Jezebel: threeasfour

Abercrombie Loses Another Discrimination Suit; Lindsay Lohan Is New Ungaro Artiste

Jenna — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:30:00 EDT

After barring a woman from helping her autistic sister try on clothes at the chain's Mall of America outpost, Abercrombie & Fitch was fined $115,264 for discrimination. Now we can say it definitively: Abercrombie doesn't like disabled people. [StarTrib]

There are pictures of Threeasfour's inspiration boards, fabrics, and the in-progress pieces of its collection with Yoko Ono, which will be shown next week in New York. Ono contributed original artwork and inspiration to the collection, and the dot drawings that were transformed into original prints look fantastic with their repeated circular-organic shapes. [The Cut]
Oprah is going to co-host next year's Met Ball. Oprah. Let that sink in. Co-hosting, of course, will be the woman who made her lose 20 pounds to be fit for the cover of her magazine: Anna Wintour. [Yahoo! News]
This year's Met Ball model co-host, Kate Moss, stormed out of the GQ awards show in London because host James Nesbitt made a joke about her naked appearance on the cover of that magazine. She managed to interrupt Dizzee Rascal, who was being interviewed after accepting an award — twice. Once to storm out, and once to ask if anybody had seen her lipstick. [Telegraph]
GQ anointed comedian and Little Britain star David Walliams as the most stylish man of 2009. He accepted the award wearing goggles and denim hotpants. [Mirror]
Craig "Radioman" Schwartz, apparently some sort of serial movie set hanger-on, nearly rode his bicycle into Sarah Jessica Parker while she was filming for Sex And The City outside Bergdorf's. She stumbled over the curb. Do people really have nothing better to do than flashmob the SATC set? For the rest of the day, Parker was protected by ten bodyguards between takes. [WWD]
Meanwhile, co-star Kristin Davis' line with Belk department stores has been discontinued, and the actress' planned New York Fashion Week show canceled. Belk and Davis say the decision was mutual. [The Cut]
Three words: Lady Gaga Headphones. (No, she's not doing a side project with David Bazan.) [Engadget]
The house of Ungaro has tapped Lindsay Lohan as an "artistic adviser" and relatively unknown designer Estrella Archs as its chief designer. When the Lindsay-for-Ungaro rumor started — back before the young, talented Colombian designer Esteban Cortazar had been fired — it sounded like crazy talk. Now it's happening. "Odds are it could work," says C.E.O. Mounir Moufarrige. [WWD]
Heidi Klum, on that time Karl Lagerfeld sneered that he didn't know who she was, and that she was obviously fat anyway: "It's bizarre to me that he says he doesn't know who I am because he's dressed me in the past. I've worn Karl Lagerfeld. Not even Chanel – his line. Lagerfeld doesn't just send random things everywhere." Klum in fact wore Lagerfeld to the CFDA awards a few years back. [P6Mag — story not online yet]
Fashion success story Christopher Kane, on childhood: "I was this wee kid who just stayed in the house, watching The Clothes Show with my mum and scrooging all the money from my first communion." [ToL]
Model Crystal Renn, who was directed as a 14-year-old to lose 9" off her hips in order to work in the industry, and struggled for years with anorexia and exercise bulimia as a result, says that Glamour magazine was the only client who ever noticed her eating disorder, and took action by calling her then-agency, Next. Not that she was appreciative as a frightened young teen: "At the time, I was really embarrassed because someone had figured me out. They called it and brought it to light. I wasn't only not only not pleasing my agency but I wasn't pleasing Glamour. When I became a healthy model like I am now, they were one of the first people to shoot me at this size, and that says something." Renn, whose memoir Hungry came out yesterday, would like to have a plus-size clothing line because she says her rock 'n' roll aesthetic is under-represented in the larger sizes. [GlamChic]
Tara Moss, who modeled for 10 years, now writes crime novels. And she does her own stunts: to research events for her books, she tries to experience the things her characters feel. In addition to spending days in morgues and courtrooms, flying fighter jets, and being set on fire, she has had an Ultimate Fighter choke her until she lost consciousness. [Reuters]
Hadley Freeman says, of the attempts by models too numerous to name to raise awareness about the industry's working conditions, "The fact that all these efforts have come from models as opposed to the outside media (which gets too distracted with painting models as evil fem-bots and harbingers of eating disorders to see them as underpaid homesick teenagers), suggests maybe people find the idea of models making them feel fat more upsetting than the very real fact of models being raped." The serial rapist designer Anand Jon Alexander was sentenced to 59 years in prison this week; other sources interviewed for this story express amazement that any of his victims, all young models over whom he had authority, came forward at all. [Guardian]
Anna Sui's Gossip Girl-inspired Target collection launches this weekend online and in 600 stores nationwide — and today, if you live in New York and are willing to go to a pop-up store in a townhouse on Crosby St. [WWD]
A woman told the Post that sometimes she goes to Yigal Azrouël's Meatpacking District store to try on clothes "just to be naked in the same room with him." Azrouël is sexy and all, but that's just creepy. [NYPost]
This story about Fashion's Night Out, which is tomorrow, includes an unexpected reference to Fitzgerald. Then Anna Wintour says, "What am I looking to buy? Something in red, some new boots, and some kind of savage fur (that's American Vogue shorthand, so you know, for a rough, shaggy stole or collar of some kind). It's not a lot, but isn't that the whole point of shopping these days." [ToL]
Club Monaco locations in New York City will be serving champagne until 11 p.m., and the SoHo store will have a cupcake truck outside until September 12th. [FWD]
The Financial Times' coverage of Fashion's Night Out casts Wintour as Ben Bernanke in a grand fashion stimulus plan. [FT]
Wintour's appearance on Letterman drew slightly higher ratings than the show's average for the week and month, but ABC's Nightline still won the timeslot. [WWD]
"Would I think twice about buying a dress that costs $2,000? Yeah! Of course I would. I'd try it on and go home and think about it before I bought it," says Victoria Beckham. Nonetheless, she says that demand for her uber-expensive dress line is outstripping supply. [People]
Robin Givhan reports that now, the time just before Fashion Week, is a period of "soul-searching and hand-wringing" for designers and the industry. [WaPo]
Neiman Marcus suffered a $168.6 million loss during the fourth quarter. Revenues decreased 24%. [WWD]
Yesterday, Gap-owned e-tailer Piperlime started selling designer clothes, in addition to shoes. [NYTimes]
Same-store sales at Laura Ashley rose 6.7%, to £101.5m. [FT]

Jewel Thief Model Re-Launches Line; Yoko Ono At Fashion Week

Jenna — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:30:00 EDT

Erin Wasson is reviving her jewelry collection as a cheaper costume line. Let's hope in addition to ditching the $1000+ price point, Wasson also abandons her unfortunate habit of claiming jewelry designer Bliss Lau's pieces as her own. [Elle UK]

Because she lurves Roger Federer, Anna Wintour and her longtime boyfriend, Shelby Bryan, went to see Federer's match at the U.S. Open. They left before Serena even took the court. [P6]
Vivienne Westwood has chosen Pamela Anderson for her Gold Label campaign for the second season running. Westwood and husband Andreas Kronthaler also re-join Anderson in the whimsical set of images. [Daily Mail]
Crazy enough to work: Threeasfour and Yoko Ono. Ono reportedly inspired the wacky design trio's spring collection, and also contributed her artwork for prints. [WWD]
Rachel Zoe's QVC collection, which clocks in at a relatively modest $32.50-130 price range, is full of faux fur and snakeskin pieces. [Nitro:Licious]
Tim Gunn on Project Runway guest judge Lindsay Lohan: "I was surprised and pleased by how extremely knowledgeable about fashion and articulate Lindsay Lohan was. She's very young and can be portrayed in ways that aren't all together flattering, and she was a true statesperson and really weighed in on the designers and what they were doing exceptionally well. And it was really a thrill to have her." [People]
Although 19-year-old model Jourdan Dunn was included in the Women agency's Spring/Summer 2010 Show Package, which was thought to mean that the five months pregnant runway star would make the circuit of casting directors this season, Women has confirmed that Dunn will not be at fashion week. Guess we won't get to add Dunn to the list of models (Dunn's compatriots Karen Elson and Stella Tennant among them) who have also walked shows while pregnant. [The Cut]
Yigal Azrouël, who has earned more press in recent months for his alleged role in the breakup of Billy Joel and Katie Lee's marriage than for his designs, is reportedly in the unique position of seeking less media attention. Although his show will still be attended by around 800 people, expect fewer celebrities, and no after-party. Also, nobody who ever slept with Eliot Spitzer is invited. [NYDN]
Daphne Guinness, on what tuberose, the principal note in her new perfume, Daphne, reminds her of: "My mother and the flower market in Figueres in Spain and in Cadaqués, where I grew up. We always used to have these huge vats of them, and they would just fill the house with scent all summer long. It reminds me of my childhood. I would collect them and put them all on greaseproof paper with a kind of gel, and then you leave it for a few days. Then you'd scrape off the gel and have a sort of essence. It's quite an ancient plant. Don't quote me on this, but someone told me that pterodactyls used to eat them...it does make sense, because when they die they smell like rotting flesh, and that's why pterodactyls were attracted to them — actually maybe it was archaeopteryx. Tuberose, they're not beautiful in the peony sense of the word, but the smell is unlike anything else. I love it. And I love the scent of sort of all those woods that you get from the Middle East. I grew up in the seventies and everybody was running around burning Joss sticks and, you know, banging tambourines." [Style.com]
Paper magazine is hosting a black-tie event at the New York Public Library — which is adjacent to Bryant Park — to kick off fashion week. Liza Minnelli and Queen Latifah, plus other "surprise" guests, will perform. [People]
L'Oréal principal shareholder Liliane Bettencourt's legal fight with her daughter, Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers, has gone to court in France. Bettencourt, 86, has admitted turning over about $1 billion worth of her fortune to François-Marie Banier, a 62-year-old photographer who is her confidant. Bettencourt-Meyers accuses Banier of "exploitation of weakness," a criminal offense, while Bettencourt's side says that Bettencourt-Meyers is simply jealous and ungrateful. [ToL]
Time's Style & Design issue will suspend publication after the current issue, which goes out today. Ad pages in the magazine had decreased precipitously. [WWD]
Abakus jewelry designer Marsha Chun-Matsubara: "My parents say that when I was four, I wore a small, heavy bike chain around my neck. Later, when I really wanted my ears pierced I stuck Chiquita Banana stickers on my earlobes. When I was about seven, my mother was teaching me how to use an abacus. I was so frustrated that I threw it and all the beads scattered. From then on, I used the wooden beads to make necklaces. That's where I got the name for my line." [W]
The sadly deceased DJ AM — a noted sneakerhead who owned more than 700 pairs of Nikes — was working on his own line for the shoe giant when he died last week. Although the final designs, Nike says, had Adam Goldstein's approval, whether and when they will ever be released now depends on the desires of the musician's family. [TMZ]
Nancy Talbot, the woman behind the Talbot's retail chain, has died in Colorado. She was 89. [NYTimes]
Donatella Versace tells Out magazine — the October cover of which she graces, with model Paul Sculfor — that "You can be too boring, but you can never be too seductive." Which is a point of view we were pretty much familiar with from looking at her clothes. [WWD]
Vanessa Williams says Ugly Betty's wardrobe department is spending its money wisely — and sticking to sale items. "There was a Naeem Kahn dress that went for $3,000, and they watched it and watched and by the time we got it, it was like $800." [People]
The premium denim market may have some life in it yet. At the apparel trade show in Las Vegas, pricey brands like True Religion and Citizens of Humanity reported strong wholesale sales, and the NPD Group says the premium denim market grew 5% in the 12 months ended in June. [Reuters]
But during the month of August, across the whole apparel sector, same-store sales declined an average of 2.5%. Back-to-school sales and promotions did little to stoke the desire of unwilling consumers. [Crains]
Quiksilver reported a 53% drop in third-quarter earnings on last year. [WSJ]
Movado scraped through the quarter with a modest profit — $528,000 — after six months of losses. The result still represents a 93.5% fall in earnings on last year. [WWD]
Meanwhile, Abercrombie & Fitch continues to live up to its reputation as the Worst Recession Company Ever. (Thanks Time!) After announcing its latest disastrous monthly comps — August same-store sales fell 29% — Citi downgraded the stock to a Sell, and share prices fell 6%. [TS]
Choosing the 50 Sluttiest American Apparel ads is like shooting fish in a barrel. [StyleCrave]

Stella Loves Critters; Diane Von Furstenberg Is A Swinger

TatianaTheAnonymousModel — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:30:00 EDT

Stella McCartney's fall ad campaign makes a Bambijoke out of all that nature imagery that suddenly became hip over the past few years. For everyone who's ever considered an ironic taxidermy at a bar and concluded, "Why?" [WWD]

Joshua Walter, the 20-year-old male model whose clients included Hugo Boss, has confessed to a series of armed robberies in Queens, and is currently being held in a prison barge moored off the Bronx. Walter, who pistol-whipped one victim during a heist, last came to police attention in May, when he pleaded guilty to punching and choking his girlfriend, 37-year-old former teacher Gina Salamino. (Salamino, who taught second grade, was fired after her relationship with Walter, by whom she has a child, was discovered.) Walter insisted to a New York Post reporter that he is still modeling — how he's doing that from behind bars, after failing to make $550,000 in bail, is unclear. [Gothamist]
Naomi Campbell is one of the celebrities donating a Birkin for charity to Hermès' annual vintage auction. Campbell's green alligator Birkin will be sold to raise money for the White Ribbon Alliance, which works to reduce the number of women who suffer preventable pregnancy complications every year worldwide. Also for sale on November 10 will be one of Grace Kelly's handbags, donated by her daughter, Princess Stephanie of Monaco. [UK Elle]
WWD is already referring to the Beatrice Inn as "the former hipster hotspot." Ouch. Also, Lissy Trullie is going to be the fall face of Hervé Leger by Max Azria. [WWD]
Prada's Seoul building, the Rem Koolhaas-designed Transformer, is changing its appearance once again. The elements of the structure, which are covered in a membrane, are designed to be shifted around to accommodate entirely different uses for the interior space. Opening in April to house a fashion exhibition before becoming a temporary movie theater, the Transformer is now becoming a contemporary art museum. "I want fashion for fashion and art for art," says Miuccia Prada. "So the Transformer concept was not for a generic space, but to be very specific, with all things separate in one building." [NYTimes]
Meanwhile in Paris, Prada opened a more traditional kind of temporary structure: a pop-up store. Naturally, among the items sold will be an "exclusive," "limited-edition" gray handbag. Uniqlo also just opened a pop-up in Paris, intended to operate until its flagship in the city opens this fall, and Comme des Garçons' Black line currently has a pop-up in the Marais. [WWD]
Perhaps not realizing that the coal mining scene in Zoolander was a parody, cult Paris shop Colette is releasing a limited edition collaboration with Timberland boots. Forty pairs of pre-distressed Timbs with blue trim will go on sale at the boutique this September, for 235 Euros. [Refinery 29]
Some designers support the proposed Design Piracy Protection Act, which would offer limited copyright protection to fashion designers, while others either don't mind the knock-offs, or think the DPPA's proposed solution unwieldy. Maria Cornejo, who designs Zero +Maria Cornejo and has had her work ripped off, thinks the proposed law is a sound one. Makers of knock offs are "basically putting their hand in my head, which is my bank, and stealing ideas. It's basically robbery." Isabel and Ruben Toledo, fashion designer and illustrator, respectively, disagree strongly. "The American fashion system is all levels of value," says Ruben. "A woman knows when she's buying champagne and when she's buying soda-pop. It's two different markets. But why shouldn't a woman have the right to drink Coca-Cola when she feels like it and champagne when she wants to? That's the American way." Europe and Japan already extend copyright protection to clothing designs, but in the U.S., only a graphic of print used for a piece of clothing can be copyrighted, not the garment as a whole. [Reuters]
Jason Wu covers some familiar territory — Michelle Obama, the loveliness of having pet cats — and some that's out of left field — sleeping pills! — in this sweet diary for the Times of London. The designer complimented a woman he saw wearing his clothes on the street, and, like a sartorial Secret Santa, didn't even tell her he had made it. [ToL]
Some designers had standard-issue summer jobs for the fashionably-inclined, like working at a fabric store or a vintage shop, or being a doorman at a hip Manhattan club. (Wu, for his part, was a waiter at a BBQ restaurant in Taiwan during the summers when he was growing up.) Angela Donhauser and Adi Gil of Threeasfour worked for Buena Vista, touring Germany dressed as characters from the Lion King. [Style.com]
Diane von Furstenberg hangs upside down from a swing in her Meatpacking District office. Diane von Furstenberg runs a business with 155 employees, 97% of whom are women. Diane von Furstenberg is 62, and she looks like a minx, like a dangerous, business-minded, fashionable minx, when photographed curled up elegantly on her desk. Diane von Furstenberg compares staying solvent in this economy to being "on a surfing board in the middle of a tsunami," and, if there were one woman who could pull off that totally sick stand up barrel, by God, after reading this profile, we believe it to be her. [NYTimes]
Italian Vogue is re-releasing last July's iconic issue, which featured only black models. Because it's Barbie's 50th birthday year, the re-released magazine will come with a supplement dedicated to black Barbie. [British Vogue]
Karl Lagerfeld shot press images for his pre-spring collection on the Rue Royale with Lara Stone and Baptiste Giabiconi — and a customized low rider motorcycle, which Chanel will, remarkably, not sell. [WWD]
London's Estorick Gallery is holding an exhibition that pairs Italian Futurist paintings with the clothes designed by Ottavio and Rosita Missoni in the 1960s and 70s. Looks like a perfect match. [NYTimes]
Celebrity hairstylist Ted Gibson is replacing Nick Arrojo, the hair makeover consultant on What Not To Wear. Arrojo, said network executives, was not "fresh" anymore, after six seasons. [WWD]
There have been numerous stories about the possibility that the company that makes Crocs might go bankrupt — including one in the Washington Post last week. Even the company's auditor has raised doubts about its ability to meet its debt obligations. Unsurprisingly, the C.E.O. says everything's fine and dandy. [WWD]
The new owners of the bankrupt Eddie Bauer brand say that most of its 370 stores will remain open. San Francisco investment firm Golden Gate Capital Management bought Eddie Bauer at auction for some $286 million. [UPI]

Ritchie & Rachel Are Frenemies Once More; Marc Jacobs Breaks Hearts

TatianaTheAnonymousModel — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:30:00 EST

Rachel Zoe and Nicole Ritchie hugged while cameras for Zoe's reality show rolled. Presumably they made up based on their shared love of airtime and handbags the size and price of compact cars. [WWD]

Stella McCartney designed some t-shirts for a British charity and got besties Gwyneth Paltrow, Claudia Schiffer, and Keira Knightley to wear them for the ad campaign. [Telegraph]
Aw, Twiggy goes shopping with her daughter, Carly. "If I come out of a changing room and she says, ‘Muummm!’ to what I’m wearing then I won’t buy it." How cute. [Daily Express]
When in Rome, you should absolutely go check out an exhibit featuring newly unearthed Richard Avedon fashion photographs. [WSJ]
Is LVMH going to acquire Coach? Some speculators think so. [WWD]
So, what is this 'vintage' thing? Is it like shopping at a department store? Anna Sui guides Good Morning America around the Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show. "If you find yourself drawn to Victorian clothes, there may be a touch of the Goth in you," warns the host, helpfully. Then she learns what Bakelite is and tries on a $4,000 sable fur. Sui looks on approvingly. [HuffPo]
UK megaretailer ASDA is going to offer women's jeans in half sizes. Since most women say they are between sizes. Brilliant! [Telegraph]
Threeasfour give the dreamiest interview answers. Who are your best friends? Ange: "My humor and melancholia." Adi: "Which one? They are all individual. One-of-a-kind." Gabi: "I can trust she is telling me the truth." Ange also makes seaweed omelets for her pit bull, Luna. [The Fashion Informer]
Rizzoli's coming out with a Kanye West book. You can see Kanye tour the world, perform, go to fashion parties, and even shop in Asian malls. It will be published in October with a flash drive of unreleased music, and costs $50. [The Cut]
Models.com has started posting agency show packages for the Fall Winter 09 shows in New York. See if you can spot my game face among the hopefuls and the old hands. (Warning: Needle, meet haystack.) [Models.com]
Marc Jacobs has slashed the number of invitees to his fashion show at the Armory. In fact, the show is only going forward at their usual venue because they don't want to pay the cancellation fee. And, of course, there will be no after-party, either. Instead of seating 1,100 people and letting another 900 stand, this season only 500-700 people will be seated, and the 200 standing room tickets will go mainly to employees. Hopefully they will also do the simplest guest-list cost-trim of all: not coughing up thousands in appearance fees to the usual round of celebs. [WWD]
Ugly Betty's production moved to New York for tax breaks, and has regained the styling talent of Patricia Field. At a panel discussion of the show's aesthetic, Field accepted an audience member's donation of a patterned, sparkly top that looked like classic Betty wear, and which she said might well turn up on the show. [NY Times]
Remember when Chloë Sevigny called the guy she buys socks from "like, the grumpiest man on earth" in the New York Times? He doesn't deny it — which is probably wise, considering he admits stealing his employees' lunches, putting trash in unpleasant customers' bags, and barking at people who take their time browsing — but he does say, "Dealing with retail isn't the easiest thing, and maybe she came in when I was grumpy. Maybe she was upset that I didn't know who she was." Burn. [NYDN]
Oh no. Toby Keith is launching a fashion line. It's called "TK Steelman" and will feature sleeveless shirts and oil-field insignias. Because it is for "average dudes." [People]
It's kind of strange to read this review of the store Hollister as though it were a foreign object that fell to earth. "The shop entrance felt somewhat like a fairground ghost train..." [Telegraph]
Whether or not consumers will go back to paying full prices for apparel after seeing deep discounts over the winter period remains an open question. (All I want to know is how long it will take for brands to realize that rather than permanently lowering the prices of their wares, the smarter move is to permanently raise them and then, hey presto, offer a "discount.") For now, Banana Republic is giving its credit card holders an extra 10% off sale and full-priced items through May 1 — meaning none of their stock is necessarily full price. [Shop Talk]
Sometimes it's depressing just how derivative commercial photography can be. [A Photo Editor]

ELLE Continues To Toy With Nina Garcia's Affections

Jennifer — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:30:00 EDT

The latest on the Nina Garcia saga: If she takes the editor-at-large gig she'll only be there til mid-October, when ELLE's contract with Project Runway ends and then she'll be let go for reals. (Dear Nina: You can do better than that.) Meanwhile, no one at ELLE or its publisher Hachette Filipacchi Media has issued a single comment on the entire situation. [WWD, 1st item]
Meanwhile, everyone at ELLE is pissed that the taping of its reality show Fashionista is ruining everyone's lives. [NY Daily News]
Audrey Tatou is rumored to be the newest face of Chanel No. 5. Does this mean that Nicole Kidman got the boot? Maybe she and Nina can start a sort of ex-wives club together. [WWD, 1st item]
"I think the luxury is not only what we give to ourselves, but what we can give to others. Obviously, we can get more of this and this, but the true luxury is being able to give back. When one has been blessed with the ability to have made it...it's our social responsibility." Nice try, Donna Karan. But...no. [WWD, sub req'd]

"You can sort of tell the designers by the pieces," says Gap designer Patrick Robinson on the retailer's white shirt sdesigned by Phillip Lim, Band of Outsiders, Michael Bastian and Threeasfour. Um, wouldn't it be troublesome if you couldn't? Isn't this sort of a given when it comes to design? [WWD, sub req'd]
Victoria Beckham is not above groveling to get L.A. boutique Kitson to not drop her denim line from its stores. [PopSugar]
Women need to learn to "shop like a man"? My ass! Don't know about you, but the ladies I know think a lot more about where they put their dollars then the fellas in my life. [Telegraph]
Margaret Thatcher: Style icon? Sure, and Hillary's yellow pantsuits are going to be the next big thing for spring! [Telegraph]
Kenneth Cole has poached Liz Claiborne executive vice president Jill Granoff to make her the company's new CEO. Smells like another failure of the Tim Gunn-Bill McComb regime at Claiborne to me. [WWD, sub req'd]
LVMH's profits are up by 12%, largely because of the roaring success of the Louis Vuitton label. Marc Jacobs: 1, haters: 0. [WWD, sub req'd]
How the hell are Burberry's profits up by over 19%? Really: Explain it to me. [WWD, sub req'd]
And L'Oreal's profits are in the shitter. [Reuters]
Who's the most accomplished Versace sibling now? Santo Versace, who has just joined Italy's House of Parliament. Can't you just see Donatella busting in there, screaming, "Geeeeeeeet outtttttt!" 'Cause I can. [WWD, 2nd item]
Gucci has hired David Lynch to direct commercials and James Franco to front its new men's fragrance. [WWD, 3rd item]
So word on the street is that Sasha Pivovarova is being ousted as the face of Prada for Linda Evangelista. Drama! [Sassybella]
Designer Roland Mouret on what makes a fashion icon: "Icons last but fashion changes. What I try to do is allow a woman to work with the icon inside herself. The body is an icon, and I create a shell for that body." Just like Invasion of the Body Snatchers! [Vogue UK]
These shoes scare me. [Chic Report]

OMG: More Clothes Are Coming From Kate Moss!

Jennifer — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:30:00 EDT

Kate Moss's fifth collection for Topshop launches today. It's inspired by "travel." Oh, bite me. [Vogue UK]
Spanx bras — to flatten your back fat, of course — in stores now! [WWD, sub req'd]
You will be so proud of Eva Mendes! She overcame that whole nasty rehab debacle to be chosen as the face of Calvin Klein underwear. Yay Eva! And yay Calvin Klein for taking a chance on a star who is trying to overcome adversity. [WWD, sub req'd]
Pussycat Dolls founder Robin Antin has extended her evil empire to include a lingerie line (entitled, sickeningly, "Pussycat Dolls...shhh") and a costume jewelry line. [WWD, 3rd item]
Nicole Richie doing a maternity line? Why, God, why? [LATimes]

Marc Jacobs and his histrionic boyfriend Jason Preston are fighting again. [Page Six]
"I feel like Beyoncé is a very good image for what I do. She's the woman that I present. I adore women with curves," says designer Elie Saab. We remain skeptical. [Fashion Week Daily]
I know I'll sleep better tonight knowing that Lord & Taylor has achieved its life-long dream of stocking Juicy Couture. [IHT]
Also, knowing Victoria Beckham owns ten different Hermes Birkin bags, all in different colors. [Sunday Mirror]
Evangeline Lilly is the face of Davidoff Cool Water Women. [WWD, 2nd item]
Bindi Irwin's children's clothing line on sale everywhere... well, in Australia. [News.com.au]
Paris Hilton: Inspiration to Indian fashion designers. [Reuters]
Gap has once again commissioned supercool designers to design limited-edition white shirts for the chain. 3.1 Phillip Lim, Band of Outsiders, Michael Bastian, Philip Crangi and Threeasfour have all signed on for the project, sponsored by Vogue and the CFDA. It seems like only yesterday they were doing this for the very first time! I have only written approximately 3.1 x 10²⁹ words on this site since then. [WWD, sub req'd]
No, light-up packaging scares me. [BellaSugar]
Our favorite model-blogger Erin O'Connor is now preparing to make a documentary about the fashion industry. $10 says everyone comes off looking ethical and well-groomed. [Daily Mail]

Chloe Sevigny Designs Luggage, Mocks Fashion

Jennifer — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:30:00 EST

Is there anything Chloe Sevigny can't do? Playing a polygamist's wife, designing a clothing line for Opening Ceremony, acting as style adviser to British ELLE, and now, designing hand-crafted steamer trunks for Samsonite. [WWD, sub req'd]
Sevigny reportedly laughed loudly and openly at last night's Miss Sixty show. From the front row, no less! [NY Mag]
Several models were burned by faulty lighting used during a shoot for Marc Bouwer last week. Says a rep for Bouwer, "No one knew the lamp was giving off that much heat until the shoot ended. If they had known, they would have stopped right away." [Page Six]
Fashion victim! A Cosmopolitan fashion editor is suing a slew of people, including Diane von Furstenberg, following the 2005 incident in which she was injured by falling lights from the fashion runway. [UPI]

The manager of an Abercrombie & Fitch store in Virginia Beach was ticketed by police for displaying overly "racy" A&F posters in the store. [UPI]
Adam Lippes, formerly the designer of AdamPlusEve and now head of his own eponymous collection, is taking on a design collection with Spanish-based chain Mango. The Adam for Mango collection will feature 15 looks each for men and women and will be in stores for the Spring 2009 season. [WWD, sub req'd]
Carla Bruni: Married to Nicolas Sarkozy while wearing Hermes. [WWD, 1st item]
"This is worse than the Stones concert in '72!" That would be photographer Mick Rock, on the ill-behaved crowds outside the Rock & Republic show on Saturday night. [WWD, 2nd item]
People will always need underwear: Hanesbrands' profits rose by 103.9% in the last quarter. [WWD, sub req'd]
The Prada party taking place Thursday night in New York is sounding more and more like cheap porn: The short film created by Prada, Trembled Blossoms, will be screened and rock band CocoRosie will perform. [Fashion Week Daily]
Have the designers at ThreeAsFour been reading Jezebel? The theme of their show this past weekend was "The good, the bad, and the beauty." [Fashion Week Daily]
Heidi Klum and I have similar feelings about Valentine's Day: "If you're only in love once a year, that would be very sad!" [Chic Report]
Costume designer Patricia Field on the look of the upcoming Sex and the City movie: "One might be dressing older, one might be dressing richer. There's always a blend of old and new because they don't change." [FabSugar]
Former congressman Harold Ford Jr.'s fiance Emily Threlkeld pays her bills by working in business development for Carolina Herrera. [Washington Post]

Sex And The City Movie: Now With More Burberry

Jennifer — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:30:00 EST

Carrie Bradshaw in Burberry in Sex and the City movie ads: Potentially even more damaging to the brand than the chavs? [Vogue UK]
Quick turnaround! Halston redux will be available on-line on Net-a-Porter the day after its runway show next week? Says Net-a-Porter chairman Natalie Massenet:"I am sure this will be a shock to the brands that specialize in knocking off some of the talent in the fashion industry. They had their cake and have been eating it for a while." [Vogue UK]
All employees in the Tod's group were just given a $2,000 bonus by Group head Diego Della Valle as an "I'm-Sorry-The-Italian-Economy-Is-Bad-Right-Now" gesture. Um, are you reading this, Mr. Denton? [WWD, 2nd item]
Cynthia Rowley: Now designing for Target. [WWD, 4th item]
ThreeAsFour: Now designing for the Gap. [Fashionista]

Louis Vuitton, not content to merely assault us with logos in magazines, on billboards and plastered across half the luggage in LAX's baggage carousels, is producing television commercials now too. [WWD]
Since the stars have no awards shows to go to it looks like many will be coming out to New York for next week's fashion shows instead. [WWD, sub req'd]
Alberta Ferretti has inked a fragrance licensing deal with Elizabeth Arden; the label's premiere scent is set to launch in spring 2009, with a skin care line to follow. [WWD, 1st item]
Ralph Lauren just opened a new endoscopy wing at the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention in Harlem. We never knew that Ralph was all into helping cancer patients in Harlem! [WWD]
The Spring 2008 Nordstrom campaign is all artsy and highbrow, with paintings done by Ruven Afandor. Paintings done by Ruven Afandor on models, that is. [Fashion Week Daily]
Marie Claire editor-in-chief Joanna Coles on the reasoning behind the pre-Fashion Week dinner she threw: "The designers needed help and the models needed feeding." [Fashion Week Daily]
More from PR pro Kelly Cutrone on preparing for Fashion Week: "Mara Hoffman...refus[ed] to show before 2:21 p.m. on February 2 as the moon would be void, off course (of course)...Araks will show first, immediately followed (after 2:21 p.m.) by Mara. I call Mara and ask, "What is happening astrologically?" She replies, "Mercury is in retrograde." [Chic Report]
No shocker here: More and more people are buying clothes from Amazon.com. [Times of London]
How bad is the economy? So bad that lipstick isn't even selling. And lipstick sales are supposed to go up during a recession. [AdAge]

Kate Winslet Thinks Repping Lancome Is No Big Thing

Jennifer — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:40:00 EST

Lancome spokeswoman Kate Winslet managing to sound annoying while dissing the celebrity product endorsement business: "I remember five or six years ago, it was really a big deal to be the face of a campaign or a spokesperson for a particular brand name. Now, it just doesn't seem to matter so much." [WWD, sub req'd]
Tim McGraw is getting his own fragrance through Coty; we hope it smells like blue jeans, beer and jealous wives. [WWD, sub req'd]
Katherine Heigl is the face of Nautica's newest fragrance "My Voyage for Her," a name which sounds to us sounds like some seventies book on the female orgasm, but okay. [WWD, sub req'd]

And in further fragrance news, singer Eve wants one, even if no deal has been inked yet: "I not only want to meet the nose, but I want to be the nose. I want to be that person who's in there putting stuff in the little bottles. I'm obsessed with smells." [WWD, 2nd item]
Designer Rogan Gregory has won the CFDA/Vogue fashion award, beating out Philip Lim, Erin Fetherston, the Threeasfour gang, the Vena Cava girls, and the duo behind VPL. Honestly, what? We didn't even really realize he was in the running. Also he designs jeans and T-shirts. Albeit, eco-friendly jeans made with fair trade cotton and endorsed by Bono's wife or something. [Vogue UK]
CoverGirl is giving itself a makeover, with its advertising to be more focused on "individualized beauty" and less about its approach of "fresh and clean" beauty. Which would normally be "whatever" until you think of the implications for NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE OF TOP MODEL WHEREIN THEY SHOOT COVERGIRL COMMERCIALS. We so think Heather is going to win. [WWD, sub req'd]
J.Lo is now designing an intimates collection. It is to be "infused with Latino sensuality." [WWD, sub req'd]
Okay, but if you thought that was absurd: Vivienne Westwood's cultural-political manifesto, uniformly declared a flop when she presented it earlier this year, is going to be presented once again, this time in London, with Georgia Jagger (yes, Mick and Jerry Hall's daughter) reading the part of Alice in Wonderland (yes, Alice Wonderland figures into the manifesto, which is sorta written as a play). Says Westwood of this trip down the rabbit hole, "If you follow it your life will change." [Vogue UK]
Infamous footwear designer Manolo Blahnik has been made a Commander of the British Empire by the Queen of England. For his great contributions to giving women across the land major foot problems? [Vogue UK]
Model Karen Elson just gave birth to her second child and has already been shot as the face of the new BCBG ad campaign. How do these woman look so damn put together this soon after giving birth? To the spawn of Jack White, nonetheless? [FabSugar]
See Chloe Sevigny as the face of Chloe fragrance here. [Sassybella]
Aw, we have tears in our eyes: Donna Karan, Zac Posen, and Diane von Furstenberg are all going to work the cash register at the 7th on Sale event (lots of shopping, benefits AIDS patients) this weekend. [NYP]
Nike is selling off its low-end brand Starter. [WSJ]
Liz Lange maternity has also gone all private equity on us blah blah and sold a majority share of its company off blah blah. Meaning that now banker types can not only knock their wives up but clothe them on the cheap too? [WSJ]
And lingerie line Agent Provocateur was just sold to a private equity firm too. [Independent]