• Alicia Keys has a jewelry line; her bangles and rings come engraved with the words of the Japanese pseudoscientist Masaru Emoto. You can't make this up. [WWD]
• Marie Claire has published some clear pictures of Rodarte's line for Target. [Nitrolicious]

• John Galliano's Christmas tree design for Claridge's is extraordinary and very weird. [Vogue UK]
• Madonna has rebounded from Louis Vuitton's decision not to re-hire her for a third season of ad campaigns rather well: she shot the spring Dolce & Gabbana campaign with Steven Klein in a Brooklyn studio on Friday. [WWD]
• Zac Posen has eliminated his public relations officer because of budget constraints. [WWD]
• Jamba Juice is getting into the rag trade. The maker of delicious smoothies thinks it can whip up "Jamba-inspired" t-shirts, sweatshirts, and headwear that everyone will want. No delivery date for the first collection was given. [BrandWeek]
• Express is suing Forever 21 for copyright violations concerning several plaid patterns, in what has to be the endgame for fashion originality. [WWD]
• Scarlett Johanson is apparently still doing ad campaigns for Mango. [FWD]
• Diane Von Furstenberg dropped a few dresses off with Ikram Goldman during a recent trip to Chicago. We all know what that means! [WWD]
• Thakoon Panichgul is now the creative director of the Japanese jewelry brand Tasaki. [Style.com]
• Tom Ford's profile in the Advocate is alternately touching, perhaps too revealing, and kind of crass — kind of like the man's designs. He opens up about his depression, his struggles with alcohol dependency, admits to chasing youth with Botox and Restylane, and how he once shaved his eyebrow off when he was on mescaline, but most fascinatingly of all, to our ears, is the revelation that in his adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's A Single Man, he gave the main character a last name after his first boyfriend, Ian Falconer. Oh! Also there's this: "Yves and his partner, Pierre Bergé, were so difficult and so evil and made my life such misery. I'd lived in France off and on and had always loved it. I went to college in France. It wasn't until I started working in France that I began to dislike it. They would call the fiscal police, and they would show up at our offices…They'd come marching in, and you had to let them in and they'd interview my secretary. And they can fine you and shut you down. Pierre was the one calling them. I've never talked about this on the record before, but it was an awful time for me. Pierre and Yves were just evil. So Yves Saint Laurent doesn't exist for me…I have letters from Yves Saint Laurent that are so mean you cannot even believe such vitriol is possible." [Advocate]
• Says Vogue/CDFA Fashion Fund finalist Flora Gill, of Ohne Titel: "My parents were always very supportive. They actually bought me books about Comme des Garçons when I was 8 years old, which I think is not…usual." Meet the other nine finalists in this video. [Style.com]
• Simon Fuller, who already holds a 51% stake in London's Storm Models, is rumored to be investigating setting up a New York agency. Posh is supposedly involved. This sounds awfully similar to the Simon-Fuller-and-Kate-Moss-are-going-to-found-an-agency rumor of a few months back. [Daily Mail]
• The woman who runs British lingerie brand Ultimo (current face: Peaches Geldof) noticed her 10-year-old daughter talking about going on a diet. So she has decided to ban excessive Photoshopping in Ultimo's advertising images. (Whether she'll ban the company from employing women like Peaches Geldof as role models is unanswered.) [Sun]
• Friday, Lady Gaga tweeted that she was visiting Nick Knight's Showstudio. The singer is apparently working with the fashion photographer/videographer on a video for her upcoming tour. The concept apparently involves "a veritable menagerie of animals." [Showstudio]
• Style.com ranked 2009's top fashion partiers; all the usual suspects — Olivier Zahm, Alex Wang, Lauren Santo-Domingo, Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld, Leigh Lezark, Derek Blasberg, and Karl Lagerfeld — make the cut. But more importantly: can we never, ever refer to the Meatpacking District as "MePa" again? [Style.com]
• Cacharel, relaunched this October under Belgian designer Cedric Charlier, is returning to worldwide distribution in the spring. [WWD]
• And, just like that, it's over: Versace face, British Vogue cover model, Rimmel campaign-nabber Georgia May Jagger says she's quitting the biz. At least for the rest of the year: she's 17, so she has school, you know. [Vogue UK]
• Luella is closing. [Vogue UK]
• Former Gucci creative director Dawn Mello was allegedly run down by a bicycle messenger outside Bergdorf's. She has a shattered femur. [P6]

• Miuccia Prada: "I'm working on [a men's collection] right now and someone at the office worriedly asked me, ‘You're not going to make short skirts again, are you?' So I'm now pushing it even further, just for revenge!" [BlackBook]

• Leigh Lezark, on diversity: "I'm glad that a lot of kids — even now with the magazines that have come out — have something different to look up to. Not a tall, five-foot-ten blonde model, whatever...They can also look up to some faggots and a girl. I think it's great, because I wish I'd had that, and I never did." [The Cut]
• Reports that Hills villain Heidi Montag was launching a perfume with the Home Shopping Network have been denied by the network. HSN — which has recently announced deals with Naeem Khan and Badgley Mischka — was thought to be seeking a more exclusive audience, and the collaboration did seem a tad odd in that light. Now we'll never find out who would choose to smell like silicone, self tanner, and Spencer! [The Cut]
• In other fragrant news, Jude Law is the new face of Dior's men's scent, Sport. [Telegraph]
• Yesterday, to promote their new line for JC Penney, the Olsens — and the Olsens' JC Penney branded cupcake truck — went to Union Square. Although no cupcakes were in evidence, onlookers could browse the Olsenboye debut line, and even buy things for $10. (Racked says the clothes are more High School Musical than Elizabeth & James.) Today, should you be curious and New York-bound, the truck will be in Herald Square, and tomorrow, in Washington Square Park. [Racked]
• Kate Moss is happy with that Topshop line and those million-dollar cosmetics contracts, sure, but when it comes down to it, you know, she's just a mum. Reports the Guardian: " 'If I can keep people interested in my work for another few years I'll be happy. But the thing I'm always most proud of is my daughter. She's seven now, and vice captain of her class! My goodness!' Moss opens her mascara-ed eyes as wide as they'll go. 'I've never been vice captain of anything! She wants to be a chef, and her imaginary husband is a chef too. I was mother of the bride at their imaginary wedding, standing on the side holding her imaginary baby.' " [Guardian]
• Naomi Campbell told a charity event that the situation facing models of color is an "injustice." Said the supermodel, "Nelson Mandela always told me to speak my mind and the consequences will take care of themselves...There is a small group of people whose minds we have to change because we are living in a multicultural society." Maybe there are a few things Campbell could do — or not do — too. [WWD]
• Thakoon Panichgul, who was raised in Omaha, says he always wanted to be in fashion, but that his seamstress mother and grandmother didn't see how he could make a career out of something they understood as just "work." Luckily for Michelle Obama, he started going to Parsons at night, after completing business school. [Fashionista]
• Sonia Rykiel's lingerie collection for H&M will be launched with a party at the Grand Palais, where Chanel typically holds its shows. The line will be released in 1,500 H&M stores worldwide on December 5. [WWD]
• Cindy Crawford says she has no plans to make a return to the catwalk. "I don't want to stand next to a 20-year-old on the runway, even if people say you can still do it. It is like, 'Why would I do that to myself?' It would just make me depressed," said the supermodel. "I'm more comfortable with myself in the sense that hey, this is who I am now...I guess I appreciate my body for other things — like I was able to give birth to two kids. ... But at the same time, I am aware my body doesn't look the same way it did when I was 23. I actually don't want to feel that pressure." [Stylelist]
• Sarah Murdoch, a model married to media heir Lachlan Murdoch, appeared on the cover of an Australian tabloid without retouching. She has wrinkles and looks amazing. [News.com.au]
• The Escada sale certainly is shrouded in mystery. The bankrupt German house is understood to be entertaining unbinding offers from six would-be buyers, but nobody is prepared to own up to being one. One person from the company that owns Italy's La Rinescente and France's Printemps department stores spoke on the record, but denied acting in anything more than an advisory role. He declined to say whom he was advising. A deal is expected in early November. [WWD]
• Topshop, buoyed by the successful opening of its New York store, wants to open stores in Paris and Milan. And China. [Telegraph]
• The Limited's pop-up store in SoHo has been so popular with Manhattanites that the company has extended its lease — till December 28. [WWD]
• Company-wide, The Limited — which also owns Bath & Body Works and Victoria's Secret — has adjusted its forecast for the quarter. Although it says October same-store sales are going to be worse than they had originally predicted, the company still thinks it may break even. [Reuters]
• Marc Ecko, whose troubled and indebted company has been closing stores, is said to be considering selling to or partnering with Iconix. Although last month Ecko said, " We would never give up control of the intellectual property in Ecko. We've built this company up over 16 years," sources say that a deal with Iconix is about to be signed. [WWD]

What becomes clear in the film is just how far Wintour's influence ranges within the domain of fashion. In addition to interceding with designers in order to appease retailers concerned with their collections' saleability, Wintour acts as a kind of kingmaker in other ways that far exceed the presumed ambit of her magazine. Thakoon, a young designer, was a runner-up in the Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue Fashion Fund Award, and in this clip, he's getting part of his prize: the chance to design a line of three white shirts for the Gap.

But it isn't the Gap creative director who's okaying Thakoon's designs. It's Anna Wintour. When, later in the movie, a journalist for the National Post asks him how it was to get that call from the Gap, Thakoon corrects her: He didn't get any call from the Gap. He got a call from Anna Wintour at Vogue. When the Spanish fast-fashion retailer Mango approaches Wintour about hiring a New York designer as a consultant, Wintour also pushes Thakoon. "Thakoon?" says a clearly jealous Oscar de la Renta, who notes that the Mango position pays extremely well. Wintour replies, "Thakoon."

André Leon Talley, is a man who must live by his own "aesthetics of style." In this scene, he's decked out in designer goods, emerging from his chauffeured car holding a Louis Vuitton racket case, a small Louis Vuitton trunk, wearing Damon Dash trousers, and a vintage 1960s Piaget diamond-encrusted tennis watch. A Louis Vuitton towel is draped over his Ralph Lauren polo shirt. "Miss Wintour inaugurated me into health," he explains, "She saved my life. I guess." Then he plays what could almost be mistaken for tennis.

But the woman who steals this quiet, ploddingly paced movie is stylist Grace Coddington. Although it's a little hard to pick a winner among the Wintour and Coddington duo — in truth neither has the kind of aesthetic sense that commands much awe, as any Vogue reader has seen from Coddington's borderline cheesy styling and conceptualization (especially in her frequent "fairytale" shoots), and from Wintour's predilection for running stonkingly unimaginative spreads with models jumping in head-to-toe runway looks in front of gray backdrops. But Coddington doesn't have to be remade as, as one source calls her in a nice bit of hyperbole, "the greatest living stylist" in order for the movie to work.

To be Wintour's foil, she just has to be her reflective, sensitive, eyes-open self. Standing there on the steps of Versailles, with the wind in her hair and her boss far away, Coddington is likable and one feels that she has earned the viewer's respect.

Earlier: The September Issue: A Portrait Of The Quaint Old Consumer Economy

• Michelle Obama wore Michael Kors to celebrate the National Design Awards winners on Friday. "What I love about design is the artistic and scientific complexity that becomes useful," said the first lady, to a crowd that included Francisco Costa. [WWD]

• Meanwhile, Ikram Goldman — the Chicago boutique owner who is the closest thing to a stylist for Michelle Obama — is in New York to view pre-fall collections. Although Goldman won't comment on anything the first lady might or might not wear in future, she did say that Thakoon Panichgul (whose clothes have been worn by Mrs. Obama before) had produced "probably my favorite collection that I've seen so far." [Style.com]
• And the fashion love for the Obamas goes beyond mere dresses: Jacquetta Wheeler pulled an André Leon Talley and volunteered for the campaign for three weeks in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, last October. The supermodel described the 17-hour days she pulled as "the most interesting and rewarding thing I've ever done in my life." [Vogue UK]
• Wannabe model Amber Le Bon is too "free and liberated" for university. [Telegraph]
• After the rejection, by the administrator of the bankrupt company, of three bids for Christian Lacroix's fashion house, a fourth more "serious" offer has been received from Italy's Borletti group. If a buyer is not found by the end of this month, the current owners, Florida's Falic Group, plan to shutter the house and continue just producing goods that license the Lacroix name. [WWD]
• Three words: Hello Kitty Sneakers. Fourth word: $145. [HighSnobiety]
• Amber Valetta has announced a design partnership with Los Angeles label Monrow. The supermodel's pieces — t-shirts, simple dresses, and blazers — very closely mirror Monrow's existing offerings. [Elle UK]
• Scott Schuman got drunk at a party in his honor in Toronto and decided to give a speech described by one guest as "rambling" and "nonsensical." That same night, he went on the record with Globe and Mail reporter Amy Verner. What ensued was an object lesson in why not to give interviews under the influence: Schuman leveled spurious attacks on designers James Coviello and Peter Som ("When I had my showroom in New York, [I told them], 'You have to build your brand,' and they didn't listen"), disdain for the media that have helped make him ("I don't need another interview with any other magazine or newspaper in the world") and plenty of bragging about his own sexual prowess ("I'm pretty good at the sex. And pretty good at picture taking. That's about it. Garance is pretty happy. And the hotel-room neighbours are pretty pissed.") "Garance" is Garance Doré, the French street style blogger for whom Schuman left his wife of 20 years — who had financially supported him after his showroom business failed — Christa. [OmgBlog]
• Isaac Mizrahi's QVC just-announced program sounds like it might be zany good fun to watch when it launches in December. Called "Isaac Mizrahi Live!" it'll weave the designer's pitches between his extemporaneous monologues about life and his other daily activities. It'll be filmed in his real New York studio. The show will also sell Mizrahi's cheesecakes — which he, an accomplished home cook, fine-tunes the recipes for and decorates. Hopefully they'll find time to plumb his affection for the word "sauté" as well: "I liked the way it sounded — sauté, sauté, sauté!" [WSJ]
• There is an astounding 46.6 square feet of retail space for every single person in the United States. But, as we all know, this recession is causing that number to fall. Businesses are closing up shop entirely: regional department stores like Mervyn's and Gottschalks, as well as chains like Steve & Barry's, S&K Famous Brands, Abercrombie & Fitch's Ruehl, and Pacific Sunwear's D.e.m.o. and One Thousand Steps. Troubled retailers that still hope to survive this downtown are nonetheless shutting stores left and right: Jones Apparel Group is closing 225. Ann Taylor, 163. All told, 8.1 million square feet of retail space was vacated during the last quarter. UBS Securities expects a contraction of 10% in retail space over the next few years. [WWD]
• San Francisco artist Stephanie Syjuco decided to counterfeit designer handbags — in handicrafts. Her crocheted objects created after brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Burberry, and Chanel are intended as a "critique of a political economy," and you can watch a short documentary about Syjuco's project. [Threadbared]
• A slightly more par-for-the-course tale of handbag counterfeiting is buried in the story of last week's New Jersey money-laundering and corruption case, which led to the arrest of 44 businessmen and politicians. The government informant who helped make the case claimed his fortune came from the fake handbag business. The FBI gave the informant large sums of cash, which he then gave to the defendants to launder; his explanation for how he came by the cash was caught on tape. "The business is very good now because the market's down — economy's down, and everyone wants to buy. Instead of spending $1,000 for a Prada bag, we sell it for $200; Gucci bag, $300. It's $1,200 in the store," the informant, who is believed to be 36-year-old rabbi's son Solomon Dwek, said in June, 2008. [WWD]
• Oh, look: someone figured out how to make money from a fashion website by combining editorial content, user-generated content, and e-commerce. Magazines take note. [NYTimes]
• Inventors have discovered how to turn used coffee grounds into a soft, breathable, but water resistant fabric. [Guardian]

• Christian Siriano is collaborating secretly with Starbucks. He won't say on what, but isn't speculation fun? Maybe he's changing the uniform to something fierce, with ruffles. [The Cut]

• Christian Lacroix might have found a buyer. The firm Bernard Krief Consultants has announced its intention to bid for the bankrupt French fashion house. Krief has apparently been treating the recession as a chance to buy up properties on the cheap: it recently bid for the distressed French fast fashion chain Morgan, and successfully took over the textiles company DMC. No dollar value for Krief's proposed bid was mentioned, and Christian Lacroix had no comment. [WWD]
• Marc Jacobs' menswear division publicist Tim Mark Garcia is wearing an ankle bracelet and facing extradition to the Philippines on charges of "plunder." Garcia's father, former major general Carlos F. Garcia, allegedly stole $6.2 million from the Filipino people, and then used it to buy New York real estate — like the publicist's Trump Park Avenue condo — in his children's names. [P6]
• Three of the six nominees for this year's Swiss Textile Awards are Americans: Alexander Wang, Thakoon Panichgul, and Ohne Titel. Also in the running are Erdem, Alexis Mabille, and Peter Pilotto. Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte, who won last year, were the first U.S. designers to ever nab the prestigious award. [FWD]
• The Guardian compiled some of Vivienne Westwood's wisest words from over the years, including, "Fashion is about eventually becoming naked." Makes for an interesting read. [Guardian]
• Photos of Betsey Johnson's reissued vintage collection for boutique Opening Ceremony show it to be dark and punky and '80s, not pink and frilly and '80s. Johnson says, "There was always this harder side to me but it was hard to see it through the prints and ruffles." [Racked]
• Charlotte Gainsbourg says she wasn't much of a perfume wearer, you know, before she became the face of Balenciaga's new scent. [Style.com]
• Erin Wasson will be showing her Rvca collection at New York Fashion Week in September. [UK Elle]
• Kat Von D has created a line of tattoo concealers for her Sephora line, because she's realized that some people don't want all their tattoos to be visible all of the time. (Maybe a conservative cousin's wedding isn't the best time to show off your ink Barbarella.) She says the concealer is waterproof and won't smudge or transfer to clothing, and it is kind of strange seeing her entire torso without any tattoos for the ad shoot. [People]
• British tabloid the Sun is reporting that model Daisy Lowe fell into a month-long depression after surgery to remove a pre-cancerous growth from her cervix in May. [The Sun]
• Lowe's first campaign for Anna Sui just leaked to the Internet. [Sassybella]
• Chris Benz, Alex Wang, Maria Pinto, and Jason Wu are all newly minted members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Oh, and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen of The Row got in, too. [WWD]
• Model Sigrid Agren — face of the Stella McCartney campaign we posted yesterday — has summer plans that include fishing in a lake and looking for berries with her brother, Quentin, in Sweden. [W]
• Wow, Avril Lavigne really hasn't changed her makeup since 2002. (This story is about her kids' line, which includes, wait for it...hoodies.) [Budget Fashionista]
• Hermès' sales grew by 12% in the second quarter. As had been previously reported, the super-expensive leather goods division led the increase. Its sales were up by 33.4%. [WWD]

• Stephanie Seymour's divorce from Peter Brant just got ugly: security guards hired by Brant to protect the family home allegedly assaulted the model and pushed her through a screen door. Police have been called to the house twice. [E!]

• Fashion plate Kanye West, on his "wardrobe staple" Air Yeezy sneakers: "When I was designing these, I was inspired by the combination of materials used on the Fendi 'Spy' bags, as well as the colorways used on the robots in Robotech — muted tones accented with a pop of color. And of course we referenced the Nike mag from Back To The Future II. We're trying to bring kids into the future with this shoe." Doing the Lord's own work, this guy. [Style.com]
• Emma Watson was reportedly fine with appearing in a risqué W magazine shoot, but Harry Potter producers thought it wasn't appropriate for her character's image, so they forced the magazine to tone down the concept. [Daily Mail]
• Chloë Sevigny is hinting that she's in a collaborative mood. "I'd like to do something with a high-end company. You know, the way that Sofia Coppola did with Louis Vuitton. I thought it was very cool. There were no labels on anything. I like that. I prefer it." Her dream partner? Hermès. In which case, the actress might have to keep dreaming. [Style.com]
• Three-year-old Suri Cruise: Is cute, wears clothes. [Mirror]
• As had been expected, Versace C.E.O. Giancarlo di Risio tendered his resignation on Friday. [WSJ]
• Fellow former model Ines de la Fressange says Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is making her husband watch Italian films. "It's great for French culture that Sarkozy's watching Visconti and Fellini!" [Times of London]
• Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards event organizers KCD productions have made nine short films, one for each nominee. Instead of pairing the designers Thakoon Panichgul, Jason Wu, Alexander Wang, Justin Giunta, Alejandro Ingelmo, Albertus Swanepoel, Patrick Ervell, Tim Hamilton and Robert Geller with models wearing their clothes, director Michael Palmieri and still photographer Jennifer Livingston matched the designers with editors from magazines like V and Harper's Bazaar. To see the films, unfortunately, you have to be at the CFDAs on June 15. [FWD]
• Zac Posen, foodie: "I love grocery shopping. I'm a produce fanatic...I cook three nights a week. After the Met Ball I went home and made whole wheat pasta and puff pastry!" [Fashionista]
• The designer is said to be cooking with chefs Giada de Laurentiis and Marcus Samuelsson at the Wine & Food Festival in New York this October. [P6]
• Posen also confirmed that he is working on a scripted television series, but that the project is in its early stages. And he said his Spring line will be partly inspired by Facebook. [The Cut]
• While the New York Post and other outlets eagerly reported the tidbit that Anna Wintour appeared at Jason Wu's resort show without her sunglasses, they (or their source) forgot to mention that Wintour hurriedly left the building four minutes before the show was scheduled to start. "She had a plane to catch," says a Vogue staffer. "But she saw Jason's entire collection earlier and really liked what she was looking at." Okay then. [FWD]
• Nicole Richie's House of Harlow 1960 line of jewelry is now available for online purchasing in the U.K. [Telegraph]
• Tommy Hilfiger's sales rose 21% in the first quarter of this year. [WWD]
• The houses of Lanvin and Chanel each contradicted reports that Alber Elbaz and Karl Lagerfeld would be leaving their positions, and Elbaz would be taking the reins at Chanel. All the best rumors get denied. [The Cut]
• Fashion writer Shane Watson connects the rise of preppy style — Michelle Obama-style cardigans, schoolboy blazers, loafers, crisp white shirts and ankle-grazing jeans — with the changing taste patterns of the recession. "It's the antibling look," she notes. [Times of London]
• A division of Men's Wearhouse was the highest bidder in an auction to buy the bankrupt Filene's Basement chain of discount department stores. [WWD]
• Analyst Frank Curzio rates Kenneth Cole as a stock to buy, because the retailer is cutting costs aggressively in order to improve its numbers. (Last quarter, the company lost $8.2 million, and same-store sales fell by 16%.) But now that good ol' Kenneth has eliminated 401(k) matching contributions... [TS]
• Tory Burch has given money to a foundation bearing her name which will extend credit to aspiring entrepreneurs who wouldn't qualify for bank loans. Accion, a microlender, will administer the loans. [WWD]
• Talbots acquired J. Jill for $517 million in 2006, but it just had to offload the brand for a mere $75 million. The buyer was a subsidiary of San Francisco-based private equity fund Golden Gate Capital. Talbots lost $560.7 million last year. [WWD]
• "New fashion copyright bill will let big companies own public domain designs and bury young, indie designers in legal costs." Well. That's an interesting take on legislation that would allow designers, big and small alike, legal recourse when their intellectual property is stolen. [BoingBoing]

• No plain yearbook headshot for this year's CFDA nominees: Jason Wu, Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang, et al posed for Craig McDean while wearing their own creations. [WWD]
• Leggings impresario Lindsay Lohan is rumored to be seeking a position as Ungaro's "creative consultant." Designer Esteban Cortazar is allegedly spitting pins. [P6]

• Marc Jacobs, his intended, Lorenzo Martone, and Donna Karan all agree: Nacho Figueras, the Argentine polo champ, is totally hotter than Prince Harry. "Nacho's the sexiest man on earth. Hello," averred Martone. I suggest you look at this picture, and make up your own mind. [The Cut]
• Nicole Farhi, somewhat unsurprisingly, thought she was going to die during a knifepoint robbery outside her home when her two assailants strangled her until she lost consciousness. The trial of the brothers accused of carrying out this and 16 other robberies around London is ongoing. Farhi lost a ring and a Rolex that belonged to her father in the attack. [Telegraph]
• Diane von Furstenberg and Barry Diller have made a $10 million commitment to the High Line project, which is transforming a former elevated railway line into a landscaped mini-park. [NY Times]
• For its couture show this July, Dior is returning to its first-ever store and the site where Christian Dior launched the famous "New Look" collection in 1947. [British Vogue]
• Thakoon Panichgul has launched his slightly lower-priced line, Thakoon Addition. And by slightly, we mean dresses starting around $600. Sigh. [FWD]
• Meanwhile, Gucci has opened its Shanghai flagship store. [WWD]
• How have I only just discovered Erin O'Connor's blog? The British supermodel reports that on her last trip to New York, she overheard a woman ordering a plastic surgeon to give her lips like Erin's, on the grounds that they are "kinda thin enough to look real." Erin and old friend Karen Elson decided to re-start their netball team, and Maggie Rizer apparently has held on to pictures of the three of them in agency housing at the very start of their careers. Her trip through the Met's "Model as Muse" exhibit made her observe: "'Muse,' I thought out loud, is so passé. Surely models no longer exist to amuse as muses? The models I know are collaborators, brand makers and ball breakers!" [British Vogue]
• Izod home furnishings will soon be a thing which you can buy. For what reason, I don't know. [WWD]
• In a diversification that makes slightly more sense, Puma is getting into swimwear. [WWD]
• Ben Westwood is, at 49, slightly too old for the "enfant terrible" label his gallery would give him. (Is it fair to say that after a certain point, you're just plain terrible?) Vivienne Westwood's eldest son thought long and hard about being the child of a celebrity, and decided the best way to represent this unique set of problematic circumstances through art would be to hire fetish models to pose tied up in ropes with the names of famous parents — Bob Geldof, Paula Yates, Keith Allen — and then clumsily Photoshop images of the real progeny's faces over the models' heads. You see, the kids are literally tied up by their heritage. Groan. His show opened in London last week. [Flavour]
• Uniqlo's May same-store sales grew by a whopping 18.3%, proving that in a troubled economy, everyone likes a little cheap cashmere. [WWD]
• And the Japanese retailer is rumored to be interested in taking over Brooks Brothers' old store location at 666 Fifth Avenue. Brooks Brothers consolidated two Midtown stores, and initially Abercrombie & Fitch was to move into the Fifth Avenue space — but when neighboring Hickey Freeman closed because of parent company Hartmarx's bankruptcy, Abercrombie moved there instead. Uniqlo, Topshop, Zara, Forever21 and Century 21 are among those said to be interested in the prime location. Because even now, Fifth Avenue still means sales volume. [NY Post]
• In bankruptcy court, Hartmarx and Emerisque, the private equity firm that wants to buy the bankrupt men's clothier, renegotiated the proposed takeover bid to give more cash to chief creditor Wells Fargo. If the new plan is approved by the judge today, Hartmarx and its factory could remain in operation. [NY Times]

• Kate Moss partied in London wearing ripped-from-the-catwalk Fall 09 Balmain. The skintight dress, being a runway sample, wasn't designed for actual wear. So a seam split wide open. [Daily Mail]

• Under Armour and Cal Ripken, Jr., have announced a five-year partnership. The brand will sponsor youth sporting events and outfit the Maryland Aberdeen IronBirds, a minor-league team. [WWD]
• André Leon Talley has the biggest Obama button you have ever, or will ever, see. [FWD]
• Levi Johnston says he will become an electrician — but is "open" to modeling or acting opportunities. The agencies' reaction? No thanks. "If you hear him interviewed, he's not that bright. Even if he were amazing looking, he still comes off as a bit of a lug. Doesn't have the elegance," said Elaine Bohary, director of the New York men's division at Next. [VF]
• The launch of Matthew Williamson's line for H&M in select stores worldwide elicited mixed reactions from shoppers this morning: the London flagship was buzzing with folks eager to pick up the British designer's wares for slightly less money than normal (the most expensive items in the collection are about $250 US), and there were lines in New York as well. (The clothes in both cities sold out in minutes.) But in Japan, the clothes barely elicited a reaction. Beijing was bustling, but it was likely because today was that H&M store's grand opening. [WWD]
• I'm given to understand that the part of Isaac Mizrahi's old television show where he'd sketch an answer to a guest's fashion question was among the best-loved elements of his repertoire. How great, then, that the Miz is bringing back Sketches and Answers as a web feature! [Blackbook]
• This internal Kohl's video of Lauren Conrad plays like a Kenneth Anger film. Seriously, turn on some Debussy during the silent B-roll of her rocking up to an empty Kohl's in her town car and inspecting some tank tops. [Racked]
• Let nobody say the Council of Fashion Designers of America isn't canny. To promote the re-introduction of a bill that would hold offer more protection to designers whose garments are knocked off by other retailers, they sent all of Michelle Obama's favorite designers to Washington. Currently, it is possible to copyright an individual pattern, and creating a counterfeit product — one intended to pass as the real thing — is illegal, but defending against the theft of unique design elements, absent the exact replication of a pattern of the mimicry of logos, is nearly impossible. Maria Cornejo, Thakoon Panichgul, Narciso Rodriguez, and Jason Wu all went to D.C. to do their part for the industry lobby. [NY Times]
• Richie Rich says Heatherette, the line he did until early 2008 with Traver Rains, failed because their financial backers "were basically assholes." Rich, who's currently pursuing both a namesake line and a collection of eco-friendly fashion with Pamela Anderson, went on to say, "I'm not mad at Traver, it's just that the people who backed us really weren't nice people. They took advantage of us in every respect." Heatherette partnered with the Weisfeld Group, owner of brands such as FUBU, in 2005; Weisfeld withdrew its financial support in 2008. At the time, Rich was singing a different tune: "With the partnership, we have more resources at our fingertips and it's almost easier to see your vision come alive. Yesterday we got back a sample with an eyelash hem on it, and who would have ever thought we could do that?" [The Cut]
• Juicy Couture will discontinue its men's wear line, Dirty English, after its fall collection hits stores. The brand intends to focus instead on core business. [WWD]
• Blind item: "Which two fashion superstars play best friends, work together and even lived together but hate each other so much they arrive separately to events and don't even call each other by name?" Methinks it's Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCullough of Proenza Schouler, but I'd be happy to be corrected. [Fashionista]
• That 16-year-old Australia's Next Top Model contestant who was ordered into anger management counseling? Is engaged to be married to a 25-year-old. He's a bricklayer. "Our relationship is really weird and it's different to everyone else's because I am so annoying and drive people insane but he puts up with it," said the girl, who describes herself as "a Jim Beam and Coke person." I would say that's spoken like a true 16-year-old, but then I happen to know dozens of teenagers who exhibit far more maturity. [News.com.au]
• Patricia Field: "Einstein is an icon of my life, along with Socrates. Socrates was a genius and his genius is that he delivers new ideas in the most simple and understandable way. At the same time, he will shake you up, but when you got stuff out of him, it seemed obvious. And Albert Einstein was the same way. His theories were the most simple and logical theories and he told you them in simple and logical ways. Like, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. It's obvious! Those two were twins. The distance between them is a straight line. Ha!" [The Cut]
• Yasmin le Bon is designing a collection for the British high-street chain Wallis. [Elle UK]
• LVMH's sales rose slightly — 0.4% — in the first quarter of 2009, mainly because rising sales of Louis Vuitton products offset losses in other areas. Sales across the chain fell 15% in the US. [WSJ]
• Oscar de la Renta won a $1 million ruling against a neckwear licensee for breach of contract. [WWD]
• World Wide Women's Wear Digest, the excellent Fashion Week spoof publication ("Bee Schaffer Shocked To Learn Most Parents Do Not Have Annual Hug Quotas") will be coming back as a fortnightly missive. Tidbits from any that come my way will be eagerly reported! [The Cut]
• A customer ordered pants online from a company called Hot Skinny Jeans, and when after trying them on she wanted to exchange them for a different size, Hot Skinny Jeans customer service told her they couldn't because they'd been "worn." Also: "What you've been doing on your knees, I don't want to know." [Consumerist]
• Joseph Abboud men's wear is moving from Macy's to J C Penney this summer. It'll change its design focus from business to casual wear, and lower its prices slightly. [WSJ]
• Dillard's is actually suing the landlord of a Texas mall for failing to maintain the facility. The shopping center has less than 50% occupancy, and Dillard's doesn't much like the company of what neighbors it does have. [WWD]

• Recession? What recession? "In 2011 I'll be doing more clothing," quoth "designer" Lindsay Lohan, who, in addition to leggings, is working on "self-tanner and cosmetics with her fashion and beauty company Stay Gold." [WWD]

• In case you were wondering, here's what Salma Hayek wore on her honeymoon: "a ruby-colored ensemble" from Vesperini. [WWD]
• "Which kooky fashion figure asked for illegal substances on her contract rider? She said in order for her to appear at a fashion show, she needs two bottles of Cristal and "cocaine - a lot of it." Um, you tell us! [New York Post]
• Speaking of...we don't even know, Ashley Dupre for some reason continues to be a fixture at Fashion Week. Says Veronica Webb, ""Who's that? Spitzer's call girl? Oh. Well, no matter what you do for a living, you still need clothes." [New York]
• And killing the last of our interest, apparently Bryant Park is rife with celeb spawn. [WWD]
• Eva Longoria Parker claims to be just another penny-pincher: "I've always been pretty frugal about everything I wear on the red carpet. I return it all the next day." [WWD]
• Nicky Hilton is equally somber: "I'm being smarter about my spending. I'm not going into stores and buying anything. I am buying more pieces instead of just a bunch of clothes." [WWD]
• As we feared, Eleven Minutes, the Jay McCarroll-Fashion Week documentary, apparently blows. [Yahoo]
• Speaking of the Prodge, Tim Gunn's being all elliptical about their traditional end-of-week final showing. Quoth the Silver Fox, "You'll see collections from extremely talented people, but you won't be able to place the designer with the collection." [MSNBC]
• Oy. Puma's down almost 80%. [WWD]
• Laura Ashley, meanwhile, blames stores' price-slashing for its profit warning woes, rather than the proliferation of floral chintz in said stores. [Times Online]
• Halston, for its part, gets with the times: slashing prices and embracing new technology. Doesn't it seem like now's the time for a disco revival? [WSJ]
• But Benetton's up! [WWD]
• And more good news: Armani donates a million dollars to New York City public school arts education. [New York Times]
• Which will not affect PETA's plans to protest at the New York Armani store this week, dressed in giant bunny suits. [WWD]
• Continuing to keep them guessing, Dame Vivienne Westwood is teaming up with Royal Ascot; she's styling the PR shoots for the venerable races. [WWD]
• Not shockingly, buyers and investors are trying to score fashion lines at rock-bottom prices. [Portfolio]
• Thakoon Panichgul is a big fan of Michelle Obama's stylist, Ikram Goldman: "You know what, she has guts, and she has instinct about what she likes, and she's passionate about it. And so when I first launched the collection, she said, ‘I'll buy every single piece.' And so that kind of conviction, I think, is exciting." Exciting for him, definitely! [New York]
• Designer and socialite Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss is the new face of Judith Ripka jewelry. [WWD]
• Why does Kanye West love the Paris Women's shows? "It's Paris. Women's. Shows." [PaperMag]
• Kirsten Dunst - who so would - loves Rodarte. So do we, but no one cares. [WWD]

• In non-Michelle Obama fashion news of the day, Gisele's Craig McDean Dior campaign is out. She looks sort of like she's Morris dancing. With bangs. [Fashionologie]

• Armani accused Dolce & Gabbana of copying one of his mens designs this season. Both labels apparently showed quilted silk pants on the runway in Milan this weekend — although I did look through the pictures of the Emporio show on Men.style.com, and while there were plenty of merely ugly trousers, I only saw quilted snowsuits — and Armani sniffed: "Now they copy, later they will learn." Domenico and Stefano shot back "Surely we still have much to learn, but definitely not from him," and claimed they haven't even watched Armani's shows for "years." [ShoppingBlog]
• Armani, in a separate interview, claims that unlike fellow Italian designer Roberto Cavalli, who confirmed plans to sell a minority stake in his company to a private equity firm yesterday, his business is financially strong, with no need for outside investment. [WWD]
• Not so Burberry. Although the British brand has seen strong sales — up 30% in the fourth quarter of 2008 — it is implementing sharp cost-cutting moves, in part no doubt because it's publicly traded and therefore vulnerable to shareholder pressure for constant returns. Two hundred and ninety jobs are to be shed in the UK, and up to 250 additional positions are on the line in Spain. [WSJ]
• Here begins your Michelle Obama tranche of Rag Trade. (Remember, we go back to wondering about what the Yale-educated lawyer is thinking and doing, as opposed to wearing, tomorrow.) First up: MSNBC thinks Diane von Furstenberg is out of the running for designing Michelle's inaugural ball gown because she was kinda grumpy at a party. [MSNBC]
• Mediabistro has an interesting breakdown of the three Obama fashion stories you meet in transition: The breathless speculation as to what the new first lady will wear, the filler about Inaugural Gowns Of History or how the Obamas will bring back "style" to the White House, and the coattail-rider pieces, like stories about which label this or that appointee is "announcing" they will wear. [Mediabistro]
• Also the endless street style stories about how Obama has "inspired" t-shirt hawkers to bedazzle his name on their wares. [StyleFile]
• And the stories that are a breathless play-by-play of her fashion choices. This was cute six months ago when we were all amazed she knew who Thakoon Panichgul was; it's not so cute now. [StyleFile]
• However, speaking of Thakoon, I'd as soon keep the adorable interviews he gives about how much he respects Michelle Obama and how nervous he was to see her wear his dress, lest she reveal some kind of overlooked flaw in his design. [Allure]
• And, OK, we can keep the think pieces from good fashion writers about the tricky politics of 'style' in the broader sense. [WWD]
• Now, for something completely different: Is Renee Zellweger angling for Jennifer Love Hewitt's endorsement deal? Zellweger filmed parts of New In Town in Winnipeg, Canada — a town where, the actress reports, "It's just commonplace that your face freezes within two seconds of stepping outside of the door." Hanes tights saved her life, three or four pairs at a time. "I would not be here today were it not for the Hanes," she humbly reports. [Daily Express]
• Serena Williams has signed on to be the newest face of Mission Skincare. [WWD]
• Sadly, Victoria Beckham thinks she looks all right in her Emporio Armani ads only because Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott obligingly elided her worst body parts. According to unnamed sources, Posh — who admitted having suffered from anorexia in her memoir, Learning to Fly — is still deeply uncomfortable with her body, and was grateful her stomach was "reworked with make-up and lighting" to hide her C-section scars and loose skin. Of course, a casual observer might imagine there was more than a little Photoshop reworking, too, and that it might help Posh's young, female fan base for the star to speak openly, honestly, and not through back channels, about that fact. [Daily Express]
• One sector doing almost too well through this season: apparel liquidators. Discount stores like Loehmann's and T.J. Maxx are unable to absorb the bales of unsold gear from the major department stores, who have of course been trying to move units themselves with up to 85% off sales all through the holiday period. There's simply too much supply in the liquidation pipeline. Solution: Ship the lot to Siberia. No, seriously. [WSJ]

Womenswear Designer of the Year: Designer: Marc Jacobs Known for: Running late, reviving punk, loving Victoria Beckham and Sponge Bob SquarePants, equally Seen on: Posh, natch. Also: Winona Ryder, Courtney Love, M.I.A., and every starlet under the sun Odds of winning: 2:3 (I mean, the guy had a nervous breakdown and put out two radically different collections this year. Plus, he got CFDA prez Diane von Furstenberg to say that she would chain herself to a grate before she let him show in Paris)

Designer: Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein Known for: Keeping it simple, being a nice guy Seen on: Ashley Olsen, Kate Bosworth, ELLE editor-in-chief Roberta Myers Odds of winning: 1:3 (Won in 2006 — doesn't really need to win again)

Designer: Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough for Proenza Schouler. Known for: Intricate bustier dresses, being style chameleons, being child prodigies Seen on: Amy Adams, Isla Fisher Odds of winning: 1:3 (Won last year, but tied with Oscar de la Renta. Is this their year to not share the spotlight?)

Swarovski Womenswear Designer of the Year: Designer: Kate & Laura Mulleavy for Rodarte Known for: Gauze-strewn punk fairy dresses; being "intellectual" Seen on: Natalie Portman Odds of winning: 1:3 (Might be too intellectual and not practical enough for the fickle fashion world.)

Designer: Thakoon Panichgul Known for: Wares that resemble the love-child of a hippie and a minimalist Seen on: Top fashion editors, young fashion assistants who blow an entire fiscal quarter's pay on one piece Odds of winning: 2:3 (The vet of the young designer set. He'll probably be rewarded for his good behavior)

Designer: Alexander Wang Known for: Being a punk rock outlaw Seen on: 15-year old Estonian models Odds of winning: 1:3 (The young whippersnapper just got into the game — they're going to make him work for a statuette)

[Photos via AP, Getty, and ELLE.com]