• Julia Roberts will become a face of Lancôme, appearing in ads beginning early next year. Roberts earns up to $20 million per film, and could realize a similar amount from her first major beauty contract; the company won't say. [WWD]

• Kate Moss so admired a fellow wedding guest's bracelet that her friend, Topshop owner Sir Philip Green, bought it off the woman's wrist. [P6]
• David Lynch is directing the next Marion Cotillard Dior handbag ad, and he's filming her in Shanghai right now. The video is intended to continue the story of the noirish, Hitchcockian ad by Olivier Dahan the company released in May. [Elle UK]
• Christian Lacroix has announced that he will not be involved with any of parent company the Falic Group's future projects for his namesake label, which was this week allowed to be reduced to a licensing operation by a Paris bankruptcy court. Lacroix had not been paid by Falic since the fall of 2008. The French minister of industry thinks the closure of the house of Lacroix is a travesty. He is trying to use diplomatic networks to contact the most interested-seeming buyer, an Emirate sheikh, "to alert him of the urgency of the situation." [WWD]
• Police acting on a tip raided two Detroit area stores selling counterfeit Gucci, Coach, and Polo clothing and accessories. (One had what it claimed was a $4,000 jacket on sale for $700.) The seized goods would have retailed for about $800,000, had they been genuine. [UPI]
• Silvia Fendi — the lady behind the baguette and the spy and the B Fendi bags — designed new guitars for OK Go to take on tour. The tricked-out Gibsons feature white leather, rivets, and goat fur, and, for that extra special touch, a red-and-green LED panel that flashes with the band's lyrics. "Any time an ‘F' appears in their lyrics, it's our double-F logo," says the bag lady. We need a picture of these guitars pronto. [WWD]
• Proenza Schouler has added e-commerce to its website, Proenzaschouler.com. [Vogue UK]
• Sephora is going to roll out 20 cosmetics vending machines to small J.C. Penney stores that lack full-service Sephora counters. Each machine will offer 50 of the makeup retailer's most popular products. How space-age. [WWD]
• Bottega Veneta is getting into the fragrance game. Expect the first perfume to launch in 2011. [WWD]
• André Leon Talley re-arranged a trip to China to attend the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's opening night. Though in his words he would not presume to dance, Talley did express a willingness to go horse riding, some day: "Because the man and the horse are ballet. The communication between the man and the horse in a race, that's sort of a little dance." [The Cut]
• For some reason, it is considered news that Marc Jacobs gave Will Smith a bunch of free clothes to wear during the presentation of the Nobel Prizes in Oslo. You'd almost think Smith was the laureate. [WWD]
• Aw, watching Oprah can make Chris Benz cry. [TFI]

• Britney Spears' second trip out the gate for Candie's is an equestrian-themed acid-trip Photoshopped to ridiculousness. [DListed]
• No Shit Headline Of The Day: "New Report Sees Luxury Struggling." [WWD]

• Megan Fox said at the Armani Privé couture show that she is going to star in a fashion campaign for "a worldwide brand." [WWD]
• Lipstick sales may not actually spike during a recession, but that doesn't mean you can't make money off the colorful tubes. If you want to have a go at naming designer Chris Benz's shade of Lancôme lipstick, which will be worn by models at his September show as well as sold to the public, you could win a $500 gift certificate and a whole bunch of the lipsticks. And even if you aren't into lipsticks, you can re-sell these limited-edition rouges on eBay. One of Proenza Schouler's Lancôme lipsticks went for $120. Write your suggestions on Benz's Facebook fan page and wait for the money to roll in. [Fashionista]
• Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs wore a giant, caped caftan printed with lobsters and multi-colored eyeballs to Glastonbury. She topped it off with a Native-American-inspired headdress made of fringed hands of Fatima. [British Vogue]
• Meanwhile Roberto Cavalli, the animal-print-enamored designer who says "I don't know anything about the financial crisis," is opening a made-to-measure service. While it won't technically be a couture collection, it will hit a couture price point: The cheapest item is a $41,000 cocktail dress. [WWD]
• Louise Wilson, head of the fashion design M.A. program at Central St. Martins in London, shared some harsh words for her students and her industry in an interview with Cathy Horyn. "There are immensely talented people around but I feel huge vortexes of them are sucked into this mediocre world where nobody criticizes and it's all terribly politically correct. Even journalists are the same. You now hardly get a bad a review. In their mind the journalists are supporting the industry, so they don't want to dish it. For me it's that banality of what is youth....[A]nother thing I've noticed today — everything is farmed out. Someone else is going to cut it, and someone else is going to supply the fabrics. The hands-on gets more and more removed. If Lee McQueen or Christopher Kane had nothing, they could still make their garments. They have the skills. I think the problem is that fashion has become too fashionable. For years, fashion wasn't fashionable. Today fashion is so fashionable that it's almost embarrassing to say you're part of fashion. All the parodies of it. All the dreadful magazines. That has destroyed it as well, because everybody thinks fashion is attainable." [OnTheRunway]
• For her part, Miley Cyrus says of her upcoming collection for Wal-Mart, designed with Max Azria, "The jeans are my favorite part of the entire line. Because, like, literally this is going to be good for, like, Middle America, and it will be great for kids that really want to be in fashion but that don't have it available." [Sassybella]
• Cheaper designer clothes are our manifest economic destiny! Retailers are requesting collections be produced to hit a much wider range of price points — and designers are mostly happy to comply. [WWD]
• After winning the Council of Fashion Designers of America womenswear award last month for their label Rodarte, the Mulleavy sisters vacationed at Yellowstone National Park, where they saw herds of bison. They would like to go to Redwood National Park next. [W]
• Unsurprisingly, the Dior atelier was a hive of activity prior to yesterday's couture show, the first the company has done in-house in some time. The seamstresses and tailors worked through the night, and the towering floral displays took 4,000 roses to construct. The audience of 500 was actually smaller than the crowds were at some of Christian Dior's own shows at the salon in the 1950s, because fire codes now prevent, for example, letting guests sit on the stairs. [WWD]
• New York Times critic Cathy Horyn's review just went up on her blog. She liked Galliano's collection, although she did admit to needing to "mentally erase the distraction" of certain of the lingerie-inspired elements. "Despite the archive references, the collection didn't feel archival. Every delicate, restrained tuck of the jackets made the difference, as did the emphasis on short dresses and modest splashes of embroidery. There were a few big skirts at the end, including one with a tiny beige silk corset and layers of white tulle, but longer lengths now seem as annoying as Rapunzel's hair. Oh, just chop it off." [OnTheRunway]
• Horyn also put up pictures of model Magdalena Frackowiak reading Proust while her hair was crimped to perfection. [OnTheRunway]
• A judge has upheld designer Anand Jon Alexander's convictions for rape and sexual assault of young women models despite juror misconduct. During the trial, one juror passed a note to Sanjana Alexander, the designer's sister, and she subsequently called him, twice, to discuss the case. Sanjana Alexander alleged the juror asked for money or sex as a bribe to influence the verdict, but this was not evident from her secret recording of one conversation. The judge held that both Sanjana Alexander and the juror, Alvin Dymally, committed misconduct, and found them both to be in contempt of court, but did not agree that the "trifling" misconduct cast doubt upon the jury's verdicts. Anand Jon Alexander, who was automatically sentenced to life in prison, has vowed to appeal. [LATimes]
• On the President's trip to Russia to talk about nuclear weapons, Michelle Obama wore Narciso Rodriguez and the same Sonia Rykiel plastic belt she wore on the cover of O. Malia and Sasha Obama wore J. Crew's kid's line, Crewcuts. [E]
• When they left U.S. soil, Michelle Obama was wearing the Talbots dress from her Essence cover, Sasha was wearing more Crewcuts — and Malia appears to be wearing a See by Chloé skirt. Designer birthday present? [ABC]

• Marc Jacobs and his Brazilian fiancé, Lorenzo Martone, are set to marry next month in Provincetown. Also, Jacobs is taking the artists John Currin and Rachel Feinstein, plus Madonna, to the Met ball. [FWD]

• But Jesus Luz won't be in his fall Louis Vuitton campaign. "Why is everyone asking me about him? He's not modeling for me. I don't do menswear," said the designer. He did say, however, that Madonna and Steven Meisel are shooting the campaign right now, right here in New York. "She's the ultimate professional and she and Steven are amazing. I love working with her. There's no one better." [The Cut]
• Steven Alan, on this one time he opened a barbershop: "My mom was getting her haircut at this hairdresser's in the East Village, and the lady told her she was interested in opening her own salon, so my mom goes, 'Oh you should talk to my son!' And I'm like, 'Mom, I'm not opening a hair salon.' And she goes, well you should meet her anyway. So I met her and I was like, 'If I open anything it's going to be a barber shop,' and she was like, 'Ok, I can cut guys' hair.'" [Fashionista]
• Lanvin's Alber Elbaz — who seemed talented, fretful and difficult in Ariel Levy's recent New Yorker profile — is questioned by Stephanie Seymour in the new issue of Interview. "We really started from scratch eight years ago at Lanvin. It's the oldest couture house in the world, but when I came onboard, it was a great name without much in it. We slowly moved in. I love coffee, but I always say not everything has to be instant. We took the time. It took eight years to move from 15 accounts to 400 accounts. What's important is to maintain it as a family business. It's very much like Interview, which you don't talk about as a group-it's a family. The nature of fashion is family. You see that at almost every house-it was owned first by a family. It wasn't owned by a bank. In fact, the bankers went into fashion later...And look what happened to fashion!" [Interview]
• Alexander Wang, last year's Vogue CFDA fashion fund award-winner, is teaming up with the Gap. And unlike in previous years, where the CFDA designers re-imagined the retailer's white shirt — with mixed results — Wang has done something that sounds kind of exciting. Says Gap designer Patrick Robinson: "This year it's with khaki. He did this incredible motorcycle jacket in khaki that's going to be under $100. It's coming out on June 16th, so get ready!" [Fashionologie]
• Thinker of deep thoughts Michael Kors wishes there were some kind of Spanx for men. It exists, Michael! [The Cut]
• All that lobbying from the First Lady's favorite designers must have worked: a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House has reintroduced a modified version of the design piracy bill. [WWD]
• The ever-humble Isaac Mizrahi: "I just love women in dresses. Last night I was at an event at the Pier [in New York] and everyone looked just ugh ... except those wearing my clothes." [Philadelphia Inquirer]
• Soon, there will be Jessica Simpson lingerie. And sleepwear. Fantastic. [WWD]
• And Paris Hilton is doing sunglasses. [PopDirt]
• Anne Hathaway may not be doing the next Marc Jacobs campaign — but she looks good in her new ad for Lancôme perfume. [E! Online]
• WSJ. took Hilary Rhoda to Miami to shoot swimsuits, and shot this nifty behind-the-scenes video. No amount of overdubbed music can hide the fact that modeling is generally about making odd positions look natural. [WSJ]
• This list of the top 20 fashion Twitterers covers all the bases, but all you really need to know is: Fake. Karl. [Times of London]
• In a similar vein, Rachel Roy held a press conference via Twitter. She answered such hard-hitting lines of inquiry as, "Rachel, you absolutely glow! How do you stay confident through tough times?" Oh, the vaunted democracy of the Internet. [WWD]
• Revlon is launching a new mascara, and adding two items to its ColorStay product range. [WWD]
• Henri Bendel, the department store founded in 1895, is no longer going to sell clothes. The retailer will shrink its New York flagship by one floor, and concentrate only on selling accessories, beauty products, and gift items that leverage its brand and signature colors. Eight percent of its 250-strong workforce will be laid off. [NY Times]
• Timberland's profits declined 12% in the first quarter of this year. [WWD]
• Breaking: Tiffany & Co. has bought the bankrupt Lambertson Truex handbag brand from Samsonite. [WWD]
• Abercrombie & Fitch, meanwhile, is in its second round of layoffs this year. After making fifty workers at its Columbus, Ohio, headquarters in January, the company is letting go an addition 170 this week. [The Street]
• Joe's Jeans actually rose slightly in its sales and earnings for the first quarter. [WWD]
• The Gap is recalling 22,000 toggle coats for babies, up to size 24 months. The toggles can come off, and pose a choking risk. [Babble]

First, the term "anti-aging" is lie, because from the moment you are born until the moment you die, you are AGING. No cream will stop that. Maybe "temporarily hydrates and plumps the skin to minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles" isn't as catchy, but at least it's not a misnomer. In any case, have women become so used to "anti-aging" products that they are now looking for a "new twist"?

Almost all "cosmeceutical" ads have footnotes and claims from clinical studies. (Who do you think owns the "clinic"?) This ad is for "deep-set wrinkle repair," which you need, clearly, because your wrinkles are broken. Also, check out the "clinical results":


It's not just my scan — you'll see if you pick up a magazine — the pictures look almost exactly the same. This stuff is twenty bucks for 1.7 ounces.


This ad plays on the whole idea that "cosmeceuticals" are good for you because a doctor is somehow involved. This guy is "green" — see the leafy stethoscope? The pitch to use the product is marketed as "Doctor's Orders." Do women really believe you can get an EYE LIFT in a bottle? A closer look at the pitch:

See the mortar and pestle? Tricking you into thinking this is a "prescription" for what ails you? And this stuff is made from DMAE, which is dimethylaminoethanol, a compound which helps aging people's brains, but the research on skin is limited, according to Smartskincare.com. Still, you're not supposed to think about that — doctor's orders!

Lancôme has created something called Génifique, which is maybe a mashup between "genetics" and "magnifique"? The stuff is a "youth activating concentrate." It activates youth? Really? Like, yells out the window at kids to be less lazy? The copy reads, "Discover the skin you were born to have." Confusing! Don't I already have the skin I was born to have? This ad has four footnotes:


…None of which contribute to the clarity of the claims.

Being white — or as pale as possible — is the "ultimate luxury." That's the message in this Shiseido ad, where the model is so light she is fading into nothingness. The copy claims "Even bare, spots and freckles seem to fade from view." It's a skin lightener! And a quick internet search finds that users report "[it] makes my face itch like crazy" and "It made my face itch," and "The cleanser is ok… Everything else from this line was a waste of money" and "Didn't or doesn't do much for me... meaning, no actual 'whitening' effect and it also makes my skin a bit dry after cleansing." Good to know, since the cream alone is $54 for 1.7 ounces!

Another ad with a footnote, and this one clams that "in a very short time," you will see a "measurable reduction in the look of wrinkles." Emphasis mine; you won't actually have fewer wrinkles, but the ones you do have will look different. Also, the X in the logo again plays on the idea that this is somehow a prescription product; the name "professional" adds to the feeling that this shit is not for amateurs. Just a reminder: It's lotion. Skin cream.

You're broken! But don't worry. Rest easy. We'll repair you overnight.

From the Department Of Redundancy Department: "Ageless Intensives Deep Wrinkle Anti-Wrinkle Moisture." Say wrinkle again! They should call it "Wrinkle Cream For Wrinkles On Wrinkly Old Wrinkled Up Wrinkle Women. Like You."

The next ad may be my favorite, and the worst. It comes from Elizabeth Arden's "DermaTechnology Division" and has two footnotes. The copy points out different parts of a body, reducing one person to parts:

"Décolletage: Maximum exposure means dreaded age spots, fine lines and crepiness. Freckles are definitely not cute anymore."

And:

"Stomach: "Weight gain and loss. Childbirth. Need we say more?"

And:

"The Bottom Line: Loss of firmness and tone. Stretch marks and sagging. It's time to take a firm position."

The crazy thing is they're pointing all of this out on a mannequin. This woman is not even real:


And yet, even she needs a "total transforming anti-aging moisturizer." Sigh.


Earlier: What If Women Weren't Afraid To Grow Old?

• Vogue subscribers are lured with a free-gift gimmick that looks...different when it comes in the mail. Of course, subscribing to Vogue is basically scheduling disappointment monthly, but the bait-and-switch is not normally so overt. [NYPost]

• Natalie Portman would very much like to tell you about some t-shirt brand she likes. Band tees are a great way of learning about music, see! [Daily Beast]
• Lauren Hutton might miss the Met ball, which is themed around models this year, because a young surfer accidentally rammed his board into her knee in Hawaii, causing ligament damage. "The only thing that's holding our foreleg bones attached to our thigh bones are these little ligaments around the knee," said Hutton. "And once they go, the bones fall sideways inside the bag of skin. It was like one of those Halloween skeletons." The supermodel, currently in LA, cannot walk without crutches. Her date, Michael Kors, will probably understand if she stays home. [Daily Intel]
• Fellow famously made-up face Isabella Rossellini is pretty sure Lancôme regrets dumping her back in 1995 for being soooooo old. But she made her money and now does videos about the sex lives of animals. Lancôme contents itself with Rossellini's daughter, Elettra Wiedemann. [WWD]
• "I'm Not A Plastic Bag" designer Anya Hindmarch says, "Accessories are how women accent their character; they are a form of self-expression. If you see someone carrying a tatty, beaten-up handbag, full of crumbs, doesn't it kind of make you wonder if their house is just like that, too?" She would say that, wouldn't she? [Telegraph]
• Adriana Lima, the Brazilian model best known for wearing giant wings and Bedazzled bras for Victoria's Secret and looking hot on the covers of men's magazines, stunned when she walked for Givenchy in Paris. (Normally, the fashion industry likes to draw as bright a line as possible between camp and the "real" stuff.) Could she be working herself out from under the taint of commercial lingerie to take on a Givenchy campaign for fall? And does that mean Lima is transforming into a Gisele-style double threat, who magically gets bookings for Dior and drugstore makeup at the same time? [Fashionologie]
• Hudson St. in New York's West Village has 15 empty storefronts on one six-block stretch — and, like, 14 Marc Jacobs, Marc by Marc Jacobs, and Ralph Lauren shops. Some see a connection: one retailer, who did not want to be named, said that when businesses' leases turn over, landlords are asking for steep increases in rent, because the high-end retailers are able to pay up to $60,000/month. "They are killing the Village," the man said. "Ten years ago — mom-and-pop stores gone, restaurants gone, they're all gone." [The Villager]
• Tao Okamoto, the hot "new" Japanese model with the interesting haircut, bagged the Fall Ralph Lauren campaign — and, according to rumor, the Fall ads for the Polo Ralph Lauren line, too. [Style.com]
• Nadja Swarovski, scion of the Austrian crystal concern, is a pretty brilliant businesswoman who's taken her family's product from an icon of kitsch to the raw material of fashion's avant garde. But that's not what makes this profile writer like her: the fact that she feels she doesn't see her kids often enough ("much as one rushes to reassure, she is probably right," notes the Times) is the chink in the armor that lets her feel comfortably pitying. The profile is sprinkled with German words, but unfortunately Schadenfreude is not one of them, so let me insert it here. [Times of London]
• Robin Givhan writes this week about the Museum at FIT's announcement of its upcoming Isabel Toledo exhibit, and the question of fashion exhibits in general. The most popular clothing shows are inevitably those organized around a celebrity name, like Jackie O's at the Met; "It's an ongoing battle," Givhan writes, "in fashion exhibitions: the scholarly preference for the clothes to stand on their own and the public fascination with the back story." [WaPo]
• Stila, the makeup brand recently rumored to be facing bankruptcy, has been saved at the 11th hour by a New York private-equity firm. Patriarch Partners will acquire the brand from Wachovia and CIT Group, the banks that took Stila over after it defaulted on debt obligations. [WSJ]
• Filene's Basement is in a similarly dire position — facing bankruptcy and courting buyers. The discount chain closed 11 stores in January, but its parent company said Friday that the cost-cutting moves are "not likely to lead to sustainable operations for Filene's Basement." How is it possible that "it's like a department store, but everything's on sale" is a failing business model at this juncture? [Crain's]
• Valentino's operating profits fell 7% in 2008, the year its founder and namesake retired. [WWD]
• J. Crew opened a beach-themed store in Malibu. [LA Times]
• Headstrong model Elle MacPherson popped home to Sydney for Easter, and made a supermarket deli worker come out from behind the counter to load her cart. Then she snapped at a gossip columnist and micro-managed a television appearance. [News.com.au]

For instance: Olay Regenerist claims it is "a deep penetrating moisturizer with Aquacurrent Science." Dyan Diaz, 30, says this means: "They are taking stuff out of the ocean like jellyfish and dissecting it and telling us it is good for your skin." Heh. Good guess! Actually, Olay claims, "Aquacurrent Science, the study of water movement in the skin and hair, helps create products with greater moisturization." Disappointing, huh, Dyan? Jellyfish gunk sounds way more effective.

What about Clarins Younger Longer Balm, "with advanced neuro-cosmetic technology and rare concentrated botanicals, skin is revitalized"? Yeah, that's right. Neuro-cosmetic. Soline McLain, a 28-year-old law student, says: "I would think it has to do with the brain. It makes you smarter? I will put it on when I am studying for constitutional law." (Hahahahaha! It actually has to do with nerve endings in the skin.)

As for Estée Lauder Re-Nutriv Ultimate Lifting skin care, "'Virtual immunity' means you’ll see a noticeably more lifted look, a brilliant clarity, a newly refined smoothness." Virtual immunity. Virtual immunity. Carmel Agdeppa, 27, wonders: "Is it better for your skin against any foreign bacteria?" Oh, Carmel! If only. Instead, Estée Lauder explains that if you use their cream, your skin "essentially appears almost as if it has been exempted from the signs of premature aging." Essentially. Almost. As if. Haha! The fact that they expect anyone to believe that is the most hilarious part of all.

Let’s Play Buzzword: Defining Phrases Used in Skin Care Advertising [NY Times]

• Tom Ford has spoken: eyebrow wiggling is now a sign of displeasure. "I haven't had any plastic surgery — despite what people think, this is my nose...I have had Restylane and Botox, but I don't think of that as plastic surgery any more. It's true I can't really frown, but I can move my eyebrows, so..." [Guardian]
• Well, at least Manolo Blahnik is less ridiculous! Oh, wait. "Manolo Blahnik tumbles into the room wearing an extremely dapper royal-purple suit, purple and yellow knitted tie, orange suede shoes and black circular glasses à la Le Corbusier. He stretches out his hand, and when I shake it he squeaks in pain, shaking, then retracting it." [Independent]
• Jean-Paul Gaultier, maybe? “'I did a revue with my teddy bear at home...I pretended he had breasts. The first cone bra I did was for my teddy bear, not for Madonna. I had a strawberry box for the stage, and I put a lot of feathers on my teddy bear for the headdress. I used feathers from my cleaning brush for the finale.'” [NYT]
• Come. on, Zac Posen, redeem your industry: "Puppies, babies and plastic surgery are the new fashion. That's where fashion's going." [Big Think]

• It's official: Project Runway saved from a fate worse than death, aka Lifetime Television for Women. [NY Mag]
• "Ironically, runways in the nation that brought us an all-black Vogue were not only less diverse than New York's but disappointingly white." [Shophound]
• The sale of YSL's art collection — which includes Picassos, a Matisse, a Leger and a Mondrian — is expected by auctioneers to bring in 440 billion dollars. [Breitbart]
• The Stylista contestants revealed! One of them is named Cologne. [NY Mag]
• This Lancome lip gloss and this Marc Jacobs shirt kind of look alike. [Glam Chic]
• The Queen's preferred dressmaker on the verge of collapse! Experts suggest it, um, failed to move with the times. [Telegraph]
• In a weird coincidence, the designer of Diana's wedding dress is going under, too. [Daily Mail]
• The Sergio Rossi-Puma sneaker heel is the stuff nightmares are made of. [Fashionista]
• Kate Moss apparently "snogs the face off" some Vivienne Westwood cohort. [Mirror]
• The Eastpak allegedly "reinvented" by Raf Simons. That's what they said about cafeteria food. [LA Times]
• Shoes are apparently a better investment than stocks. Although not, presumably, if you walk in them. Cue Carrie Bradshaw reference. [Business Sheet]
• "On Monday, men's magazine GQ India hits the newsstands, following in the footsteps of other male-only publications such as Men's Health, Maxim, and FHM, and experts are saying this is further proof that Indian men are embracing more global fashions." Pictured: an Indian guy in what appears to be a gold leather Harlequin outfit and bow-tie. [Reuters]
• Burberry Children's to bring overpriced (adorable) mini duffel coats to U.S. market. [WWD]
• Lenny Kravitz barred from Ric Owens show; sneaks in anyway. [Style.com]
• "Over the last year, Mr. Margiela, known as fashion’s “Invisible Man” because he never gives interviews and has rarely been photographed, has told colleagues that he wants to stop designing and that he has begun a search for his successor at the house." So...how will anyone know? [NY Times]
• Speculation rampant that Plum Sykes querying Guardian style column. Okay, not really. [Guardian]
• We can't really wrap our heads around the new Pat Field for venerable frump-purveyor Marks and Sparks line, so will probably stick to weeping. [The Sun]
• Fashion feels the credit crunch. [WWD]
• Gareth Pugh brings back the Elizabethan ruff. [ElleUK]

• Holy underminer, Batman! Whitney Port on her clothing line: "I'm developing a clothing line. It won't be like Lauren's stuff, which I loved. Mine will be a little more high-end." [Radar]
• "Fashion Victims: The Catty Catalogue of Stylish Casualties From A to Z" by Michael Roberts, fashion director of Vanity Fair, sounds like it will be fascinating to the fashionistas he skewers and completely stultifying to everyone else. "Roberts has written a poem for each letter of the alphabet, for instance P for "photographer": "Why am I so fabulous? What makes me truly great? What would life be without me? It's hard to contemplate . . . No billboards straddling city streets with body parts gigantic/Nor me with glass in premiere class crisscrossing the Atlantic." The accompanying illustration is a caricature of Mario Testino. " Sounds like a gas. [NY Post]
• Early estimates place the price of Cindy McCain's RNC outfit at $300,000. Well, in fairness $280,000 goes towards her three-karat diamond earrings. [US News]

• We love how thoughtfully celebrities consider the challenges of starting a small business! Jamie-Lynn Sigler on her new jewelry line: “We just started beading these gold bracelets with all different types of gold one day and started playing with different charms, and we thought, Hey, let’s do it,” [NY Mag]
• Word on the street is that Cole Mahr, the dude who wore a dress in the Marc Jacobs print ads, will be doing it again on the runway. Does this bode well for Isis?! [Fashionista]
• Lancome adds Dominican model Arlenis Sosa to its "stable." Says Lancome's prez, “Arlenis possesses beauty, intelligence, charm and compassion...All of our brand ambassadors share these attributes, so we knew she would be a wonderful addition. We are very proud to welcome her to the Lancôme family.” [WWD]
• You'll be relieved to know that Fashion Week is civic-minded. A fashion week press release tells us, "In the spirit of the election season and theme at this year’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, unique, fashion inspired election slogan pins will be given out in small quantities each day. Fashionistas can vote for their favorite slogan at www.votembfashionweek.com."
• "Furrier to the stars" Dennis Basso owes the IRS. "The baritone-voiced minkmeister is singing the blues now that the feds have imposed a $200,000 lien on his swanky Central Park West apartment, according to public records." Basso says it's all a misunderstanding because his "accountant's mother had a heart attack." [NY Post]
• ANTM judge and "top fashion photographer" Nigel Barker and his wife are having a baby girl. "We found out it’s going to be a little girl," Barker, 36, told Us Thursday at the Saks Fifth Avenue Ruby Slippers Collection party in NYC. "We’re going to look at her, and when we see her, we’re going to come up with a name." They already have a 2-year-old son. [US Weekly]
• Men's Heath EIC and titanic douche David Zinczenko is psyched about the new Women's Health. Quoth he, "We've pulled into the passing lane, and we're poised to surpass a lot of women's magazines now. We can see Glamour just up ahead. There are a lot of opportunities for Women's Health because of the size of the market." [WWD]
• We wouldn't normally think much of the fact that AOL is relaunching its style and beauty site, StyleList.com, except that they've tapped Carmindy as their beauty expert, and we love What Not to Wear. [WWD]
• A Saks Fifth Avenue employee has been charged with $680K in theft. [NY Post]
• Wait, has Rachel Bilson been on any worst-dressed lists? “I think it’s cool to be on the worst-dressed list,” she says. “If people aren’t accepting, that’s OK. Bring it on, I don’t care!” [People]
• Fern Mallis basically runs Fashion Week. Here's why she's psyched: "First of all, September shows always feel like school is starting. This particular season there's different kind of buzz in the air, especially with the elections. We are all wondering how the outcome will affect our industry, especially with two first ladies who wear clothes particularly well." [Huffington Post]
• Behold fall's least flattering fashion trend: the pegged trouser. "They usually have two front pleats at the waistband that are designed to add volume in the hip area, then balloon out in the thigh before tapering in again at the ankle. They can also be cropped on the ankle and high-waisted. Admittedly, they sound alarm bells for most of us - extra volume around the thighs is always a hard sell." Thanks a lot, YSL! [The Guardian]
• Speaking of the 90s: LA Gear is back, baby! In what The Cut describes as the requisite "in Saved by the Bell shapes and neon colors." [The Cut]
• Italian designer Mila Schon has died at 92. [Reuters]
• Kate Betts, Joel Stein and Isaac Mizrahi will all be blogging fashion week for Style & Design. Says Betts, "I wanted to offer readers the same kind of inside, up-to-the-minute, offbeat look at fashion week as opposed to straightforward reviews...Joel and Isaac, I hope, will add a lot of humor." [WWD]
• Model Lily Cole is leaving modeling to pursue acting, was inspired by Heath Ledger. But more to the point, she's starting Cambridge, where she'll be studying history! Says the 20-year-old, "modelling can get a little lonely sometimes, especially when you are travelling on your own. That's what I'm looking forward to about going to university to meet lots of new people." [Telegraph]
• Not profiting by Lily Cole's example, former internet phenom/partygirl and wannabe-Lezark Cory Kennedy has been signed to One Model Management. [Fashionista]
• Domino really understands the needs of its readers; they've done the important work of making a "fashion week survival guide." "The survival guide includes recommendations from designers, editors and fashion insiders, including Francisco Costa, Bloomingdale's fashion director Stephanie Solomon, Simon Doonan, Anya Hindmarch, Vera Wang, Lela Rose and Peter Som. Musings include recommendations on what to do for an hour in between shows — Humberto Leon, from Opening Ceremony, suggested Wu Lim Qi Gong Master Massage." [WWD]
• Raise your hand if you want the new KISS Vans! Wait...no one? "To celebrate that fateful day in 1978 when all four members of the band released solo albums, the skatewear brand (and main sponsor of the Warped Tour) is releasing the Vans x Kiss Sk8-Hi commemorative T-shirt and shoe pack sometime in the "late fall" of this year." [AdAge]
• As previously reported, designer Heather Thomson has tapped New York's pool of exotic dancing talent for her upcoming lingerie show. "She held a competition of dancers who perform gymnastics-like routines on brass poles at some of Manhattan's poshest strip clubs and picked eight to model her Yummie Tummie Shapewear." [Reuters]
• The Rag&Bone designers are refreshingly enthusiastic! "We are big fans of Radiohead. Actually, seeing them perform at Glastonbury head-to-toe in Rag & Bone would be pretty magic." [Fashion Week Daily]
• In addition to a ludicrous rock-themed fashion mag and a fashion-themed rock concert, Fashion Rocks sponsors a charity auction. "Among the items up for auction: A leather jacket autographed by Keith Urban and seats at Kimora Lee Simmons and Diane Von Furstenberg's coveted runway shows." [People]
• We love Daphne Guinness largely because of her connection to the Mitfords, but on any terms her upcoming shoot for Vogue Italia sounds rad! [Fashionista]

• After much consideration I have decided that I do not care at all what the personal footwear choices of the Sex and the City stars say about their personalities. [LA Times]
  
• Speaking of Sex and the City, Sarah Jessica Parker says that her son only wears his older cousin's hand-me-downs and has never been given new clothes, other than shoes. [US Weekly]
  
• Another day, more people fired from ELLE. This time, on the dot-com side. Maybe Nina will give them jobs over at Marie Claire? [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Rachel Zoe does not want to talk about being disinvited from the Met Costume Institute Gala thankyouverymuch. [US Weekly]
  
• In case you were wondering, Cindy Crawford will be celebrating Mother's Day with breakfast in bed. [Reuters]

• Christy Turlington, however, thinks that Mother's Day should be about activism and used as a platform for taking action against the AIDS crisis. [HuffPo]
• Hilary Duff just loves being old: "I am so excited that I'm finally at an age where they want me on the cover!" says Duff regarding her turn in Allure. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Lancome and Uma Thurman: Suing one another. Good times in the cosmetics industry. [AP]
• Chanel is opening an "ephemeral" boutique on London's Dover Street. Says Krazy Karl Lagerfeld, "The tone is at the same time post-modern and romantic. It integrates a delicate punk sophistication." [Vogue UK]
• Rachel Zoe loves expensive shit. [NYDailyNews]
• I don't care that she landed Johnny Depp, I still love Vanessa Paradis. [Sassybella]
• Camper shoes; Now for the ladies. [Times of London]
• Ginger Spice: Wears clothes from Topshop. [The Sun UK]

• Who knew Roberto Cavalli was such a big Diddy fan? Said the Italian designer at the Sean John show: "The only reason I'm still in New York is for Puffy. He is an artist and always puts on a real show. Maybe someday he will come to my show." [WWD, 7th item]
  
• The British Fashion Council's demand that all models walking London Fashion Week show up with a "certificate of health" may lead to a model boycott because, duh, models do not get paid to be healthy. [Telegraph]
  
• Rachel Zoe threw a total shitfit upon being denied entrance to the fashionably punctual Marc Jacobs show Friday night. There is justice in the world! [NY Mag]

• "I'm tempted, but no one else is drinking. I don't want to be the tacky one." Gretchen Mol on the champagne bottles that greeted front row attendees at the Marc Jacobs show on Friday night. But Gretchen, once you've got a snifter or two on an empty Fashion Week stomach, one is pretty blissfully unaware to whoever is being the "tacky one." [WWD, 1st item]
• "I'm kind of inspired by Ralph [Lauren]," says Sheryl Crow, who has her very own denim line in the works. And we all know "inspired by" means "steal my ideas from." [WWD, 13th item]
• Gucci's new "Gucci [Hearts] NY" campaign? Uh, didn't exactly clear it with the folks who own the trademark on "I [Heart] NY." [UPI]
• Designer Lars Nilsson has left the house of Gianfranco Ferre after only a five month-long tenure. Awkward. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Diane von Furstenberg will be starring in an American Express commercial directed by Capote director Bennett Miller, set to air on Oscar night. Which is mildly ironic since von Furstenberg has canceled her own Oscar party out of respect for the WGA strike. [Fashion Week Daily]
• What Rihanna learned at Fashion Week: "I know that prints are really in and I love how they pair the prints with a bold jacket." [Chic Report]
• Zac Posen's dad is just happy to see his kids playing nicely together: "I'm thrilled that [Zac] brought his sister Alexandra (his creative director) out with him at the end—seeing them both up there together was wonderful." [Chic Report]

• "With so many magazine images that are so completely retouched, we've gone in the opposite direction, showing the soul of a woman." That's artist Francois-Marie Banier, on this Diane von Furstenberg ad starring Natalia Vodianova. Which makes us wonder, if that is the "opposite direction" of the retouching trend, we sort of wonder what that trend would look like "taken to its hyperbolic extreme." [Vogue UK]
  
• And in other DVF news, Diane is suing Target over a wrapdress. Wait, you're telling us Target didn't invent the wrapdress? [Reuters]
  
• Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell are appearing on the February cover of French Vogue together — with Naomi appearing sans hair extensions. What would Tyra say? [Fashion Week Daily]

• Fashion PR guru Kelly Cutrone on her blog on Fashion Week Daily: "I woke up this morning and thought, 'I wonder if, when you die, is there a fashion section in heaven?' I also wondered if you had spent a great portion of your life working in fashion if you would be mandated there. Next I asked, 'Is there anyway I could avoid going to the fashion section of heaven?'" Oh Kelly, don't worry, you're all going to hell anyway! [Fashion Week Daily]
• Stella McCartney for LeSportsac! [Sassybella]
• Stella McCartney lingerie! [Nylon]
• Quote of the day, from WWD: "SAGGING ECONOMY BE DAMNED. Plenty of women are spending the equivalent of nearly two barrels of oil — or more — to slather themselves in luxury body creams." [WWD]
• Famous recluse/corset-maker Mr. Pearl on his wares: "To me, a corseted body, with the shape of the indentation at the waist, is beauty in extreme; it represents absolute femininity....Breathing does become a problem, but it does not affect digestion....It would be interesting if people would consider [corsets], since I believe liposuction and plastic surgery are quite ugly acts by comparison, and the results are not quite as becoming. What a corset lace can do is much more attractive." Spoken like a true man. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Prada made some animated sort film inspired by wallpaper called Trembled Blossoms, and it's showing at Fashion Week. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Rachel Roy is designing a capsule collection for Manolo Blahnik. Moe can tell you that Roy is Damon Dash's wife, but you're going to have to google the meaning of "capsule collection" yourself. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Former supermodel Eva Herzigova on Valentino: "Do you remember how we would always have to be in full hair and makeup before Valentino would even look at us?" Yeah, we'll miss him. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Still not quite ready to say goodbye to Valentino? Here's how to get the makeup look from his couture show. [BellaSugar]
• The new Versace shoes have red soles. We're assuming Mr. Louboutin is going to be less than thrilled. [Ugh. Because, you know, manufacturing red soles is practically MAPPING THE HUMAN GENOME in the fashion industry. -Moe] [Chic Report]
• English designer Christopher Kane is doing a limited edition lip gloss for Lancome. The packaging is extra-pretty. [Nylon]

• Isaac Mizrahi is defecting from Target to join Tim Gunn at Liz Claiborne. [Maybe they will post a YouTube video of themselves doing lunch at the company salad bar so Jennie can use it for porn! -Moe] This is supposed to be a big "blow" to Target, but Claiborne can use all the help it can get. [NYT]
  
• Keith Richards is the new face of Louis Vuitton. It was Marc's idea, of course. It's like post-post-sharkjumpism or something. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Designer Diane von Furstenberg on Hillary Clinton: "I support Hillary because I believe she will do the best job in the White House. I do know her a little and like her very much. She is intelligent, diligent, micro and macro, and she truly cares." [WWD, 2nd item]

• Kenneth Cole is not returning to the runways anytime soon because he doesn't feel "runway ready," or just can't bother justifying the expense to his shareholders, or whatevs. [WWD, 1st item]
• Hilary Duff is set to launch her second fragrance, With Love. (More apt name: With Greed.) [BellaSugar]
• Paris' infamous boutique Colette, which, depending on your point of view, is the most pretentious/awesome store in all the universe, is partnering with H&M to carry the cheap chain's Fashion Against AIDS collection, the first time H&M has allowed another retailer to stock its merchandise. The line includes design collaborations with famous designers like The Cardigans, Ziggy Marley, Rihanna, Good Charlotte, Jade Jagger, My Chemical Romance, Rufus Wainwright, the Scissor Sisters, and Timbaland. [Fashion Week Daily]

• Target might have lost Isaac to Liz Claiborne, but it looks like they're about to gain the designing powers of hot English designer Jonathan Saunders for the GO International line. [Vogue UK]
• Juliette Binoche is selling Lancome now. [Chic Report]
• And Diesel is selling bed linens now! [WWD, sub req'd]
• Christian Louboutin and his red-undersided shoes will be the sole focus of an upcoming exhibit at the Museum at FIT in New York. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Neiman Marcus commercials from 1985! [Sassybella]
• Laura Ashley to take over Moss Brothers? [NYT]
• Burberry: Stock might be dropping, but revenues are rising. Oh, the chavs. Gotta love 'em. [WWD, sub req'd]

• Tomorrow night the new Bravo show Make Me A Supermodel premieres. It's hosted by Niki Taylor and Tyson Beckford, the latter of whom is um not exactly humble:"I used to shut the malls down. I was ahead of my time. I made the model a celebrity. It wasn't the celebrity that made the model but the model that made the celebrity. I used to pack kids into a mall and that's the frenzy I want to create with this show." Um, we were kind of more excited about Niki? [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• Seriously, we can't tell Penelope Cruz apart from her sister Monica in their new ads for Mango. But whatever, they both look fucking gorgeous. [Daily Mail]
  
• Is D-Squared the new Dolce & Gabbana when it comes to borderline offensive ads? The Italian design house's spring ads feature female models in lieu of where crash test dummies should appear. [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• Wildly unacceptable fashion licensing deal of the day: John Lennon accessories. First up, neckties. Next: Boxers. Not kidding! [NME]

• Poor Dmitry Prut: Designed the logo for Nicky Hilton's clothing line in exchange for a little free press for his Miami art gallery, only Hilton forgot to ever mention that he designed the logo. Whoops. [Page Six]
• Lagerfeld-designed Fendi toys! [Fashion Week Daily]
• Gisele + Versace = Toned-down sophistication?! Whoda thunk? [Fashion Week Daily]
• Christy Turlington is back at work as the face of Chanel bags for spring 2008. [Sassybella]
• The fashion industry has its grumpy pants on now that the Golden Globes have been cancelled: However will they get tons of free advertising now?! [WSJ]
• The latest in free trade: Jewelry! [Reuters]
• In some sort of perverse thank you, the Spice Girls will be attending the menswear runway show on Monday in Milan of Roberto Cavalli, who designed their god-awful costimes on their current tour. [WWD, 1st item]
• British everything-under-the-sun store Marks & Spencer's isn't doing so well profit-wise, after having worked really, really hard to up their fashion ante. So they're going to stop paying so much money to Lily Cole and other models and instead are going to shift their focus to food. [Vogue UK]
• Designer Zang Toi's computer got hacked and an email got sent to everyone in his address book saying he was inviting them to join the hot new (faux) social networking site Gayguyschat.com. Who knew hackers could be fashion-obsessed queens? [Daily Mail]

• Lancome spokeswoman Kate Winslet managing to sound annoying while dissing the celebrity product endorsement business: "I remember five or six years ago, it was really a big deal to be the face of a campaign or a spokesperson for a particular brand name. Now, it just doesn't seem to matter so much." [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Tim McGraw is getting his own fragrance through Coty; we hope it smells like blue jeans, beer and jealous wives. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Katherine Heigl is the face of Nautica's newest fragrance "My Voyage for Her," a name which sounds to us sounds like some seventies book on the female orgasm, but okay. [WWD, sub req'd]

• And in further fragrance news, singer Eve wants one, even if no deal has been inked yet: "I not only want to meet the nose, but I want to be the nose. I want to be that person who's in there putting stuff in the little bottles. I'm obsessed with smells." [WWD, 2nd item]
• Designer Rogan Gregory has won the CFDA/Vogue fashion award, beating out Philip Lim, Erin Fetherston, the Threeasfour gang, the Vena Cava girls, and the duo behind VPL. Honestly, what? We didn't even really realize he was in the running. Also he designs jeans and T-shirts. Albeit, eco-friendly jeans made with fair trade cotton and endorsed by Bono's wife or something. [Vogue UK]
• CoverGirl is giving itself a makeover, with its advertising to be more focused on "individualized beauty" and less about its approach of "fresh and clean" beauty. Which would normally be "whatever" until you think of the implications for NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE OF TOP MODEL WHEREIN THEY SHOOT COVERGIRL COMMERCIALS. We so think Heather is going to win. [WWD, sub req'd]
• J.Lo is now designing an intimates collection. It is to be "infused with Latino sensuality." [WWD, sub req'd]
• Okay, but if you thought that was absurd: Vivienne Westwood's cultural-political manifesto, uniformly declared a flop when she presented it earlier this year, is going to be presented once again, this time in London, with Georgia Jagger (yes, Mick and Jerry Hall's daughter) reading the part of Alice in Wonderland (yes, Alice Wonderland figures into the manifesto, which is sorta written as a play). Says Westwood of this trip down the rabbit hole, "If you follow it your life will change." [Vogue UK]
• Infamous footwear designer Manolo Blahnik has been made a Commander of the British Empire by the Queen of England. For his great contributions to giving women across the land major foot problems? [Vogue UK]
• Model Karen Elson just gave birth to her second child and has already been shot as the face of the new BCBG ad campaign. How do these woman look so damn put together this soon after giving birth? To the spawn of Jack White, nonetheless? [FabSugar]
• See Chloe Sevigny as the face of Chloe fragrance here. [Sassybella]
• Aw, we have tears in our eyes: Donna Karan, Zac Posen, and Diane von Furstenberg are all going to work the cash register at the 7th on Sale event (lots of shopping, benefits AIDS patients) this weekend. [NYP]
• Nike is selling off its low-end brand Starter. [WSJ]
• Liz Lange maternity has also gone all private equity on us blah blah and sold a majority share of its company off blah blah. Meaning that now banker types can not only knock their wives up but clothe them on the cheap too? [WSJ]
• And lingerie line Agent Provocateur was just sold to a private equity firm too. [Independent]

• Anne Hathaway: Possible next face of Lancome, a brand already endorsed by "such luminaries as" Kate Winslet and Clive Owen. Wait, Clive Owen? Why can't they splash him all over our perfume advertisements? [WWD, 1st item]
  
• And in other face-of-campaign news, Jennifer Connelly will be fronting Balenciaga for spring and the rumor mill is already going that Victoria Beckham is to be the face of Marc Jacobs. But Marc has already worked so tirelessly to alienate himself to the fashion community! [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Speaking of Posh, did you think we were done hearing about Victoria Beckham's denim line, dVb? Ha ha ha, not a chance! For spring we have glitter denim headed our way! [WWD, 2nd item]

• And still speaking of Posh, omg! Tonight at midnight, the Victoria's Secret website will be selling a limited number of the new Spice Girls album, which will be available only at the lingerie chain because all the music retailers went into liquidation. [Fashion Week Daily]
• How precious: Sofia Coppola's 11-month old daughter played with all the shoes while the grown-ups looked at the private presentation Azzedine Alaia'c collection yesterday. We suppose a pile of Louboutins isn't all that different from the My Little Ponies of our youth. [WWD, 3rd item]
• The CW network attempts to atone for canceling "Veronica Mars" with a new — scripted — drama featuring Isaac Mizrahi. It's called "The Collection," and will recount his experiences as a designer/famewhore or something. [FabSugar]
• Uh-oh: Kate Moss for TopShop holiday line is available in the UK starting October 25. Which means stateside we can "look forward" to the flapper dresses and goth girl looks shortly thereafter. Will anyone care this time around? [Vogue UK]
• Confirmation for anyone who ever suspected fashion design is a load of crap: Marchesa designer Keren Craig on her design partner (and Harvey Weinstein lady love) Georgina Chapman's design process: "George will call me up and say 'I'm in a taxi and I'm thinking, light boxes, tulle' - and suddenly a dress appears from nowhere!" [Vogue UK]
• We like to eat fish. We are not sure yet if we would want to wear fish. Though we would if it just meant we would avoid agreeing with pain-in-the-ass Alice+Olivia designer Stacy Bendet. [NY Post]

• It's official, confirms Victoria Beckham: Roberto Cavalli (not Donatella Versace and not David Beckham, as had been rumored) is designing all the costumes for the upcoming Spice Girl reunion tour. Trashulous! [WWD, final item]
  
• Kanye West and artist Takashi Murakami are collaborating on a jewelry line together. [WWD, 3rd item]
  
• John Galliano is designing a line of children's clothing for Diesel. Ugh. [Vogue UK]
  
• Sienna Miller are her boyfriend are sharing clothes. How, um, progressive? [FabSugar]

• Holy shit, if you live in Paris and you're reading this please please watch Paris Premiere channel for us on your TV from Saturday through Oct. 12: Karl Lagerfeld is going to be "guest editing" the entire channel and thus filling the programming with whatever he fancies. [WWD, 2nd item]
• Stella McCartney, ever the do-gooder, is donating the wall of flowers used as the backdrop to her Paris show yesterday to some low-income housing community. We gag. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Kristin McMenamy, to whom you'll surely remember Tyra comparing Asperger's Heather to in the casting special episode of America's Next Top Model, returned to the runway for the first time in nine years for the Givenchy show yesterday. Sign from the gods that Heather will win this cycle? We think yes! [WWD, 3rd item]
• Remember how we mentioned the opening of the eco-friendly nightclub the other day? Says face of the project model Jessica Stam: "I'm not sure an eco-friendly nightclub is gonna fly, but it's raising awareness. Every little bit helps." Ohhhh it's a bad sign when you don't even believe in your own model hangout. [WWD, 5th item]
• The new $18,000 handbag: the $18,000 Lancome makeup kit. [WWD, 8th item]