Label Closures

Christian Lacroix's namesake house teetered on the brink of collapse for the better part of this year. After filing for bankruptcy in Paris this May, owners the Falic Group announced a "restructuring" plan that would see the couture house shuttered, and the Lacroix name live on only in ready-to-wear and accessories licenses. After it became known that the house of Lacroix had never turned a profit in 22 years of operation, Christian Lacroix told the press he was "too angry to cry," and that he had been working without pay for over a year.

A frenzied campaign to save the business ensued. One couture client made an offer to buy; but during the bankruptcy process, suitors like France's Bernard Krief Consulting and Italy's Borletti Group dropped out. A relative of the Sheikh of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates made a serious offer, and seemed to speak seriously of Christian Lacroix private jets and Christian Lacroix yachts and Christian Lacroix lifestyle products; for a while, it seemed all would end well, and a fantastic couture collection was shown in July despite the cash-strapped state of affairs. However, the sheikh could not provide financial assurances to the bankruptcy court, and on December 1, Falic Group's own worst-case-scenario plans were put into place. At least 100 people lost their jobs. Christian Lacroix lost the rights to his own name, and started designing uniforms for French railway workers.

Luella, the critically acclaimed and very popular British label founded in 1999 by Luella Bartley, closed less than 12 months after being named Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards. The distributor withdrew its backing after the Italian company that produced Luella clothing went bankrupt. Bartley said at the time that she hopes to revive the label, when the credit crunch eases.

More avant-gard designers also have not fared well this year, as perhaps might be expected. Yohji Yamamoto announced it had filed for bankruptcy protection, with debts of around $68 million, in Japan this October. (It is continuing its operations while in bankruptcy.) Belgian designer Véronique Branquinho was forced to shutter her 12-year-old line in May. New York-based Phi, founded by billionaire's wife Susan Dell and designed by Andreas Melbostad, announced it would close up shop just this week.

Photo: A model in a 2004 Véronique Branquinho show in Paris.

Jennifer Lopez has had bad luck with her clothing lines. The star founded JLO clothing in 2007, and closed it two years later. Replacement label Justweet lasted two seasons. This June, her latest effort, Sweetface, also bit the dust. Good thing she's still raking in the dough from her perfumes.

You're Fired

After rumors swirled for months, Olivier Theyskens was finally fired from Nina Ricci. His last collection included towering heel-less Gothic boots, which later turned up in an evening ensemble worn by none other than Daphne Guinness. Peter Copping was his replacement. Anna Wintour, who allegedly gasped, "How could you do this to me?" when told the news, was so upset by the whole episode that she wrote a letter from the editor about it:

Olivier Theyskens's recent departure from Nina Ricci suggests to me that the vital role of artistic talent has been obscured in the current economic climate. My staff and I were shocked to learn that Theyskens's contract would not be renewed; and I am very concerned that the business of fashion is undervaluing the most important asset our industry requires: creative visionaries. There's a reason we continue to see Theyskens's influence everywhere, from catwalks to the mall. He'll be back, but fashion must hold its nerve. This is the mission that we at Vogue happily shoulder.

Despite this ringing endorsement, by the end of this year, all we've heard of the gifted Belgian is that he's writing a book and "discussing" a "retail concept" with Tory Burch's husband.

The whole situation at the house of Ungaro this year is just Kafkaesque in its web of intricate reversals of fortune and surprise non-sequiturs. After many strenuous denials that any such move might even be considered, might even be on the table, C.E.O. Mounir Moufarrige summarily fired young Colombian designer Esteban Cortazar for failing to generate sales and buzz for the esteemed, though somewhat dusty, fashion house — and, we later learned, for refusing to work with Lindsay Lohan.

New designer Estrella Archs was brought on board — with La Lohan as her "artistic adviser" sidekick. ("It could work," said Moufarrige.) Their collection of very short, very tight, and very embellished dresses was widely panned by critics and the line was dropped by most of its U.S. distributors; Lohan later distanced herself from the decision to style the show models with heart-shaped sparkly pasties over their nipples. Then the Times of London visited her and found a disturbing scene:

The room looks like the aftermath of one of those home-alone teen parties advertised on Facebook that then gets horribly out of hand. Chaos rules. Designer clothes are strewn everywhere; most of them from a sweep of the Emanuel Ungaro boutique that Lohan made upon her arrival in Paris, walking away with an estimated £90,000 worth of free clothes. Shoes, make-up, jewellery, even a stray lampshade obscure the hotel carpet. Her passport is in here somewhere. She's been looking for it for days.

Even Ungaro himself spoke out to attack Archs and Lohan's efforts; Moufarrige denied the disastrous reception had caused any tensions, and said Lohan would stay. Then he himself abruptly quit. Stay tuned for what happens next!

That Old-Time Revival Feeling

Halston was revived. Again. This time designer Marios Schwab was chosen to helm it, and former designer Marco Zanini and stylist Rachel Zoe were ditched.

Halston book published by Phaidon


Former Valentino chief executive Matteo Marzotto and Marni chief executive Gianni Castiglioni bought the rights to the house of Vionnet in February. The clothes, when they came, were perhaps the biggest disappointment of the year. Hint to designers: There is so much you can do with Vionnet! The real Vionnet frikking invented cutting on the bias, okay? Have the temerity to at least try something daring.

Bill Blass was one of the recession's earliest casualties. The talented creative director, Peter Som, and all the other employees were fired unceremoniously just before Christmas last year; the bankrupt label was later sold, for a bargain basement price of $10 million. (In January of this year, just before his planned show at New York Fashion Week, Peter Som lost the financial backing for his own label, too.) Just this month, the new owners, Peacock Holdings, announced Jeffrey Monteiro would be taking over the designing reins. We'll see his first collection — the Times called Monteiro's clothes "nothing startling" — next winter.

Photo of a model wearing Peter Som's Fall 2008 collection for Bill Blass, the bankrupt company's most recent.


Biba. Again.

Beyond Biba documentary poster via FashionTribes


You're Hired!

Jil Sander has the unusual distinction of having been fired from her namesake label by its new owners not once, but twice. After being told her services were no longer required by Prada group owner Patrizio Bertelli for the second time, in 2004, the German designer began a long period of fashion exile. (Perhaps she had a non-compete clause to abide by.) This year, she was spotted at an industry textiles fair scouting for fabrics — and tongues started wagging. A collaboration with Uniqlo was the surprise result, and Sander's minimalist eye is now employed as the Japanese fast-fashion chain's creative director. Her second +J collection launches in the new year.

Clothing Lines Of The Stars

In 2009, everyone who was anyone got a clothing line. (Or that potentially even more remunerative consolation prize, a namesake perfume.) In the stormy waters of a recession, perhaps it's no surprise that plenty of megabrands would seek the safe harbor of a celebrity and her or his contractually obligated promotional heft.

Not one month after finally shuttering Christian Lacroix, the Falic Group announced the launch of an Eva Longoria perfume. Despite the fact that Longoria is allergic to perfume. Miley & Max Azria did a clothing line for Wal-Mart. Toby Keith sold plaid shirts; he had that much in common with the Kings of Leon. Kevin Federline announced a children's line. Mischa Barton said, of her headband line, "People want to see that you can deliver and do, like, a good job."

Richie Rich rebounded from the 2008 closure of Heatherette with an "eco-friendly" swimwear line he created with Pamela Anderson. (I actually saw the launch of this live, in New Zealand. Richie Rich rollerskated, and the runway show concluded with Anderson, clad only in a scarf, accidentally flashing the audience during her bow.) Brad and Angelina did a serpentine collection for the jewelers Asprey. It started at $525, for a baby spoon.


Whitney Port tried to get Bergdorf Goodman to buy her clothing line in the finale of The City. The Olsen twins, after a couple years hitting the top of the market with The Row and Elizabeth and James, returned to their mass tween roots with a JC Penney's collection called Olsenboye. Emma Watson said the idea of a perfume named after her made her want to vomit, but did an ethical clothing collection with People Tree. (Mischa's other line, Tree People, sadly remains hotly anticipated, at least by me.) Katie Holmes released weird jumpsuits with stylist Jeanne Yang under the label Holmes & Yang.

And I leave you with news of the strangest star collaboration of all 2009: the announcement, in June, that John Malkovich would show a line called Technobohemian at Milan's men's wear week. We may not be John Malkovich, but we can dress like him.

What will 2010 bring? This was the year of huge falls in sales and constant readjustments; 2010's shocks, coming after this raft of closures and downsizings and layoffs and consecutive quarters of declining year-on-year results will, hopefully, seem and be modest. Nobody in the fashion industry is out of the woods yet, but perhaps it's not naïve to hope that the rate of attrition should at least slow down.

The rate of stupid celebrity fashion collab debuts, however, is a trend I expect to remain strong. At least Lindsay Lohan's second collection for Ungaro should be worth watching.

I'll admit it: I was never sold on Anne Hathaway as a woman of style, but her pure glam Armani Prive, at this year's Oscars, made me a believer. And how.


There was a lot of Glinda this year. Rose Byrne's Valentino Emmy iteration was among the best - "fairy princess" as a compliment, for a change.


More pure pretty? Olivia Wilde's Reem Acra confection at January 10th's Golden Globes.


People were sharply divided over Rihanna's November 23rd AMA frock - I thought it was a triumph for both the singer and Marchesa, both sweet and spiky.


I couldn't choose a favorite betwixt Natalie Portman's triumphant Rodarte, at the Oscars...


...or her more casual November 24th Vena Cava at the New York City Ballet. So I added both!


There was no arguing with Penelope Cruz's vintage Balmain, worthy of her Oscar win.


More stunning vintage? Thandie Newton, at the Baftas on February 7th.


In the sea of bugle beads that was 2009, Liv Tyler's May 4th Met Costume Institute Ball Stella McCartney stood out as classic, sexy, and fun.


Gabourey Sidibe had a number of amazing looks this year, but I particularly loved this vivid empire-waisted gown, at September's Toronto Film Festival.


Another example of a trend done perfectly: Leslie Mann's absurdly slinky screwball bombshell (by Pamella Roland) at the Oscars.


I loved Ashley Olsen's minimalist chic at the 5/4 Costume Institute Ball. A grown-up take on quirk! (By The Row.)


In the same school, Amber Valletta earns a place on this list for the second year in a row for her simple column at November 12th's NARS 15x15 launch.


And speaking of quirky elegance, how could I not mention Tilda Swinton, looking typically chic and idiosyncratic at Cannes, May 17th.


If I had to name a favorite? Probably Chloe Sevigny's Isaac Mizrahi Resort at the 2009 Emmys. As pretty as anything we saw but, on her, also totally fresh and pitch-perfect.


[Images via

For starters, those earrings on the cover are $19,600. They're not just earrings, see, they're 7.67 natural amoeba diamond slice earrings in 18K gold with colored diamonds. Plus, they possess the power to hypnotize!

This, friends, is a candle. A pretty candle, and yet: something you set fire to. $395. Are you feeling witty yet?

Rose gold chain with diamonds, $4900. Skinny jeans, $194. Hairdo that involves refereeing a cock fight: Priceless.

This Lacoste polo featuring a crocodile clusterfuck is a limited edition collaboration with Brazilian designers Humberto and Fernando Campanas and "reflects their commitment to creative chaos and triumphantly simple solutions." Witty! And $165.

"You can pretend to be serious; you cannot pretend to be witty." — Sascha Guitry

Honestly, I like the idea of peppering the catalog with witticisms, like this one, even though I had never heard of Sacha Guitry. I looked him up! He was a French actor, dramatist and director who wrote his first play at age 17. He wrote and directed and acted in Pasteur, a biography of the famous scientist; and there's something in his IMDb biography about how he lived a lavish lifestyle while the Germans occupied France in the '40s… He was jailed for a few months after the liberation of Paris. He was married five times, all to actresses who co-starred in either his plays or films. And! His name was apparently spelled Sacha, not Sascha.

But none of this is the point! The point is: That hair bauble, which would most certainly instantly fall out of my hair and through a sewer grate, is $1,990.

"Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you." — Carl Jung

"Show me someone willing to pay $2,900 for these earrings and I will show you someone rich and dumb." — Yours truly.

There's a Dorothy Parker quote on the lingerie page, where $125 gets you a strip of silk for romantic, light BDSM evenings.

Dammit, if I had $365 and poor eyesight, I would love a pair of Albert Maysles glasses. He directed Grey Gardens! He's avuncular! He rocks! And the Maysles Institute in Harlem is a nonprofit organization that provides training and apprenticeships to underprivileged individuals. And you can see movies there, too!

A "choosing between two evils" quote on page where both items are made of rabbit fur? Witty?

"If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?" —Abraham Lincoln.

New idea: LOLFoundingFathers.

Oh, hey, if this loose, body-disguising psuedo-homeless style looks familiar, it's because these garments are from The Row, aka Mary-Kate and Ashley's clothing line. $490 for the cardigan, $225 for the tank and $1,700 for the pants. That's $2,145 to look like you just rolled out of bed and threw on some laundry from your floordrobe.

Since alligators have been seen in the Mississippi River, a Mark Twain quote on this page is actually an inspired choice.

Barneys New York [Official Site]

Earlier: Ashro: Stop Being Such A Slob And Get Yourself A Suit, Hat & Wig
19 Crappy & Crazy Christmas Gifts From Sky Mall
Dean & Deluca Thanksgiving: Mouth-Watering, Wallet-Emptying
All previous catalog posts

I've never touched a piece of clothing from The Row or Elizabeth and James, so I can't vouch for their quality or awe-inducing fit. (A quick search of the collection at Bergdorf Goodman informs me that there's really nothing over a size 10, anyway.) But Jim Gold, the chief executive of Bergdorf Goodman, says that perfection is what The Row, M-K and A's high-end label, is all about. He tells the Times' Cathy Horyn: "I think the way to think about The Row is that it offers the perfect blank - the perfect schoolboy blazer, the perfect leather leggings, the perfect peacoat. So many designers are intent on the next great trend that some of the basics are neglected."

The Olsens' production manager, Joe Karban, who has also worked for Ralph Lauren, adds: "It's much like the old days at Polo… The kids on the team are really passionate about making clothes. How do you set a proper sleeve? How does a fabric perform? It's the art of making clothes as opposed to making everything cookie-cutter."

So. Their blazers have a high armholes and narrow sleeves, which makes your arms look even longer and skinnier. They're into luxurious textures: T-shirts in sheer cashmere, leggings in stretch leather. And they're not alone, apparently — Horyn points out:

With The Row outperforming many better-known labels, beleaguered retailers can't help gushing over the Olsens. The company expects annual sales to be 30 percent higher than last year, and Ashley said the line, which recently added men's wear, will break even this year. The company's total sales are estimated at $10 million, company officials say.

Recession, schmecession! Plus: No one seems to think that the famous names behind the label are driving sales. "The customer who buys the clothes almost never knows we're involved," Ashley claims. Julie Gilhart, the fashion director of Barneys New York, agrees: "I don't think anybody really cares that it's Mary-Kate and Ashley's collection. They're buying it because they like it." Or because when a T-shirt costs $300, it must be perfect.

Good Things Do Come in Pairs [NY Times]
The Row [Bergdorf Goodman]

• "I've thought about clothing and jewelry lines," says Usher. "But fragrance stays on when everything else comes off." [People]
• Bottom of the barrel? For $8, American Apparel will sell you a bag of fabric scraps. [BF]

• Elle Creative Director Joe Zee dined with R.J. Cutler, the director of The September Issue. Which obviously means that he's going to spend two more years making a movie about Elle now! [FWD]
• Says lost soul Ashley Olsen, in fashion, "everyone is just really looking out for themselves. I don't know if I'll be designing this collection forever. A couple of years from now, I'm sure I'll want to do something else, and I'm not going to shy away from that. What if I just want to be an artist, or if I want to go back to acting? Which is not in the cards, but what if I wanted to do that?" [Daily Express]
• An Hermès representative says the rumors that creative director Jean Paul Gaultier is going to leave the company are false. Gaultier has been in his position for six years, and Hermès has experienced continued strong sales from its luxury categories since the start of the recession. [FashionMag]
• Christian Blanckaert, Hermès' director of international affairs, is leaving the company in early September. Blanckaert will become the non-executive chairman of the French children's clothing line Petit Bateau, and is expected to pursue a more international strategy for the brand. [WWD]
• Meanwhile, some anonymous sources in the finance industry are saying that Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy may spin off DKNY, the Donna Karan diffusion label it has owned since 2001. Or that it may sell Moët Hennessy itself, where revenues fell 17% in the first half of 2009. The reason the luxury conglomerate supposedly wants to free up some cash? To make a bid for Hermès, which is trading well below its usual share price. [Fashionista]
  
• Conservative party supporter Anya Hindmarch: "I started my business when I was 18, and I realized the difference it made having Thatcher in power. It was the start of privatization-there was a feeling of ‘Get out there, get going, be an entrepreneur.' I've seen what politics can do to make a difference. It really inspires me and that's why I've been passionate about it." [VF]
• Lara Stone is set to curate the choices available at Not Just A Label's online shop, a home for avant-garde and emerging designers. Lara's choices go on sale on September 2. [UK Elle]
• Uniqlo has a licensing deal with Disney that'll allow it to roll out Disney-themed apparel starting next month. Which should mean the mouse products will hit stores around the same time as Jil Sander's long-awaited first collection for the retailer. [WWD]
• Jean-Charles de Castelbajac is launching a diffusion line called JC/DC. The line will be presented in London and again in Paris at the upcoming shows, and the company wants real-life hepcats to model its wares — anyone who wants to apply for a spot in the runway lineup can do so via the websites of Dazed & Confused or Jalouse magazine, respectively. [WWD]
• Someone named Bronson van Wyck is obsessed with "The Penguin Sparkling Water Maker from Williams-Sonoma. The penguin makes the water fizzy. You can adjust from superfizzy like Perrier to moderate like S. Pellegrino to milder like Hendon." Socials! They're not like us at all. [WWD]
• Vogue Brasil mis-spelled photographer Guy Bourdin's name as "Guy Bourdain" in huge font on its cover. [MadeinBrazil]
• Rosemary Port, the writer behind the infamous "Skanks In NYC" hate-blog against model Liskula Cohen, says that she will continue her $15 million lawsuit against Google for disclosing her e-mail address and IP to Cohen. Even though Google only disclosed those details after losing its long legal battle and being ordered to so by a Manhattan supreme court judge! Port feels her right to privacy has been violated, and alleges of Cohen, "By going to the press, she defamed herself." Her lawyer had this to say: "I'm ready to take this all the way to the Supreme Court. Our Founding Fathers wrote 'The Federalist Papers' under pseudonyms. Inherent in the First Amendment is the right to speak anonymously. Shouldn't that right extend to the new public square of the Internet?" Which, if you think about it, is an airtight argument. Doesn't anyone else remember reading that long footnote in the Federalist Papers where James Madison goes on and on about how Brutus is, like, such a ho? And then of course next month Robert Yates was all like, Nuh uh, you're a big fat skank, Publius, and everyone knows it! Whatever, Rosemary Port. Defamation isn't traditionally considered protected speech. [NYDN]
• Louis Vuitton has won a $400,000 judgment against Bonini Handbags for trademark infringement. [WWD]
• Derek Blasberg watched The Rachel Zoe Project in Los Angeles, with Rachel Zoe. "Watching the actual show and having an alternate show happening in front of me was surreal. And kind of confusing. There was Brad on TV wearing a Missoni sequined shift dress impersonating his boss, and then there, in the flesh, was Brad trying on a Louis Vuitton tennis skirt and booties impersonating his boss. Taylor was on TV moaning, and there she was in person moaning." [StyleFile]
• Casual Male, a U.S. maker of men's plus-size clothing, has seen its quarterly profits increase by 92.1% on last year, even as sales fell 13.4%. [WWD]

• 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]

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

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

• OK, so the latest on the soap opera-esque tale of Nina Garcia is that she's been offered the part-time title of Editor-at-Large by the peeps at ELLE because they want her to stay on-board because she made ELLE famous because of Project Runway and let's face it, print is dying anyway and needs all the free press it can get. Also, Nina won't be able to remain a judge on Project Runway unless she's still affiliated with ELLE. Follow? Yeah, we really don't either but we're sorta hoping Nina will say thanks-but-not-thanks and pen a tell-all instead. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• And who will get Nina's old job of fashion director? Some say Roopal Patel, women's fashion director of Bergdorf Goodman. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• And some say it will be someone from within ELLE; senior fashion editor Kate Lanphear, perhaps? [Fashionista]
  
• Tell me who is responsible for making Justin Bobby into a model so I can personally punish them. [NYT]

• There is a God: Crocs profits are down. [The Street]
• Apparently not content with just suing Phat Fashions, Victoria's Secret has also filed a lawsuit against Macy's for, um, using the color pink. Just so you're all clear: Thou shalt not use the letter 'P' or the color pink. Those obviously belong solely to Victoria's Secret. Duh. [WWD, sub req'd]
• "Fashion for me is just a little bit over." Hey, Christian Lacroix said it, not us. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Lauren Hutton's makeup line: pink, yellow, olive and "Oprah dark." Jesus. [TMZ]
• Oh no: Gisele cannot be the female lead in the new Austin Powers movie. [Boston.com]
• And what did the sisters Olsen do while in Beijing last week? "Mary-Kate and Ashley restyle[d] the mannequins wearing The Row" at the Lane Crawford store where they had a trunk show. Aw, sweet! [WWD, 2nd item]
• Seoul, Korea wants to be "the fifth major fashion city," Um, good luck with that, kids. [WWD, sub req'd]
• And K-Mart wants to up its presence in the women's fashion area. Um, good luck with that, kids. [WWD, sub req'd]
• RIP Y & Kei. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Score one for Gucci against those counterfeiting bastards. [Reuters]
• Brit singer Duffy is the new muse of Dolce & Gabbana. Congrats? [Vogue UK]

• Anna Wintour on being called a "puppet" by French Vogue editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld in New York Magazine: "Maybe you should ask Carine. I have no comment." [Frillr]
  
• But you should ask her about it if you happen to be at Oxford University today, where La Wintour will be speaking about her "media career and extensive charity work." If you are there please email us with details from her chat! [Vogue UK]
  
• "Ashley was surprised. The women were really chic. A lot of them had such great style. And we didn't expect there to be so many women like that." That's Rae Miles, commercial director of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's clothing line, The Row, about her and Ashley's visit to Dallas to promote the line. Because clearly no one outside L.A. or New York knows how to dress themselves! [WWD, sub req'd]

• Krazy Karl Kwote OTD: "I live in my own little world, sketching and drawing. I'm told what to do every day. I didn't even know where this [party] was till I came here." [WWD, 2nd item]
• Vivienne Westwood has chosen model Ajuma Nasenyana to front her Spring 2008 ad campaign. Nasenyana is not just a tall beauty, she's also (OMG) not white! [Sassybella]
• And in other brilliant Vivienne Westwood news, she invited a bunch of seven-year-olds to "collaborate" with her on her fall/winter 2008 collection. [Yahoo]
• Jill Scott (yes, the Grammy award-winning singer): Now making bras. [Reuters]
• "I think [John] Galliano is the best designer in the world. After that, there's Anna Molinari," says, um, designer Anna Molinari. [WWD, 1st item]
• Who knew? Agnes B. is one of the foremost funders of cutting edge global warming research. [Yahoo]
• Tomorrow the exhibit marking a collaboration between Chanel and award-winning architect Zaha Hadid opens in Hong Kong before continuing to tour for another two years across the globe. [IHT]
• For their one-year anniversary in London, Abercrombie & Fitch is celebrating with, well, pictures of nakeds. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Daughter of Ralph/candy scion Dylan Lauren writes to her seventh grade self: "Dear Dill Pickle, Am I fat? Would he like me better if I were thinner?" Um, yeah. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Banana Republic cares about the environment! Or, um, a little about the environment. In honor of Earth Week, one percent of in-store sales up to $100,000 will be donated to the Trust for Public Land. Wow: Way to go whole-hog with your philanthropy, folks. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Bobbi Brown: Embracing inner Miley Cyrus with glitter lip glosses. [BellaSugar]
• Robert Lee Morris: Doing a jewelry line inspired by Andy Warhol's drawings. [Sassybella]
• Model Erin Wasson: Doing a jewelry line that seems to be inappropriately overpriced. [Sassybella]

L to R: The stripes are like a bad Missoni, only this isn't even knit — it's just a tee; unlike this season's designers on Project Runway, at least the girls understand how to make pants? And look! They included kiddie clothes in the line too!
L to R: Oh God, this one looks straight out of the Lauren Conrad Collection; High-waisted skinny trousers are frequently unfortunate; You could just go get the tank at American Apparel and buy a Bedazzler and make the skirt yourself.
L to R: Guaranteed to look bad on most bodies; guaranteed to look trashy; okay, this dress is actually pretty nice, if you're into the Laurel Canyon look.
L to R: Is this look not dead yet?; swirls, sequins, dizziness; the new power suit?
L to R: A great looking dress if you're a tall, skinny girl with no boobs; again with the stripes?; a good blazer, yes, but can its equivalent be found at Forever21?
L to R: To both of these looks I say: How old are we? Seriously?

They go from sounding totally legit — smart girls who happen to have made a lot of money — to completely incomprehensible. Case in point? Of the Elizabeth and James aesthetic, Mary-Kate says, "We dress a certain way, we buy a lot of vintage clothing. I've always been fascinated by furniture and clothes from a different time. You can change anything by the way you dress, by the way you put it together. It's almost like creating a little fantasy world for yourself, which is how I kind of look at fashion and most of the things I do." A fairly good answer, when it comes to designers explaining why they do what they do. And yet, Ashley says of the line's name, which coincidentally is composed of the twins' siblings names: "We wanted to pick a male name and a female name. I remember saying Elizabeth and James, and being like, 'Oh, my gosh, that's our brother and sister!'" What. The. Fuck?

And yeah, it's a little weird that their major accomplishment was sharing the role of Michelle Tanner — but they feel the same way! Points for them, as Mary-Kate says, "The audience from Full House is still around, from kids who are just starting to watch it to grandparents who grew up with it... I'm still amazed how much it has aired and who our audience is, because it's everyone." But, hmm, minus points, girls, for statements like this, about why you went to college: Mary-Kate: "I wanted to go to school to perfect a passion for interests." We're not even sure what that sentence means. Seriously.

But we continue to watch and listen! Because whether these girls are being surprisingly astute or sounding a little coked-out, we can't help hanging on their every word. Sigh.

Act 2 for the Olsen Twins [USA Today]

They have been selling Formica bedroom sets in pastel colors, but they worship Ghesquière.

Mary-Kate might wear ten kooky rings, Ashley just two or three... Their signature look mixes Edie Beale with Balenciaga, Johnny Depp, and John Galliano... They've raised accessorizing to a form of high, glamorous art. If the Olsens' style resembles anyone at all, it's not Lindsay Lohan or Mandy Moore or any of their other presumptive peers—they dress like sittings editors at French Vogue.

[The Row] was my sister's baby, and of course I wanted to do whatever I could to help her.

Says Ashley:

When we were growing up, it was always about being appropriate... [In college] I was studying architecture and psychology and I loved it, but I kept thinking about T-shirts and how to make the perfect one.

They're a mystery wrapped in an enigma, light and dark, annoying and likable. Plus, not to get all 70s on you — they're Geminis. Phew! We're tired.

Attack of the Fashion Gremlins [NYMag]

The four signature styles include "London" for an edgy metropolitan look, "Connecticut" for upscale style and blazer-inspired jackets, "Los Angeles" for "every hip-casual starlet," and "Seattle" for earthy colors and cargo pants. Peaches Uniforms said the new line will be available nationwide in select stores or online and each item will be priced under $25. Now women from the emergency room to dental offices to medical laboratories can express themselves in an array of colors and flattering cuts, and in fabric that's virtually stain proof, the manufacturer says. The C.E.O. of the Dallas-based Peaches Uniforms, Barry Rothschild, calls Heigl a role model for women in the healthcare industry. "Katherine is taking this industry to a whole new level. In the past, the only licensed products for women in healthcare uniforms involved cartoon characters."

Ok, so seriously, we think it's a good idea, but what's up with "edgy metropolitan" scrubs in "flattering cuts"? The classic scrub has enjoyed the best unintentional product placement in, like, the history of the outfits. Julianna Margulies. Christine Lahti. Maura Tierney who reminds us so much of a more attractive Kelly Clarkson. That chick from Bend It Like Beckham who was not annoying Keira Knightley. Mariska Hargitay is about the only actress who would make this fundamentally gross article of clothing any hotter by association. So yeah, Katie, don't let the make those cuts too flattering, yes?

UPDATE: here's a pic from the "collection." Hm. We are underwhelmed. We think that is a good thing for scrubs.

'Knocked Up' Star's New Baby [Portfolio.com]

[CFDA Awards, New York, NY; June 4. Images via Getty]

• Designer Nicole Miller, Harper's Bazaar's Glenda Bailey, and other fashion poohbahs hit D.C. yesterday to discuss a bill to protect fashion designs under intellectual property laws. We were all for this until we learned the measure "could have an impact on retailers such as H&M and Zara, which reinterpret runway designs and trends to sell to the public at lower prices." Girls, go call your congressman now and complain. Recreated Prada for the people, please!!! [WWD]
• Want to know the price points for Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's line The Row? Items range from $360 for leggings to $3220 for fur coats. God, we hate anorexic, midget millionaires. [WWD]
• The latest Kate Moss for Topshop news [Ed: Only 4 more days!]: Kate herself is rumored to be appearing in the windows of the store's Oxford Street store on the big release day, modelling her own designs. [WWD, 2nd item]
  

• Pretentious Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld shoves stick further up his own ass and announces that Chanel label will be sponsoring French artist's Sophie Calle's representation at this year's Venice Biennale art fair. [WWD]
• Expensive, earthy-crunchy, recently-defunct label Project Alabama is staging a revival. But instead of being produced by laborers throughout towns in Alabama (hence the name), manufacturing is moving to India. [WWD]

A certain androgynous Weimar Republic, Cabaret-style pervades the black-on-black collection, which has the occasional fur and lots of too-short jersey shifts (the better to show off your malnourished thighs with, naturally). The styling is the most interesting part of the looks, with garter belts, center-parts, and strong brows featured front-and-center.

Our verdict? We were hoping for something a little more... shocking. Even H&M is more fashion-forward. And the Olsens expect women to shell out the big bucks at Barneys come fall for these ho-hum looks? Not in a New York Minute.

See MK & Ashley's The Row Collection! [FabSugar]