Jezebel: stephen webster

Kanye Buys Hoodies, Stands Up Agyness; Stella To Design For Gap

TatianaTheAnonymousModel — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:30:00 EDT

Kanye West and Amber Rose hit up the American Apparel in NoHo for hoodies and sunglasses. "He was really nice about getting his photo taken for our blog," said the store manager. Doesn't he look it! [AmApp]

Last week, Kanye apparently stood up Agyness Deyn. [Mirror]
Uh oh. Tim Gunn's Tide commercials were truth-squadded by Consumer Reports, who found that not only was his claim that Tide Total Care doesn't fade clothes after 30 washes untrue, but that another Tide product, Tide 2x Ultra Coldwater, performed just as well as Total Care, for half the price. [CR]
Stephen Colbert's camouflage suit: custom made by Brooks Brothers. [The Cut]
Is Vera Wang really going to Dancing With The Stars? [E!]
Recent Columbia grad Bee "fashion is a really weird industry" Shaffer, everybody: "Right now I am looking for a job, but I also want to study acting." Because if there's one industry where all the people are well-adjusted and normal, it's acting! [FWD]
Stella McCartney has announced a new partnership to create one-off collections for Gap Kids and Baby Gap. It's the first time the designer has ever done children's wear, and the clothing will hit stores late this year. [WWD]
Clairol's Nice 'n' Easy at-home hair color is apparently in for a big relaunch, with The Office's Angela Kinsey. In the year to March, Procter & Gamble already spent 97 million on Nice 'n' Easy ads, almost double what it spent on advertising for the brand in the whole of 2008. As for Kinsey, it sounds like she'll play a sort of underminey girlfriend who tells women things like, "Remember when your friend Kelly said she liked your hair color? She lied!" [AW]
Well, somebody must still have money: Stefano Pilati's "New vintage" collection for Yves Saint Laurent is all but sold out after one day on Barneys' sales floor. [WWD]
New Yorkers stuck for Father's Day gift ideas, take note: designer John Bartlett's first collection with Liz Claiborne will be sold for four days starting June 18th at a pop-up store at 143 Seventh Avenue South. Shorts will be $55, polos $39.50, and sport coats $89.50. We imagine there'll be some nice socks and hankies, too. [The Cut]
Pieces from Yigal Azrouël's current Spring/Summer collection, along with Alternative Apparel t-shirts hand-screened with woodblock-esque prints by the designer, are currently for sale on eBay. The items are offered at fixed prices, and while they are below retail ($215 for a cardigan), they're not exactly sample-sale affordable. But all proceeds go to the Natural Resources Defense Council. [eBay]
Fashion blind item: "Which design collaboration's not actually going so smoothly? Major licensing and financial problems mean the summer-turned-fall launch is now looking like late winter. And if that's not enough drama the designer now 'despises' the collaborator." We'd say famously difficult Jil Sander and Uniqlo fit the bill here, except that line was always supposed to launch this Fall. [Fashionista]
Net-a-Porter increased its sales by 47.8% in the year to January 31, to a volume of £81.5 million. [FT]
Versace has named a new chief executive after the hasty departure of Giancarlo di Risio following tensions with the Versace family: the new guy is Gian Giacomo Ferraris, who led Jil Sander since 2004 (the year Sander herself was finally forced out of her design position by owners Prada). [WSJ]
Jewelry can be a notoriously unethical business — and we don't just mean blood diamonds. Conditions in gold mines are often unsafe for workers, the chemicals used in mining, such as cyanide, can wreak havoc on local ecosystems, and the trade in precious gems like rubies and emeralds is often under the control of third-world strongmen. "Most gems are found in the poor parts of the world and they end up on very rich people's fingers and it's complicated," says jeweler Stephen Webster. The industry is taking a variety of voluntary measures to change its ways. [Telegraph]
Things are head-spinningly complicated at Interview magazine — still. Fabien Baron and Glenn O'Brien used to be co-editorial directors; then, five months ago, Baron was fired, and O'Brien retained his position while a new creative team was brought in by Brant publications. Now, as of Friday, O'Brien is out — and Baron is back in his old job. [WWD]
Shares in Men's Wearhouse gained 16% to $20.70 in trading on Tuesday, after the announcement that an affiliate of the company would buy the bankrupt Filene's Basement discount department store chain. Despite same-store sales that fell 5%, Men's Wearhouse still posted a first-quarter profit, and expects earnings of 50 to 60 cents a share in the next quarter. [TS]
But another bidder in the Filene's auctions says the Men's Wearhouse bid should be invalidated because the auction was "a sham." [Crain's]
Eddie Bauer might declare its bankruptcy as soon as the end of this week. [WSJ]

Pam & Vivienne: A Match Made In... Somewhere

Sadie — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:30:00 EST

Pam Anderson is Vivienne Westwood's new muse. The two seem an unlikely pair but "when Westwood saw Anderson in one of her dresses she knew instantly that Pamela was the right person for her new campaign." [ElleUK]

MIA's clothing line is ready to drop! As is her baby! [BlackBook]
Bill Blass closes; his meatloaf recipe lives on! [NY Times]
Betsey Johnson's Recession-sensitive fashion week show will be "a presentation, in which models wearing her Fall 2009 ensembles will be on display, and it will likely take place in her 5,000 square-foot Seventh Avenue showroom instead of the cavernous Bryant Park tent, which fits 1,000, that Ms. Johnson has used for several years." [WSJ]
As shoe-throwing sweeps the nation (sans cultural context) Simon Doonan weighs in: “As symbolic gestures of hostility go, shoe tossing is rather incomprehensible. Why throw something that needs to be retrieved? You cannot beat a hasty retreat without your shoes. Better to, as they do at Tom Jones concerts, toss less essential items like panties or brassieres. Other possibilities: cracked dentures, out-of-fashion hats, and expired toupees.” [Fashionista via Vanity Fair]
The Obama evening bag, "the perfect size for a night out on the town." Features creepy, Evita-style portrait of Barry. [Washington Post]
However! It is still less ugly than this bag by Ines de la Fressange! [WWD]
Speaking of luggage collabs (were we?), Thom Browne's teaming up with Samsonite. Insert some kind of skinny suitcase joke here. [WWD]
Posh Spice is inspired by schoolteacher style. Um, which school did she attend? [The Sun]
The latest trend: shopping local designers. People do realize that doesn't mean clothes are made locally, right? [WSJ]
Zara workers are complaining of bad working conditions, including "unpredictable schedules, short staffing, favoritism by bosses, and disregard for seniority." Sounds like most jobs to us, but right on! [ShamelessMag]
Christina Aguilera's feeling her new Stephen Webster jewelry campaign: “The last campaign was very Hitchcock and film noir inspired. The new look is more futuristic glam that pulls from the Sixties and Seventies era that has been inspiring me lately.” [WWD]
French Vogue is soliciting copies of back issues to build their archive. Wait, shouldn't they have them? And don't they know that's what eBay's for? [NY Times]
Khloe Kardashian explains her 360 shift on fur: "The reason PETA approached me initially is because in my past I did wear fur and they wanted to educate me on the brutal ways in which animals are skinned for their pelts," says the sorta-star of her gig for the animal rights org. [People]
Leona Lewis, meanwhle, has been named PETA's person of the year. “Leona Lewis is admired for her beautiful voice, but it’s her kindness to animals that makes her a superstar in our book,” quoth the abrasive org. [PopCrunch]
The building that houses Juicy Couture's new flagship "is secretly owned in part by an Iranian bank that helps fund Tehran's nuclear program, the feds charged yesterday in a bid for an ownership stake." Funding velour sweats is bad enough! [New York Post]
Carla Bruni prevails: not only will the company using her nude image on bags pay damages; they've promised to destroy the remaining bags. [The Sun]

Christina Aguilera: If You Are Going To Shill Overpriced Jewelry, Do It Like This

Jennifer — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:30:00 EST

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]