nike have asked that their suppliers stop that. Seems a little weak. [Guardian]
• Tom Ford's directorial debut, "A Single Man," an adaptation of the Christopher Isherwood novel that stars Colin Firth and Julianne Moore, will take place at the Venice Film Festival this September. [WWD]
• Fast-fashion chain Peacocks is making its own très Chanel-inspired quilted rain boots. Maybe they heard Audrey Tautou's endorsement of the real thing? [Guardian]
• Instead of having to pay back 100 million Euros this month, and another 350 million Euros next July, Prada has won a loan extension until 2012. [WWD]
• Uniqlo's same-store sales for the month of July fell 4.2%. [WWD]

• Hilary Rhoda: Estée Lauder spokesmodel with a thing for drugstore makeup. A woman after our own hearts. [Daily Beast]
• In other news from model-land, Adriana Lima might be pregnant. [NYDN]
• Also said to be expecting: Gisele Bundchen. [NYDN]
• And sources say Kate Moss could be birthing a "novel." [Sun]

• Givenchy's Fall/Winter campaign, shot this time by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott after nine seasons in the hands of Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, features newcomer model Ranya Mordanova and her distinctive bowl cut. [WWD]
• Stefan Persson, the Swedish owner of H&M, is in the final stages of a $40 million deal to buy an entire village in Britain. Linkenholt, its manor estate, cricket grounds, town hall, forest, surrounding farm land, and all 21 current residents' homes, will become Persson's. Curiously, the neighboring town of Andover was the site, in 994, of the confirmation of Viking King Olaf Tryggvason, who, in following the religious ceremony and the receipt of other gifts, promised King Ethelred the Unready that he would stop raiding England. (The Viking king was technically Norwegian, not Swedish, but it's still an odd coincidence.) [UPI]
• Another country estate, this one in Scotland, with a fashion connection, is to be restored by its owner. Rundown Rosehall House, which was decorated by Coco Chanel in the 1920s, is going to be turned into a luxury country club under a £3 million renovation plan. [Daily Express]
• At Dior's party for Marion Cotillard at Cannes, Alex de Betak, who produces shows for the major houses, revealed that he's curating an exhibition dedicated to fashion shows that will unfurl in 3-D at the NRW Forum in Dusseldorf in July. Expect references to the now in-again late 80s/early 90s: "There are shows that made a big impression on me before I even started out, like the Thierry Mugler with the motorbike and George Michael or Gaultier's shows at the Villette where girls were coming out of the floor. Those were so memorable." [WWD]
• Cartier filed and withdrew a lawsuit against Apple in the same day. The jewelry house alleged that two iPhone applications infringed on its trademark Tank watches; Apple removed the apps from its online store. [WSJ]
• John Duerden, the new CEO of Crocs, a company which was supposed to be bankrupt already after losing $22.4 million in the first quarter of this year alone, thinks the company can be saved with aggressive cost-cutting and a thorough pruning of its inventory. [WWD]
• The rejected Aquascutum buyout may have been the company's last chance for survival. Former chief executive Kim Winser, who transformed Pringle into a fashion brand before taking over Aquascutum three years ago, had wanted to buy the venerable English house from its current Japanese owners, Renown, which is looking to spin off the brand as part of company-wide restructuring. Now, 400 jobs and the company's pension obligations are in jeopardy. [FT]
• Fellow iconic British label Burberry Prorsum will show in London, not Milan, this September, to mark the 25th anniversary of London Fashion Week and the British Fashion Council. [WWD]
• Rumors of a rift between Donatella Versace, creative director, and Giancarlo di Risio, chief executive, over Versace's falling fortunes and recession strategy have been denied "unanimously and categorically" by the company board. Di Risio was said to be on the point of leaving the company. Versace has so far refused to adapt much to the new patterns of consumer spending, emphatically not lowering its prices. The company believes that discounting would harm its luxury brand identity in the long term; sales have plummeted, even relative to the overall troubled high-end fashion market, with revenue falling 13.4% in the first quarter of 2009. [FT]
• Saks's CEO has pledged to offer more low-priced items following a 27% decline in sales in the first quarter. Lanvin, meanwhile, has just announced that it made $9.9 million in profits during 2008, a year for which sales grew 29%. [WWD]
• Nordstrom's prices are already an average of 10% lower than they were one year ago. [WWD]
• For his part, John Varvatos has one question he'd like to ask God, assuming s/he exists: "When is the economy going to turn around?" [The Fashion Informer]
• Sergio Rossi has a new president and CEO: Christophe Mélard. [WWD]
• Guthy Renker Australia, which, there as here, sells skincare products, including Proactiv and Principal Secret, via infomercial, lost AU$15 million last year. The American parent company has had to guarantee its debts. [News.com.au]
• Ittierre, the troubled Italian fashion company that Roberto Cavalli blamed for the cancellation of his Fall/Winter Just Cavalli show this February, has renewed its licensing deal not only with Cavalli, but with C'N'C, Costume National's diffusion brand. [WWD]

• Michelle Obama will not attend the CFDA Fashion Awards, despite the fact that she is receiving the CFDA's Board of Directors' Special Tribute (an award they made up especially for her). [WWD]

• A few months back, Peaches Geldof obligingly posed for a News of the World paparazzo while frolicking topless in St. Tropez. (The things you must do for cash in this economy!) Lingerie brand Ultimo noticed the shots, and offered Peaches six figures to be its new face. Which is why there are now pictures of the 20-year-old noted Nylon correspondent lying on a table in her underwear, surrounded by cupcakes and milkshakes, and giving quotes about how it's better for her to model lingerie than "an anorexic model." Tell that to the Photoshopper, doll. [Daily Mail]
• Supposedly, despite the global financial crisis and the recession it has spawned, the Chinese are still buying luxury goods. Either that, or the AP found the one lady in Beijing who can still afford Dior. [AP]
• Lanvin and Kate Spade, however, see business opportunities in Japan. (Have they read any economic news out of Japan recently?) [WWD]
• Donatella Versace went to the White House Correspondents' Dinner — her second — and reflected on the differences between the last administration and the current one. (The Obamas made sure to have "cool" Hollywood people, not "stiff" Hollywood people, at their party, for one.) Then she met Colin Powell, who is apparently her "hero." [HuffPo]
• Tim Gunn was also in Washington, D.C., this week — as a lobbyist. The CFDA sent Gunn, along with Project Runway Season 5 winner Leanne Marshall, to talk to politicians about the recently re-introduced Design Piracy Bill, which would extend copyright protection to clothing. (At the moment, images printed on clothes can be copyrighted, because they're considered artwork, and an exact pattern can be copyrighted, but all the other distinctive design features of a garment can be legally copied by any manufacturer.) Gunn was soon besieged with questions from Hill staffers about how to spruce up their outfits. [NY Observer]
• This fall, you too can smell like Akon. In two different ways. [WWD]
• Katy Perry: "Usually, I'm trying to look like a party." [People]
• If you care about Gossip Girl, which I hear is a television show people watch, sometimes, then perhaps you would like to read this article about how, during the soap opera's 80s flashback scenes, the characters dress in clothes. From the 80s. [WWD]
• Suzy Menkes — writer of that terrible story on the "African" fashion trend — thinks blogs are great. But that they get things wrong. No argument there! But since when are newspapers any different? A commenter on this story promptly identified an error in a four-year-old piece Menkes wrote for the New York Times. [The Cut]
• If you wear a size 16 in Ann Taylor or Ann Taylor Loft clothing, after this spring — wait, that's, like, right now! — you'll need to go online to find it. The company says they will no longer stock size 16 in stores because of lack of consumer demand, which seems awfully fishy when you remember that 70% of American women are a size 12 or above. Ann Taylor thus joins Banana Republic and J. Crew in selling size 16 only online. [Crain's]
• Jenna Lyons, the creative director of J. Crew, comes across as the kind of person who thrives under stress in this interview. [Fashionista]
• The inaugural Ellen Tracy intimates collection will be available in stores this December. [WWD]
• Betsey Johnson is into designing a diffusion line for Target or "whatever it's called." HSN, QVC, Topshop, H&M — anything, really, she swears. Call her. Please. [The Cut]
• Zaha Hadid for Lacoste shoes look like a rubber octopus with a foot fetish. [WWD]
• Puma's sales actually increased 3.6% in the first quarter of this year, but its overall net income fell 93.8% on figures from two years ago. [WWD]
• Troubled retailer Abercrombie & Fitch is taking over a 4,300 square foot space on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue — only three blocks south of its current flagship store. Hickey Freeman, the menswear store, is forced to close its old flagship at 666 Fifth because of the bankruptcy of its parent company, Hartmarx, and Abercrombie is apparently only too happy to take it over. [WWD]
• John Varvatos — the designer who made CBGB's a store selling $2,000 jackets — just laid off 12 people, or 4% of his workforce. [WWD]
• Scientists at Virginia Tech have created a fabric that can measure the speed, motion, and direction of its movements, and transmit those data to a computer. Science is magic, guys. [Advanced Imaging Pro]
• A makeup artist for The Bold And The Beautiful thinks women will go for putting her own special brand of concealer on their feet to hide corns and calluses. To which I say: Why not do that with the foundation you already own, should you feel such a step be necessary? And: Makeup smudges on my lovely shoes? No thanks. The brave ladies of The Cut road-tested the execrable product. Warning: click only if you want to see pictures of feet before lunchtime. [The Cut]

• Breaking: Kate Moss is wearing a turban of her own creation to the Met Ball. [Fashionista]
• Did DVF rip off this jacket from an indie designer? [National Post]

• Meet the world's most expensive suit! [The Life Files]
• Dries Van Noten, intellectual designer extraordinaire, will be honored by FIT. [WWD]
• Elie Tahari has designed a "Michelle dress." Of his muse, the designer says, "She has a great style, and what's great about her is she is dressing like everybody else can dress." [WWD]
• Ooh, preview of Leanne Marshall's Bluefly line! It's gonna be green. [New York]
• Chanel opens a super-luxe beauty parlor in Tokyo. Recession fab! [WWD]
• Marc Jacobs is squiring both Madonna and Courtney Love to the Met ball! [New York]
• Good news? LVMH is (slightly) up. [WSJ]
• Rachel Zoe's reality show, going to England. Well, she's a good representative. [AP]
• Now prospective Carries have options for a jilting dress: Dame Viv has added five new wedding gowns to her range. [Fashionista]
• Uggs, the comfort food of the apparel world, continues to keep its parent co. afloat. [WWD]
• Workhorse Steve Madden is also posting strong returns. [Crains]
• Stella McCartney: "People are always trying to pull me in different directions, but I get a huge satisfaction from being able to say no! I like to do one thing properly, not lots of things quite well." [Style.com]
• Zeng Jing, a Chinese plus-sized model, invited only other plus-sized models to her engagement party, to, as she said, "highlight the concerns of larger people." Okay. [UPI]
• Speaking of modeling, Joe's Jeans wants you! "Joe wants real people with funk, spunk, and personality." [FabSugar]
• Perhaps on the strength of her Lagerfeld campaign, Jerry Hall has been re-signed by Ford. [Fashionista]
• The Avon lady is coming to TV! The struggling cosmetics veteran is branching into infomercials; we're guessing Lauren Conrad will be involved. [AP]
• Designers push for tighter regulations on piracy. Of the fashion, not naval, kind. [WWD]

• Kim Kardashian is ticked Us used a picture of her alongside a story about Forever 21's just-launched plus-size line. "I love my curves, but curvy and plus-sized are two very different things," Kardashian protested. [PerezHilton]

• Kanye West's shoot with Amber Rose, the buzzcut model he was frequently seen with at the fall/winter collections, was not a campaign for his Louis Vuitton sneakers, after all. The Cut offers their take: "So to answer the question we all asked when we first saw these images, no, Louis Vuitton is not out of its mind. We're still not sure what the shots are for. We're guessing some kind of urban magazine like Giant." Because an urban magazine would be the only venue low-class enough to value shots of Amber Rose's ass? Oh, I forgot myself for a minute there! Obviously when someone with Iekeliene Stange's complexion goes entirely nude for six pages in Velvet, that's fashion. When a woman of color does it, that's crass and tacky. But of potential interest to urban readers. [The Cut]
• In some real Louis Vuitton news, tomorrow, for Earth Day, the company will donate 15% of all its US online sales to The Climate Project, Al Gore's non-profit. [WWD]
• Speaking of campaigns, Alexander Wang says he won't be doing one, because his lookbooks are so beautiful already. Is that canny or what? Lookbooks get picked up by blogs like this one nowadays; and what's more you can pay the creative team — model, photographer, stylist, art director, etc — relatively little to shoot a "lookbook" as compared with the cost if one were to call it a "campaign." [Style.com]
• Nicole Richie modeled for the lookbook for her line of costume jewelry, House of Harlow 1960. Of course she did: the whole point is to sell the stuff by associating it with her image. [Fabsugar]
• Tracey Ullman added Donna Karan and Miuccia Prada to her compendium of impersonations on her show this week. [WWD]
• Barbara Hulanicki, the legendary designer and illustrator of 1960s London, has descriptions but no pictures of her line for Topshop, which goes on sale on April 27. There will be shoulderpads, chiffon, grey suede, bloomers, and leopard print. Crazy like a fox? [UK Elle]
• Wait, Fashionista's got the lookbook! Definitely foxy. [Fashionista]
• Jefferson Hack, the founder of Dazed & Confused and Another Magazine — and erstwhile boyfriend of one Kate Moss — says things we wish other magazine editors would think, like, "Our readers' love of fashion shouldn't exclude an interest in the world around them." One of his favorite selections from the new Another Magazine photography book? The spread where Moss was shot at the back of the Hollywood sign. Reminisces Hack, "And then she climbed up and hung off the back of the 'O,' in this long McQueen dress. The dress is kind of metallic, but it's shredded, too, and to me, that image works as a symbol of a shredded optimism. A shredding of values. The Iraq war had just started when we ran that photo, and the Patriot Act was going through, and there was that whole ramping up of Bush's, you know, anti-democratic leadership. We were referencing those events in more direct ways in the rest of the magazine — in interviews and so on — but we also echoed it in some of the fashion imagery. And so for me, you know, that image encapsulates that moment." [Style.com]
• Meanwhile in London, Ms. Moss scooped up a beauty industry award for her fragrance, Velvet Hour. [News.uk.msn]
• American Apparel has a new argument about why it should get to talk about Woody Allen's relationship with Soon-Yi Previn in defending a lawsuit about using the film-maker's image in its advertising without authorization: because they talk about the company amongst themselves, sometimes! I think this is the moment on Law and Order where one lawyer says, "She opened the door," and the other one says, "Spousal privilege!" and then the judge calls them into the chambers. [Racked]
• Burberry's same-store sales fell slightly less than expected in the second half; it was partly because the weakening of the pound made their offerings more attractive. [WSJ]
• Coach's profit fell 29.3% in the third quarter. [Crain's]
• Fancy yourself a Sean John men's wear model? The company's doing an online search for its fall campaign. [WWD]
• And John Varvatos and Island Records are holding a battle of the bands. [WWD]

• Hark, watchers of the court of Karl Lagerfeld: doubleplustop prettyboy Brad Koenig is out. Model Baptiste Giabiconi is in. This is just like when Louis XV replaced Madame de Pompadour with Marie-Louise O'Murphy! [The Cut]

• Police in Berlin have been told not to wear clothes by the labels Fred Perry, Ben Sherman, ACAB, Alpha Industries, Consdaple, Lonsdale, Pit Bull, Outlaw, Troublemaker, and Thor Steinar while on duty. The reason? Higher-ups consider these brands to be popular among right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis, and understandably, German authorities are at pains to be dissociated from such ideologies. The labels involved — with the exception of Thor Steinar, which apparently embraces neo-Nazi-ism — are concerned because being put on the official neo-Nazi uniform list makes for terrible press. (Some of the companies have taken particular care to distance themselves from extremist political views and tried to restrict their sales outlets to combat the right-wing perception.) The police union also objected to the ban, because they think it could harm undercover officers' ability to blend in with the groups they are infiltrating. [WWD]
• Those fish pedicures? Not legal in 14 states. The downsized fish in one New Hampshire salon now swim around a decorative tank, eating fish food "or each other if they get too hungry." Why did we think having live fish chew the dead flesh off our toes was a good idea, again? (Remember when Diane Sawyer did it?) [WSJ]
• Diane von Furstenberg is keen, in her role as president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, to clarify the purpose of New York fashion week, and distinguish between trade events and consumer events. She's interested in seeing more consumer shows. As for her own line, no men's wear and no children's wear is in the cards. [WWD]
• Kate Moss is supposedly coming to New York on April 1 or the supposed opening of the first American Top Shop. We've had our Top Shopping hearts broken by these exact wolf cries before, so, we're not getting our hopes up. [P6]
• Robin Givhan, fashion critic for the Washington Post, is not cheered by the thought of a return to the time when everyone's ass was in acid wash. On the 80s revival theme prevalent this season — perhaps most notably in Marc Jacobs' collection — Givhan says, "I think that it's just a lack of imagination whenever so many people latch on to something like that ... And I think I would feel differently if I thought it was sort of lovingly being done well and with a certain panache. But I don't think the world needs MC Hammer pants ever, ever again. Michael Jackson is back and he wants his clothes ... I mean, acid-wash jeans, hello? Hasn't everyone had some horrible run in with acid-wash jeans?" [The Cut]
• French daily Le Monde has launched a new style magazine — kinda like the New York Times' T. Why do we say that? Partly because it's called M. Audrey Marnay is on the cover, and there's a neat Matthias Vriens editorial inside. [Fashionologie]
• DSW, the discount shoe retailer, lost $7.5 million last quarter. [WSJ]
• Selling briskly by comparison is anything to do with that sparkly vampire abstinence movie. [WWD]
• Dov Charney, founder and CEO of American Apparel, bought $2.67 million worth of shares in his own company. It boosted the stock price, which hit a low of $1.26 on March 10, just before a crucial refinancing deal saved the company from bankruptcy, to $3.38. Charney had made personal loans to American Apparel before, but never made a large direct purchase of company stock. [WSJ]
• Clarins is hoping to boost sales by opening mini-salons, and targeting Hispanic customers, within department stores in the U.S. Maybe they could try putting some women of color in their beauty campaigns? [WSJ]
• A raft of business executives and fashion operatives, including John Varvatos, Stephen I. Sadove, and Wal-Mart chief merchandising officer John Fleming will speak at this year's Global Retailing Conference at the University of Arizona's Lundgren Center. This is of course assuming they don't decide to just hold each other and weep. [WWD]

• 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]

• Olivier Theyskens is holding true to the fundamentals. “When the economy changes, it’s not like you want to start eating bad-tasting chocolate,” he said, after showing his pre-fall collection for Nina Ricci. [WWD]

• Serial rapist Anand Jon, the former celebrity designer, is scheduled to be sentenced today. The penalty for his 16 counts of sexual abuse against models, including 7 counts of forcible rape of women aged 14-21 is a mandatory life sentence, with earliest parole eligibility in 2075. Regardless, his mother was apparently overheard approaching wealthy guests at a hotel in Chennai, India, asking for money for an appeal. Jon's website greeting page opens with a quote from Gandhi: "Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is still the truth." [NY Post]
• Nixonite dirty trickster Roger Stone — subject of an excellent Jeffrey Toobin profile last year — apparently thinks himself a fashion maven. Taking up the mantle of the deceased Mr. Blackwell, Stone inaugurated a new annual feature on his website, a worst- and best-dressed list. Though occasionally wacky ("Lobbyists are the only elegant men left in America"), his advice isn't all off the mark: Obama and Carla Bruni tops the men's and women's lists, respectively, and he says Tom Wolfe "looks like he's a cross-dressing character in a lesser Dickens novel." [The Stone Zone]
• Designer Vivienne Tam held a fashion show in Beijing to raise money to save the panda habitat destroyed in last year's Sichuan earthquake. The five one-off outfits she auctioned featured panda motifs. Adorable. [Reuters]
• As part of his prize for winning the 2008 CDFA/Vogue Fashion Fund award, Alexander Wang gets one year of professional mentoring from none other than Diane von Furstenberg. Runners-up Vena Cava and Albertus Swanepoel are to be mentored by Patrick Robinson and Andrew Rosen, and Andy and Kate Spade, respectively. [WWD]
• Ellen Tracy has inked a licensing deal for intimate apparel. Expect to see "sleepwear, at-homewear, robes, foundations, shapewear and lingerie" everywhere Ellen Tracy is sold as soon as this fall. [WWD]
• WWD has a good round-up of the status of designers' venue preparations for New York Fashion Week, just one month away. IMG is not introducing a fourth, off-site presentation venue this season, as had been floated, meaning rental at the Bryant Park Tents proper will cost $28,000-$48,000. Many designers are opting for cheaper locales. Calvin Klein is moving its show to the ground floor of the company headquarters, Vera Wang is holding hers in her new SoHo store, smaller labels are banding together for shared shows, and others, like Thakoon and Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti, are showing in Chelsea gallery spaces. Meanwhile, Tommy Hilfiger is back to the tents after a multi-season absence. Marc Jacobs, as usual, intends to use the Lexington Avenue Armory. [WWD]
• Sass & Bide are down for the count entirely. Although they intended to return to fashion week this season, co-founder Sarah Jane Clark's third pregnancy means the Australian duo will stay home. What a happy event to spur such a sad occurrence. [Fashionista]
• High dudgeon at a retail bigwig confab: J. Crew's chief executive Mickey Drexler reportedly took Neiman Marcus' chief executive Burt Tansky to task over luxury markups. Drexler told Tansky the days of the $800 high heel are over. “Wall Street is over,” he continued, and “more wealth has been created on non-productive [financial] transactions” than ever before. When the market comes back, Drexler said, consumers will not be tricked into paying department store margins again. “There’s a whole reset button that has been pushed," he said. Tansky responded by saying “It’s premature to start denigrating what the affluent customer will want.” This fight sounds like it was awesome and very, very awkward. [WSJ]
• The man behind the "Save Anna" t-shirt has a new thing for you to wear: A Rachel Zoe "bananas" shirt with a Warhol-esque screenprint of the stylist-approved fruit and the phrase "I die. Bananas." underneath. Eating disorder, tanning club card, and giant hippie dress optional. [The Cut]
• NY Mag has a sweet video of Marc Jacobs in bed talking about the Stephen Sprouse graffiti collection, which was recently relaunched. "I have a lot of Stephen's clothes and the thing is every time I look at them, they never feel old-fashioned to me, they never look out-of-date. I don't originate or create anything, I'm just here putting things together or re-putting things together, and I like it that way," says Jacobs. [The Cut]
• Wait, what? Stephen Alan for Uniqlo? Please let this not be like that time Amy Winehouse said she was doing a clothing line. [The Cut]
• Dolce & Gabbana's new campaign, shot by Steven Klein, is being proudly trumpeted as a potential source of controversy. Inspired by the Visconti film The Leopard, about a Sicilian aristocratic family at the time of Italian unification, the ads will feature images of male models praying. "For sure they will say we are offending religion," sighed either Domenico or Stefano, reports Reuters. "Instead it could be read as a return to values. And there is a need for that at this time." Yes. For "values," and, presumably, for valuable clothes. [Reuters]
• Remember how Domenico Vacca and John Varvatos both claimed to have dressed Jeremy Piven for the Golden Globes? Turns out it was a tie. The actor's publicist says he wore a Domenico Vacca jacket and John Varvatos pants. Which might be true, or it might be her trying to stay on both companies' good sides after pledging separately to each to wear its clothes and screwing that up royally. How much you want to bet pissed reps for both labels are poring over photos trying to tell their lapel notches from the competitor's as we speak? [WSJ]
• Nonetheless, expect more of the same as award season wears on through the grim retail market. The thin consumer dollar means designers are even more eager to get their gears on a red carpet. Katie Holmes' Golden Globes stylist even received personal phone calls from several solicitous designers. "That never happened before," said the stylist, "usually I just hear from their publicists." And cows walk upright and eat manburgers in this strange opposite world! [WSJ]

• Elle UK is, for some reason, all agog over the 20-year-old celeb spawn, who they say has had some kind of chic makeover since turning 20. "It's official. We have a new style crush here at ELLE in the shape of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis' daughter Rumer." Well, to each her own, we say! [ElleUK]
• Rihanna models a look from Kanye West's new "Pastelle" clothing line. It kind of looks like she's wearing her dad's sweatshirt. [The Life Files]
• Designer John Varvatos (recently known for taking over punk emporium CBGB in New York and turning it into a high-end boutique) has a new baby girl: Thea. [P6]
• Remember that community garden Forever21's destroying in L.A.? It gets worse: "It's the former site of the South Central Farm - "where low-income, indigenous/immigrant Latino farmers grew food in the midst of a toxic industrial area for 14 years." Wait, Forever21's not an ethical company? But it's so cheap! [Feministe]

• Simon Doonan does his part for the economy with the new Barney's Catalog, which is centered around a narrative called "Emma's Dilemma." As Emma, model Coco Rocha is torn between two men and various luxury goods. '"The theme is, 'Oh just buy both,'" said Doonan, adding that even though the economy is fragile, the catalogue's message is right for these times. "Embedded in there is permission to be a little self-indulgent. It's a bit of glamorous self-indulgence." [WWD]
• Speaking of Cocos, the new Lifetime miniseries about Coco Chanel blows. "Shirley McLaine plays the "older" Chanel to Barbara Bobulova's younger incarnation, with the two apparently bearing "no resemblance to one another other than they both like a well-cut suit". [VogueUK]
• Narciso Rodriguez on the recession: “The economy is such that it’s a tough moment for everyone. We are happy we haven’t decreased the business in any way, but the company usually grows like 20 percent every year, and that hasn’t happened. We are trudging through this Bush mess and looking forward to the next steps.” They're also looking forward to a new fragrance. [WWD]
• Nautica, not an official Olympic sponsor, scores best product placement of the Beijing games: on Misty May-Treanor's forehead. [NYP]
• With back-to-school sales continuing to disappoint, retailers entice the young, predator-style, over the internet. Take Kohl's, who's selling a new line on Stardoll.com, "a virtual community for teens and tweens where kids can fork over "Stardollars" — purchased online at a nominal sum — to buy apparel for their online characters." It seems like, implicitly, retailers are hoping kids to a little clandestine shopping behind their penny-pinching parents' backs...[WSJ]
• Those "detox foot pads" that soak up all your toxins herbally and turn black overnight? Apparently they're frauds. [NPR]
• Foundering chain Steve and Barry's creditors probe a suspect $5 million loan. [WSJ]
• Gap pursues scorched earth policy, firing almost all its Euro designers. "The global chain will axe its European fashion design team from September, and is moving its advertising team to its US headquarters. It will, however, retain an in-house design team working on store design, visual merchandising and in-store events." [MediaBistro]
• Fendi makes hideous $575 patent hightop. Looks kind of like a 19th century work boot, only not a all utilitarian. [The Life Files]
• You know times are tough when even Target 's profits are down. [WWD]
• A California woman designs modest "halal" swimwear that covers the body. '"I understand most people are accustomed to not seeing a lot of clothing on the beach or in the water," Sabet said. "We don't want to look like freaks or stick out like sore thumbs for being so covered up on the beach, but I wanted to help make water activity accessible to Muslim women."' [UPI]
• Nearly "1,000 bra makers protested outside the German embassy in Bangkok on Tuesday in a labor dispute stemming from the vexed issue of whether Thais have the right not to stand up in honor of King Bhumibol Adulyadej." Basically, a union leader was sacked for wearing a politically-charged tee asserting her right to remain seated during the anthem, which is played before movies. It's an issue because the king has been traditionally been perceived as a semi-divinity and this view is meeting with increasing resistence. The bra company then fired her to avoid making waves; hence the protest. [Reuters]
• Mini courts the "creative class of New York" with its rooftop Fashion Week happening, '"curated" by
  Jefferson Hack, along with a performance by MGMT. ' [WWD]
• Model Gemma Ward "officially retiring" to pursue acting. [Sassybella]
• Vena Cava/Via Spiga (try saying that one five times fast) collaborate on capsule collection that could well be rad. [WWD]

• In weird/amazing news: Christian Siriano is doing a maternity line. "Siriano teamed up with his two friends Marta Abrams and Elise Rosemarin, founders of Moody Mamas maternity clothes, to create a collection called Fierce for Moody Mamas by Christian Siriano." Apparently he liked the idea of a gay man doing maternity - and a 22-year-old, less! [NY Mag]
• Isn't it nice when celebrity lines actually make sense, like Dita Von Teese for Wonderbra? [The Life Files]
• What will Stella say? Gwyneth Paltrow wears fur, creates ruckus. "The actress, who along with her husband, Chris Martin, supports a raft of ethical causes, is pictured draped in fox fur and wearing fur-lined boots for the Italian luxury goods company Tod’s." And this after PETA wrote her "many times" and "sent her videos showing how animals suffer for fur." [First Post]

• Does anyone else find this description of the costumes from Madonna's upcoming "Sweet and Sticky" tour really, really depressing? "Costume designer Arianne Phillips took inspiration from the Material Girl's early years in the city to create "nostalgic and fun" looks that "take Madonna back to her roots." Designer Jeremy Scott contributed '80s-inspired pieces with prints from the late artist Keith Haring, who was a close friend of Madonna's and would also have turned 50 this year. Madonna – who will celebrate her 50th birthday on Aug. 16 – is even getting custom sneakers with Haring's art on them." [People]
• "Christian Dior has unveiled its new Luxury Mobile Phone, My Dior, specifically for the China and Russia marketplace." It has crystals on its face and for no very clear reason comes with an additional, miniature phone. It's also five grand. [Inventor Spot]
• After a decade and despite a fanatical fashionista following, Jane Mayle closes her boutique, line. [WWD]
• Miu Miu's jockey-inspired line: "To drive the athletic message home, for the show, each model had her initials embossed in leather on her jacket – how cute is that? – and, for good measure, also wore a close-fitting interpretation of a riding hat." Um, sort of cute, we guess. [Independent]
• Kiehl's, Brad Pitt team up for green charity. [WWD]
• Ospop canvas sneakers take inspiration from Chinese workers. "Specifically, Ospop sneakers are based on a design widely worn by such laborers, but with higher-quality materials and structural improvements meant to appeal to a Western audience — one that is, not incidentally, willing to pay $75 for a pair of sneakers. Since forming last October, Ospop has sold more than 7,500 pairs." By the way, they're very cool - like a streamlined, old-school Ked. [NYT]
• Slate's rundown of fashion books and sites; few surprises, good refresher - although we feel Genevieve Antoine Dariaux should really head any such compendium. [Slate]
• Daphne Guinness on street style: "Celebrities almost never look good unless they are 'out' at something or other, while real fashion animals always look a little interesting, even if they are only going to Starbucks. Individuality will always exist," she asserts. "It's more that it has become very underground and doesn't infiltrate the mainstream as much as it should, so you have to search it out, which is getting more difficult, but also more rewarding." Well, if "more difficult" means a hundred "Satrorialist/Bill Cunningham/street-peeper"-style hipster street fashion blogs, then yes. [VogueUK]
• In "stuff you probably weren't wondering": what did Madonna wear to her 50th bash at London's Volstead nightclub? "The material girl donned Givenchy's catwalk layered gold chains and crusifixes, defying her half-century to look younger than ever. She teamed the necklaces...with a micro mini playsuit, sheer, puff sleeved overcoat and thigh high Stella McCartney boots - and a clutch bag baring her name in diamonds and studs." [ElleUK]
• Belgian Peter Philips takes over as global creative director of Chanel make-up: "A softly-spoken Belgian with dark blond hair and a calm demeanour...Philips has inherited a legacy of luxurious packaging and technical innovation." His first move: gold nail polish. [Independent]
• The Guardian runs down the tactics of the most successful retailers: keeping it in the family, "shock tactics" and, you know, good business. [Guardian]
• Saks way down. So at least the recession's democratic... [WSJ]
• The Duh Files: Sunglasses are no substitute for prescription specs. Why can't people just wear prescription shades like we do? Then, apparently, they wouldn't be getting in car accidents. [Daily Mail]
• Forever21 bulldozes L.A. garden, draws protests, makes shlocky clothes. [LA Times]
• John Varvatos used Gwen Stefani sorta-step-daughter and self-described "dirty fairy" Daisy Lowe in his latest campaign because she's "cute, sexy but not overly beautiful...the kids in the ads look pretty real, we were not looking for glamour." [WWD]
• Venerable label Pringle of Scotland collaborate for their latest window with artist Deborah Bowness, who created a book-print wallpaper for the display using the Autumn collection's color scheme. "The wallpaper was then mounted on large leather-bound books to create the background for the collection. To finish, I used smaller versions of the books embossed with "Pringle of Scotland: The Collection". Each window is arranged differently, bringing style and humour." [VogueUK]
• We're on record in our belief that jean-buying and the internets don't mix, but couturecloset.us does sound pretty cool: "Basically, it's a denim haven, built to bring all the coolest jeans to your fingertips. From the left hand side, choose the denim brand you prefer, and it'll provide links of online retailers that sell its jeans. Also, scroll down and you'll find a bunch of eBay denim auctions." [FabSugar]
• The "candycast": in which a cartoon lady lectures you on fashion. And it's not even Smurfette! [Style.com]

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

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

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

• You knew this already, but Project Runway judge/style tome author/ELLE fashion director Nina Garcia has parted ways with the magazine that made her. At least, ELLE has yet to tell anyone the rumors are false.
  
• Our sources say Garcia came in Friday morning around the hour fashion people usually get to work Friday morning, and was gone with all her earthly possessions by lunch time. Her assistants apparently cried all day, packing the rest of her things.
  
• New rumors are starting to surface that she's "in talks" with ELLE regarding some sort of position there.
  
• We suspect the fact that ELLE fashion news director Anne Slowey and creative director Joe Zee are getting their own Tyra-produced show this fall doesn't exactly make for a great environment. (Coupled with the fact that the magazine's fashion coverage has gotten a million times more interesting since Zee came on board.) But these are just our speculations. Know anything? Drop us a line! [WWD, MediaBistro, NYMag]
  
• And in other very important world news, Project Runway guest judge/style tome author/ELLE covergirl Victoria Beckham's denim line DVB has been dropped by Kitson and Fred Segal. Um, anyone else seeing a trend here? [News of the World]

• A reader wrote in to Guardian fashion writer Hadley Freeman asking when it is okay to wear shorts. Freeman's response? "When it's flipping well warm enough to do so, like, duh." [Guardian]
• Despite the rumors, Kate Moss is not on the outs with lingerie line Agent Provocateur and just shot a wedding-themed ad campaign for them. [This is London]
• Phat Fashions is suing Victoria's Secret for copyright infringement. Apparently, no one can use a frilly letter 'P' but the Phat designers. And while I can't believe I'm saying this, I think it's gonna be Kimora FTW. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Whoa, Vidal Sassoon was a resistance fighter during WWII?! [Telegraph]
• Elton John: Wears Tom Ford's fragrances! (Also likes that Tom Ford's ads frequently contain naked men? Again, JUST speculation.) [Page Six]
• The John Varvatos store in the old CBGB's space? Could suck more. [Washington Post]
• Yay for Cambodia, the latest country to allow its young female citizens to be exploited by the western world by making them into runway models. (And Cambodia is usually such a leader on the youth exploitation front.) In all seriousness, [ITN]
• Nicholas Huxley, the director of the Sydney Institute's Fashion Design Studio, says Australian women dress "cheap and nasty." [News.com.au]
• Want to have guaranteed success as a jewelry designer? Than go into a career in anything but jewelry design [WWD]
• OMG will or won't Prada go public in June? The suspense is killing me. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Carolina Herrera junior is pregnant again. Just what the world needs: Another kid with a trust fund. [WWD, 2nd item]

The Good:
Cindy, Rande, Presley and Kaia: Disgustingly perfect (looking) family.
When is Elisabeth Rohm going to pop that baby out already?
Aw, John and Joyce Varvatos don't look like a fashion designer and his wife, they look like they could belong to my shul.

The Bad:
Angie Harmon is lost in this nude column of a shift.
You know how Cindy Crawford looks dressed up even though she's in jeans? Melina Kanakaredes doesn't.
Welcome, Julie Moran, to my shit list: Do not dress your daughters in matching outfits.
Danielle Panabaker: 21 going on 41 in a "casual separates" combo like this.
Dear Heather Thomas: You scare me.

The Ugly:
Joely Fisher ought be charged with crimes against womanity for this outfit.
Phoebe Price came dressed as an extra from Plan 9 From Outer Space.

[Images via Bauer-Griffin.]

• Designer John Varvatos has bought the space formerly occupied by rock club CBGB's to open a new store. He's the one who designs clothes for Converse, which is that super-hip iconoclastic footwear brand owned by Nike, and... Move to North Korea if you hate capitalism so much! [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• Project Runway Season Four designers' designs here. Only a week to go! [FabSugar]
  
• Stella McCartney is doing a denim line with Notify jeans. Will she design a pair with one leg, too? Because that would be sick and distasteful and awesome. [Vogue UK]
  
• Designer Zac Posen's mom Susan on her recent trip to Tokyo: "My guide was like, 'Shall we eat Italian tonight?' And I said, 'Please! You can get Italian anywhere.' Japanese food three times a day? Heaven!" [Fashion Week Daily]

• Marc Jacobs to a passerby who stopped him while smoking outside of the New York Accessories Council ACE Awards on Monday night, when asked "What in the world is going on inside?": "It's a ceremony. I think it has something to do with fashion." [Fashion Week Daily]
• "Dr. 90210" is releasing his own line of "shapewear." Not okay. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Hugo Boss: Profits are up about 13%! Does anyone care? [WWD, sub req'd]
• Maidenform: Profits are down about 13%! Does anyone care? And does this mean that people enjoy a little early 90s style for their outerwear than they do their underwear? [WWD, sub req'd]
• The Agent Provocateur saga continues: The next face of the lingerie label (starting in three months time) is to be French actress Vahina Giocante. We have no idea who she is but we love the name. [Vogue UK]
• Someone needs to tell model Natalia Vodianova that being all smug about how easy it is to be the mother to three children under the age of 5 is fucking annoying. [Vogue UK]
• OMG! Mariah Carey sang "Hero" at the Glamour Woman of the Year awards?! We would rather hear Mariah sing "Hero" (our favorite song in, what, 1993?) than win an award any day. [Fashion Week Daily]