• Kate Moss says her motto is, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." [WWD]

• In December Harper's Bazaar, Victoria Beckham reveals that she is itching to dress Emma Watson. [People]
• Alexander Wang is now 100,000 Euros richer, thanks to the Swiss Textiles Award. [WWD]
• Bridget Moynahan is becoming a face of Garnier Nutritioniste skincare. [WWD]
• It took a while, but someone finally got around to identifying what Sasha and Malia wore in the official White House family portrait, and putting together a press release. (Turns out it was French children's label Dino e Lucia.) [WWD]
• Miss J, on fun times with André Leon Talley: "I was working for Lars Nilsson at Bill Blass and André Leon Talley came over to the studio with Elizabeth Taylor's epic movie Boom!, which Karl Lagerfeld did the costuming for. We got down on some fried chicken, corn bread and popcorn shrimp and were in fits of hysterics well into the night. We went from working with models who don't eat all day to watching all of us get down on some soul food!" Says Miss J, "Sticks and stones may break your bones, but fabulous gets you most places." [The Moment]
• Naomi Campbell held a Fashion For Relief runway show to raise money for maternal health in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. (Previous stops have included Mumbai and New York, and have raised $1 million in aid for Hurricane Katrina and the Mumbai terrorist attacks.) Campbell walked the runway for the first time in the continent of Africa, and talked about the importance of diversity in fashion. "There's definitely space [for more black models] but has there been enough effort? It was getting better but it's slipped back this year," said the model. "The world is not made up of blonde hair and blue eyes. We need to share ourselves." [Reuters]
• Claudia Schiffer wouldn't rule out starting a clothing line. "I would consider it but it would have to be the right thing. They would need to be clothes that I would want to wear." [Telegraph]
• Liu Wen will be the first Asian model to walk in the Victoria's Secret fashion show. [Modelinia]
• Marc Jacobs' fiancé, Lorenzo Martone, and Ryan Brown, formerly of Elite, are starting a talent PR agency for models together called ARC NY. Lydia Hearst has signed on. [P6]
• Mango might ink a distribution deal with a U.S. department store, like JC Penney, Macy's, Bloomingdales or Saks, to help its retail expansion. [WWD]
• What other fashion house has ever inspired poetry upon its demise?
  "Luella, we will miss
  The frills
  The spills
  But know this

  Your work will live on
  In a sample sale shirt
  I once purchased
  Cheap as chips." [Guardian]

• As one exits, another enters: Biba is being revived. Again. [Catwalk Queen]
• Jimmy Choo has opened a Chinese restaurant in London. [Elle UK]
• For $8,500, you could own a sofa in the shape of the Chanel logo. [FWD]
• Bamboo fabric, though made from a plant that can be grown without pesticides and fertilizers, is processed with toxic solvents, just like rayon and viscose are made from wood. Eco-friendly it is not. [WSJ]
• Nordstrom's revenues for the third quarter jumped 17% on last year's results, but the company missed its earnings forecast by one cent, which sent the share price tumbling. [TS]
• Abercrombie & Fitch's quarterly profit fell to $38.8 million, from $63.9 million a year ago. [Reuters]
• Sales of department store fragrances fell by 11% on last year during the first three quarters, to $1.38 billion. [WWD]
• That hasn't stopped Gwen Stefani and her perfume partners, Coty, from putting out five new Harajuku Lovers fragrances. [WWD]

• Victoria Beckham might be adding shoes and accessories to her dress collection, because she's apparently sick of advertising other designers' goods. [Sun]
• Fergie says she wanted her Avon scent to smell "fresh, and yet modern at the same time." [People]

• There is one image from Sonia Rykiel's lingerie collection for H&M on the Internet. The collection, modeled by Caroline Trentini, Anne Vyalitsyna, and Lara Stone, features a lot of rosettes, some in perhaps ill-considered places. (Rosette nipples, anyone?) [Nitrolicious]
• Lady Gaga says during the filming of Beyoncé's video for the upcoming single "Video Phone," she aped Beyoncé's style and choreography so well the crew took to calling her "Gee-yoncé." Gaga also says she and Beyoncé are working on music together next. [People]
• Meanwhile, if anyone were ever destined to receive an Accessories Council Excellence Award, it's Gaga. [WWD]
• Fashion's Night Out: becoming an annual event, according to Mayor Bloomberg. Who should know. [WWD]
• Christian Lacroix says, in this annoying all-caps interview, "THE TRIBUNAL WILL DECIDE ON OCTOBER 27TH WHICH « DOSSIER » THEY'LL FAVOR. FALICS SUBMITED ONE, SOME OTHER FINANCIAL PEOPLE DID TOO AND I CHOSE TO GIVE MY SUPPORT AND SIGNATURE TO THE SHEIKH OF AJMAN WHO SEEMS TO BE THE STRONGEST SOLUTION. WE'LL SEE...WHATEVER WILL BE THE NEWS ON NEXT TUESDAY IT WILL BE A RELIEF." The designer also said, of his house's erstwhile collaborations with Pucci and Hermès, "IT WAS NO MORE POSSIBLE WITH OUR LAST AMERICAN BACKERS. WE'LL SEE WITH THE NEXT. IF I'M STILL PART OF THE VENTURE." If? If? If he's still part of the venture? It's too early in the morning for this heart-rending inconstancy. [UnNouveauIdeal]
• And with that, hearings on the $100 million Emirati bid to take over the house of Lacroix have been delayed until November 17. The bankruptcy judge nonetheless says it is "likely" the sheikh's bid will be the one approved. [AFP]
• Don't expect a Givenchy H&M collection anytime soon. Although the brand put together a capsule collection, at 40% off its regular astronomical pricepoint, for Barneys New York, designer Riccardo Tisci says of mass-market diffusion collaborations, "It's too early. I'm still building the brand, and we want to stay on image." Tisci also revealed he's in New York to work on costumes for a secret show. "I'm here for work on an upcoming show in 2011, which I'm doing all the costumes for. I can't say much more, but the performance is a combination of music and opera, and will travel worldwide. A project like this has been my dream." Sounds intriguing. [Fashionologie]
• Julianne Moore says working with Tom Ford as a director was easy. "Tom is incredibly, incredibly meticulous and has a work ethic like nothing I've ever seen," says the actress. "He works very, very hard and is always very prepared and cares about every tiny detail." [People]
• Eric Ripert, chef of Le Bernardin, on Roberto Cavalli's habit of sitting down at Italian restaurant Serafina and ordering from Manana, the Mexican place next door: "I would find that very insulting. And I won't let him! It's like me going to Roberto Cavalli and then asking the designer next door to bring a dress for my wife, and then dress her in his boutique. I would not do that. I would go to Hermès." Burn, Cavalli! [Grub Street]
• The Sun has its nose out of joint about the press copy accompanying Kate Moss's new perfume. "The fragrance opens with illuminating pink pepper, white freesia and invigorating mandarin. Warm base notes of tonka bean, vanilla and skin musks add a depth and refinement," is kind of disgustingly over-the-top as PR speak goes. But anything that prompts a cranky old Englishman to write the words "Nobel Prize for shit-erature" goes back to being OK in our book. [Sun]
• Steve Madden, everybody's favorite just-like-the-runway-but-made-of-pleather-and-still-over-$100 shoemaker, is getting into the clothing business. It will be women's wear, made under license, and expect to see its "Bohemian flair" in department stores early next year. [Crains]
• There's now a bullshit term for world leaders wearing jeans: Power Jeans. [WSJ]
• And there's a new bullshit term for idiotically priced jeans, too. $300-and-up denim will no longer be known by that hideous pre-recession term, "Premium Jeans." It is, instead, "Artisanal Jeans." [NYTimes]
• Ellen Von Unwerth says, of her favorite shot, "I took this maybe three years ago, on a fashion shoot for Italian Vogue. We developed a romantic story to go with it: a woman comes back to the place where she grew up, and finds it all dusty and falling apart. We shot it in a chateau in Paris. The girl was a model, and it was the only time I worked with her. After this, she disappeared. She was from eastern Europe, Romania maybe, and even the agency couldn't find her again. So she's like a ghost. The picture certainly has a ghostly feeling." For some reason, we find this really disturbing. And sad. What happened to this girl? [Guardian]
• Carlos Falchi sure seems like an upright guy. Reports the Times: "Once he said to a girl, 'That's my bag.' She didn't care for the remark, but then it sank in that this pot-bellied, gray-haired guy with silver bracelets was really him, the designer Carlos Falchi. Maybe in an age of brands and manufactured nostalgia she didn't even think he was real. She called her mother, who bought the bag 30 years before, and put Mr. Falchi on the phone and then closed the celebrity moment with a photo." Falchi's Target line debuts on November 1. [NYTimes]
• Duckie Brown co-designer Steven Cox got to thinking about men's and women's fashion after Miuccia Prada said recently that men's wear should be more influenced by women's wear. "Originally we had this whole conversation about using women's fabric. I don't really agree with that," said Cox, of the Duckie Brown collection. "Because what makes a fabric women's? You know, there is no penis or vagina in a fabric. Like, why is chiffon women's and why is it not men's? I don't know." [The Cut]
• Saks, eyeing the success of sample sale e-tailers like Gilt, is looking to replicate their tactics, and host its own online sample sales. [WSJ]
• Avon earned $156.2 million in the third quarter. Last year, during the same period, the company made $222.6 million. [Crains]

• They said it would never happen, but a judge ordered that Google reveal Liskula Cohen's anonymous online tormentor. The model sued Google to find out who was behind a hate-blog about her, in order to file a defamation suit. [NYPost]

• Marc Jacobs does not "enjoy", "look forward to," or anticipate seeing any shows besides his own at New York Fashion Week. "Enjoy?" said the designer, at a party in the Hamptons, "Enjoy is a weird word. It's work — work is more what it's about." So it's not fun? "No." In addition to his two collections to show, Jacobs has a wedding pull together just now — his nuptuals with partner Lorenzo Martone will take place privately in Provincetown, Massachussetts, "soon." [The Cut]
• Hopefully Jacobs was put in slightly better humor by a visit from Miss Piggy. She needed a dress for a red carpet affair in Chicago, and the designer was happy to oblige, so the porcine starlet popped in for a fitting. [WWD]
• Keira Knightley and a strategically arranged suspender star in the newest ad for Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle perfume. [Egotastic]
• Sass & Bide, the Australian denim label which generally shows internationally in New York, has announced it is joining the thundering horde heading to London Fashion Week this season. A raft of British designers have made special arrangements to return to London to show in this, London Fashion Week's 25th anniversary year, and even Anna Wintour — who normally drops the city from her fashion calendar — will be showing up. [Telegraph]
• The cast of the next season of Dancing With The Stars has been announced, and Vera Wang's name is not there. Kelly Osbourne, Melissa Joan Hart, and an Ultimate Fighting Champion might not make the best company, anyway, and Wang has a company to run, so we're not that surprised. [Us]
• Elettra Weidemann, Isabella Rossellini's daughter, scored another fall campaign, for G Star. Anton Corbijn, who directed the Joy Division movie Control, and has photographed U2 for years, was the photographer. [Fashionista]
• Eugenia Kim's diffusion line for Urban Outfitters, branded Eek!, includes a nice looking cloche, and some potentially interesting headbands and fascinators. For $28-$48, as opposed to Kim's main line's $200-$300 pricepoint, this line looks like a winner. [FabSugar]
• Speaking of Urban Outfitters, is there any other chain you would expect to take up the noble cause of saving Polaroid from obsolescence? [Elle UK]
• Hermès is reissuing one of its classic scarf designs to benefit the International Federation of Human Rights. The blue-green scarf will be sold on fidh.org for 215 Euros, starting early next month. [WWD]
• Fashion blind item! "WHICH rising American model has stopped getting snapped backstage by photographers? She's dated so many of them (and their important friends) that now they refuse to give her any exposure!" [Fashionista]
• Wal-Mart is expanding its reach into the tween market. In addition to having Taylor Swift design dresses for L.E.I., and selling Miley Cyrus's line with Max Azria, the world's largest retailer has inked a deal with Nickelodeon to partner with the young stars of a show called True Jackson. [WWD]
• Presumably in order to give Toby Keith a run for his money, Kenny Chesney is launching a fashion line. [People]
• Zara is expanding its outlet chain, Leftie's, into France, after successfully opening the super-budget stores in Portugal and Mexico. This is clearly something we need stateside, stat. [WWD]
• Saks' net loss in the second quarter widened to $54.5 million, an increase from the $32.7 million loss the company experienced during the same period last year. However, Saks actually beat analysts' expectations. [WWD]

• 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]

• Geithner's proposed new regulatory framework buoyed retail stocks by 4.4% yesterday. Saks' shares rose 15%, Ann Taylor was up 18%, Macy's climbed 10.2%, and Liz Claiborne rose 16.2%. Finally, some good fashion economic news! [WWD]

• But it isn't all rosy on the business side. H&M's profits have fallen for the first time in five years. Their first-quarter net profit was down by 12%, which was worse than analysts had expected. [WSJ]
• Marc Ecko Enterprises owes business partners $170 million. $100 million of that is due to Li & Fung, the global sourcing giants, who announced just yesterday that their net was down 21%. [NY Post]
• Hugo Boss lost $20.6 million in the fourth quarter of 08. That's a decline in net of 27%. for the year. [WWD]
• Thom Browne, whom the New York Post reported was close to bankruptcy yesterday, denies the charge in WWD. The men's wear designer says he is looking for a financial backer to grow his company — but has been slow in his search because the relationship is a crucial one and he doesn't want to sell a majority stake in his business. [WWD]
• The Telegraph takes a tour of the Chanel handbag factory outside Paris, and finds 340 people working very slowly and carefully to complete the 180 steps in the making of a 2.55 purse. [Telegraph]
• Simply Vera by Vera Wang's spring line is out at Kohl's. I agree with this reviewer that it looks basically cute — but one word of advice? Do not ever imitate a runway or lookbook outfit head-to-toe. It's snoozeville. [Fabsugar]
• Last winter, Peacock Holdings LLC — a men's shirt concern, apparently — bought the Bill Blass brand from NexCen, the company which fired Peter Som and 60 Bill Blass employees without severance. At the time, Peacock said it planned to revive the ready-to-wear division within the year; they are just now looking for a creative director. [WWD]
• Kérastase is discontinuing ten products, including their Bain Après-Soleil shampoo. You can mourn them by buying the last little pottles of goodness at 30% off online with the code VIP30. [Kérastase Paris]
• Jane Whitfield, a designer at Louis Vuitton who shares the distinction, with fellow Briton Peter Copping, of being commonly described as "Marc Jacobs Right-Hand [Pronoun]" (or who perhaps doesn't have to share it anymore, following Copping's departure to Nina Ricci), lives in a charming centuries-old cottage near Versailles with her husband and kids. This story is entirely about her apparent knack for interiors and contains no other insight into her design work or experience. [Telegraph]
• In China, Clinique and Sony banded together to create a 40-episode web series that just happens to feature an awful lot of Clinique and Sony products. [WSJ]
• If you want to buy a punk outfit from Bergdorf, it will cost you $3000. [Blogue]

• Amanda Lepore has a scent which is more art project than perfume — sold at a gallery for $950, the crystal bottle contains notes of steamed rice, mandarins, champagne, and cucumber. It's fermented. [NY Times]

• The first issue of Indian Harper's Bazaar is now available. It features actress Kareena Kapoor on the cover, and a limited number of the issues are also bedazzled with "Xilion crystalized — Swarovski elements," whatever those are. [Mag-Scene]
• Meanwhile, the March '09 issue of V, featuring Natalia Vodianova and Luke Grimes, has a glow-in-the-dark cover logo. [The Cut]
• Back at London fashion week, Sienna Miller threw a "raucous" party for the label she co-runs with her sister Savannah. Her entire street was reportedly clogged with guests and their cars, and she didn't even warn the neighbors. [Daily Mail]
• Niki Taylor gave birth to a daughter, named Ciel Taylor Lamar, with husband Burney Lamar yesterday, the day before her birthday. Aw. [People]
• Chanel Iman has been publicly confirmed as Bar Refaeli's co-host on the revived MTV House of Style. [Sassybella]
• UK Esquire named Prince Charles its best-dressed man. [Yahoo! News]
• Lou Doillon is opening a concept store in Paris's 11th arrondissement. So we can add that to the list of places where I'd shop if I had any money. [Fashionista]
• For a wrap-up of the Milan shows from Aquilano e Rimondi to Versace, you can't really go past Cathy Horyn's analysis for the Times. [NY Times]
• New York decided to count models of color on the runways in Milan — and the results, especially after such a promising season in New York, are depressing. Dozens of shows with all-white casts, and then a cameo from Jourdan Dunn, does not diversity make. [The Cut]
• And, just like that, it's on to Paris. [WWD]
• British bag-maker Mulberry's January sales were up 30% on last year's results — although this article doesn't specify whether those are same-store sales (sales from stores open one year or longer) or if that figure includes sales from stores that have opened in the past 12 months. (Retail expansion inevitably boosts sales but has huge overhead costs, so same-store sales are the measurement usually considered most reliable.) [UK Vogue]
• A Wall St. analyst upgraded Steve Madden to a "strong buy," arguing that the share price had hit a floor and that the company was well-positioned with no debt, and the stock price jumped 10% in one day's trading. [Crain's]
• Urban Outfitters' same-store sales at subsidiaries Anthropologie and Free People fell during the fourth quarter, and earnings for the company were down 24% as a result. Across the whole business, January sales rose 9%, but same-store sales actually fell by 1%. Urban Outfitters won't be opening as many stores as it had planned in 2009. [WWD]
• Jaclyn Smith, former Charlie's Angel and, given her K-Mart label was launched in 1985, grand-mommy of the celeb clothing line world, says her line is doing fine in the recession, but gives no specifics. [Reuters]
• Fashion directors at department stores are finding their roles are changing — or being eliminated altogether — during this economic downturn. Harper's Bazaar interviewed six of them, at top stores like Saks and Bergdorf, only to find that two had been fired by the time the issue went to print. Let's just all cross our fingers and hope Barneys keeps Simon Doonan in our lives. [NY Times]
• Clients of models aged under 16 in the Australian state of New South Wales will have to adhere to a code of practice set by the government, and obtain the permission of the state Children's Guardian, under new legislation under consideration. The government also wants to add a zero to the fine limit for clients found to skip either of the above steps. [News.com.au]

• This seems like a heavenly match: Britney Spears asked DSquared to create the costumes for her comeback tour. Dan and Dean Caten's fetishistic, high-energy sense of style should be a perfect foil for Brit. [WWD]

• Let slip the knock-offs! The Oscar gowns worn by Kate Winslet, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Angelina Jolie will be among those replicated by the notorious inspiration-takers on the design team at prom label Faviana. (This is the utterly shameless company who called its collection re-creating things Michelle Obama wore the "First Lady Collection.") Interestingly enough, last year Faviana knocked off Miley Cyrus's Oscar dress — but not this season. Perhaps being copied is the ultimate test of taste. [NY Post]
• Amber Le Bon, daughter of Simon and Yasmin, just signed with Models 1 in London — her mom's agency — and says she might make her catwalk debut next season. For now, she's sticking to watching shows in Milan and "guest-editing" the Moschino online boutique, whatever that means. [WWD]
• That "announcement" that Roberto Cavalli said he'd make about the future of his Just Cavalli line? At the showroom presentation he held in lieu of his normal splashy runway show, the chain-smoking designer launched into a 45-minute rant in a variety of languages about the bankruptcy of Just Cavalli's production licensee, Ittierre, the just-announced bankruptcy of Ittierre's parent company, IT Holdings SpA, and the state of the fashion industry and the shrinking consumer dollar it chases. I never thought I could feel bad for a man who believes in leopard print sequined everything, but my heart actually goes out to him. I mean, he cried. [Guardian]
• In case you missed that: the bankruptcy a few weeks ago of Ittierre, licensee to John Galliano, Just Cavalli and Versace Sport, among others, has been followed by the bankruptcy of parent company IT Holdings SpA. IT Holdings owns the brands Gianfranco Ferré and Malo, both of which still plan to show and present, respectively, at Milan fashion week. IT Holding's debts total $376 million. [WWD]
• Mango, the Spanish fast fashion chain, is continuing its pattern of rapid expansion into the US market, even despite the recession. Earlier this month, the company announced what passes for healthy sales figures in the retail sector these days — revenue growth for '08 of 8%. [WWD]
• Eddie Bauer, on the other hand, sees a meager future in women's fashion apparel. It's retreating to its neglected core concern — outfitting the rugged menz for adventuresome outdoor pursuits. [WSJ]
• Fourth quarter profits at the Gap shrank 8.3%, which beat analysts' expectations because sales for the same quarter fell 13%. The retailer has been focusing on cutting costs and reducing inventory. [AP]
• Some of the many women who work at LVMH, the luxury conglomerate, posed for black-and-white portraits for a photo project concentrating on women in fashion. An exhibit of the photos opens on March 8, International Women's Day, at LVMH's Avenue Montaigne HQ in Paris. [WWD]
• Newlyweds Tommy Hilfiger and Dee Ocleppo confirmed they are expecting their first child together. [People]
• Seeking to diversify his portfolio of irritations, Pete Wentz has designed some t-shirts. [FWD]
• And Pamela Anderson has garnered a spot in the runway lineup for Vivienne Westwood's Red label, showing next week in Paris. [Vogue.co.uk]
• The perks of being a celebrity's parent: you get to go randomly to fashion week and hang out backstage. Hello, Gerard Hathaway, nice to meet you! [Times]
• The re-launched Versace diffusion line, Versus, is designed by Christopher Kane. It includes bags and shoes. [Telegraph]
• Model Erin Wasson left her issues with the homeless to go to London to launch her RVCA collaboration line. Which promptly sold out. [UK Elle]
• Cecille Villacorta was either a spectacular jewelry sales associate at Saks, earning over $400,000 in salary and commission in her final year with the company, or an inveterate thief who kept customers coming back by giving them unauthorized refunds and credits that were only discovered when the company updated its computer system. A criminal case and a countersuit in New York City aim to determine which it was. [NY Times]

• People love Posh's dresses. Net-a-porter.com sold out in one day, and Posh herself stopped by Neiman Marcus to instruct sales associates and top customers in the ways of the frock. Thirty pieces were sold. [WWD]

• Roberto Cavalli yesterday said that he will show Just Cavalli in Milan — albeit not on the runway. Following the bankruptcy of the diffusion line's primary licensee, Itierre, Just Cavalli's future was in doubt, despite the fact that the expanding chain has stores scheduled to open this year. But the designer says that he will show Just Cavalli to a select group of editors at showroom appointments tomorrow, before making an announcement about the future of the brand. Surely there must be a manufacturer somewhere willing to produce the brand. [FWD]
• The gist of this story is: Michelle Obama. Still wearing clothes. There, I saved you three minutes. [WWD]
• Saks is troubled. After holding 75% off sales all last November and December — a situation the company CEO says "you'll probably never see again" — it still had to lay off workers in the new year. And in leading the deep-discounting department store pack last winter, Saks achieved the triple whammy of pissing off its vendors — who didn't appreciate their wares getting the TJ Maxx treatment from a trusted name — losing $98.75 million of company money in three months, and spawning endless trend stories about whether consumers will ever be duped into paying $700 for a pair of pumps again (the magic eight ball says: not any time soon). Well, the CEO held an investor conference call and said some reassuring things that made the share price jump almost 13%; then the CFO happened to mention that, worst case scenario, the company does own some very nice real estate. Which it could sell. Presumably not at 75% off. [NY Times]
• Halle Berry and Jenna Jameson launched namesake perfumes in the same week. Weird. [Beauty Counter]
• In other news of celebrities who want a piece of the retail maelstrom, there's a certain pink-haired Canadian pop-punk sprite who would like to sell you her pajamas. They're black and neon all over, and have some weird-looking lace insertion-looking parts to the top. Not that anyone would dare call her complicated. [The Life Files]
• Scarlett Johanson, the face of D&G makeup, is a safe bet at the Dolce & Gabbana show in Milan on Monday. [WWD]
• Adam Lippes' Mango diffusion line goes on sale March 1. The women's clothes seem to exhibit a nice sense of proportion, and there are some potentially cool black strappy not-too-gladiator-looking sandals. But there are men's wear looks styled with notched-lapel jackets and — wait for it — dress shorts. I just don't know how to feel about that. [Racked]
• Not battening down the hatches are the Olsen twins, whose contemporary Elizabeth and James line is moving into men's wear. Their other label, The Row, has a men's wear division that has proved very popular very quickly. [WWD]
• Speaking of the Olsens, their Elizabeth and James shoes are about to launch, and will go on sale through Steve Madden stores. Although there is no pricing information as of yet, they'll be significantly more expensive than Steve Madden's other wares. [FabSugar]
• Moise de la Renta, who I am pretty sure does not have a degree in communications, does have a fashion line. MDLR, announced last summer, is finally here. [Style.com]
• Should you ever want to imitate the shiny corpse lip some of the models wore at Marc Jacobs, key makeup artist for the show François Nars explains how. It involves putting eyeshadow on your lips. [NY Times]
• True Religion posted double-digit sales and earnings increases for all of 08 — and the fourth quarter. [WWD]
• Old Navy is chasing the "quirky" 25-35-year-old customer. Its new campaign features a flier that looks like a mock celebrity magazine, and they would like to remind everyone they sell clothes for $5 and $10. [AP]
• Fourth quarter profit for the Limited brands fell 96% on last year. At least they still had a fourth quarter profit! [AP]
• The sound of Karl Lagerfeld's taste dying is a low, battery-powered hum. Which reaches a top speed of 12 mph! The Chanel Segway, a thing you can buy, is here. [The Cut]

• Sometimes the morning brings good news: Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are going to play Italian priests in the movie version of Nine, which was inspired by Fellini's 8 1/2. Priests! [Elle UK]

• And here's the bad news: The U.S. Department of Labor reports job losses of nearly 10,000 in the apparel and textile sector for January alone. Departent stores cut nearly 9,000 positions the same month. [WWD]
• Luxury conglomerate It Holding SpA, which owns the labels Gianfranco Ferre and Malo, may go into bankruptcy. The Italian stock exchange has suspended trade of its stock indefinitely. [WSJ]
• Residents of San Francisco's Mission district — kind of like the Williamsburg of the west — successfully fought a proposed American Apparel using the city's stringent permit requirement laws for chain stores. The idea of hundreds of American Apparel-clad hipsters arguing the finer points of locally-owned commerce to the planning commission is a little wacky but sweet. [SF Gate]
• Meanwhile, spunky Badgers influenced the University of Wisconsin to let its contract with Russell Apparel, owner of the Russell Athletic brand, lapse following reports of anti-union activity by the company in Honduras. [U.S. News]
• Phoebe Philo talks at some length about her design process for her first Céline pre-spring and resort collections, which are to be shown in June. There's nary a mention of the fact that her first Céline collection was to be for fall 09, which booster Anna Wintour had booked into an exclusive Vogue editorial for the March issue, and which sources recently reported LVMH had gotten "a team" to work on in Philo's stead. [WWD]
• This completely escaped my notice: the real people in the background of the ad campaign for Isaac Mizrahi's first collection for Liz Clairborne include bloggers Dannielle Kyrillos of Daily Candy and Katrina Longworth of Spout Blog. Wonder whose idea that was? [Brand Freak]
• Model Heather Marks diaried her food intake for seven days in the run-up to New York fashion week. You can now commence arguing about whether or not it's healthy; I vote her a paragon of nutritional virtue, but then, I've been in this industry a long time. [Grub St.]
• Fendi's sole perfume, Palazzo, which launched in 2007, is being taken off the market due to disappointing sales. [WWD]
• Victoria's Secret has hired an L.A. entertainment company to help place their products in film and television venues. Look forward to a net increase of characters taking moments to adjust their VS bra straps in 3, 2, 1... [Brand Week]
• The Times of London has a sneak peek at a new exhibition of Madonna's clothes in the English capital, and a fascinating take on the semiotics of her Madgesty's dress. [Times of London]
• Oooh. I totally want stationery that features designers' doodles and sketches. [WWD]
• Fashion houses seem of two minds about how to design for the recession: some, like Louis Vuitton and Zac Posen, are talking all about "classic" this and neutral colors that, while others, like Coach, want more than ever to harness the bright sparkle of trendiness that might make their products stand out from others'. Everyone's going to be watching to see what Marc Jacobs does, of course. [WSJ]
• And whatever that might be, the Guardian has a good, long appreciation of Jacobs' recent Stephen Sprouse collection for Louis Vuitton, and a more than a few 80s New York stories of the designer himself. [Guardian]
• Unsurprisingly, Kate Moss is the female celebrity women most want to dress like. I think, cough, she is part of the reason Hunter rubber boots are selling so well, Wall Street Journal. [The Sun]
• Ew, Fergie has a shoe line now. [WWD]
• McDonald's McCafe will be the "official coffee" of New York fashion week, with espresso and drip coffee available for free in the tents all week long. Naturally they're expecting front-row celebs to be photographed, paper cups in hand. Micky D's hasn't traditionally had the best outreach with the womenfolk; I guess by now they figured out the shortest distance to a girl's heart is via vanilla latte. [AdAge]
• The pre-holiday 70% and 80% markdowns at Saks and other department stores were just a harbinger of things to come. Expect the big stores that can afford the hit to keep pushing prices down — and expect the smaller concerns to continue struggling to compete. [WSJ]
• This is just ridiculous. Heel height has nothing to do with the economic climate, and "sky-high heels," which I'm pretty sure didn't even exist in the 1930s since they didn't then know how to achieve height and strength by using a metal core within the heel shaft, have been in for about the last four years and certainly aren't any new recession thing. Who writes this crap, and why aren't they busy getting to the bottom of the Lipstick Sales Conundrum or retooling the Hemline Bellwether hypothesis? [The Sun]
• American Eagle Outfitters is suing Citigroup for allegedly misleading them into buying assets that they were assured were safe and liquid, but whose value has now plummeted. [Dealbook]
• Unlike Kellogg's, Speedo is standing by Michael Phelps in the wake of being photographed doing whatever he was doing with that unusual-looking pipe. [WWD]
• Jason Wu's PR firm threw the 26-year-old designer a party at the Soho Grand ahead of fashion week. [Style.com]
• Love magazine, the hotly-awaited brainchild of power stylist Katie Grand (formerly of Pop) has leaked its inaugural cover. It's a triple header, with one featuring Agyness dressed up as Queen Elizabeth II, another showing Iris Strubegger as a purple-haired cyber clubkid, and the third with Iggy Pop. Looks like a winner. [Models.com]

While waiting outside, this Dorothy walked around and checked out the crowd.

You forget how much of fashion week is just spent waiting in line. It's like an amusement park. After half an hour I forgot what I was waiting for. At least I was in the shadow of Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral.

There were Ruby Slippers on the sign in the elevator!

Once inside, I was mesmerized by the shoes. The special Ruby Slippers were all under glass.

You can see the "yellow brick carpet" here.

These shoes were going to be in The Wizard Of Oz but… Oh, just read the text:

Okay so, on to the partying. So weird to be drinking around shoes. Expensive designer shoes. Gucci, Louboutin, Dior. But! It's all about the celebs, right?

Josh Radnor plays Ted on How I Met Your Mother. When I realized that this picture had no flash, I asked him if I could take another. That's when the mini burgers went by.

So when I did get a better shot, he was gleefully holding a mini burger. Josh was there "with" Lindsay Price from Lipstick Jungle. I say "with" because it was less like a date and more like she was the only person he knew there or they had the same publicist or something.

This is Paige Davis from Trading Spaces. I forget why we were so psyched.

Next I saw ProjRun alum Santino Rice, who insisted on taking this picture himself and declared it "sweet."

Another ProjRun alum: Kevin Christiana. He questioned whether he should be holding the crabcake in the photo but I said it was fine.

Again, from ProjRun: Jack Mackenroth.

It was really hard to get close to Nigel Barker. He was swarmed, then a whole bunch of young kids wanted their pictures taken with him. I think he thought I was with the kids. Anyway. My pic of him turned out crappy.

But he was very gracious and very tall.

The truth is, some of the best people at events like this are the non-famous peeps:

(Well, Patrick McDonald is regionally famous.)

Eventually, something was telling me "There's no place like home."

As I left, I made sure to get a shot of the store windows…

Then I clicked my heels three times… and took the subway.

Earlier: The Power Of Ruby Slippers
Patricia Field For Payless: Shoes, Booze & Drag Queens

• 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]

• Do what you must to prepare yourselves: Crazy rich homeless-chic promoters Mary-Kate and Ashley are at it again! Not content to stay in clothing, they're moving on to baubles: "The diminutive Olsen twins have created a fashion jewelry collection through a licensing partnership with Robert Lee Morris under the brand Elizabeth and James, their contemporary apparel label that is sold in more than 250 doors globally." I am impressed by their industry, confused by the potential buyers. [WWD]
• This is big (possibly magical) news: Hermione Granger is the new face of Coco Mademoiselle! [Daily Mirror]
• Aging former model Bruce Hulse has, apparently, "penned" a "steamy tell-all" (why, yes, the source is Page Six!) about his sexual trysts with women like Paulina Porizkova, Andie MacDowell and Elle Macpherson. "I'd been Peter Pan, playing at love, skimming the surface, sleeping around for momentary pleasure," Hulse, now 55 and married with two kids, writes in Sex, Love and Fashion, out in August. "My desire to be with beautiful women had always been my weakness." [Page Six]

• Sarah Larson, (aka, George Clooney's ex-girlfriend, the one he got in the motorcycle accident with) is the new, uh, face of Christian Audigier's line of couture dresses. [E!]
• Like I need an excuse to write more about the Viktor and Rolf doll exhibit! "The exhibition is dominated by a gigantic doll house, a graceful structure with Palladian proportions where miniature versions of 15 years of fashion fill the series of rooms on three levels." [International Herald Tribune]
• Um, on Friday, WWD reported that retail sales were up for May. Guess not! [WWD]
• Kid Robot launches handbag line. Japanese teenagers and those who love them, rejoice. [Fashionista]
• Saks stocks rise as takeover looms. [WWD]
• Feeling the pinch? Get a vicarious thrill! "Recession may be looming in Britain, with unemployment up and the economy on the slide, but London Jewellery Week kicked off with spectacular celebrations, from fireworks in the headquarters of the private bank Coutts to the cult architect Zaha Hadid showing a sculpted body piece embedded with Swarowski crystals." [WWD]
• Christie's auctions vintage YSL. "What's exciting about the collection is that you see the progression of his career. He was a real style-setter," says Christie's couture specialist Laura Leyfer. [Dallas News]
• Exec dons lucky shirt. [Financial Times]
• Kiehl's introduces curbside delivery! [Los Angeles Times]
• OPI's "nail polish" sticks - theoretically, excellent idea. [Houston Chronicle]
• Estee Lauder tailors beauty to (annoying) new realities of air travel. [WWD]

• OMG Christina Aguilera looks so pretty in these Hitchcock-inspired Stephen Webster ads! It's like, we finally see what Christina Aguilera has been going for all these years with this excessive bombshell crap — and it is good. The wonders of Photoshop, folks! [Sassybella]
  
• Contrary to the rumors being reported like everywhere, Gisele Bundchen says she is not designing a line in — oh Jesus Christ, this word again — "collaboration" with Dolce & Gabbana. [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• Eva Mendes gets to keep her Calvin Klein perfume gig despite her stint in rehab. Somewhere Lohan is burning each and every piece of Jill Stuart she owns. Ha ha ha, as if she could find a specific of clothing in that mess. Just burn down the whole closet, Linds! [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Memo from the U.S. Court of Appeals to Polo Ralph Lauren: You don't own the image of a polo player, and you can't tell the U.S. Polo Association you do. But hey, nice try protecting that sophisticated "intellectual property" of yours! [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Rashida Jones is backing an eco-friendly clothing line called Laloo. [Perez Hilton]

• Yeah, yeah, we heard: Matthew McConaughey and his babymama are designing a surfwear line together. [People]
• Insane(ly arrogant) designer Tara Subkoff sold off her Imitation of Christ label last year to Sass & Bide's ex-CEO. Only now she wants it back and, as can only be expected with her, is being a total snot about it. [Sassybella]
• Anna Wintour: Into basketball now? [Page Six]
• The Gap is getting a leeeeetle too cool for school, collaborating with the Whitney Museum, commissioning artists like Jeff Koons, Chuck Close, and Barbara Kruger to create limited edition t-shirts for the retail chain. Which is, well, sorta pretentious and annoying and more importantly like that's how you expect to start selling clothes again, Gap? [Fashion Week Daily]
• What happens to a designer's wares between the runway and showroom presentation? They alter them into things that people might actually wear! [WSJ]
• Estee Lauder: Now headed to a Home Shopping Network near you. [WWD, sub req'd]
• These kicks aren't for kids, but for girls! Pro Mama sneakers by Adidas...and Gabriella Davi-Khorasanee. [Chic Report]
• Also, Adidas profits are up. [NYT]
• But Neiman Marcus and Saks profits are down. Horrors! [NYT]
• And Roberto Cavalli is looking to sell off part of his eponymous label to a private equity firm. Man, will these private equity guys never run out of cash to burn? [WSJ]
• Want good skin? Moisturize. Also, don't drink, smoke, or let the light of day come in contact with your skin. [BellaSugar]

• Americans' chances at getting a fake Gucci bag or fake Chanel sunglasses just decreased, big time. Last night brought about one of the largest counterfeit busts in recent history, with 29 people arrested, $230 million in merchandise seized, and $1 million in cash found and collected. [WWD]
  
• We love J. Crew, but a line of apparel for dogs? Puh-leeze. [WWD, 2nd item]
  
• Jessica Simpson will debut her first fragrance in July 2008. And we suspect it will smell like a tasteful mixture of collagen, hair extensions, tears, and Nick Lachey and John Mayer's crotches, respectfully. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Nike profits skyrocket 32%. Say thank you, China! [WSJ]

• Not so surprising news: Renee Zellweger is the new face for Saks Fifth Avenue's breast cancer awareness initiative, Key for the Cure. Really surprising news: Renee reports that she wears Juicy Couture "pretty much everyday." So Renee is starving and no better dressed than Paris Hilton? This situation is much more dire than we initially suspected. [WWD, sub req'd]
• The city of Chicago is announcing that it will be staging it's third-annual Fashion Week this year. We have a feeling Oprah will be all over this. [WWD, sub req'd]
• What? Topshop has other designers other than Kate Moss? And what? They are actually designers by trade??? Stop this crazy talk! [Vogue UK]
• Tired Lauren Goldstein Crowe question of the day: "Halston and Harvey Weinstein: Good idea or bad idea financially?" Yawn. Who cares about finances when you have Rachel Zoe consulting on design?! [Portfolio]
• Miuccia Prada goes out on a limb and refers to her designs as "very European." [IHT]

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Barneys, Bergdorfs And The Jewish Shopping Vote [Portfolio]

THE SCENE: While there's definitely a crowd, it seems meager compared to the clusterfuck at Steve & Barry's for Sarah Jessica Parker's Bitten line last week. In fact, there are probably only 80 or so people here, not counting members of the press (who've been neatly wrangled into one of the biggest press corrals I have ever seen anywhere), and at least a third of the assembled are AWOL employees from the Saks make-up counters. But the seemingly mild-mannered crowd erupts into mayhem the moment Beckham enters the building: The paparazzi screams, "Victoria! Victoria!" and the crowd follows along, thrusting cameras and camera phones in the air with a fervor (and, frankly, arm-thrusting) comparable to that of a Nazi rally, ca. 1938. I am pushed, shoved, almost physically uprooted from my spot and then, almost as soon as it has begun, it's over. Beckham has simply entered, smiled, posed for a photo with Saks execs and casually headed up to the 5th floor, where the denim line is on display.

THE STAR: There are more people upstairs (about 100 - 200 — estimation has never been one of my stronger points) in line to get Beckham's autograph. As I watch her sign, I notice she's got the dealing-with-the-commoners thing down pat: First, a huge smile breaks across her face as each fan approaches, then she takes said fan's hand, shakes it, asks her (or him) for his name, signs a little notecard, and poses for a picture. (She is yes, also thin. Very thin. Crazy thin, even.) Creepily, the second the cameras start flashing the smile disappears and that famous pout of hers takes its place. She actually physically transforms herself into a different (and uglier) person when there's a camera aimed in her direction. Which is too bad — she's so much more accessible when she smiles.

THE CLOTHES: There is a bootcut jean, a straight leg jean, a miniskirt, and a capri. And that's it. Strangely — perhaps generously? — the clothes run huge. As the saleswoman guides me towards a pair of jeans two sizes smaller than I normally wear, she also mentions, casually, "You know they're all one length, right?". Yup, every single one of the full-length jeans has a 34-inch leg. The jeans, however, fit very well — extremely well, in fact, — which the saleswoman also mentions. They are, she tells me, almost universally flattering. But no one else seems to care: I am the only person who seems to be trying anything on. The jeans rest sadly on the racks, neither touched nor discussed. People, it seems, wanted pictures of Victoria, not any other part of her.

• Saks will open a shoe department in its flagship NY store that's so big, it has been given its own zipcode. Somewhere, the ghost of Carrie Bradshaw squeals and says something painfully cutesy. [WWD, sub req'd]]
  
• Fashion designer Jill Stuart taps actress Lindsay Lohan to star in her fall ad campaign since she's so "sexy and smart." If by that you mean "kinda slutty and makes bad choices," we totally agree with you, Jill! [WWD, 3rd item]
  
• Payless to buy Stride Rite for $800 million in attempt to move upmarket. Because Star Jones as a spokewoman wasn't classy enough? [WSJ]
  
• Corporate boheme-th Urban Outfitters (Get it? Kill me) is taking the whole "green" trend literally: For its fourth chain of stores (it also owns the maddeningly-overpriced Anthropologie chain) the company will be selling plants alongside those cute little ballet flats you are totally not sick of yet. [WWD, sub req'd]

• Under the helm of new CEO Angela Ahrendts, Burberry has started to make inroads in its war on chavs, with sales up 14.4%. [WWD, sub req'd]
• In the most ingenious Italian pairing since olive oil and gelato, fashion designer Giorgio Armani and directior Martin Scorsese pair up for World Cinema Foundation. [Vogue UK]

• France's new President and First Lady, Nicolas and Cecilia Sarkozy, cause national uproar when they both wear Italian-designed Prada to inauguration. Only in France, kids, only in France. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Pucci label celebrates 60th anniversary with a party that we bet would be a lot of fun on acid, which may have been the catalyst for such profundities as Laudomia Pucci's: ""But you will see there is no red - Daddy worked with fuchsia." [IHT]
  
• New investment firm (the nauseatingly-named "CHIC") invests only in luxury brands, promises to profit off the growing popularity of five-hundred-dollar wallets and other such absurdities in Third World countries. You can share in said profits if you can scrounge up $10,000 on eBay. [Fashion Inc.]
  
• Chronically-troubled luxury retailer Saks — who has time to go all the way upstairs? — is suddenly hot again, according to its first quarter earnings report. We blame Chloe. [NYT]

• French label Vionnet sees designer Sophie Kokosalaki exit as Vionnet artistic advisor Marc Audibet assumes her title. We will totally give you $10,000 if you can pronounce that sentence correctly. [Vogue UK]

• Only in Japan: Anna Sui creates a licensed line to be offered exclusively in Japan and aimed at 18 to 25-year old women. [WWD, sub req'd]
• This year's Council of Fashion Designers of America [CFDA] Awards is partnering with the CarbonNeutral Company to offset the carbon emissions of the evening, which we find not at all trend-humping of them! [WWD, 3rd item; sub req'd]