• Yoko Ono turned up to the Tokyo launch of Comme des Garçons' Beatles-inspired line. [WWD]
• Christian Lacroix may not have a confirmed buyer for his bankrupt fashion line, but he will design a tower in Dubai. [AB]

• 14-year-old style blogger wunderkind Tavi Gevinson is in Tokyo this week for Comme des Garçons' holiday party. In between expressing her admiration for her idol, Rei Kawakubo, Tavi will do photo shoots with Japanese magazines. [WWD]
• EBay has started doing pop-up designer sales, like Gilt Groupe. It also has a holiday store in Manhattan, selling Norma Kamali's line for the site. [NItrolicious]
• Now that Celine has creative director Phoebe Philo, it wants to open 10 new stores conceptualized by her. Meanwhile, it is closing several of its existing stores. [UK Vogue]
• Philo's debut line for the brand has been so popular with retailers the company has gained new accounts across the U.S. [WWD]
• Forever 21 is getting into the beauty business. This month, its full 145-piece line of cosmetics will hit stores. The products look appropriately glittery. [WWD]
• The ladies at Nylon saw the gorgeous sequined socks on Miu Miu's runway, balked at the $450 cost, and made their own for about $20. Speaking as one who still wears her handknit holey Rodarte fall '08-inspired tights, I approve this DIY message. [Nylon]
• Tom Ford not only financed the $7 million cost of A Single Man himself, and wrote into the script elements of various episodes from his own life, he went so far as to fill the characters' homes with his own furniture. He even painted the paintings on their walls himself. [IndieWire]
• SATC stylist and designer Pat Field and Kim Cattrall did an ad for Bailey's. It features Cattrall wearing a red dress with a bow on it, since Bailey's is being sold in holiday-promo bottles with red bows this year, and everyone involved seems to think they are totally making fashion history, as opposed to doing some rather literal-minded if inoffensive shilling. "This dress is one of the most daring garments I've ever worn," enthuses Cattrall. [SB]
• Christian Louboutin, the shoe designer who once said "comfort is not part of my creative process," maintains he learned the value of comfortable shoes when he left school at 15 to intern at the Folies Bergère, and the dancers sent him out for veal carpaccio, which they used to line their shoes. Now he uses "technical secrets" to make his shoes "easy to walk in." But his biggest enemy in life is the ankle, because, as he puts it, "You can do a design, and it looks good on paper — then when you put it on it makes your legs look fat." We would point out that a design that only looks good on paper isn't really a great design. [Independent]
• Alber Elbaz received an honor with the rather long name the Grande Médaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris from mayor Bertrand Delanoë on Friday. When asked what he loved most about the city, the Lanvin designer said, "There's so many things. It's a dream city and it's a city of dreamers...I will be original, and I will say Parisians!" [WWD]
• Look at what Tyra has wrought: 1,500 girls lined up on Saturday in New York, and another 1,000 in Los Angeles, to try to be chosen as America's representative to the Ford agency's Supermodel of the World competition. [UPI]
• Alessandra Ambrosio's "diary" of the week before the Victoria's Secret fashion show is mostly a tale of her yearning for free time to work out, and skipping meals. Don't worry, she has a cheeseburger after it's over! [People]
• "When I was a kid, I remember telling my mom I was going to be the first woman president, an actor, then a veterinarian on the weekends," says Brooklyn Decker, the Sports Illustrated and Victoria's Secret model. "I somehow decided to be an uneducated model instead." [NYTimes]
• Helena Christensen says she dreams of "situations inspired by the work of artists such as Egon Schiele and Carl Larsson, Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie book series, and the intricate yet utterly simple compositions in nature." And her dream house would be the late Edward Gorey's place on Cape Cod. Ours too. [Independent]
• This year's Pirelli calendar, shot by Terry Richardson, features no retouching. "A great photographer captures the moment — that's why I shoot without extra equipment and without assistants," claims Richardson, oddly, because he does in fact have assistants. (Perhaps they weren't used for this job?) [WWD]
• François-Henri Pinault, owner of Pinault Printemps Redoute, is looking to spin off several of his company's largest, cheapest chains, like FNAC and the mail-order empire La Redoute, in order to free up capital to invest in mid-market brands that would have both higher margins, and would sit better in a stable that includes Stella McCartney and Gucci. What this means in practice is that PPR might buy Abercrombie & Fitch. [Telegraph]

Loving the 70s inflection. And check it: swallow platforms!


Renee: an obvious devotee of the mini trend.


More of those cute prints, but here the sweetness is cut with a club-worthy halter and a steely glare.


Cool Girls (trademark.) Miu Miu is a Cool Girl Label.


Miuccia's take on the season's sparkles? Typically idiosyncratic and avian.


Okay so that's obviously a reclining nude on the collar, but what about the skirt? Stacks of dogs? What say you?


Intricate 20s beading and a prim silhouette? Yup, it's gotta be Miu-Miu.





Loving the trousers. As for the blouse? Well, surely someone wants black holes over their breasts.


It's official: Kate Moss can work anything and neither question it nor let yourself get depressed.


That goes double for les dames Roitfeld!

[Images via Getty]

• There's the usual gloom, sex, scandal and, ahem, 50 Cent's makeup line - today, but first, brace yourselves: Michelle Obama has not RSVP'd to Fashion Week. This woman's priorities are way out of whack! [WWD]

• About Fitty: he's starting a men's grooming line, containing both moisturizers and supplements. Quoth "someone," "his range will be for the guy who likes to be pampered, but the supplements will make it more butch." [Yahoo via New York]
• Katie Holmes' latest batch of Miu Miu photos is "softer" than the last: Read, she's lying around dreamily in firelight. [Popsugar]
• A bunch of children's Harajuku Lovers Hooded Jackets by Gwen Stefani are being recalled in California because their defective ties are a "strangulation risk." [CPSC]
• Kelly Cutrone, who's cut an awesomely bitchy swath across the reality show landscape, may now be getting her own. Fashion PR doyenne Cutrone, who's stirred pots on The City and The Hills, has inked an eight-episode deal with Bravo for a show that follows her, presumably, insulting people at her company People's Revolution. [New York Post]
• Alexander McQueen brings a touch of punk to a Target near you: "The heart of McQ is rebellious youth culture, a certain spirit that embodies the regular line as well as the Target collection. It's an ‘eighties punk aesthetic that evokes the anarchy and social change of the time. Youth culture now really looks back and embraces the past, but keeps it contemporary but not sticking to one particular style." [New York]
• Victoria's Secret is introducing a new, green fragrance line to the bordello, plus a perfume that "smells like lace." [Racked]
• It would seem that the president of Theory was one of Madoff's manifold victims, along wit a score of other fashion insiders. Bernie, meanwhile, is still sitting pretty under house arrest - one hopes not in a Theory suit! [WWD]
• It's not much, but they'll take it: LVMH reported a "slim annual increase" and flat profits for the year. [WSJ]
• In case no one was sure that Lorenzo Martone was Marc Jacobs' boy toy, the Brazilian looker sported, to the premiere of He's Just Not That Into You, a shirt bearing the immortal words: "Do me in the park. Marc." [New York Post]
• Sometimes there's just no point in paraphrasing the perfection of the British press:
  "Alice Hawkins looks like Dolly Parton and likes to hang out with gangsters, showgirls and topless models. She also happens to be one of the fashion world's hottest photographers." [Telegraph]
• Oh noes! Teri Agins, the respected Wall Street Journal fashion writer, is a recession casualty. [Forbes]
• Hey, remember that cute "I die. Bananas" tee? Yeah, cease and desist. Zoe has them trademarked. [New York]
• DVF just threw an odd luncheon, the guest list of which included Diana Ross, James Frey, The City + cameras, and a bunch of designers. Stars: they're nothing like us! [WWD]
• Ugh: The UGG index is up, which is bad news for real shoes, the economy. [MSNBC]
• UGGS, at least, are total depression-wear: dreary, warm, stolid. The continuing popularity of Crocs? Totally baffling! [Telegraph]
• Zara, one of the other indestructibles, expands its sorta-fast fashion to India. [FT]
• We can add nothing to this: Lilly Pulitzer-print Jeep. [Fashion Week Daily]
• What can we say? Digging on Julia Roitfeld's ads for Mango! [Fashionista]

• Wanna see Posh's designs, complete with lampshades and elephant-trunk headpieces? Check out the new commercial for her fashion line. [Fashionista]
• "The video sees various models taking inspiration from Posh’s own ads for Marc Jacobs last season by hiding themselves all over a large mansion – behind drawers, in carrier bags, hanging behind doors, turning themselves into lamp shades and transforming themselves into an elephant." [Sassybella]
• Says Posh: “Being in the Spice Girls, fashion-wise probably didn't open any doors. If anything it shut doors and I've had to bang them down.” [Times Online]
• A New York bridal shop is knocking off the Vivienne Westwood wedding gown in which Carrie Bradshaw was jilted. [New York Post]

• Notify jeans classifies butts into three categories. [Guanabee]
• Apparently Katie Holmes is surrounded by a whole gaggle of other moddles for her ballyhooed Miu Miu campaign. [New York]
• Uniqlo beats the odds, is up 32%. [WWD]
• This, we like: Kate Moss is teaming up with Liberty to use their classic floral prints in her next Top Shop collection. [WWD]
• "Liberty are already working with Topshop on a lingerie collaboration, which launched in stores yesterday, though exactly how Moss will use the London store's iconic prints is still under wraps." [ElleUK]
• Michelle Obama's Vogue cover's not a sure thing. Neither, apparently is Anna Wintour's job! [New York]
• Meanwhile, Michelle continues to boost young designers: the latest beneficiary is Jason Wu. [WSJ]
• Oh noes! J. Crew and Bloomies knocked out on a prime shopping day by website malfunctions. [Crains]
• So why is the entire payroll of NBC in this batch of holiday Gap ads? [Jossip]
• Luxury luggage gets extra-ridiculous to woo reluctant jet-setters. [IHT]
• Zara's founder is funding alternative energy solutions in Spain. [Business Week]
• Pre-fall collection peeks for Versace, DKNY, Alexander Wang, Armani, Missoni! [WWD]
• Supermodel Miranda Kerr has been replaced as the face of Australia's oldest department store. [AdAge]
• The “2009 Shop with a Conscience Consumer Guide" is a cheat-sheet to apparel made under ethical conditions. [WWD]
• Helena Christensen's line for Pilgrim jewelry is "typically, ethnically-inspired and feminine, in both delicate orchid-pastels and strong, spicy colours, priced between £10 and £100." [Telegraph]
• Victoria's Secret tries to go higher-end with a new flagship, "a level of elegance that casts the flirty and frilly lingerie and romantic beauty products in a softer, luxurious light." [WWD]

• Apparently Thierry Mugler's doing Beyonce's tour costumes. This could go in one of two directions. [Style.com]
• Diddy: “I’m only about five minutes late because I was running around and spraying people." We think he's talking about his new "I Am King" fragrance — a monarch's gotta mark his territory! [WWD]
• Let's continue to pretend we have some impact on Michelle's inaugural gown selection and evaluate these choices. [Forbes]
• We kind of assumed it was confirmed, but yes! Katie Holmes for Miu Miu. She was shot by "Mert and Marcus," our new band name. [ElleUK]
• Not a trick question: what do moddles eat on Thanksgiving? Food! [New York]

• Extremely awesome Luella Bartlet wins "Designer of the Year" at British Fashion Awards. "Bartley is the mother of three children and lives in Cornwall with her surfer-fashion photographer partner, David Sims." Other honorees included milliner Stephen Jones, Burberry creative director Christopher Bailey, and photog Tim Walker. [Telegraph]
• Check out Luella's Spring line here. [VogueUK]
• And Jourdan Dunn upset Agyness for moddle honors! [New York]
• To add insult to injury, Agy and Lily Allen were strip-serached at Dubai airport! [The Sun]
• Meet the "Madison Avenue (Doll) House, a futuristic structure displayed from suspension hangers. It features four fully decorated floors, replete with miniature replicas of Calvin Klein apparel, accessories and home furnishings, from clothing to tabletop." [WWD]
• Talk of a SAG strike is bad news for the designers counting on awards season for a much-needed boost. [WWD]
• J. Crew is down 30% — but still better off than analysts expected! [The Street]
• About time: they say they're going to return to "more friendly price points for Spring." [WWD]
• Talbots posts a quarterly loss but hopes a new credit agreement will buoy them. [NY Times]
• Meanwhile, the Liz Claiborne slide continues as it's issued a "negative" rating. In case you're wondering, that's bad. [Crains]
• Glam David — designer Richie Rich — beats the Goliath who sued him to stop using the "Richie Rich" name after acquiring Heatherette. [Page Six Magazine]
• Lego fashion show considerably more awesome than real fashion show. [AdWeek]
• Ernest Sewn launches cheap room for the cash-strapped. [Fashionista]
• Black Friday looms extra-manic as stores play 'how low can you go?' [WWD]

• In a video, skeevy CEO Dov Charney claims that "there's a conspiracy against celebrities in the Hollywood area" and that "the judges are generally patriarchal, they don't want to give celebrities a chance." Down with the patriarchy! [The Street]
• Word is, Katie Holmes shot her Miu Miu campaign yesterday. [Fashionologie]
• More inaugural gown sketches! We're not feeling 'em. [Politico]
• Colombian bulletproof jackets were inspired by our trigger-happy Veep. “This is a new market for us. Dick Cheney has helped raise awareness of accidents." [Think Progress]
• Thakoon, maker of Michelle Obama's "reverse kimono" DNC dress, has discontinued the design. [WSJ]

• Rich kid Peaches Geldof's music and fashion tips! "Most people who know me know I don’t follow fashion. I mean, I just dyed the tips of my hair blue for God’s sake. I hate stars who look totally overstyled, like Victoria Beckham; give me Courtney Love, with her babydoll nighties and ripped fishnet tights, any day. For me, fashion is about pushing boundaries. Vivienne Westwood once told me that people who aren’t creative or have no love for art don’t dress up, I asked her why people should and she replied simply, 'Because it’s fun.' Sage advice." [Nylon]
• DNR, the men's trade fashion mag, has been folded into WWD. [Fashionista]
• Steve & Barry's liquidates. [WWD]
• So does Bill Blass New York. [WWD]
• Cathy Horyn's all about Norma Kamali for Wal-Mart. Maybe we can call it...VallMa? [New York Times]
• Gap surpasses Wall Street's third quarter expectations. [Reuters]
• Liz Claiborne, however, is hit hard. [WWD]
• 80's icon Romeo Gigli is back, baby. "I have never created for 'someone' in particular, always for 'anyone' willing to take a journey of the imagination made up of dissonant harmonies, freedom and sharing." [IHT]
• Hoping to offset shopping malaise, Fifth Avenue outdoes itself with Christmas decorations. [IHT]
• Madonna's astroturf special? It's Vuitton. [New York]
• Mod maven Mary Quant unveils her special-edition stamp. [Sassybella]
• Modestly belly-buttoned moddle Karolina Kurkova has been voted "World's Sexiest Woman" by E. [InventorSpot]
• Beyonce's Japanese ads for “Samantha Thavasa” handbags — with singer Takuya Kimura — are pretty cool. [LifeFiles]

• Katie Holmes is the new face of Miu Miu. Srsly? [New York Magazine]
• Marc Jacobs' company has been accused of bribing a state official so the designer "could get a desirable venue for his fashion show." They're paying $1 million in fines. [TMZ]
• In happier news, Marc is open to marriage! Even if California isn't. “I refuse to let anyone tell me who I can and cannot marry, and who I can and cannot love. That’s just bullshit...Wherever we’d have to go. If he’s up for it, I’m up for it.” [New York Magazine]
• Are women overreacting about American Apparel's latest ads? Reverse Cowgirl's Susannah Breslin thinks so. Personally, I just hate leggings as pants! Seriously, we're talking blouses tucked into leggings, kids. [Reverse Cowgirl]
• Jessica Biel is not, we repeat, not, designing handbags for William Rast. [Fashionista via People]

• Steve & Barry's files for bankruptcy for second time. [WWD]
• Leighton Meester continues the strange Gossip Girl cast-sneaker trend as she becomes the new face of Reebok. [Fashionista]
• Karl Lagerfeld just designed a piece of French currency. "The limited-edition collector’s coin, which features Chanel’s signature quilted pattern on one side and the head of Coco Chanel on the other, was created to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Ms. Chanel’s birthday." [WSJ]
• Celeb spawn Julia Restoin-Roitfeld and Dakota Johnson Griffith are the new models for Mango. [WWD]
• Diane Von Furstenberg: "My mission is to make women feel more confident. I do it through fashion. I do it through philanthropy. I do it through everything I do. I didn't know what I wanted to do when I grew up, but I knew the kind of woman I wanted to become and I became that woman: an independent woman who was in the driving-seat. Because I am in fashion I have given other women tools to become that also." [Telegraph]
• In a rather less vague example of this, Eileen Fisher gives out this year's Business Grants: “With the credit market tightening and small businesses finding it increasingly difficult to secure financing, it is important to support woman entrepreneurs more than ever." [WWD]
• PETA comes down hard on "bunny butcher" Donna Karan. [Racked]
• George David, the ahem "colorful" head of Marks & Spencer's Per Una brand, steps down. [Guardian]
• In other M&S news: this affordable bespoke shirt idea seems genius. [Telegraph]
• Sarah Palin sports wrist corsage to Alaska's birthday party. From her date?! [LA Times]
• Meanwhile at his own birthday party, Christian Siriano — "pausing for impromptu dance-offs with friends and later, grinning over platters of cupcakes festooned with sparklers" — was feted by the MisShapes. [Observer]
• Many are boycotting Australian wool because of a "barbaric" process designed to prevent maggots; wool producers say there's no alternative. [Reuters]
• Naomi Campbell to host Miami photo retrospective...of herself. [Yahoo]
• The Limited experiences major net fall. [WSJ]
• How to accessorize your Prada phone? The Prada Link, of course — "a braceletlike leather and metal timepiece that alerts Prada phone users to calls and SMS messages." [WWD]
• Proenza Schouler designer Lazaro Hernandez raises his own turkeys, which for some reason, makes sense. [New York]
• Recycled soda can lingerie. Green? Sure. Cool? Very. Comfy? Yeah, not so much. [InventorSpot]
• On the Sonia Rykiel retrospective: "She did conceptualism before the conceptualists, Japanese before the Japanese, minimalism before the minimalists. So in a way she smoothed the way for all movements in contemporary fashion." Well, il faut pas exaggerer! [Guardian]

• 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]

• Well, someone is looking perky at 37. But who? Dodai likes this cover but I'm against stupid masks being used to conceal the mugs of celebrities I haven't seen enough of. I feel like the last I saw Claudia Schiffer was in her exercise video. [Telegraph]
  
• Celeb stylist Phillip Bloch got a little taste of Abu Ghraib when he got thrown out of a Kanye West concert at Madison Square Garden for hanging out with a bunch of teenage girls who were smoking pot. "They never asked for ID, never asked for my name. It was complete brutality," he says. [NY Post]
  
• "Remember, when our customer tightens their belt, it's generally ostrich or alligator." That's Neiman Marcus CEO Burt Tansky, just echoing Thomas Frank's sentiments on the ruins of the "man-made catastrophe that proceeded directly from the deliberate beatdown of organized labor and the wrecking of the liberal state." [Slate]
  
• Making one's rack look and feel respectable is hard enough without forcing bras to perform additional functions like transporting wine and crap, but leave it to the Japanese to invent a solar-powered bra that can charge a cell phone. [Reuters]

• "The Tailor is designed to be a resource for the man who has a keen sense of style and takes pride in his appearance, but doesn't take himself too seriously," said Bluefly Chief Executive Melissa Payner, on their new "store-within-a-store" concept "The Tailor," which she assures visitors will find to be "authoritative, not pretentious." And yes, she is talking about a website. [Crain's]
• What magazine will snag the Project Runway partnership now that the show is moving to Lifetime and ALL OF MEDIA has been upended? Well, Lifetime is co-owned by Hearst, which owns Marie Claire, which just signed ousted ELLE editor and Project Runway judge Nina Garcia, so...I mean, they could also give it to Cosmo... [WWD]

• OMG: Rachel Zoe has been disinvited from the Anna Wintour-hosted Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala, taking place Monday night in New York. This is what you get when you tempt the gods and proclaim yourself more important than Vogue. [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• Also, Wintour has instructed Vogue staffers that they may only wear white, silver, or other "pale shades." Just like the colors of faces that she likes to see on her magazine's cover! [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• French Vogue editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld and designer/Chanel creative director "Krazy" Karl Lagerfeld were both named to the Time 100 List, as influential members of the fashion community. Something about the way they both made fashion about "the street" or something. [Vogue UK]
  
• Gisele Bundchen is still the top-paid model, according to Forbes. Heidi Klum is the second. Take that, Moss. [Sassybella]

• Agyness Deyn: The mannequin. [BlackBook]
• The Rogan for Target collection is also going to be sold at Barneys. Which is not Target at all. [WSJ]
• Steve & Barry's is going to be shilling Sex and the City movie merchandise, which will be licensed for the store under Sarah Jessica Parker's "Bitten" label. [Sassybella]
• Uh oh: Seems the women behind the red carpet label Marchesa are having a bit of a tiff. While Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig used to be knows as the label's "co-designers", their titles have been changed on their website: Chapman is now listed as "designer" and Craig is noted as "co-founder." [Page Six]
• Dockers: Trying to reach out to the hip and the young. LOL. [MediaPost]
• Christian Siriano: Designed a dress for Puma. [Chic Report]
• Helena Christensen on why she loves photographer Peter Lindbergh: "Even when I looked pretty funny back in the day with my baby fat, perm, and hippie clothes, he put me on the cover of British Vogue!" Oh, models. [Fashion Week Daily]
• The latest beauty tool you didn't know you needed: An eyelash comb. [BellaSugar]
• The Versace resort in Dubai is... sorta exactly what you would expect a Versace resort in Dubai to be. [Chic Report]
• Diane von Furstenberg, Dolce & Gabbana, Oscar de la Renta, Akira Isogawa, the members of Coldplay, Jeff Koons, Philippe Starck and Tory Burch have all been asked to create "themes" for iGoogle's new customized homepage thingies. [Sassybella]
• Vanessa Paradis: The new face of Miu Miu? [Glaumrama]
• Calvin Klein went on a little field trip to Dubai last week. Blah blah, models behind plexiglass. The usual. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Jones New York: Stock is up, profits are down. The usual. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Kohl's: Gonna slow down its expansion plan 'cause their scared of the economy. The usual. [WWD, sub req'd]
• If you want to wear a pantsuit, make sure it's not double-breasted. [WSJ]
• Blue's Clues's: The shoes — at a Payless near you. [BrandWeek]

• Continuing his (Mc)dreamy stint as a model, Patrick Dempsey is adding to his fashion portfolio: The face of Versace menswear is now also the face of Avon's new men's fragrance. If it's got our favorite ER doc's face on it, then we know it'll be a little peppery, a little sweet, and really good at tending to your needs. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• As the weather warms, the hottest item to have now is a jacket! Whether bell-sleeved, belted or both, a jacket completes a look and protects you from weather patterns as unpredictable as the economy. Stability, style, and warmth? Yes, please. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Says Nicole Richie of her upcoming maternity line, "My line will be about making women look and feel good at a really emotional time. It's about showing your best self, not your tired, worn-down self." Oh, Nicole...but you always look so dazzlingly fresh! [WWD, 4th item]

• Fabulous news! (For those on a budget). Kimora Lee Simmons is launching a new junior's clothing line for J.C. Penney's called Fabulosity, priced between $29 and $108. [WWD, sub req'd]
• H&M's summer collection as modeled by Daria Werbowy is hot and mod, stylish and sweet. [Vogue UK]
• Prada SpA's profits are up by 66%. It turns out Miuccia didn't need our splurge on art nouveau-inspired platforms to make the rent these days! Which is exactly why we keep snapping up her every collection. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Speaking of which, if dry shampoo is good enough for Miuccia Prada, than it's good enough for us. [Sassybella]
• Gucci will be showing its resort collection this July in Rome, designer Frida Giannini's hometown. We're sure it will be a homecoming of Augustan proportions. [WWD, 1st item]
• Ooooh! Both Nike and friend-of-Adidas Yohji Yamamoto will be showing in Beijing's Forbidden City in the lead-up to the Olympics, in what is sure to be the most controversial Beijing showdown since Tiananmen Square. [WWD, 2nd item]
• "African women are very coquettish, and we love to dress up and we like to transmit a message. We are sending messages to society and to our husbands, or to the other wives of our husbands," says journalist Franceline Qubida of Burkina Faso. Take a page from our African brethren and always remember: How you dress is how you express yourself to the world and prospective suitors! Do you really think the eligible bachelor at the deli (or you boss!) wants to know you liked the Ramones in college? (Please, can you even name all the Ramones?) Didn't think so. Leave band T-shirts at home. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Congrats to power publicist Lara Schriftman on the birth of her baby son Lucas! [Fashion Week Daily]
• Spring cleaning never felt so good! Luxury denim line Earnest Sewn is launching its Make An Earnest Difference initiative, where your old True Religions — come on, we know you still have a pair or two hanging around! — can be donated to be recycled into insulation for homes for the needy. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Versace for the home: we agree, it may be too statement-y for full-time. But picture this chaise in the summer home: sublime. [Chic Report]
• Oh yes, I can overcome my fear of clowns for the Miu Miu Harlequin blazer. Love it or hate it, they ask. Is Fabien Baron French? [FabSugar]
• When we were a child our parents would take us to the North Georgia mountains to go panning for gold. Fool's gold, that is. But you'll be nobody's fool in the Laura Mercier Summer 2008 Gold Digger collection that gives you the right kind of shine in just the right places. [BellaSugar]
• Lingerie designer Collette Dinnigan is readying herself to launch a collection of skivvies for Target Australia, all priced for under $20. Pieces like this at a price like that makes us want to head down under and get under the sheets with someone special ASAP! [News.com.au]
• The new high-end J.Crew Collection is a little prep, a little boho and just what we want right now. [FabSugar]

• Whoah. Prada Fall 2008 Menswear: Now featuring skirts! Oh yes, this is something guys would totally buy. [Chic Report]
  
• RIP Miu Miu menswear: The line will be discontinued as of the Spring 2008 collection. What, Miuccia just couldn't top skirts for men? [WWD, 1st item]
  
• WWD headline on Isaac Mizrahi's move from Target to Claiborne is: "Will He Hit Or Miz?" [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• And in other Claiborne news, the company is rumored to be in talks to license of its Dana Buchman label to Kohl's. [WSJ]

• Aeropostle, in an attempt to save the world and increase brand awareness, is launching a campaign called Teens for Jeans, encouraging its customers to donate their gently worn jeans at any Aeropostle store, to be given to homeless kids. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Anna Wintour must be a really good American Express customer: The credit card giant has just donated $500,000 to the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, which provides cash prizes to those young designers whom La Wintour deems worthy.
• Try to contain your excitement: Rihanna is doing a second umbrella line for Totes. [WWD, 2nd item]
• The after-party alone for Kate Moss's birthday last night cost approx. $40,000. [Vogue UK]
• Designer Charles Nolan on his latest philanthropic endeavors: "In the spring I'm hosting a group that's all about microlending...do you know that if you lend money to people, the 98 percent that pay you back are women? The two percent that don't—men!" His heart is in the right place. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Julia Restoin Roitfeld, Lily Donaldson, and Theodora Richards have been "brought on" by fashion label Joie to host a party for the house during Fashion Week to make the line seem hipper, cooler, younger, etc. Incidentally, Joie hired Vladimir Roitfeld (Julia's bro, Lily's beau) to put the party together. Incesterfuckin marvelous. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Saks Fifth Avenue's spring advertising campaign features not models but illustrations. Didn't Nordstrom just do that? [Sassybella]

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

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

• Venus Williams was awarded with an associate's degree in fashion design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale over the weekend, becoming the first celebrity "designer" to ever get a degree in fashion design. She even got a prize for the "Best Sportswear Collection" and a 3.5 GPA. Also, she has a collection for Steve & Barry's. [Sassybella]
  
• Mango takes a nod from Pedro Almodovar, keeps Penelope Cruz as the face of its brand for a second consecutive season. Now if she could only find a boyfriend with the same devotion! [WWD, 3rd item]
  
• Italian director Franco Zeffirelli wants to give the Pope a makeover. But would the Pope approve of all the gratuitous tit scenes in Romeo & Juliet? [Sassybella]
  
• French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld is in New York for her lesser-known spawn Vladmir's 23rd birthday. [Fashion Week Daily]

• Film mogul/fat man Harvey Weinstein and Marchesa designer/pretty young thing Georgina Chapman's honeymoon: not so picture perfect. The $250,000 yacht they're renting is unable to enter St. Bart's due to a fuel strike there. We weep for them, seriously. [Page Six]
• The real reason Vivienne Westwood is showing her Red Label line in London revealed at last: She has a coffee table book to promote. This from the woman who wrote the manifesto against capitalism! [WWD, 2nd item]
• New Balance will be releasing a new line of women's shoes called NB Inside which offer style, comfort, and basically no actual athletic usage capabilities. [MediaPost]
• Former Dior Homme designer Hedi Slimane is now in talks with his former bosses at LVMH to start his own eponymous menswear line. Which, we assume, will look just like Dior Homme. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Names to know: Roksanda Ilincic, Richard Nicoll and Jens Laugesen. These designers all won the big prize in the UK's Fashion Forward competition this year, which is basically a guarantee of becoming the Next Big Think in Cool Britannia fashion. [Vogue UK]
• Jeweler David Yurman is coming out with a perfume. There has been no mention of what it smells like. And, surprise, a whole lotta mention on the elaborate-jeweled bottle which will hold it. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Current fashion darling Phillip Lim will be making his debut in Bryant Park during the upcoming fashion show season, which means he's "arrived" or whatever in fashion world terms. [Fashion Week Daily]
• For the first time ever, we are envious of socialites: the society set got to attend a private performance of the Isaac Mizrahi-narrated Peter and the Wolf over the weekend. Mizrahi's costume consisted of a scarf and a fedora. Swoon. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Okay, for the second time today, we are envious of socialites: the rich bitches got to buy the Miu Miu spring collection at a private sale/party Friday night in New York before it goes on sale for the masses this week. [Fashion Week Daily]
• One in four Massachusetts hair and nail salons stands in violation of health codes. And if they're being that poorly behaved in a bleeding heart and highly moral state like MA, we don't even want to think how bad things are here in hedonistic New York. Ew. [BellaSugar]

• The rumors are true! Victoria Beckham is the face of Marc Jacobs' spring 2008 collection and has already been shot by Juergen Teller for her print ads. Fashionista says it means Posh is now "officially and undeniably cool." Others within the fashion community are, um, bound to disagree! But they disagreed when he showed up two and a half hours late for his New York show, and he still hasn't filed for Chapter 11, so... [Fashionista]
  
• Kirsten Dunst, meanwhile, has been selected to be the face of the Miu Miu spring collection. God, is Kirsten Dunst still passing as some sort of style icon? She makes Sienna Miller look interesting. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• And speaking of! Ashton Kutcher is ousting Sienna Miller as the face of Pepe Jeans. We're pretty sure this doesn't mean great things for Ashton's career, but it means good things for us! [WWD, 1st item]

• And Matthew McConaughey is set to be the new face of Dolce & Gabbana's new men's fragrance. Gay, anyone? [Fashion Week Daily]
• Whoah: French Vogue editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld was Tom Ford's muse when Ford was designing Gucci?! Yikes. [Sassybella]
• The poor, long-suffering Stella McCartney won designer of the year at the British Fashion Awards, which gives us some hope that there is a God, as she beat out "I'm Not A Plastic Bag" slag Anya Hindmarch for the title. No, nevermind, we take that back: Agyness Deyn took home model of the year and Hindmarch did win best designer brand. Marchesa (co-designed by Harvey Weinstein's special lady friend Georgina Chapman) won best red carpet label and Christopher Bailey won best menswear designer for Burberry. The totally insane Dame Vivienne Westwood won for outstanding achievement in fashion design, which we guess means that the voters just decided to pretend that her incoherent "manifesto" about the state of culture today never happened. [Vogue UK]
• The woman who brought us J Brand jeans is now moving into the world of dresses, launching a line of all-jersey dresses called Riller & Fount. They'll retail for between $100-$156, which we're pretty sure is still cheaper than a pair of fucking J Brand jeans. [WWD, sub req'd]
• The designers of the label Rodnik started a rock band. Also called Rodnik. And their first single just dropped in England. And Rei Kawakubo is throwing them a party to celebrate at the Commes des Garcons flagship store in London. Who wants to bet whoever DJs it will make more than Rodnik ever will for a gig? [Vogue UK]

New Olivier Theyskens collaborator (Is it just us or is he kind of hot?) and Nina Ricci devotee Reese Witherspoon is not a one-brand woman when it comes to fashion. Merle Ginsberg reports that during a recent lunch/designer bag sale benefiting P.S. Arts (we've no idea either) held at the home of some Bel Air matron, Witherspoon was seen desperately running about looking for something — anything — made by Miu Miu. "Where are the Miu Mius?" Witherspoon is quoted as asking. "No Miu Mius?"

In Reese's defense, she was wearing Nina Ricci. But somehow we knew this broad was a ruthless, whiny label-whore.

Colleen Bell's Hollywood Handbag Frenzy[FashionWeekDaily]