• Michelle Obama may have skipped the CFDAs, but she'll celebrate the National Design Awards at the White House on July 24. The winners, chosen by the Smithsonian and including Francisco Costa, will participate in events around Washington. [WWD]

• The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving Chicago apparel manufacturer American Needle and the National Football League. American Needle contends that the league ran afoul of antitrust laws when its 32 teams canceled their individual apparel licenses to manufacture exclusively with Reebok in 2001; the NHL says that it is, in fact, a single entity entitled to do business with whomever it likes. [Breitbart]
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection had a banner week, seizing $10 million worth of counterfeit goods. Six different intercepted shipments included fake Nike sneakers, fake Coach bags, fake Gucci shoes, and fake Louis Vuitton purses. [WWD]
• Victoria Beckham is bringing in an all-new team to design and produce her dVb denim line ahead of its relaunch, expected for next year. "Victoria makes out she's hands-on, but she doesn't sit there cutting patterns," explains an anonymous friend. Not that there was much misunderstanding on that count. [Daily Mail]
• Ed Westwick — from that show about high schoolers with credit cards — posed for K Swiss shoes, and boy does he talk about the experience as one itching to be re-hired! "They know who they are," the actor said of the company, before casually mentioning that he'd just love to do another campaign. [WWD]
• Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy talked to New York about his Spring 09 couture collection, and his just-presented Resort 09 collection. Tisci, who ascended to his position five years ago, at the age of 28, calls himself the youngest couturier in history, despite the fact that both Yves Saint Laurent, who took the reins at Christian Dior at the age of 21, and Hubert de Givenchy himself, who founded his namesake line at 25 back in 1952, were younger. [The Cut]
• Model Chanel Iman's inability to distinguish between "their" and "there" has not hampered her ability to snag an internship at Teen Vogue. In a sweet touch of near-authenticity, the Condé Nasties had her clean out the styling closet. [Twitter]
• Urban Outfitters now sells its clothes via mobile phone, for those occasions when you yearn to smell of Vincent Gallo's ballsweat and early 90s desperation, but can't find your way to a store or a computer. [WWD]
• Of course American Apparel would market its new bedding with a bunch of "Oh hai Dov, this your bed? Tee hee!" shots. [AmApp]
• In other news of products that signal the apocalypse, you can now buy an Oscar de la Renta dress for your three-year-old. [W]
• These fashion-show-throwing Manhattan middle schoolers, on the other hand, seem self-sufficient enough to never be heard wailing, "But Mommy I want an Oscar noooooooow!" [Reuters]
• Valentino's owner, the U.K. private-equity firm Permira, is in talks with the fashion house's primary creditors to relax the terms of its €2.5 billion debt. Permira bought Valentino for €5.3 billion in 2007, when such buy-outs — and the easy credit they were financed with — were common. Head designer Valentino Garavani retired within months of the deal, and the house has struggled to express a coherent creative vision since his departure. [ToL]
• Madonna's wholesale transformation of her boy-toy, Jesus Luz, into a real runway model is proceeding apace. After his exclusive appearance on the Dolce & Gabbana runway for Milan's men's wear week, he headed to Paris — unburdened by any exclusive deal — and promptly racked up a spot in Givenchy's lineup. His outfit included studded gladiator sandals, harem pants, and a very busy floral/plaid shirt. [The Cut]
• Esteban Cortazar and Mounir Moufarrige, the C.E.O. of the house of Ungaro, continue to do the will-they-won't-they dance around rumors of designer Cortazar's departure. Cortazar was at the Ungaro men's wear show in Paris and, when asked about his differences with management, said "For now I am here." Moufarrige, for his part, when asked if he would be retaining Cortazar's services into the future, said, "He's here," and pointed at the runway. [WWD]
• The rumor that Pierre Cardin's Chinese shoe and leather goods licensee was in talks to take over the French brand outright has been denied by both Pierre Cardin and the shoemaker. [Reuters]
• American retailers just can't catch a break. If it's not the recession, the rising unemployment rate, or the precipitous drop in consumer spending, it's the risk of tornadoes and unseasonal torrential rain keeping the customers from their stores. [WWD]
• Versace saw a 13.4% decline in revenue during the first quarter of this year, but its sales results were stronger during the months of May and June, company chairman Santo Versace reported. [Reuters]
• Maybe part of the reason that Aéropostale is outperforming competitors like Abercrombie & Fitch to such a large degree is due to the fact that the company spends 80% of its marketing budget online, online being where most of its customers are? [WWD]

• We are Nietzsche and God is dead: Paris Hilton's stint in jail saw her fragrance sales rise 30% higher than where they were at this time last year. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• The biggest conflict in the Middle East right now? Crocs. Price-fixing. The Holy Land. Is nothing sacred there? [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Daisy Fuentes: A sweatshop manufacturer no more! Now we can buy our Wet Seal clothes guilt-free! [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Today's installation of "When Designers Sell Out": The Alice Temperley for Moet & Chandon tote bag, specially designed with a compartment for toting... Moet. Ugh. [Vogue UK]
  
• Who says the English are all stodgy? They spend more on clothing than any other group of people in Europe, except the Italians. [Telegraph]

• Peter Som: next head designer at Bill Blass? And if so, will he break the Blass losing streak? [WWD, 2nd item]
• Vogue crisis! Marni designer's Consuelo Castiglioni's tent for a photoshoot was stolen! [WWD, 2nd item]
• In our 2nd "God is dead" moment — and it's not even 10 am! — Rugby by Ralph Lauren is to be featured at the coolest, most exclusive store in the whole wide world, Colette Paris. [WWD, sub req'd]
• The unexpected collaboration between film director David Lynch and the fashion industry continues with an exhibit of Lynch's photographs of... Christian Louboutin shoes. [WWD, 2nd item]
• French fashion house Ungaro's lead designer, Peter Dundas, has resigned. [Vogue UK]
• Permira's purchase of more shares of Valentino stock (they're now at 60.2% of the company) went through yesterday. [NYT]

• After shooting her for a Dom Perignon campaign, Karl Lagerfeld expressed amazement at Claudia Schiffer's ability to play the diva at the heart of the campaign's storyline. We further express amazement that Karl got over his own whopping diva attitude to actually compliment someone other than himself. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• French designer Roland Mouret relaunching his new line Web 2.0 style on Net-A-Porter exclusively, with Victoria Beckham its celebrity spokesmodel. What vision! [Portfolio]
  
• Catherine Deneuve to design a handbag line! Which means that, sight unseen, some people (read: Jennifer) want one already. [WWD, 2nd item]
  
• Zara says cheap-chic competitors who use celebrity "designers" are cheating — since, um, duh they don't actually design? [Yahoo]

• Not-so-fast fashion: An Italian designer outfitted a gimpy 3-wheel car into her roving boutique. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Permira is thisclose to world domination! Er, we mean taking over 100% of Valentino. If pesky antitrust authorities don't get in the way, they'll have 60.2% of the label. Mwah hah hah. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Amsterdam-based designer Percy Irausquin is apparently one of the hottest up-and-coming names in fashion. Shouldn't he be from Antwerp or something? [Vogue UK]

• "If I could just do one thing for 24 hours it would be [have sex] . . . or sew. Or have sex while sewing. Or sew an outfit to have sex in." So says singer Beth Ditto, which is why the plus-sized Ditto is now collaborating with New Look to become the most unlikely (and kinda awesome!) celebrity clothing endorser yet. [The Sun]
  
• Charlotte Ronson, whose name sounds familiar because she's Lindsay Lohan enabler Samantha Ronson's twin sister, is once again slated for a role in the forthcoming Soapnet reality show The Fashionista Diaries, which will chronicle the ins and outs of the week leading up to New York Fashion Week. If there's a God, Lindsay will be off the wagon by then. [WWD, 2nd item]
  
• "Fashion's over," declares the legendary Hubert de Givenchy. Now what are we supposed to write about? Oh yeah, celebutard nipple slips! [WWD, sub req'd]

• Roberto Cavalli is in Paris — not to show couture, but to preview his H&M line to magazine editors. Oh please please please someone report back re garishness, degree of in this line! [WWD, 1st item]
• After having posed for Italian Vogue , Gavin Rossdale's love child, 18-year old Daisy Lowe, is rumored to be assuming Kate Moss's soon-to-be-empty knickers as the face of Agent Provocateur. We assume this means that Rossdales's missus, Gwen Stefani, will not be wearing the line anytime soon. [Sky Showbiz]
• Too many fashion events, too little time: The 10-year anniversary of Gianni Versace's death is keeping Bottega Veneta away from its slotted showtime as the closing show for the first-ever Berlin Fashion week. [Vogue UK]
• Anime movies! Spectator shoes! An entire Rem Koolhaas exhibit around her skirts! So what's up next for renaissance fashion-quirkstress Miuccia Prada? Designing a bar in London with whimsical Belgian sculptor Carsten Holler, naturally. [WWD, 1st item]
• Fashion hungry private equity firm Permira hopes to buy out all remaining shares of Valentino through the Italian stock market's regulatory system for an estimated $3.52 billion. Which is probably only a slightly greater figure than the price of a couture Valentino wardrobe. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Since leaving his design perch at Dior Homme, Hedi Slimane has taken to designing... furniture? [WWD, 3rd item]

• The Sopranos is coming to an end, but the Valentino drama continues. Private equity firm Permira struck a deal over the weekend with the Marzotto family to buy the family's remaining shares in the fashion house. But what to do with the 20% of shares held by Antonio Favrin, a member of the Marzottos rival family? We hear James Gandolfini may be looking for work...[WWD]
  
• Breaking news! English model Agyness Deyn's real name is... Laura Hollins. Christ. [Fashionista]
  
• What did the two women vying for England's Labour Party's deputy leadership debate to prove their worth for the position? The cost of their handbags, of course. [Telegraph]
  
• Versace is shifting its focus away from casino-casual clothing and towards the more-profitable gold-leaf, Medusa-head trashcan arena (also known as "home and lifestyle.") [WSJ]

• Forget climate change: The most threatening environmental force right now might be English socialites' love of luxury goods. [Guardian]
• More conflict in the Middle East: Gulf state private equity firms are jockeying to acquire luxury department store chain Barney's New York. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Today in high-low collaborations you can't possibly still be interested in hearing about: Alice + Olivia, Payless Shoes. [WWD, sub req'd]

• Private equity concern The Carlyle Group is rumored to be out of the race for control of Valentino, as the $3.5 billion needed to buy out the company is way too steep. [WWD, sub req'd]
• The NY Times "Sunday Styles" section fails to give a single word to Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel Resort 2008, but has lots to say about Pee Wee Herman. [NYT]
• Having recently announced it was going to "rock in apparel", Wal-Mart yanks its first "designer" clothing line because of weak sales. [WSJ]

• Giorgio Armani is no longer dressing England's soccer teams. Yeah, what's the point if he doesn't get to pretty-up David Beckham anymore? [Fashion, Inc.]
• Did somebody forget to tell us that it's "Designers Who Love Martha Stewart" week? Both Tom Ford and Donna Karan will be cooking up with our favorite queen of domesticity/prison bitch this week. [WWD, 1st item; sub req'd]
• So apparently there's a new blog in town, all about celebrity culture, women's magazines, and fashion. Oh wait, that would be us! [WWD, final item]

Private equity firm buys substantial stake in Valentino [The Guardian]