Jezebel: michael bastian

Brüno Takes The Cover, Takes Aim; Isabel Toledo To Dress Bo Obama?

TatianaTheAnonymousModel — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:30:00 EDT

British Marie Claire cover star Brüno gave the magazine a scintillating interview. On Naomi Campbell,: "She's amazing — twenty years in ze business und all ze pressure und fame hasn't changed her a bit — she's remained a total bitch."

In a fashion A-Z guide of his own invention, which Marie Claire ran with a disclaimer, he says:
"A is for Austria, ze most amazing place in Europe. Ve're all proud of our country und are raised to try and achieve ze Austrian dream - find a job, get a dungeon und raise a family in it."
H is for "High-vaisted Jeans. In terms of human tragedy on a mass scale, vy are zese not getting the attention zat Hurricane Katrina did?"
K is for "Kampf, mein... ze fashion bible written by Austria's black sheep Adolf Hitler. It literally translates as 'My Flamboyance'."
L is for "Little black child... thanks to Madonna... it's zis season's vardrobe essential."
S is for "September 11th 2001. Famous, of course, for being ze day on vich Oscar de la Renta reintroduced ze chambray peasant blouse."
Then, he compared Anna Wintour to "a pre-op trannie." [Marie Claire UK, Daily Mail, Telegraph]

Breaking: Versace C.E.O. Giancarlo di Risio is said to be stepping down this Friday. Di Risio has been the head of the company since 2004, but lately rumors of a rift with Donatella Versace have spread. Versace continues to struggle to make its wares attractive to consumers during this recession. [NY Times]
Karl Lagerfeld will be one of the voices of an animated French movie called Totally Spies. He's going to play a bad guy named Fabu. Which we think is Fab! [Reuters]
Isabel Toledo has already dressed Michelle Obama, but she still wants to take a crack at Bo. "I'd dress him in little booties!" said the designer. [NYDN]
Funny. She's got no beef with (or, perhaps, no rebuttal for) the coke stuff, but anyone who insinuates Kate Moss might be pregnant better watch it. She'll sue the pants off you. [WWD]
The will-I, won't-I, could-I-possibly dance comes to an end: Roberto Cavalli will sell a stake in his company. He signed a letter of intent to sell a 30% stake in Roberto Cavalli SpA to Italian private equity fund Clessidra SpA. How much the stake should be worth is something the two parties have until September 30 to determine. So, after months of teasing, this time it's totally going to happen. Except! The letter is non-binding. So our favorite gun-shy Italian could still beat a retreat at the last minute. [WSJ]
Tracey Ullman says her hosting gig at the Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards on June 15th will largely be an opportunity to explore how further and further derivations of celebrity affect the industry. "You can imagine Oscar de la Renta being shown a picture of Lauren Conrad, and saying, ‘Oh, if only we can get her to hold our purse!' " said Ullman. Then she did a pitch-perfect imitation of Diane von Furstenberg. [NY Times]
Fashion blogger Susie Bubble may get no love from Pam Hogg, but she still gets to preview Christopher Kane's autumn line for Topshop. "I defy people NOT to find something they like," raves Susie. The collection is apparently 40 pieces, includes shoes and bags, at a price range of approximately £40-£160. The lot hits stores across the chain this September. [Style Bubble]
Menswear designer Michael Bastian: "The hardest thing is to take something familiar and make it better. The easiest thing is to create something no one has ever seen before. There's a reason no one's ever seen it - because someone tried it, and it didn't work in the real world." [NY Times]
Perry Ellis is now sponsoring...an IndyCar driver. [Racked]
Despite the high prices, Thakoon Panichgul's just-launched second line, Thakoon Addition, is apparently doing brisk business. [Style.com]
It's in with the new and out with the old at Nina Ricci. To mark the departure of designer Olivier Theyskens, the French fashion house will be hosting a multi-season sample mega-sale, where shoes, clothing, and accessories will all move at fire sale prices. Like 40 Euros for a pair of shoes. [WWD]
Dissatisfied Saks shareholders managed to push through a resolution that will put company directors up for election annually, and require them to win their seats on the board by a simple majority, as opposed to a plurality of votes. Previously, directors had held staggered, 3-year terms. Supporting the plan was the hedge fund P. Schoenfield Asset Management, whose cry for more accountability from the board was apparently supported by such other shareholders as Carlos Slim Helú (who came to prominence in the U.S. when he invested $250 million in the New York Times earlier this year) and Tod's founder Diego Della Valle. [NY Times]
Meanwhile, Amy Odell over at The Cut takes a moment to remind everyone that fellow troubled luxury retailer Barneys still doesn't have a C.E.O. After more than a year. [The Cut]
British fashion house Aquascutum just took the first step toward laying off its entire 343-person staff. [Times of London]

ELLE Continues To Toy With Nina Garcia's Affections

Jennifer — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:30:00 EDT

The latest on the Nina Garcia saga: If she takes the editor-at-large gig she'll only be there til mid-October, when ELLE's contract with Project Runway ends and then she'll be let go for reals. (Dear Nina: You can do better than that.) Meanwhile, no one at ELLE or its publisher Hachette Filipacchi Media has issued a single comment on the entire situation. [WWD, 1st item]
Meanwhile, everyone at ELLE is pissed that the taping of its reality show Fashionista is ruining everyone's lives. [NY Daily News]
Audrey Tatou is rumored to be the newest face of Chanel No. 5. Does this mean that Nicole Kidman got the boot? Maybe she and Nina can start a sort of ex-wives club together. [WWD, 1st item]
"I think the luxury is not only what we give to ourselves, but what we can give to others. Obviously, we can get more of this and this, but the true luxury is being able to give back. When one has been blessed with the ability to have made it...it's our social responsibility." Nice try, Donna Karan. But...no. [WWD, sub req'd]

"You can sort of tell the designers by the pieces," says Gap designer Patrick Robinson on the retailer's white shirt sdesigned by Phillip Lim, Band of Outsiders, Michael Bastian and Threeasfour. Um, wouldn't it be troublesome if you couldn't? Isn't this sort of a given when it comes to design? [WWD, sub req'd]
Victoria Beckham is not above groveling to get L.A. boutique Kitson to not drop her denim line from its stores. [PopSugar]
Women need to learn to "shop like a man"? My ass! Don't know about you, but the ladies I know think a lot more about where they put their dollars then the fellas in my life. [Telegraph]
Margaret Thatcher: Style icon? Sure, and Hillary's yellow pantsuits are going to be the next big thing for spring! [Telegraph]
Kenneth Cole has poached Liz Claiborne executive vice president Jill Granoff to make her the company's new CEO. Smells like another failure of the Tim Gunn-Bill McComb regime at Claiborne to me. [WWD, sub req'd]
LVMH's profits are up by 12%, largely because of the roaring success of the Louis Vuitton label. Marc Jacobs: 1, haters: 0. [WWD, sub req'd]
How the hell are Burberry's profits up by over 19%? Really: Explain it to me. [WWD, sub req'd]
And L'Oreal's profits are in the shitter. [Reuters]
Who's the most accomplished Versace sibling now? Santo Versace, who has just joined Italy's House of Parliament. Can't you just see Donatella busting in there, screaming, "Geeeeeeeet outtttttt!" 'Cause I can. [WWD, 2nd item]
Gucci has hired David Lynch to direct commercials and James Franco to front its new men's fragrance. [WWD, 3rd item]
So word on the street is that Sasha Pivovarova is being ousted as the face of Prada for Linda Evangelista. Drama! [Sassybella]
Designer Roland Mouret on what makes a fashion icon: "Icons last but fashion changes. What I try to do is allow a woman to work with the icon inside herself. The body is an icon, and I create a shell for that body." Just like Invasion of the Body Snatchers! [Vogue UK]
These shoes scare me. [Chic Report]

OMG: More Clothes Are Coming From Kate Moss!

Jennifer — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:30:00 EDT

Kate Moss's fifth collection for Topshop launches today. It's inspired by "travel." Oh, bite me. [Vogue UK]
Spanx bras — to flatten your back fat, of course — in stores now! [WWD, sub req'd]
You will be so proud of Eva Mendes! She overcame that whole nasty rehab debacle to be chosen as the face of Calvin Klein underwear. Yay Eva! And yay Calvin Klein for taking a chance on a star who is trying to overcome adversity. [WWD, sub req'd]
Pussycat Dolls founder Robin Antin has extended her evil empire to include a lingerie line (entitled, sickeningly, "Pussycat Dolls...shhh") and a costume jewelry line. [WWD, 3rd item]
Nicole Richie doing a maternity line? Why, God, why? [LATimes]

Marc Jacobs and his histrionic boyfriend Jason Preston are fighting again. [Page Six]
"I feel like Beyoncé is a very good image for what I do. She's the woman that I present. I adore women with curves," says designer Elie Saab. We remain skeptical. [Fashion Week Daily]
I know I'll sleep better tonight knowing that Lord & Taylor has achieved its life-long dream of stocking Juicy Couture. [IHT]
Also, knowing Victoria Beckham owns ten different Hermes Birkin bags, all in different colors. [Sunday Mirror]
Evangeline Lilly is the face of Davidoff Cool Water Women. [WWD, 2nd item]
Bindi Irwin's children's clothing line on sale everywhere... well, in Australia. [News.com.au]
Paris Hilton: Inspiration to Indian fashion designers. [Reuters]
Gap has once again commissioned supercool designers to design limited-edition white shirts for the chain. 3.1 Phillip Lim, Band of Outsiders, Michael Bastian, Philip Crangi and Threeasfour have all signed on for the project, sponsored by Vogue and the CFDA. It seems like only yesterday they were doing this for the very first time! I have only written approximately 3.1 x 10²⁹ words on this site since then. [WWD, sub req'd]
No, light-up packaging scares me. [BellaSugar]
Our favorite model-blogger Erin O'Connor is now preparing to make a documentary about the fashion industry. $10 says everyone comes off looking ethical and well-groomed. [Daily Mail]