• A handbag will co-star with Christina Ricci in a "Donna Karan-friendly" film directed by Sting's son, Jake Sumner. So that's what we're calling "advertising that aspires to go viral" these days? [WWD]

• Antonio Berardi says he was "seriously misquoted" in comments that cast aspersions on Lady Gaga and her music. The designer had been quoted as calling her music "meaningless" and stating that he had rejected an offer to work with the Lady on a clothing collection. The tone of these comments was considered a little odd, not least because Lady Gaga has worn Berardi's clothing on several occasions, including in her video for "Poker Face." Berardi now says: "Whilst musically I am more of a Black Angels man, I have a huge amount of respect for Lady Gaga and everything she has achieved." And the only reason they aren't doing a clothing line is that their schedules conflict. [Grazia]
• Lisa Loeb is finally getting an eyewear deal! This should please my friend who dressed up as her for Halloween. [Racked]
• Hublot and Depeche Mode are collaborating on a line of 12 watches. [WWD]
• Rihanna rocks some fierce "couture military" looks in these stills from her upcoming video for "Hard." [Nitrolicious]
• Michael Jackson's hat and loafers from a 2001 concert sold for £22,800 at auction yesterday, nearly double the estimated price. [Mirror]
• As rumored, Jeffrey Monteiro will in fact be taking the design reigns at the much-revived, much-abandoned, house of Bill Blass. [NYTimes]
• Puma is officially denying that it is courting Elin Nordegren for an endorsement deal. [AdAge]
• Or perhaps she's hammering out a deal with the Swedish company Tretorn. [WWD]
• Julia Restoin-Roitfeld and Daisy Lowe are two of the models featured in Esprit's American relaunch campaign. [Refinery29]
• Fashion Bomb Daily rounded up Arlenis Sosa, Jourdan Dunn, Chanel Iman, and Sessilee Lopez's editorial work for the year, and calls them the new fashion dream team. It's an impressive collection: magazine covers, that bewitching Harlem Renaissance editorial for Harper's Bazaar, and plenty of jumping for Vogue. Let's hope fashion really has decided for good to finally make room for more than one black model at a time. [FashionBombDaily]
• "I teach at three different colleges, and I am amazed how dressed up some of the students are. Girls still come in their hoodies and pajamas, but boys come in their suits," says eternal trend-piece quote-giver Marshal Cohen. Pray tell, what colleges are these that their men flout the walked-on-hem jeans and ballcap rule? [NYTimes]
• Adriana Lima picked up a nice Miami beach house for a song: $9 million. [WSJ]
• eLuxury is relaunching itself next year as a web magazine called Nowness. [Independent]
• Wow. Someone made an Anna Wintour mouse. [The Cut]
• Smythson, the luxury house that employs Samantha Cameron, wife of David Cameron, is now Italian-owned. [ToL]
• New Balance and Louis Vuitton have settled their intellectual property lawsuit out of court; the terms are confidential. In September, New Balance accused the luxury company of making a $590 knockoff of one of its classic sneakers. [WWD]
• Target sells footie pajamas in adult sizes. Could this be the ultimate proof of our cultural arrested development/fetishization of childhood? [FMMH]

• Whitney Port isn't in Kell On Earth. And on Lauren Conrad: "We still keep in touch on a friendship level. But in terms of fashion we don't really talk about it anymore because we're not in the same arena." [PopEater]

• AIDS prevention is a cause dear to Carla Bruni's heart. Her brother, Virginio, died of the disease in 2006, and she told French television yesterday that working in fashion in the 1980s, the disease was omnipresent. "The fashion world was hit head-on by the AIDS pandemic," she said. "It really did lose members of its family." Bruni is now an ambassador with the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB, and malaria, and yesterday the Elysée Palace was festooned for the first time with red ribbons. [AFP]
• A fan named Diane called in to P. Diddy's Home Shopping Network show Monday night. "I'm so nervous!" she squealed. "Don't be nervous," replied the suave object of her affections. "I wish I could just jump through the screen and give you a hug, girl." [The Cut]
• Alber Elbaz designed some sweet heart-shaped Lanvin stamps, covered with his doodles, for the French postal service. [WWD]
• Maria Sharapova would like a fashion line, just as soon as she's finished kicking everyone's asses on the court. [Reuters]
• Liberty of London is taking its gorgeous William Morris aesthetic to the masses: it's partnering up with Target. [WWD]
• John Galliano not only designed a gorgeous Christmas tree that looks right out of a Hokusai print: it will be installed at the Claridge's hotel in a constellation of 20 of his haute-couture dresses. Swoon. [Telegraph]
• If Simon Doonan wanted a crowd, he should have gone the way of XOXO's flagship, which features a rotating cast of two female models paid to dress and undress in front of a glass window on 5th Avenue. The creative director who came up with the concept, in case you're wondering, is a woman. [CNN]
• Mango inked a deal with J.C. Penney. The Spanish brand has 1,200 stores worldwide, but only 12 in the U.S., so their distribution in this country has just officially mushroomed. [Crains]
• Carmen Dell'Orefice is working on a coffee table book of photography, scheduled for release on her 80th birthday. This story is funny mainly for how the Post mangles her name. Carmen De L'Orifice, indeed. [P6]
• Jil Sander's latest jewelry collection, made with Damiani, is out. "Jil Sander, even being considered as the brand of pureness, can create a product category such as jewelry," sniffed creative director Raf Simons. Prices start at around €890 for the baubles; Jil Sander watches are coming in the spring. [Independent]
• Seamstresses and designers who were employed in Christian Lacroix's workshop were yesterday told they had lost their jobs, following the court ruling that the bankrupt house could be transformed into a licensing operation. Dressmaker Nadia Schoope said, "I didn't think it would finish like that. I can't understand how a house like Lacroix cannot draw buyers." Monika Soszynska, who worked in couture accessories, said, "It's surreal, we can't believe that it's stopping, it's not possible. I can't believe we won't be doing the next haute couture collection." [ToL]
• H&M wants to open home stores. The Swedish retailer, which has been plagued by declining sales, opened 240 stores this year. [WWD]
• Dockers thinks the tag line "Behold the second dawn of man" will move some khaki pants. Global marketing vice president Jennifer Sey tells BrandWeek about the genesis of the campaign: "We started to do some research. In today's world, men have lost a bit of footing, in part because women have come so far, but we also found a few surprising facts: Eighty-percent of those who suffered unemployment in the last year were men. Women outnumber men in the workforce now. But the most surprising fact of all was that men's testosterone levels have been dropping by a percentage point a year for the last 20 years. All these factors add to up say, 'Wow, men are struggling in today's world.'" She's not trying to sell pants with pathetic anti-feminist rhetoric, she's just trying to "inspire today's men to be men," ladies. [BW]
• Roland Mouret has a capsule collection for Net-A-Porter on sale now. The seven lovely silk dresses come in seven bright colors, and cost $1,495-$3,070. [WWD]
• The fate of all Victoria's Secret diamond-encrusted bras is to be dismantled for parts. Because nobody ever buys them. [WSJ]
• Christian Louboutin, on Jennifer Lopez's single, "Louboutins" — which name-checks his brand 45 times, yes, he counted: "Jennifer told me about the song back in January, and I was extremely flattered. But of course, in America the public pronounces my name in like a million different ways. So Jennifer called me, and she was like, 'Listen, I want to make sure that I get it right.' And she did...from the very first time! I know the song by heart now. Because the brilliant part of the single is that it's not about me. It's about a girl and her shoe. When something is so in mass culture and you have almost nothing to do with it, it's kind of cool. It's weird but not disagreeable." [FWD]

• Michelle Obama wore a sterling-silver sequined dress by Indian-born designer Naeem Khan to a state dinner in honor of India's prime minister. [USAToday]
• Desiree Rogers wore Comme des Garçons. Which makes this the most fashion-forward administration, ever. [Mrs. O]

• "I feel so happy to be a part of this historical event between the two countries where my heart lies," says Khan. [People]
• And Mrs. Obama has apparently ordered thigh-high leather boots from Robert Clergerie. [Telegraph]
• Daul Kim's recent video spots for the Chanel "Cocoon" bag line are still on the Chanel website. [Racked]
• Emma Watson went to a hockey game n New York with a Spanish rock star and YSL designer Stefano Pilati. This is, apparently, big news. [Elle UK]
• The mother of Catherine McNeil, the model who appeared in public in Sydney with cuts on her arms, says that her understanding is that McNeil fell down some stairs. (Her agency said the cuts were the result of a skateboarding injury.) Her mother also said that the loneliness and distance from her family of modeling often left her feeling "down." "She hasn't had it easy. She hasn't had much of a life. I never forced her into modeling, it was her decision, it was her choice," said McNeil's grandmother, who raised her. "But it's not as glamorous as it appears. There's a lot of pressure to maintain your looks and sometimes it gets her down." [News.com.au]
• Mounir Moufarrige says Lindsay Lohan isn't going anywhere: "Yes [she's staying on], she has a job to do." Her first collection as "artistic advisor" for Ungaro led to the label being dropped by major U.S. retailers like Neiman Marcus. (Moufarrige says the clothes are "selling well.") Even Emanuel Ungaro himself — who has not been involved in the running of his namesake company since 2001 — joined in the chorus of criticism, calling Lohan's work "a disaster." "Mr Ungaro has his views, he can keep them," said Moufarrige, tartly. [Reuters]
• Victoria Beckham is re-launching her denim collection. No longer will it be sold under the name dVb: she's opted for the more prosaic "Victoria Beckham Denim." Prices will start at £140. [Elle UK]
• Of course D&G publicist Ali Wise would be getting filmed for Tinsley Mortimer's reality television show. [NYDN]
• Adidas would like to move its production of NBA jerseys to Thailand, from a factory in upstate New York. Not if Chuck Schumer has anything to do with it! [AP]
• Meanwhile, Stefano Lattanzi's Manhattan store continues to sell $18,000 men's crocodile skin boots. Women's cost $25,000. Arnold Schwarzenneger is allegedly a fan. [NYDN]
• Refinery29's list of ten fashion catchphrases — from "smize" to André Leon Talley's "I look authori-taaay!" — is dead-on, perfect, the end. [Refinery29]
• Target has announced its first ever collaboration with a millinery designer. Next April, a line of hats by Eugenia Kim — who previously did a lower-priced line for Urban Outfitters — will go on sale at the retailer. A shoe collection by Cynthia Vincent will also hit the chain on the same date. [Stylelist]
• Don't hold your breath for such a collab with Michael Kors. "We don't need to," says the orange one. [Independent]
• Jimmy Choo's collection for H&M cost up to 45% more in Ireland than it did in England. H&M says the difference reflects "taxes and transportation costs" as well as currency fluctuations. [IrishTimes]
• Christian Restoin, longtime partner of Carine Restoin-Roitfeld, is teaming up with Current/Elliot's Serge Azria to relaunch Equipment shirts. [Elle UK]
• Irina Shabayeva, of Project Runway near-fame, designed a wedding dress for Kelly Ripa. Since Ripa eloped with her husband, she wore it on national television instead of to her wedding. [People]
• Fashion blogger Lindsay Ibarra, on fashion bloggers: "What has been a pertinent trend throughout the most popular fashion blogs is the sort of self-indulgent act of getting dressed up, striking an adorable pose and writing a few witty words about what you're wearing and what you did that day. While this is all well and good for the purposes of creative journaling, what is happening more and more is that these faces are starting to be considered the new voices in fashion. Sea of Shoes blogger Jane Aldridge recently designed a line of shoes for Urban Outfitters, Julia Frakes and Rumi Neely (of Bunny Bisous and Fashion Toast, respectively) have both been signed to Next and Tavi from Style Rookie has her own fan club of editors and stylists championing her as the next Diana Vreeland. What's interesting about fashion is that it is one of few industries where you need virtually no education to be a star. Dressing and presenting yourself well take the place of a diploma or experience and in some cases even dressing yourself badly works, too." [EvilMonito]
• J. Crew's quarterly results were so far above analysts' expectations that its share price rose 7% in after-hours trading. Same-store sales for the period rose 8% on last year, and revenue rose 14%, to $414 million. [Crain's]

• Jean-Paul Gaultier is doing a collaboration with Target that will hit stores next spring; stay tuned for pricing information and images as they inevitably leak. Please let there be lingerie-as-outerwear! [WWD]
• Agyness Deyn might star in a short film. [P6]

• Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant says she intends to add women's wear, like evening gowns and office wear, to the clothing line inspired by the show. The first items, men's suits, go on sale at Brooks Brothers tomorrow. For now, of course, you can always dress like Joan Holloway by cruising the vintage stores. [Independent]
• Oh, someone at Agent Provocateur has a sense of humor that matches our own. Penis! Har de har, har. [Things Doanie Likes]
• The reason the Jimmy Choo for H&M collection tops out at $299, for a pair of thigh-high boots? The pieces are all real leather, says Tamara Mellon. Which begs the question, why does it cost so much, again? There's no law that says real leather has to cost $300. [The Cut]
• 17-year-old Kalief Rollins of Carson, California, started a t-shirt line called Phree Kountry. It sells shirts with messages like "Caution: Educated African American Male," and this week, his business plan was announced as the winner of the National Young Entrepreneur Competition. In addition to $10,000, Rollins got to meet the president, who kept one of the "Caution" shirts. Rollins needs to do two things: make those tees for women, and get a website. Hello! [CBS]
• Hassan bin Ali al-Nuaimi, the angel investor who is ready to acquire the bankrupt house of Christian Lacroix, says if his bid is successful, he will investigate licensing the Lacroix name to private jets, exclusive hotels, and yachts. [Reuters]
• Naeem Khan's Home Shopping Network line will be produced in sizes 0-24 and cost up to $450. [Style.com]
• Ali Wise, the now-ex Dolce & Gabbana publicist accused of hacking into an ex-boyfriend's new flame's voicemail, faces additional charges apparently related to a total of four victims. The Manhattan District Attorney added four counts each of computer trespass, eavesdropping, computer tampering in the fourth degree and aggravated harassment in the second degree, and one count of stalking in the fourth degree. These are all misdemeanors; Wise already faced two felony charges of computer trespass and eavesdropping. The full complaint alleges that Wise used a service called SpoofCard to gain access to two other people's voicemails more than 1,000 times. [WWD]
• From October 20, in France, you will be able to buy a 186-page "biography" of Chanel No. 5. Perfect for that chic woman you know who has...everything. [WWD]
• Jill Biden likes to wear miniskirts sometimes. [HuffPo]
• The Pierre Hardy for the Gap collaboration, which includes some high heeled boots that would be gorgeous if they didn't cost close to $200, has been delayed yet again. Although the boots were supposed to hit stores in September, Gap has been pushing back their delivery. Today was supposed to be Boot Day, but Racked is reporting that none of the Manhattan stores have any. What gives? [Racked]
• Pearl Lowe has designed a line for the British retailer Peacocks. Her daughter, Daisy Lowe, is modeling it. How sweet. [Telegraph]
  
• Vanessa Williams' PR rep must have some awesome dirt to be able to engineer coverage like this: a news item about the actress receiving a meaningless award for being "fearless" praises her "courage and humility," calls her an "entertainment denizen," and reports as objective fact her "fearless conviction." Williams herself accords that to "a thrill-seeking gene. The people that I come from are outspoken and driven and not afraid to take chances." Either really good dirt, or someone at Women's Wear Daily just loves Ugly Betty. [WWD]
• Tom Ford sure does say the darndest things. The Guardian collects his most enduring quotes, including "Richard [Buckley, his partner] hardly ever has anything nice to say about my work. It's my mother all over again." [Guardian]
• Vanessa Paradis is set to be the face of Chanel's Rouge Coco lipsticks next year. [Independent]
• Coach's lower-priced handbag line, Poppy, introduced this summer, has helped raise revenues at the company even as profits continued to fall slightly. First-quarter profits were down 3% on last year, to $140.8 million, but sales rose 8% in North America. [NYTimes]
• Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessyannounced a company-wide 0.6% decline in third quarter. [WSJ]

• Victoria Beckham is out at Armani, and Megan Fox is in. The actress has just been photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott for next January's Emporio Armani underwear and Armani Jeans campaigns. [WWD]

• Amber Valletta has a clothing line, and Saks Fifth Avenue will donate $250,000 to breast cancer research from goods it sells from this Thursday through Sunday, whether you shop there or not. [USAToday]
• Betsey Johnson — who has talked openly of wanting a diffusion line, perhaps with Target or H&M, in the past — might get her wish. She told the National Arts Club last night that she was in talks to do a line with QVC or HSN. [The Cut]
• Women's Wear Daily tries cheekily to make the point, through historic quotes and photos, that Emanuel Ungaro, the couturier, and Lindsay Lohan, the fake tan executive who now runs his label, share an aesthetic. But, seriously, he's the guy who said "Shock for its own sake doesn't interest me," and, "A maison de couture is not a circus." [WWD]
• Former Calvin Klein underwear model and Guess? campaign star Jason Lewis — also known as that hot guy Samantha starts banging on Sex And The City — is now shilling for something called Charisma Linens. [NYDN]
• Tory Burch is getting into microfinance for women entrepreneurs — domestic microfinance for women entrepreneurs. [TDB]
• A New York University-affiliated group has ranked Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, and Clinique as the top three luxury fashion brands, by "digital IQ." Strange that a company with so much apparent investment in its e-commerce division could show such an utter lack of understanding of the online media; Ralph Lauren's Filippa Hamilton Photoshop debacle, with its manifold examples of the company's digital stupidity, could be hurting the brand for years to come. [WWD]
• M.I.A. wore a $10 suit from Goodwill to meet Anna Wintour. [Twitter]
• Someone get 19-year-old French model Constance Jablonski a beer: she walked in 72 fashion shows in four cities in less than a month. [Models.com]
• Joe Corre, the famous loose cannon behind the Agent Provocateur label, has quit the brand abruptly. He will maintain his ownership share of the company, but no longer work for it. Instead, he'll concentrate on his men's wear line, called Child of the Jago. [WWD]
• Jennifer Connelly isn't returning as the face of Balenciaga. The brand's spring campaign is understood to feature Kasia Struss, and three other models. [Fashionista]
• Lacoste has collaborated with Brazilian industrial designers Fernando and Humberto Campana, and the results include a $7,000 polo shirt made entirely of the label's alligator appliqués, hand-sewn together in a lacey pattern. [WWD]
• Tommy Bahama is doing a line of shirts for Major League Baseball. The first one is for the next World Series. [Crain's]
• Patrick Robinson showed this season's Gap collection in Tokyo, after showing previous seasons in London and New York, to show that "We're all so super-connected. A lot of our stores are in big urban cities, and all of my friends now are all around the world." The designer continued, "But they're texting me and e-mailing me, and we're all connected. But we're also all trying to get back to nature. We're all starting to care about what we drink, and the food we eat, and where that food comes from. There's something about us that's longing to be back in nature. Those two things are sort of at odds with one another, and what I like about this collection is it sort of brings them together." Whatever. The guy makes incredible pants. [WWD]
• Marc Jacobs is bringing back its popular nude celebrity "Protect The Skin You're In" skin cancer awareness t-shirts. They cost $35, and all the proceeds go to the NYU Cancer Institute. [Hypebeast]
• L.L. Bean is trying to update its image with a new collection, designed by Rogues Gallery's Alex Carleton. [WWD]
• Some snooty society magazine editor named Rachel Johnson — Oxford-educated sister of London mayor Boris — decided it was proper to make fun of Twiggy's accent in her editor's letter. "I bumped into Twiggy at a Burberry event at London Fashion Week. I thanked her for being our cover girl. She went a bit blank but when I mentioned this publication her Bambi-eyes lit up and she said, 'Oi love The Lie-dee,' which made me feel very happy." [Daily Express]
• Abercrombie is planning on lowering its prices slowly and strategically, in the hopes of luring customers back without hurting its brand image. [NYPost]
• Burberry's sales in the most recent quarter rose 5%, to $545 million, ahead of analysts' forecasts. Same-store sales also rose 5%. [WSJ]

• Lady Gaga, in a show of uncharacteristic sartorial restraint, wore a chiffon-and-human-hair Holly Russell dress that more or less covered her legs to an awards show. She thanked her publicist. [WWD]

• Marc Jacobs loves people wearing his clothes. Even knock-offs: "Even when I see a copy, something that's inspired by something I've done, it's a rewarding feeling." [TeenVogue]
• Richard Nicoll is the new women's wear designer of Cerutti. [WWD]
• At a party celebrating a champagne's ascension to the menu at the Lowell Hotel — verily, some people will show up to the opening of an envelope in this town — a woman told a story about a fashion designer who never let a little thing like a death in the family interfere with his duties as a host. "Once I was in Rome for a dinner at Valentino's villa in honor of Jacqueline Kennedy. Sadly, his father had died upstairs earlier in the day. Valentino, always a gentleman, did not wish to upset his guests, so he didn't announce the death until the next day. Jackie had a wonderful time." [P6]
• Coach is suing Target for allegedly selling knock-offs of its handbags. A federal judge dismissed Coach's last infringement suit against the retail giant. [WWD]
• What recession? Domenico Dolce just bought two Manhattan penthouses for $29 million. [NYPost]
• Some 30 outfits belonging to Audrey Hepburn will be auctioned, along with the actress's letters, in London this December. Naturally, there's heaps of Givenchy. [Telegraph]
• Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Museum is auctioning off nearly 8,000 garments and accessories from its costume collection, following the decision to merge its fashion with the Met's. Items from as far back as the 17th Century, as well as modern looks by designers like Bonnie Cashin and Halston, will be deaccessioned as a cost-cutting measure. [NYPost]
• Rosie O'Donnell would like everyone to know that despite her starring role in Nora Ephron's Love, Loss, And What I Wore — a play which contains a joke about wearing Eileen Fisher being tantamount to announcing, "I give up" — she really loves the brand. "When we did the first reading of the play, I said to Nora, ‘I'm really objecting to the Eileen Fisher comment being that I just purchased every single thing she makes and threw out everything else I own. Literally, my entire wardrobe is only Eileen Fisher…that and sweat suits." [WWD]
• Last week in Los Angeles, David Beckham launched something called the David Beckham by J. Bond Collection for Adidas's Originals by Originals line. "It's my style. I wanted to create something that everybody could wear whether it be going to practice, or the gym in the morning, or going for a coffee or going out to dinner at night," explained the soccer star. Coffee or dinner! How versatile. [People]
• Tory Burch loved being on Gossip Girl. "I have never acted before, so I was a little nervous about messing up my line. Blake made me laugh and put me at ease though, and the crew was so gracious." [People]
• Is it proper to call Lindsay Lohan a "client" of the Ungaro boutique when no indication is given that she is paying for the $150,000 worth of clothing she snapped up there in just one trip? Mounir Moufarrige, the guy who hired Lohan to "revive" Ungaro on the justification that "it could work," says: "What do you want, for her to be naked? I'm just so glad she likes Ungaro." [WWD]
• After the new artistic advisor's first Ungaro show in Paris, she may be the only one. Moufarrige went on to say, "I'll tell you one thing on the level: I'm crazy." The collection — which was styled with sparkly love-heart pasties — was so bad that front-row photographer Greg Kessler asked guests to pose as Lohan by hiding their heads in their hands. [NYTimes]
• The after-party, to which the actress arrived late, was no better. Possibly because Ungaro designer Estrella Archs spent her time reading the reviews. Either the stunt will work, said owner Asim Abdullah, or "we go down in a blaze of glory. Or unglory." [WSJ]
• Reviews that rated the show thusly: "An embarrassment." [WWD]
• And: "The Emanuel Ungaro show on Sunday may go down in history as the final gasp of celebrity madness." That line's from a little story, entitled "Hearts But No Soul," by a woman who goes by Suzy Menkes. [IHT]
• Lohan, for her part, says working for Ungaro is "pretty much a fairytale." [People]
• As part of its ongoing "Go Forth" ad campaign, Levi's is launching some kind of online game to build its brand image. Its advertising agency invented the odiously named Grayson Ozias IV, a 19th Century home recording artist around whom the game revolves. Tediously, there is a "corporate responsibility" phase of gameplay, in which players will vote on which charity will receive Ozias' $100,000 "fortune." [AW]
• Levi's would like to point out that 75 years ago, it pioneered the marketing of jeans to women. Not that Levi's, or notoriously non-environmentally friendly denim production in general, is any particular friend to the predominantly female, and overwhelmingly non-union, garment workforce it relies upon. [Feministing]
• Stella McCartney — a woman who was once hired for an unlikely position (head designer at Chloé) by Mounir Moufarrige, though that is neither here nor there — thinks long and hard about the environmental impact of her garment dyes. And she sure seems pretty smart and likable in this interview. [Guardian]
• Meanwhile, McCartney's latest replacement at Chloé, Hannah MacGibbon, says of contemporary fashion, "Everything's so hard at the moment. I don't feel like wearing that at all, even though it's nice to look at. It's completely lacking that sentiment that draws you in — the emotion of it….There's a lack of romanticism in the air. There's a real need for that softness."
• If you just can't wait to see Alexander McQueen's spring show when it's broadcast live from Paris on Showstudio tomorrow, check out the teaser greatest-hits clip that's already running. [Showstudio]
• According to one survey of Japanese retailers being bandied about at Paris fashion week, Alexander Wang has the "hottest" brand right now. Whatever that means. [WWD]
• Is it still news that Kate Moss continues to "design" collections for Topshop? Yes, because it's moderately cute? No, because it's hilariously overpriced? Maybe, because it might inspire a productive trip to the Salvation Army? In any case, Kate Moss continues to "design" collections for Topshop. [Refinery29]
• Latest datum in the Evidence That Martin Margiela Is No Longer With Maison Martin Margiela file: the fact that Maison Martin Margiela has signed on to do something as douche-bourgeois lifestyle-brand-y as "redecorating a suite at Les Sources de Caudalie "vinotherapy" spa near Bordeaux, which is feting its 10th anniversary this year." [WWD]
• Israeli Sports Illustrated model — and current Israeli Defense Force draftee — Esti Ginzberg has added to criticism of fellow model — and compulsory service avoider — Bar Refaeli. After a general called Refaeli a draft-dodger for avoiding Israel's standard 2-year service by taking advantage of rules regarding soldiers' marital status (Refaeli briefly married a family friend), Ginzberg, who started her service in July, told the press, "enlisting is a duty, not a choice. There are a million things I don't feel like doing, but I do them because I have to. Military service is part of the things I believe in, the values I was raised on." Around a quarter of young Israelis find ways to make themselves ineligible for IDF service; Refaeli says she totally really absolutely wanted to do hers, but "celebrities have other needs." Ginzberg is putting in her two years at an IDF reception base, where among other things, she tells new recruits that enlisting is important. Naturally, the media's playing this one as a catwalk catfight. [Independent]
• There's a rumor going around that Milan fashion week might become Rome fashion week. [WWD]
• Betsey Johnson, of all people, is being honored this fall by the National Arts Club. We cannot wait to see how that particular hot-pink whirlwind of hair extensions takes to the club's stodgy Gramercy Park headquarters. [WWD]

[Reading, Pennsylvania; August 27. Image via INF]

A second commercial depicts moms moving their sons in, but again, no dads. We can't find online — but will be psyched if you can — a third spot in which Mom buys her son everything he wants and needs for college, including a fridge to hold his... soda. Is Wal-Mart specifically targeting the single mom demographic here? Or do they just assume that taking care of kids' college furnishings — like making dinner — is a woman's job?

Perhaps new research from the Wal-Mart Institute of Shoppingology (that is, a survey released by Wal-Mart on Tuesday) offers a clue. The survey says mom and kids have similar fears about college — top concerns are having enough money, doing well academically, and dealing with stress. What do dads worry about when their kids go to school? We don't know, because Wal-Mart didn't ask them. Clearly Wal-Mart thinks moms are the ones buying the weird brightly colored storage containers to go under their kids' beds — and the "fun and lightweight compact fridge" to help students "avoid the dreaded cafeteria by keeping healthy drinks and snacks handy." Right.

Interestingly, Target moms appear to have partners, but they don't help with childcare. Let's watch a recent Target ad, starring "Lisa":

Lisa's dude shows up to make out with her (if she chews Orbit gum), but he isn't around when she's pushing that stroller up the hill. In another Target ad, Jennifer's "lover" will pet her cats (gingerly), but he sure won't entertain their (or her?) son while she tries to do yoga. Target's basically painting a picture of a woman who has a man in her life, but is still primarily responsible for raising — and shopping for — her child.

We're sure Shoppingologists at Wal-Mart and Target have done their market research, and perhaps determined that women make more child-related purchases than men do. But would it kill them to depict — or survey — a few involved dads? If they'd asked my dad his biggest fear when I went off to college, I'm not sure what he would have said. But my biggest fear was that he was going to give me The Talk on the drive up. My solution: a half hour out of LA, I sweetly asked, "Dad, what's postmodernism?" That kept us busy all the way to the Bay Area. Now where's our commercial?

Walmart "College Dorm Room" 2009 TV Commercial [YouTube]
Target "Jennifer Shops Target" 2009 TV Commercial [YouTube]
Target Commercial July 2009 [YouTube]
Walmart Survey Reveals College Freshmen And Their Moms Share Surprisingly Similar Fears About Transition To College Life [iStockAnalyst]

• Gwyneth Paltrow's clothing line with Zoetees is hitting stores this month. The collection includes tee shirts, studded tank tops, and a grey oversized blazer — fine basics, but there's no indication why the line should start at £100. [Elle UK]

• Earlier this year, Katy Perry, desirous of a fashion line, pre-emptively sued the Australian fashion designer Katie Perry for trademark infringement. Although the suit was later dropped, now that the pop star is in Australia, all mention of Katie Perry and the trademark issue is verboten during media interviews. Which is why when a television presenter asked the singer if there were any Australian artists she admired, Perry's manager actually killed the studio lights. [News.com.au]
• The tender melancholy of Being Donatella: "I would definitely prefer not to be obliged to attend certain events and parties, but I must." [ToL]
• Being longtime fans of documentarian Loïc Prigent — the man who made both the excellent Signé Chanel and Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton — we cannot wait to watch his new series, which follows four designers during the last 36 hours before their respective shows. Sonia Rykiel, Proenza Schouler, Jean Paul Gaultier Couture, and Fendi are featured; Prigent says "They only have 36 hours left; they don't have time to be polite." [W]
• Gaultier was among the guests evacuated from a hotel in Nice recently following a bomb threat. Nobody was injured and no explosives were found. [Yahoo!]
• Rachel Zoe's line for QVC will be shown in the biggest tent at New York Fashion Week. [The Cut]
• Between The Rachel Zoe Project, America's Next Top Model, Project Runway, Models Of The Runway, Project Runway All-Stars, The Fashion Show, and the upcoming Launch My Line, there's more fashion-themed reality television than any human being could ever watch. Is the genre reaching saturation? No, because women think about fashion the way men think about sports, and it would be silly to ask if there is too many sports shows! No, really: "The same way that sports is a passionate category for men, women look at style in the same way," said Style Network president Salaam Coleman Smith. "Women are passionate about transformation, and about ideas for living a fun, fabulous life, to improve themselves, find a new lipstick and figure out a new haircut." [WWD]
• Zoe, for her part, admits she has "a hard time" watching her show. That makes two of us. [WWD]
• Victoria Beckham found a lookbook model for her dress line who looks very much like Victoria Beckham. [Daily Mail]
• Hussein Chalayan's line for Puma looks exciting, intimidating, and totally technophiliac. [WWD]
• Pint-sized and cooler than we'll ever be, child style blogger Tavi WIlliams may have made the first cover of Pop magazine to be produced under new editor Dasha Zhukova. Interestingly, Tavi was just in the second issue of Love, which was founded by ex-Pop editor-in-chief Katie Grand. These are Tavi's first major magazine appearances. [Fashionologie]
• Meanwhile, Tavi was asked by Laura and Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte to film the presentation of the label's upcoming Target collaboration. None of the items in that collection will be priced above $80. [Lucky]
  
• Add Antonio Berardi and Stella McCartney for Adidas to the long list of English designers beating a return to London Fashion Week this season. [Telegraph]
• Cintra Wilson — the ordinarily funny writer who penned that amazingly tone-deaf, sizist JC Penney's store review for the New York Times — would like you to know that the controversy over her comments is officially over. At least to her. So don't write her about it! Don't read the comments under her post if you don't want to hear Wilson and an acolyte braying about the "whalesong" of complaint. [CintraWilson]
• House of Dereon now has a day dress collection. Weirdly, it includes an awful looking silk drawstring-waist jumpsuit. [WWD]
• You can watch an online short with Chloé Sevigny all about hip boutique Opening Ceremony's new store in Shibuya, Tokyo. [Dazed&Confused]
• Levi's Ryan McGinley-shot "Go Forth" ad campaign for its 501 jeans also has an online mockumentary component. You can watch these "Stories Of A New America" about good-looking young people doing cool things, you know, totally spontaneously, at Break.com. [MW]
• Kenny Chesney's apparel line will launch at MAGIC, the Las Vegas apparel industry event. [WWD]

• For the September issue of Harper's Bazaar, the magazine interviewed Karl Lagerfeld, speaking as Coco Chanel. In character, the Grand Teuton shared such idiotic reflections as: "I was never a feminist because I was never ugly enough for that." [FWD]

• A very painterly, Frenchified image of 90s supe Linda Evangelista made the grade as John Galliano's fall campaign. [SassyBella]
• On Sunday, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, D.C., hosted an exhibition of the Indonesian batik textiles collected by President Obama's mother, Anne Dunham, during her years in the country. There were traditional Indonesian dance and music performances, and fashion shows from two Indonesian designers. [WWD]
• Victoria Beckham has decided not to renew her contract with Emporio Armani, apparently because she wants to concentrate on her dress line. [UK Vogue]
• Spice Girls svengali Simon Fuller has acquired a 51% stake in Storm, the London model agency that represents such top names as Kate Moss, Jourdan Dunn, Eva Herzigova, and Lily Cole. [Telegraph]
• This fall is going to be an exciting time for designer fast-fashion lines. Unrolling next season at a chain near you: Jimmy Choo for H&M, Stella McCartney for Gap Kids, Anna Sui for Target, Christopher Kane for TopShop, Adam Lippes for Mango, and, uh, Lauren Conrad for Kohl's. [TS]
• Add to that list Jil Sander's hotly anticipated +J line for Uniqlo, which will begin hitting stores in October. The 140-piece collection is believed to start at around $25. [Fashionologie]
• Stars like Mariah Carey, Jessica Simpson, Emeril Lagasse, and Martha Stewart are promoting Macy's "Come Together" program, a special night of dinner parties intended to inspire charitable giving. Americans are asked to host a special dinner in their homes, and solicit donations to Feeding America, in lieu of any gifts for the host. Macy's will match those donations until enough money has been raised to serve 10 million meals to poor families this fall and winter. You can register a dinner party or get new information at Come Together. [People]
• Are you a man? Are you really, really ridiculously good-looking? Have you ever dreamed of becoming a Calvin Klein underwear model? Do you live in one of nine European countries? In that case, you might be in luck: to launch a new underwear line, Calvin Klein is holding a model search. Jamie Dornan will be one of the judges. [WWD]
• "She's like, 'What about Maximilian? Bruno? Sebastian? Hector? Guido?' I always tell her I'll put it on my list." Karolina Kurkova's Slovak mother sure does have interesting taste in baby boy names. [USAToday]
• Donald Fisher, the Gap founder, and his wife Doris spent the last 50 years collecting art by such eminent figures as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Alexander Calder. But San Francisco preservationists have nixed the Fishers' plans to build a museum in the Presidio, a historic military base inside the city. The Fishers would prefer to keep the priceless collection in San Francisco, perhaps at the De Young or at the SFMOMA, but after the rejection of their standalone museum idea, other art museums are actively wooing the couple. [LATimes]
• Australian Merino lambs are routinely mulesed — that is, they have the skin around their buttocks cut off, often without anaesthetic, to prevent a disease called flystrike, which occurs when flies lay maggots in the folds of the lambs' skin, and those maggots then commence eating the animals' flesh. Although flystrike is horrifying, many animal rights activists are even more aghast at the mulesing, and with Australian farmers now announcing that they will fail to meet an agreed-upon 2010 deadline for ending the practice, some top fashion chains are discussing a ban on Australian merino wool. In which case, might I suggest New Zealand merino as an alternative? New Zealand is already phasing out mulesing. [Guardian]
• Heidi Klum had to close her five-year-old jewelry line because of a trademark infringement lawsuit from Van Cleef & Arpels, who objected to her use of its signature clover design. "We stopped because we had a lawsuit with Van Cleef & Arpels — they wanted to have the clover, even though our designs had never matched," said the supermodel. "I think when you're a small company, which we are, we're not a Van Cleef — they have a thousand lawyers. I'm a small fry next to that." [LATimes]
• Imagine the delicate hell of being a parts model: "Most people can walk away from work when they're done with a job, but parts models can't, because [our parts] have to be flawless. I moisturize 20 to 30 times a day, and wear gloves 90 percent of the time," says hand model Ashley Covington. [CNN]
• Coach C.E.O. Lew Frankfort, who has been with the company for 30 years, extended his contract until 2013. [Crain's]
• Paula Dorf cosmetics is bankrupt. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, owing more than 50 creditors a total of $3.9 million. [Crain's]
• K Swiss lost $11.5 million in the second quarter of this year. Last year, they made a $26.4 million profit in the same period. [WWD]
• Astoundingly, high-end children's clothing is also suffering in this economy. A Connecticut store that sold $995 Peter Som girls' dresses close its doors this summer, and companies are dialing back their kids lines. [WSJ]
• A new strategy in the open question of how, and whom, to sue over the online trade in counterfeit luxury goods: after the failure to get auction sites like eBay held accountable — L'Oréal lost its multi-million-dollar suit, and Steve Madden had to drop its lawsuit just last week — Gucci has hit upon suing the credit card processing companies. The lawsuit accuses the companies of facilitating the sale of fake purses, and names the companies "full partners in those counterfeiting activities." Gucci has already wrangled a $5.2 million settlement from the Laurette Company, which runs the website TheBagAddiction.com, where counterfeit bags were often sold, and the credit card processing companies are those companies which worked closely with Laurette. [Reuters]

• Leighton Meester made the September cover of Harper's Bazaar, and inside the magazine printed digitally-altered photos of the actress, intended to show how she will age. At 23, Meester is already a supporter of Botox. [WWD]

• Three little words: Rodarte for Target. This December. Fashionistas all over this country are going to be wetting themselves and there aren't even any pictures yet. [WWD]
• In terms of irrepressibly stupid shit, $450 Louis Vuitton chopsticks pretty much takes the sushi. [FWD]
• Nicole Richie, on her new maternity line for A Pea In The Pod: "You really feel like you have to change your whole wardrobe. And that's the last thing a woman wants to go through. So I really tried to make this line to get women excited about wearing clothes." [People]
• Somebody put photos of Alexander McQueen's former London home on the Internet. Creepy. [SB]
• Add this to the mounting pile of reasons to give London Fashion Week a look this season: a photographic exhibition dedicated to Twiggy will open on September 19, the same day as the shows, at the National Portrait Gallery. Twiggy turns 60 this year. [Telegraph]
• 18-year-old American model Ali Stephens, who still dreams of being a marine biologist, struggles to balance her education with her work schedule. "Being in school got hard because I was never there. I switched to online schooling, but that didn't work either because I never had time to do it. When I was working I couldn't do it, and when I wasn't working, I just wanted to relax. It was hard to motivate. So right now I'm studying for my GED. I'm going to take it before fashion week." [W]
• Milla Jovovich, on life's greatest pleasure, reading: "Recently I read all Edith Wharton's classics and I re-read all of Dickens. I love books about turn-of-the-century New York. I just finished Maggie: A Girl Of The Streets by Stephen Crane. I had a phase of reading books about 'new physics' and I love to read Scientific American and New Scientist magazines. I read so much I am like a zombie in the morning." [Daily Mail]
• Princess Grace of Monaco and Cartier are getting stars on the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style. [WWD]
• Roberto Cavalli, you tease! The Italian designer, who for most of this year has toyed with the idea of selling a stake in his fashion house, and released many contradictory statements on the subject, finally committed to sell — but he has now allowed talks to break down with Clessidra SpA. The private equity firm that had wanted to buy a 30% stake in his company was apparently disappointed by the designer's reluctance to negotiate on his high price. [WWD]
• Tommy and Dee Hilfiger are now parents to a baby boy, Sebastian Thomas, born yesterday. Congratulations to them. [WWD]
• Katie Grand's second issue of Love magazine features Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. What? [Fashionologie]
• Kanye West is in New York today to fête Casio G-shock watches. The brand is launching new timepieces designed by Redman, Mister Cartoon, and Todd Jordan — but none from Kanye, yet. [WWD]
• Although the African Growth and Opportunity Act, signed into law by President Clinton in 2000, was intended to offer certain sub-Saharan African companies a break on U.S. trade tariffs to encourage African countries to diversify their economies and manufacturing bases, nearly a decade on, 92% of trade done under the act is in petroleum products. And in Kenya, where apparel manufacture had been a growth industry until this recession began, most of the factories that produce clothing for export under the act are owned by American and Chinese companies. Kenya's apparel sector still employs 26,000 people, and their working conditions are governed by the act, which sets limits on work hours, mandates overtime payments, and bans child labor. [LATimes]
• Urban Outfitters' $24 knockoff of the 3 Moon Wolf tee is imported — but we'll wager not from Kenya. Which means that the t-shirt makers, New Hampshire company The Mountain, and the original artist, Antonia Neshev, probably aren't being paid for their work. Urban Outfitters rips off pretty much everyone, but it's sad to see them kicking around a company that uses environmentally-friendly inks and provides on-site daycare for its employees. Strangely, Urban Outfitters seems to be banking both on the shirt's notoriety, and on its customers not being able to use a computer to navigate to the Amazon sales page, where the original 3 Wolf Moon tee is for sale starting at just $11. [FishbowlLA]
• Iconix Brand Group, which owns everything from Candie's to Badgley Mischka, reports a 32% rise in second quarter profit, to $19.3 million. [Crains]
• Polo Ralph Lauren's first quarter profit dropped 19%. [WSJ]
• Gucci is going to open a traveling pop-up store, to hopefully sell some sneakers Mark Ronson designed at Art Basel Miami and other wealthy world hotspots. [WWD]
• Torrid's holding a model search — so if you or someone you know is a size 12-26 and really, really, ridiculously good-looking, send in some pictures! Deadline's Friday, so act quick. [Torrid]

• Model turned cookbook author Sophie Dahl is getting her own cooking show on BBC 2. Dahl says her show will cover on the "emotional" side of food. "It's cooking with an anecdotal thread, irreverent, unpredictable and not without flaw." [Sun]

• Tilda Swinton will be the Spring 2010 face of Pringle of Scotland. Ryan McGinley, who's also behind the current Levi's 501s campaign, will shoot the ads, and a short film featuring the actress. [WWD]
• Target reps denied that Anna Sui's upcoming collection for the retailer was in trouble for its Gossip Girl theme. (Rumors had circulated earlier this week that Sui's clothes were set to be worn by extras in a scene for an upcoming episode, but that executives at the chain were made uncomfortable by the teen soap's debauchery.) The Sui collection hits stores on September 14. [Stylelist]
• And nor, apparently, is it true that Kate Moss is going to be a part of Sir Philip Green and Simon Cowell's new global entertainment company. [WWD]
• Forever 21 is expanding into homewares and beauty. [WWD]
• Three armed men robbed a Cartier store in Cannes and got away — so far — with $20.9 million worth of jewels. [WWD]
• Two biographies of the late editor/muse Isabella Blow, who committed suicide in 2007 after failing several earlier attempts, are slated for release next year. Detmar Blow, her widower, is co-writing one with Tom Sykes, brother of the mostly intolerable Vogue scribe Plum. Fashion writer Lauren Goldstein Crowe is working on another. [NYObs]
• Frederic Bourke, the co-founder of Dooney & Bourke, remains the company chairman even after his conviction on conspiracy charges for his role in an investment group that bribed Azerbaijani officials with hundreds of millions of dollars. The investment group was seeking preferential consideration for its bid for the Azeri state-owned oil company, and although he beat money-laundering charges, Bourke now faces up to 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. "This is indeed an unfortunate situation," said Dooney & Bourke's lawyer, Thomas McAndrew. "It's tragic for Mr. Bourke. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family." [WWD]
• Everyone loves falling models. You've probably seen most of these — but there is one nasty spill from a Gharani Strok show we hadn't witnessed before. [Modelinia]
• The Project Runway model spin-off show that the producers have been threatening for ages now is a reality. Called Models of the Runway, the hour-long reality show will air after every episode of Project Runway's sixth season. [SassyBella]
• Amber Rose, who's now with Ford's celebrity division, has two Polaroids on Confessions Of A Casting Director. No word yet on the kinds of bookings she's attracting. [COACD]
• Karlie Kloss, on bagging the campaign for Marc Jacobs' fragrance Lola: "I didn't believe it, to be honest. I was shocked. I was like, 'No, you're kidding me. Me? Marc Jacobs knows my name?!' I was convinced that they accidentally drew my name out of hat or something." [W]
• Doutzen Kroes likes to read the New York Times. And Dutch papers: "I always try to keep up with what's going on in my own country too," said the model. "You have to!" [StyleFile]
• Times Critical Shopper Cintra Wilson, on Marni: "What I like best about Marni is that it gives a fashionable girl a creative direction if men finally dismay her past the point of no return. It provides a high-fashion shelter for those too badly scorched and shell-shocked by the battle of the sexes to return to the field. When you've really had it up to your push-up bra with the unfair sex, there may come a day when you stop waxing your legs and start hand-painting your car, brewing your own tattoo inks and converting your dining room into an abandoned-pet shelter — and Marni will be there for you." [NYTimes]
• Guiseppe Zanotti might be entering the mens footwear market. [WWD]
• Of course Alberta Ferretti has a sickeningly beautiful Italian country home. [FWD]
• Bebe is phasing out all Bebe Sport merchandise and stores. The replacement brand, targeting "value-oriented consumer spending," will be called PH8. [WWD]
• UK retail behemoth Asda's George line is offering deals on school uniforms that start at just £4.50. (Competitor Tesco's uniforms start at £3.75.) Asda's come with a money back guarantee against holes, rips, or untreatable stains — that occur within the first 100 days of purchase. Fast fashion really is a race to the bottom. [ToL]
• Supposedly, Jon Gosselin and Hailey Glassman's children's clothing line for Ed Hardy is back on. Christian Audigier, who earlier denied the project, told E! that it "should be" happening. [E!]
• Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler even took on the task of finding advertisers when they agreed to curate an issue of the Belgian title A Magazine. "They don't really have a staff when they hand you over the magazine," said Hernandez, "They're just like, ‘Here you go, now do it!'" At the launch party, cover star Chloë Sevigny turned up in a black leather Proenza Schouler jumpsuit. "I feel a bit like a super-slut superhero," she said. [NYObs]
• Simon Doonan: "I think the future of fashion lies in the hands of the consumer. All the press, art direction, hype and red-carpet celebs do not amount to anything at the end of the day if the customer is not on board. When Anna Wintour announced "Fashion's Night Out," I let out a loud cheer. Ms. Wintour is smart enough to understand it's time to swing the spotlight away from the front-row celebs and back into the fitting room. The customer is king…or queen." In the same interview, the Barney's creative director called not having a C.E.O. " a colossal drag." [WWD]
• An auction for bankrupt company Eddie Bauer's assets is taking place this Thursday, and VF Corp has announced its intention to bid. VF owns outdoorsy brands like The North Face, Eastpak, JanSport, and Eagle Creek. The successful bidder is expected to keep the 89-year-old retailer Eddie Bauer in operation. [WWD]
• Levi's lost money during its second quarter because of 3% drop in sales — but it still intends to keep opening new stores. [WSJ]
• In fact, everyone's opening boutiques like it's going out of style. Miu Miu just cut the ribbons on its first footholds in China and Turkey. [WWD]
• And Versace just opened its largest Middle Eastern store, a 6,480-sq. ft. shop in a Dubai mall. [WWD]
• Adjusted for exchange rate fluctuation, Burberry revenues sank 4% on last year during the second quarter. The company has already cut about 15% of its workforce. [Reuters]
• H&M;s June same-store sales fell a larger-than-expected 5%. [WWD]
• Wholesale prices on U.S.-made apparel fell 0.2% from May to June, but this June's prices were still 1.3% higher on last year's. [WWD]

• In a 90's flashback, Kate Moss sings on the Lemonheads track "Dirty Robot." It's mostly her Rex Harrisoning "You're a dirty robot" over an electronica track. Is moderately awesome. [Fashionologie via Dazed Digital]

• The Paris Museum, which is putting together an exhibit on the creation of the "Kate Moss myth," has postponed it due to the overwhelming body of submissions. [WWD]
• The new Bjorn Borg store in SoHo may seem like an odd recession gamble, but the brightly-hued panty-and-tennis emporio sure is cute! [Fashion Week Daily]
• The latest crop of H&M's Designers Against AIDS includes Dita Von Teese, Katy Perry, Yoko Ono, and Cyndi Lauper. Bring it! [Just Jared]
• Maybe it's karma? H&M sales are slightly up, prompting hopes of a rebound. [Reuters]
• Or maybe it's the runaway success of its Matthew Williamson collection? They've re-stocked! [Racked]
• The tanking economy has led to a new phenomenon of high-end discount retail: think Filene's, um, parlor? [Reuters]
• John Bartlett, who was, apparently, a major fashion bad boy for a while, now has a really grown-up apartment full of dogs. [WSJ]
• Ouch: Nordstrom posts a 32% profit decline. [The Street]
• And Eddie Bauer, around whom sales rumors are swirling, has more than doubled its losses. [The Street]
• And if you're hoping for a reprieve, stop reading: Nike's cutting 1,750 jobs worldwide. [MSNBC]
• Abercrombie and Fitch is still in free fall, re-strategising like mad. [WSJ]
• Meanwhile, U.S.-made apparel prices, while down for April, are up for the year. [WWD]
• Necessity being the mother of globalization, Oscar de la Renta's hoping to boost worldwide sales by expanding to the Arabian Gulf. [WWD]
• Neither Soon-Yi Previn nor Mia Farrow will be called to testify in the Battle of the Nebbishes, Woody Allen versus American Apparel. Maybe because they have nothing to do with the case? [Reuters]< li>More previews of the Anna Wintour 60 Minutes interview! It's actually really dull! "It's very important to me that I look good when I go out publicly...I like looking at my clothes rack in the morning and deciding what to pick out. I enjoy fashion, Morley, I mean, I wouldn't be in this job if I didn't." [New York]
• Meanwhile, the editrice is teaming up with New York hizzoner Michael Bloomberg for an initiative to jump-start NYC retail. [WWD]
• We're only so-so excited about Tracy Feith's upcoming line for Target, which feels more fast and girlish than really adaptable. "Think super-short skirts, bloomer shorts and ruffled bikinis. Feith is known for his spirited, acid-floral prints and here, some are better than others." [LA Times]
• Talking "fast," Forever21 is rolling out a new "contemporary" line, Love21. Not sure what this means, as it's not like the current clothes are exactly "vintage." [Fabsugar]
• Jessica Hart, who apparently made waves (sorry) in the SI swimsuit issue, will be hitting the Victoria's Secret runway. But wait, we don't remember her appearance on The City! What did she do? [News.com.au]
• Speaking of The City! Is Olivia Palermo moving to Elle? But what about her special assignment to Paris? [New York Post]
• Read it and weep: some truly amazing vintage couture is going under the hammer in Paris in July. [WWD]
• Karl Lagerfeld was two hours late for a dinner in Venice. But doesn't he travel with his own boiled quail or something anyway? [Style.com]
• Louis Vuitton has funded artist Richard Prince's latest public installation: wrapping the Hong Kong Museum of Art in pulp fiction covers. [WWS]
• In concert with Cannes, Louis Vuitton is collaborating with Spanish actress Rossy de Palma on a $546 fan. We're sure Lagerfeld will eye it longingly, like a high school love. [WWD]

• Unlike her husband, who plans on doing zero promotional work for his Adidas line, Victoria Beckham is in New York to unveil a new 20 ft Emporio Armani ad at Macy's. [UPI]

• Posh is also expanding her fashion reach, manufacturing her dVb jeans in-house in London, and signing a new sunglasses deal with maker Cutler & Gross. [WWD]
• Around 200 people waited on the street for Michelle Obama to emerge from the US mission to the UN on Tuesday. The First Lady wore the same Tracy Feith dress she wore to a post-inaugural prayer breakfast in January. [WWD]
• Three words: Target. Anna. Sui. [WWD]
• Did Kate Moss really refuse to shake Agyness Deyn's hand in the receiving line at the Met ball on Monday? [Racked]
• And did Gisele Bundchen and Bar Refaeli — ex- and current girlfriend, respectively, of Leonardo DiCaprio — have a frosty encounter at the end of the night? That sounds kind of like the last party I went to, only it was on a tiny fire escape, not at the Temple of Dendur, and the awkward partner-in-common pairing was male, not female, and, oh yeah, nobody was wearing Versace. [The Observer]
• Madonna apparently says Jesus Luz's name in the Lamb of God pronunciation, not the From South America pronunciation. [WWD]
• Dasha Zhukova, a socialite who took over Katie Grand's job at Pop despite having no editorial experience, said at Rodarte's Met afterparty, "Are we in a basement? Because this is the chicest underground party I've been to. Literally, underground." The venue, the SubMercer, is indeed underground. Well done, Dasha. [Style.com]
• Pierre Cardin was hospitalized in Marseille after a fainting episode earlier this week. He is expected to be discharged today. What, you wonder, does Pierre Cardin amuse himself with in his twilight years? Why, the meticulous restoration of the chateau of the Marquis de Sade. [AP]
• The new issue of Worldwide Women's Wear Digest is out, for anyone who tires of fashion's efforts at self-parody. [WWWD]
• Simon Doonan of Barneys asked Stella McCartney what the deal is with her and jumpsuits when the designer made an appearance at the store in New York. "I love them because they're just so effortless," McCartney replied. She then mentioned that at the Met ball, to which she wore a jumpsuit, she required the assistance of a friend every time she needed to use the rest room. Effortless, indeed. [Fashionista]
• Barneys, meanwhile, is said to be looking to close two of its seven stores, including the one it opened just last year in Las Vegas. Rumors have flown as of late about the luxury retailer's troubles. [WSJ]
• Designer Antonio Berardi says it took three attempts to be accepted at Central St. Martins, England's top fashion school — but not because his work wasn't up to scratch (he was already working in John Galliano's atelier). "I was 18 stone [252 lbs] and people didn't really see me, even in class. And, then, all of a sudden it changed and that was equally weird." [Telegraph]
• Anya Hindmarch's London Pont St. store was burglarized on Monday, and the thieves made off with just under $70,000 worth of spring and summer stock. It is the sixth time Hindmarch's stores have been targeted. You might think she'd beef up security, no? [Vogue UK]
• In a surprise move, the bankrupt Filene's Basement chain will not be liquidated by its new owners. The much-beloved designer discounter, which sells unwanted end-of-season wares from department stores at significantly lower prices, found its business fell off as high-end department stores scrambling for customers practically matched Filene's level of discounting. But the new owners, Crown Acquisitions and the Chetrit Group, who picked up the chain for only $22 million, plan to inject $25 million into inventory and marketing. Their focus will be on what they see as Filene's Basement's core customer — city-dwellers looking for a bargain. "The weakest stores they had were in the suburbs," explained the head of Crown Acquisitions. [NY Post]
• A French e-tailer is allowing users to buy items from its site for any sum they wish — so long as it's over 1 Euro and they order a maximum of two. Since this is a recession, and all. [Reuters]
• Olivier Theyskens says all that talk about him becoming creative director of Halston, now that he's been let go from Nina Ricci, is just rumors. [The Cut]
• Serena Williams did three hours on the Home Shopping Network and moved 25,000 units of her clothing and accessories. Not bad for an afternoon's work. [PR Newswire]
• Marks & Spencer, Britain's biggest lingerie retailer, has decided that all you ladies with curves should pay an extra £2 for the privilege of wearing anything larger than their D-sized bras. [Daily Mail]
• Model Katie Fogarty, on Internet folks watching videos of her fall on the Prada runway: "Whatever lightens people's days!" We're glad she sees it as a no harm, no foul situation. (And we're especially glad Fogarty didn't actually come to any harm during that mishap.) [Teen Vogue]
• True Religion jeans reported a 10% jump in earnings for the first quarter of this year, on the back of a 19% iincrease in sales. [The Street]
• Steve Madden's earnings for the same period jumped 68%. Profits were $6.6 million. [WWD]
• Kenneth Cole lost $8.2 million in the same quarter. Sales decreased by 16%. [The Street]

First, what is a "plus size"? Forever 21's wretchedly named line Faith 21 (launching tomorrow) offers size XL and XXL. How… inclusive? Target's Pure Energy line will go up to size 30, which seems more like they're making an effort. (The article doesn't mention them, but Alloy.com goes up to size XXXL or 25; Torrid offers sizes 12-26.)

Second, CNN reports that the rate of obesity among adolescents age 12-19 has more than tripled in the last 20 years. So is accommodating plus-sized customers actually reaching out to overlooked teens? Or just a savvy business decision?

Third, and perhaps most important: Do plus-sized lines promote fat? MeMe Roth, president of the organization National Action Against Obesity thinks so: "When you look at the human cost, what we're doing is we're on the Titanic and rather than forcing our children into the lifeboat, we're telling them to join the band. Worrying about fashion rather than worrying about the food is a horrible message that we're sending these kids."

Some would argue that cool clothing only coming in smaller sizes could be a motivator for teens to lose weight. And let's face it: We're talking about two cheap brands; most upscale fashion designers don't produce beyond a size 10 (even though the average woman is a size 14) because that's not their vision — that's not the customer they want. They want the super-slim models and actresses, and that is their prerogative.

Plus-sized model Emme argues: "I completely disagree that these lines are promoting obesity. You need to wear clothes to look cool at school. You need to wear clothes to be present in life. And when everybody else has fashion, you should, too." She also says: "Could you imagine taking away all of the clothes for thinner women and saying, 'Sorry, you're too thin. You can't have that.' It doesn't make sense."

And maybe there is change in the air? Ben Barry, a 26-year-old PhD candidate currently a visiting student at Harvard Business School, not only has a modeling agency which represents women of all sizes (Dove came to him for the "Real Beauty" campaign) but is conducting research at Harvard that could "reshape" the modeling industry. Barry says:

"I learned that there was this narrow criteria of who was considered pretty. I was pointing out models who I thought were phenomenal and had great personality and energy. But everyone would just shake their head and smile. They'd say their hips are too wide, or they weren't tall enough."

Of his research, Barry explains:

"The idea is to see how women react to models who represent their size, age, and cultural background versus models who represent an ideal of Western beauty […] When I looked in the journals of marketing there was really nothing that addressed this. Right now it's just an argument that you can reach a wider audience. I'm trying to prove that with hard numbers."

Meanwhile, CNN speaks to a "full-figured teen" at a F21 in Manhattan, where the plus size stuff is not available yet. She's looking forward to it, though. She says: "I tried on something earlier that was totally cute and it did not fit my breast size, which is really frustrating, because I liked it."

Fashion Stretches To Fit Plus-Size Teens [CNN]
Can This 26-Year-Old Change The Shape Of The Fashion Industry? [Boston.com via Boston Globe]
Related: Faith 21 [Forever 21]
Earlier: How Do We Solve The Plus-Sized Clothing Crisis?
Alloy: The Secret Weapon Of The Broke & Plus-Sized
Designers Refuse To Cater To The Average American Woman
Fashion Designers Are Small Minded About Plus Sizes
Anti-Obesity "Activist" Tells Elle That Women Are Fat, Stupid
The Ann Coulter Of The Fat Police

[Image via Forever 21]

According to the blogger at Sociological Images, these items look like magazines, but they're not. They're framed images meant to be hung on the walls of a girl's room. They blend the tabloidy, ladymag celebrity culture with the Disney brand into the ultimate mindscramble of a fantastical dreamland with no basis in reality pretending to be real.

Ariel, with her impossibly narrow waist, is next to a "cover line" which reads "swimsuits that fit every shape." It's meant to be amusing, but "dress for your shape" stories are often an epic fail in women's magazines. Do little girls need Disney's help in looking forward to that? One of Snow White's cover lines, "Stepmothers: Evil Or Just Misunderstood?" is supposed to be a joke, but what if you're a kid who has a stepmom? Don't even get me started on Sleeping Beauty's line, "Find Your Prince."

The blogger writes:

The product suggests that while it is all well and good to be a princess, you should aim to be a famous princess. In addition to occupying castles and fantasy forests, you should grace the covers of magazines. You should aspire to inspire the lust and admiration of the masses, not just your prince.

Aren't little girls who think that tabloid popularity and a man will make everything better little girls with unrealistic expectations? Can't they wait until theyre older for this kind of brainwashing? When they watch Carrie Bradshaw get the man who buys her a shoe closet, everything will seem quite clear.

Modernizing The Fairytale [Sociological Images]
Earlier: Vogue Swimwear
In Which We Explore The Ridiculousness Of "Dressing For Your Shape"
Lucky's "Best" Swimsuits Also The Smallest, Least Supportive
Having Conquered Girls, Disney Moves On To Boys

• American Apparel is launching a "plus-size" sister label. Called "Colossal Clothing." It's only for the menfolk. [Kempt]
• The company is also busy harassing Woody Allen. The director called the clothier "sleazy" and "adolescent." [Page Six]

• Sienna Miller, by her own admission, doesn't actually do much for her fashion line, Twenty8Twelve. "My sister's the sketcher. I can barely draw a stick man, let alone a frock," the actress admitted. "I'll say, you know, can we get a top and make it that crinkly material? And she's like, 'Organza.' I don't speak the jargon." That sister — Savannah — went to fashion school, if you recall. "But I have an aesthetic that she understands," Sienna clarified. [Style.com]
• Georges Marciano, a co-founder of Guess?, is running as an independent candidate for the governorship of California. Platform: something about taxes (and, this is just a wild guess, fabulousness). [WWD]
• Model Jenny Shimizu named the late Richard Avedon as her favorite artist. "He would bring out stuff in you that you would never think was in you. He and I used to play together like apes in his studio. He was an incredible man, a genius." [Daily Beast]
• Sarah Brown, wife of the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, gave up paid work in PR as her husband advanced his political career, to avoid any potential conflicts of interest. For glitzy state occasions, she can't buy a new designer dress every time — so she rents them. Smart lady. [Telegraph]
• Daul Kim, the South Korean supe who made hilarious videos for New York once upon a time, dyed her hair ash blonde in Paris. And blogged funny pictures. [I Like To Fork Myself]
• Maria Sharapova, in addition to being the face of Cole Haan, will design for the brand. "Somebody needed to make a shoe that you can stand around for hours in," the tennis star said of her design inspiration. The stilettos for her line have Nike Air cushioning. [WWD]
• Miranda Kerr, the Australian Victoria's Secret model who dates Orlando Bloom, totally wants his sweet, widdle, scrumptious behbehs. At least, that's what the Daily Fail reckons. What Kerr actually said was "Yeah, one day down the line, of course I'd love to be a mum." Then the Fail calls her 23, then 25. Then 23. [Daily Mail]
• Naomi's on the cover of Giant, and she looks good. [The Life Files]
• News of Barbie's interminable semicentennial is kind of getting stale, but if you care, Henry Holland "curated" a Barbie stand at Dover St. Market. Interestingly, Holland's mum didn't allow her children to play much with the toy as a child, "because she gave lectures on the welfare state and sharing the wealth." When Holland and his siblings finally did get their hands on a Barbie, they took turns shooting at it with a bow and arrow. "My mum was well happy!" Now you know. [Dazed Digital]
• The owners of Christian Lacroix are looking to sell a stake in the brand. That puts them in the same boat as Brioni and Roberto Cavalli. For Lacroix, sales have been slow, and retailers are scaling back their orders, meaning the label will be further squeezed for cash over the coming seasons. [WSJ]
• Alessandro Dell'Acqua left Malo, the Italian knitwear label he had designed for less than a year, because of pressure from its owners over cost. The label is owned by IT Holdings SpA, an Italian apparel company that went into bankruptcy in February. No new creative director will be appointed — IT Holdings prefers to maintain the current design team, without a banner name heading it. Surely it is cheaper that way. [UK Vogue]
• Your Target or Macy's faux-leather handbag: another thing that could be killing you. No further details are available. Thanks, evening news. [KPBS]
• Missoni is going ahead with the opening of a luxury hotel bearing its name in Edinburgh, Scotland. Because the thing was already mostly built before the recession bit. The second Missoni hotel will open this summer in Dubai. [FT]
• Four words: Yves Saint Laurent Musical. Are these tears of joy or despair? I can't even tell anymore. Pierre Bergé, what have you wrought? [WWD]

What with the economy in the tank and all, and Mad Men a cultural phenom, "Advertising" (which as we know is a big amorphous entity, kind of like "Media") is turning to nostalgia. Says a guy at Pepsi, which is unveiling some retro packaging: ""It's about yearning for the past, a simpler time, even though the '60s and '70s were not simple...They just seem simple, looking back."

Like Pepsi, the usual Capitalist suspects - think Mickey D's, Coke and General Mills - are resorting to vintage jingles and old timey logos to foster a sense of security and, presumably, both retro-low pricing and antique quality. Even in cases like Target, which didn't actually exist in the eras it's seeking to evoke. The results, however subconsciously comforting, are consciously mixed: for every "Fabric of Our Lives" return (Zooey Deschanel's apparently covering it, no less) there's an annoying "Meet the Buttertons," with all the subtlety of a Sam Mendes take on suburban malaise. And the "How Many Licks" Tootsie Pop campaign has yet to make its appearance - possibly due to unfortunate Urban Outfitters Ironic Shirt associations.

While the trends are obviously demo-driven, it's still peculiar to think that we're harking back not merely to times of tremendous civil and cultural unrest, but also economic instability. Are we supposed to take a "this too shall pass" attitude, or merely remember a time when we were too young to care? Alternatively, is the message more profound? Here, says PepsiCo, was Joy. In the midst of life we are in death. Live each day to the fullest because youth is not eternal. Or - horrifyingly - is this movement a cultural Dorian Gray of sorts? Are we just plastering over our problems with vintage packaging and familiar pabulum? I guess the answer will be in the numbers. (Which, ideally, will be brought to us via Mathnet.)

Warm And Fuzzy Makes A Comeback [NY Times]
The Touch, The Feel Of Nostalgia [AdAge]

"What goes on today is over-the-top, and more Mike Todd than Mike Todd ever dreamed up. And I find it dysfunctional to a large degree, and what's dysfunctional is the public that supports it. [...] It's up to every woman and man to look in the mirror and know themselves. To know their social agenda, where they work — you know, dress for the occasion, and certainly dress within your means. Nothing is so important — to me, anyway — to go into debt to look a certain way."

Carmen Dell'Orefice, who will turn 78 this June, started modeling at the age of 14, and earned her first Vogue cover after less than a year in the business. She's worked with great photographers from Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, and Irving Penn, to Mario Testino and Tim Walker. Just two weeks ago, she took a turn on the catwalk in London for the label Qasimi. For depth of fashion industry knowledge and experience, you can't go past Dell'Orefice, and this weekend, she talked to National Public Radio's Liane Hansen about her career and the future of fashion.

Her comments about the economy might strike some as condescending — as a supermodel with a more than 60-year career behind her, including stints as a spokesmodel for Revlon and Clairol, and ongoing contracts as a face of brands like Rolex and Target, it'd be natural to assume that she probably has a different notion of hardship than the rest of us. In fact, Dell'Orefice was one of the many who recently lost money — in her case, her life savings — to Bernard Madoff's ponzi scheme.

Dell'Orefice had this to say:

"I have to hand it to designers like Isaac Mizrahi, who reshaped and designed Target, and at a price range for not just the middle class but the poorer middle class. And he is a fine designer. [...] Everything should be affordable, because we're a country of such innovation. And some of the prices of things, it's irrational. You shouldn't be a fashion victim. Fashion is meant for every individual to describe their individuality, not to copy one another, but to inspire individuality."

One Of America's First Supermodels Still Striding [NPR]

Related: Madoff's World [Vanity Fair]