• To mull during your post-Thanksgiving satiety: A reclining Heidi Klum, with feast, in jigsaw puzzle form. [FWD]

• Karl Lagerfeld's helmets — first glimpsed on the runway earlier this year — have entered the retail food chain. Anyone in need of a €1200 - €4545 helmet, possibly mink-covered or embroidered with pearls, should try her luck at — where else? — Colette in Paris starting this December. These have iPod hookups, people. [Hintmag]
• Online magazine Flamboyant — which has one of those frustrating websites where the component pages are unlinkable — did a wickedly funny editorial where it styled various bread rolls as though they were designer branded creations. In a world where Karl Lagerfeld can make $6,000 helmets and Christian Audigier can sell $3 name-brand water, let's not give them any ideas, shall we? [FWD]
• If you can fit into the Kate Moss — Scarlett Johansson size range, want to wear a Lanvin dress to your holiday party, and live in the UK, Topshop just might have your number. The high street chain has persuaded 20 celebs — Freida Pinto, Jourdan Dunn, and, uh, Peaches Geldof among them — to donate one preferred party frock apiece. (Peaches' is that horrid floral curtain number she wore at Cannes this summer, so beware.) The dresses will be available for public hire for £40, and then a silent auction for outright ownership. All proceeds go to a charity for the elderly. [Daily Mail]
• Alternatively, you could just wait 6-12 months for Coco Rocha's fashion line to become a reality. She just posted a video on her blog announcing the new venture, and which shows her hard at work sketching. She's also seeking name ideas. [OhSoCoco]
• Eugenia Kim reads Gawker. HAMILTON WILL NEVER LOVE YOU LIKE I DO, EUGENIA!! [TFI]
• Tommy Hilfiger's Greenwich, Connecticut, home sold for $20 million, about $8 million less than his asking price, but still $2 million more than he paid for it in 2005. [AP]

[New York, November 8. Image via Getty]

NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 08: The Soul Tigers march through Manhattan in honor of Tommy Hilfiger Fifth Avenue on November 8, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tommy Hilfiger)

Martha Plimpton has always embraced her eccentricity, and that's one stranglehold she's not breaking.


Wonder what Tommy Hilfiger, lover of American Sportswear, makes of Dee Ocleppo's MOB special?


Speaking of matronly, gala-appropriate-wear, we give you Maggie Rodriguez.


Marie and Ed Royce have the whole charity-prom thing down. Exhibit A: the belt.


Marjorie Andrade has exactly replicated the posture of a fashion illustration; this is creepy.


I guess when, like Charlene Wittstock, you're on the arm of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, an Ivanhoe-style girdle-belt feels somehow topical.


Frederic Fekkai, ironically a haircare magnate, and Shirin von Wuffen, who will shortly have some curious tan lines.


Lynn Wyatt: obviously a pro.


And Maguy Maccario-Doyle, with Yves Piaget, is a woman of a dying breed: that who can sport a fur-trimmed, silk shantung, cigarette-pant suit and act like it's no big deal.


Alex McCord's brand of fug really just isn't the same.


And we've saved the best for last: Mariska Hargitay, at her most retro-elegant.

[Images via Getty]

• Marc Jacobs is rumored to have signed on to appear on Kept, Logo's gay version of The Real Housewives. An open casting call will be held soon in New York to find other "high-powered (openly gay) playboys." [N.Y. Daily News]

• The Italian fashion world wasn't pleased with foreign reviews of Milan fashion shows linking the prevalence of short and sexy dresses to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's recent sex scandals. Reviews in the Financial Times and International Herald Tribune used terms such as "Blame it on Berlusconi" and "Viva la Bimbo." "I don't think Berlusconi influences us," said Donatella Versace. "I didn't see anything vulgar on the catwalks in the last few days." [Reuters]
• British women working in engineering, science, technology and construction are calling for clothing manufacturers to make better and safer clothing for women. Jan Peters, president of the Women's Engineering Society explains: "We need the makers of safety wear – work boots, high visibility jackets, protective gloves and the like - to cater for our needs. We don't necessarily want fashion – although we want to look smart and professional – we just want clothes that fit!" [Science Daily]
• Yesterday, Michelle Obama fave Maria Pinto unveiled the looks she created for the delegates lobbying for Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid this week in Copenhagen. At least these outfits are less ridiculous than Ralph Lauren's 2008 U.S. Olympic ensemble. [WWD]
• The new issue of GQ has an article on Christian Audigier that dubs him the "Emperor du Fromage" and contains many musings on the unfortunate popularity of his Ed Hardy and Von Dutch brands such as, "He almost never wears the clothes he designs, which leads some people to wonder whether he actually likes them." [Racked]
• Jil Sander's minimalist collection for Uniqlo will go on sale when its Paris flagship store opens on Thursday. The 100 women's items and 40 men's pieces won't include the designer's name but will bear a white label reading "+J". [WWD]
• Scientists are developing new hi-tech textiles including fabrics that spray on, respond to temperature changes, and release hormones to attract the opposite sex. [The Telegraph]
• The Obama commercial boom may be over. You can still find Obama merchandise - like tees - in D.C. tourist areas, but there's less demand across the country now that he's started actually leading rather than just talking about it. [AP]
• Miuccia Prada likes to have "intellectuals" at her shows and in her clothes. A staffer explains, "She only dresses people who interest her." Warning: Don't click the link unless you're prepared to see Paul Krugman's face Photoshopped on a runway model. [N.Y. Magazine]
• Shares of Liz Claiborne Inc. and Jones Apparel Group Inc. fell yesterday, after a Goldman Sachs analyst said their stock is fairly valued and downgraded the companies to "neutral." [Crains New York]
• Designer Nanette Lepore and other fashion advocates met at the office of California Representative Diane Watson to discuss their support for the creation of a Fashion Caucas in Congress. They say the government needs to be more involved in securing intellectual property rights for designers, creating enterprise zones to promote local talent, and preserving New York's garment district. [N.Y. Magazine]
• Anna Dello Russo wore Peter Dundas' green and white cut-out sequined long sleeve mini dress "better than a model ever could," according to Fashionista. [Fashionista]
• The European Commission is considering extending duties and tariffs on Chinese and Vietnamese shoes to protect Italian and Spanish footwear manufacturers. Most retailers and EU member states oppose the measure. [Times of London]
• Sources say contrary to earlier report, Tommy Hilfiger is not planning to work with Sarah Ferguson. [WWD]
• Tommy Hilfiger's daughter Ally is going to work on her aunt's Ginny H line, fueling speculation that she's being groomed to take over her dad's brand. When asked if she may some day replace him she said vaguely, "It's such a big company that it's not only one person that can run the company. There are just so many people. I don't know how much control I'd have or help I would be." [Stylist]

• Oy. Vey. When Mark Fast chose to use three plus-size models in his Friday show, one staffer allegedly quit in protest and the stylist was so abusive to the models that she was fired; a Telegraph stylist stepped in. [Fashionista]

• And it gets worse! Because some claimed that "the larger models were in need of supportive underwear beneath the tight dresses." [Guardian]
• Ashley Dupre - otherwise known as the hooker who brought down New York governor Eliot Spitzer - was not welcome at the Tommy Hilfiger store opening. [NY Post]
• Gisele is getting her helicopter pilot's license. [TMZ]
• She's also been named a United Nations Environment Programme Ambassador. Maybe that's why she needs the license? [New York]
• And she's taking on the Brazilian government over Amazon deforestation! [AP]
• Agyness Deyn is reportedly back on with Albert Hammond, Jr. Does this count as fashion news? [Daily Express]
• Pringle of Scotland is remaking its trad tweeds image in time for London Fashion week. [Independent]
• Burberry's pinning its economic hopes on Spring 2010, premiering tonight in London. [TimesUK]
• A good sign: Mary-Kate and Ashley will reportedly be at the show. [Sassybella]
• Celebrating a quarter century, London Fashion Week doesn't feel a day over 24: "London fashion has been iconoclastic and edgy for a quarter of a century, and the shows on the runways - from wacky 1980s revivals to whimsical romance - are bringing a gust of energy to a chastened fashion world." [NYT]
• La Wintour agrees: "I love the spirit of London, it is such a place for original talent. I love the way they can makes clothes out of nothing, conjure up an atmosphere out of nothing. It's very special." [Telegraph]
• Who needs nothing when you've got Naomi Campbell? "The supermodel took the Issa Spring/Summer 2010 show by storm, revealing the same flawless figure she debuted 20 years ago." [Daily Mail]
• The word on Jimmy Choo for H&M: it's ok. [Racked]
• Speaking of "democratic" collabs, Ruffian is designing for Anthropologie. [WWD]
• Norma Kamali does them one better: she's designing for Wal-Mart. And eBay. On an iPhone. [WWD]
• Which is nice for eBay, because they were just fined 80,000 euros for ripping off LVMH. [Reuters]
• LVMH can use the money, because they may be investing in fashion It girls Rodarte. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Donna Karan is launching her own line of Spanx. Except they're not called Spanx, they're called Smoothies. [WWD]
• Also in packaging news: Brian Reyes is designing condom wrappers, the proceeds of which go towards Planned Parenthood. [Sassybella]
• This is clearly going to sell out instantly. "The YSL Edition New Vintage collection will comprise a numbered range of archival styles in various fabrics from the Paris firm's inventory." Okay, probably not to us. [WWD]
• DVF talks about her husband's sexuality, which we thought was acknowledged to be gay, but whatever. "He doesn't know why (he never dated women.) He was very held and reserved. And with me it's like, shumm! [She mimes a door bursting open.] So I was flattered." [TimesUK]
• Are we ready for The Real Kate Moss? Apparently a new documentary on her friend, celeb stylist James Brown (not the dead one) will show us "how funny and warm and caring she is." [WWD]
• Twiggy: "I'm careful what I eat now as I'm older but I love food and I love cooking. I've definitely changed shape...When I was younger I weighed six and a half stone but ate like a horse. I'm now eight and a half stone and at last I have boobs – I never had those in the Sixties." [Daily Express]

• "It has been the most incredible gap-year project," says Emma Watson on her new ethical fashion line. What happened to Habitat for Humanity? [WWD]

• Quoth the Chanel-clad sorceress: "I wanted to help People Tree produce a younger range because I was excited by the idea of using fashion as a tool to help alleviate poverty and knew it was something I could help make a difference with." [Telegraph]
• Coco Rocha takes a more traditional path, going with her church to work in Costa Rica. "My religion has always been important to me." [FashionWeekDaily]
• Christian Audigier, the man behind douche-outfitters Ed Hardy and Von Dutch, is for some reason going to be in a movie. "Explains" his agent, "The guy is a natural... Christian is into fighting, boxing, martial arts. And he wants to show people that side. That skill set." Oh, he's also cutting an album. [GQ]
• Speaking of multimedia: Versace has launched Facebook and Twitter accounts. As Karl Lagerfeld could tell them: demode. [WWD]
• If you don't feel you can exactly pull of Aretha's inaugural chapeau, here's a more wearable option: the Queen of Soul, avec chapeau, immortalized on a limited-edition tee. [New York]
• Whoa: Gaultier for Target? We could use a $20 cone bra...[WWD]
• And speaking of collabs: Christopher Kane for Topshop is awesome, selling brilliantly. Bring. It. Here. Now. [Independent]
• Says LVMH's prez: "There are four main elements to our business model-product, distribution, communication and price. Our job is to do such a fantastic job on the first three that people forget all about the fourth." They're not there yet. [Economist]
• Leigh Lezark, the somewhat vacant, sinister and inexplicably beloved former Misshape, has been tapped as the "brand ambassador" for Charles Worthington's new range. [ElleUK]
• Speaking of celeb faces, Alexander Wang: "Today, more than ever, it definitely makes a difference. But for us, it's always about finding the right person, whether it's an A-list celebrity or someone on the Internet who understands our brand and has a lot of influence on people." [WWD]
• A Coach employee is suing his supervisor for sexual harassment. "It was one of those weiner dogs and he would say, 'Ok, I have a big weiner, you wanna come see my weiner?'" [NYDN]
• Oh noes! Prescriptives - and its awesome custom-blend foundation - is a recession casualty. Parent company Estee Lauder is shutting the brand down as a cost-cutting measure. [WWD]
• Apparently Emmanuel Ungaro chose Lindsay Lohan for the role of "artistic adviser" over Madonna and Paris because the troubled starlet brings "something younger, more cool, with a different attitude." That and she has bullshit-fashion experience from Project Runway! [AP]
• "Microluxury" - teeny-tiny dolly-sized luxe accessories - are, maybe, the wave of the future. Or maybe not. [Time]
• Ann Taylor's flaks must be working overtime: the working-gal's label, working hard to change its frumpy image, got a whole laundry-list of celebs to go to the runway show. In attendance: Jennifer Esposito, Vanessa Williams, Mena Suvari, Gretchen Mol, Kelly Rutherford, Kelly Bensimon, Laila Ali, Katherine McPhee and Amanda Bynes. [WWD]
• Speaking of brands trying to turn it around: Gap is experimenting with a "Results-Only Work Environment" in which "employees are empowered to work whenever and wherever they want as long as the work gets done." Were guessing it's not quite as fun as that sounds. Because we can fold from a bar just fine. [BW]
• The skint Lacroix has a number of "suitors of means." Await reports on possible saviors. [WWD]
• Well, this one will work for sure: new cellulite-busting tights have crystals in the weave that'll shear the bumps right off. [Daily Mail]
• Tommy Hilfiger is a rebel: his new flagship is on Fifth Avenue. "Donna, Ralph, Calvin, Oscar, Michael? They're all on Madison," a block away, he declares. [Style.com]
• British psychiatrists are warning that London Fashion Week, with its accompanying trigger for ED-prone girls who regard the models as "thinspiration." [Telegraph]
• Meanwhile, anti-sweatshop protesters are taking on the tents. Celeb faces of "Love Fashion Hate Sweatshops" include Gael Garcia Bernal. [Mirror]
• At Peter Som's show, "the especially young models, perched in shiny chrome or deep-blue pumps, posed in groups of three on white pedestals while the crowd milled below them." The designer was inspired by "cruise ships, antique photographs and Japanese prints." [Observer]
• Isaac Mizrahi, meanwhile, celebrated his return to Fashion Week with the theme "Astaire Case or Obstacle Course." [Yahoo]
• Celebrity stylist Philip Bloch is filling the need for another style manual. The Shopping Diet: Spending Less and Getting More is, he says, "something all of us shopaholic recessionistas need — a self-help on excess shopping." [NY Post]
• Inevitably, teens can now buy a copy of the prom dress Bella Swan wore in Twilight - from the very town where Bella got hers! Can a vampire escort be far behind? [NYDN]

There was trouble brewing with Johnny Meth's dress almost right away… He had visions of origami birds holding up the shoulders, but Nicholas, with his patented charm, said the gown looked like "wrinkled up paper with pig's blood all over it."

Then Tim Gunn got a look at Johnny's dress. Tim Gunn was woeful. He said: "I am woeful, Johnny." Tim also said: "It looks like a craft project gone awry." And "It looks like the birds attacked the dress." A tough critique. But to be honest, the dress wasn't finished, and I think Johnny should have just kept on going. But instead, he scrapped the dress and made up some lie about how a steamer, or an iron, destroyed it.

Then Johnny worked on a crossword puzzle for a while.

On the runway, Johnny showed some other dress he'd whipped up, which the judges did not like. Then he tried to act like his original dress was amazing and Dior-esque, which made Nicholas roll his eyes and giggle. Nicholas corrected Johnny, saying the dress "was a red mess." So Johnny called Nicholas a jerk. And this is pretty much all the drama this show is offering this season, so try to enjoy it.

Anyway. Highlights from the runway:

Logan's chic little number, with blue edges.

Epperson's kimono, stiff but kinda cool.

Christopher's feathery ballgown, which guest judge Eva Longoria seemed enchanted by.

Althea's strapless dress, which was really all about cool graphic design.

Irina's elegant coat, which guest judge Tommy Hilfiger gushed was Coco Chanel, YSL, Givenchy and some other stuff. Irina won the challenge.

Johnny's little paper dress was sad, and so we said auf Wiedersehen to Johnny.

Any last words, Johnny?

[Runway images via MyLifetime.com]

• Did L.A. boutique Maxfield drop Victoria Beckham's dVb in favor of Holmes & Yang? Posh's people say Maxfield hasn't ordered the line for three seasons, and the decision had nothing to do with Katie Holmes, who is Posh's friend. [P6]

• Luckily, old bandmate Mel B says she loves Posh's clothing lines. "I'm going out with Geri and Emma while I'm here — and I'll be wearing one of Victoria's dresses," the singer told a crowd in London. [Daily Mail]
• American Apparel is laying off 1,500 workers — more than 10% of its total workforce — because of immigration violations. When ICE raided its factory in downtown L.A. two months ago, 1,600 workers were found to be unauthorized to work in the U.S., and a further 200 were found to have immigration irregularities. Company founder Dov Charney released a statement saying: "Many of you have been with me for so many years, and I just cry when I think that so many people will be leaving the company. It is my belief that immigrants bring prosperity to any economy." This is the latest in a long line of bad news for the company. From being dogged with sexual harassment lawsuits, to the $5 million settlement it had to pay Woody Allen in May after using his image on billboards without authorization, to this week's reprimand from the British Advertising Standards Authority for "sexualising a child," American Apparel can't seem to keep its house in order. [LATimes]
• There are behind-the-scenes shots of Lily Allen working with Karl Lagerfeld on the new Chanel Cocoon bag campaign. [DailyMail]
• We don't doubt that Patrick Demarchelier is planning to shoot 100 top models in Fashion's Night Out t-shirts outside Bryant Park on September 9, but somehow we think someone got confused when noting that "Iman and her daughter Chanel" would be among them. [WWD]
• OMG! Modelfights on Project Runway: Models Of The Catwalk. [P6]
• If you have any interest in beautiful, softly draped leather jackets, deconstructed tee shirts, or vaguely gothic skintight pants — or if you just want to know where that ubiquitous no-closure wraparound sweater, like a high-fashion snuggie ancestor, that everyone from Alice + Olivia to Eileen Fisher has knocked off came from originally — you need to learn about Rick Owens, now. And how his aesthetic is back in a big way just now. [NYTimes]
• Speaking of which, peep Jennifer Connelly in the British InStyle in Rodarte thigh-high boots and Olivier Theyskens' gothic heel-less 8" runway shoes. [Daily Mail]
• Also big for fall, at least in men's wear: Steve McQueen. [WSJ]
  
• There's a rumor going around that Peter Som is set to become the first creative director of Tommy Hilfiger. [WWD]
• Thom Browne is launching two new lower-priced lines for Spring 2010. [WWD]
• Mark your calendars! She by Sheree, apparently some design offspring of a Real Housewife, is coming to Fashion Week. [People]
• Juergen Teller, who shoots all of Marc Jacobs' campaigns, reports that only one set of images has ever caused any particular controversy — and it's not the ones of a then-12-year-old Dakota Fanning, which even the photographer calls "very hard-core." In Fall of 2006, Jacobs chose makeup artist Dick Page and his partner, James Gibbs, to star in the campaign, and Teller shot the couple making out in the woods outside their home. There was a furor: Men's Vogue even refused to run the ads. [The Moment]
• Kenny Chesney says his new clothing line, Blue Chair Bay, is designed to reflect his life off the stage. "I would wear these clothes in Malibu, East Tennessee, where I'm from, or on my boat in St. John," the singer explained at MAGIC, the apparel trade conference that just ended in Las Vegas. Chesney's apparel partners had an airstream full of clothes and purposefully-weatherbeaten blue wicker chairs parked in their booth at the show. [WWD]
• Daisy Lowe's jewelry line with Swarovski is said to feature pieces inspired by the stars, moon, and planets. [Elle UK]
  
• Derek Lam's CEO, Jan Schottlman, denies the anonymous reports published by Page Six that the company is haemorrhaging money. [The Cut]
• Dooney & Bourke are going back to models for their campaigns after seasons of using actresses. Hayden Panettiere is getting thrown over for Maggie Rizer. [WWD]
• Georgia May Jagger, in her new denim ad: "Hudson jeans. Soft...and blue. And very tight." Descriptive! [TDB]
• Richard Chai is doing a line with Keds. Chai's sneakers, which are canvas and leather in white, grey and black, have silver zippers between the rows of eyelets. They hit stores in January of next year, and pricing information isn't yet available. [WWD]
• Someone painted an entire Spanish Colonial-style bungalow in Louis Vuitton's signature logo print. So long as Britney Spears doesn't use it as the set for her next video, we imagine these folks in Mexicali might be safe from LVMH's lawyers. [BoingBoing via hazmeelchingadofavor]

• Katie Holmes can add another feather to her designing cap: creative-directing new uniforms for the Church of Scientology. Holmes and Tom Cruise apparently had creative oversight of the religion's new threads, offering direction to designer Richard Tyler. [Daily Mail]

• For some reason, we literally had no idea that Daphne Guinness — Steven Klein's sometime subject, and a woman who brings exquisite creativity to dress — was Bernard-Henri Lévy's girlfriend. Lévy told her once, "You are no longer a person, you have become a concept." (Too bad he's married to the actress Arielle Dombasle.) [Telegraph]
• Market research company the NPD Group estimates that fully 12% of fashion industry vendors will not survive this recession. An additional 20% will abandon their expansion strategies, and retrench to focus on core markets and products. Sobering news for anyone who loves fashion. [WWD]
• Kate Moss and Scarlett Johansson, shilling for the supermodel's Topshop line and for Mango, respectively, ended up posing in awkward, sprawling positions, wearing grey sweaters and ripped black tights. Irrefutable evidence that when high street stores pick from a season's grab-bag of trends, their choices will inevitably sometimes coincide. [Stylefile]
• YLB, Yasmin Le Bon's line for the British fast-fashion chain Wallis, which targets middle-aged women, is apparently relatively demure — but still, she hopes, fashionable. As for her family, by the end of next month, Le Bon's eldest daughters, Amber and Saffron, will be 20 and 18, respectively. "I'll have two adults. In legal terms only! They can vote, but they can't do a lot else," says the supermodel. "No, they're great girls, they completely entertain us. But if I'd known how much heartache was in store... wow. Wow, wow, wow, wow. It never stops. There's no cut-off point for your children, no matter how grown-up they are. It's a big deal." [ToL]
• Christie Brinkley, on an average Sunday morning: "If it's not raining, I'll go outside with my coffee with my parrot on my shoulder and wander around pinching the petunias. Then I read the newspaper." [NYTimes]
• Tory Burch did a Gossip Girl cameo because "It's a show that's very important in our culture right now." [FWD]
• Dunja Knezevic and Victoria Keon-Cohen, who in 2007 founded the world's first successful models' union in London, are about to set up the industry's first-ever code of conduct to protect models from exploitation. The kinds of behavior they want the code to regulate includes the usual list of complaints about sexual harassment, abuse by hair and makeup artists — the union received one complaint from a male model whose scalp bled because of peroxide — and dangerous practices like models being asked to risk their ankles by jumping on trampolines in high heels. Keon-Cohen and Knezevic both grew up in Australia, but make no mistake the duo's home country has no plans to take up their initiative and institute a similar code: "We are lucky in Australia that we have a small but very professional group of agencies providing a world-class service," said a snippy spokesperson for the Sydney agency Chic. [SMH]
• Meanwhile, in other model-activist news, Gloria Mika, a face of L'Oréal, is campaigning for free and fair elections in her native Gabon. Mika aims to recruit volunteer poll watchers online, and says the response to her website has been extraordinary. The 23-strong field of candidates for president is led by Ali Ben Bongo, the son of the recently deceased Omar Bongo, who ran the nation for 42 years and enriched himself dramatically in the process. [BBC]
• Apparently, three male celebrities wearing mostly gender-neutral items marketed towards women, like scarves, pouch bags, and "boyfriend" jackets, constitutes a trend toward "girlfriend" dressing. We're suspicious of this "trend," but we agree Jamie Hince should probably not wear Kate Moss's denim cutoffs again. [Telegraph]
• Elettra Weidemann, on Anna Wintour: "She's been doing this for so long, surrounded by men. There's absolutely a feminist aspect to her. I think a lot of the attacks against her are misogynist. Men in business are totally cutthroat and nobody says bad things about them for it." [The Cut]
• "A couple of years ago I thought to myself that I wanted to build a whole lifestyle brand and really educate people that anyone can have style. You don't need a lot of money." Rachel Zoe says one thing and means another. [USAToday]
• Europe's largest distributor of band t-shirts, Completely Independent Distribution, may soon have to drop the "independent" from its name: the music label giant EMI is considering a $500,000 bid for the company, as it seeks to diversify its revenue streams now that nobody buys CDs but concerts become increasingly profitable. [FT]
• One person who apparently isn't thrilled about Marc Jacobs' and Lorenzo Martone's rumored secret elopement to Provincetown, Massachussetts, this past weekend: Jacobs' ex, Jason Preston. The party promoter, who was once so devoted to his designer beau that he has his logo tattooed on his forearm, Twittered to Courtney Love on Friday, "I miss u love!!! I feel this is gunna b a VERY bad weekend 4me rumor around town is he's getting married this weekend. : (" [CityFile]
• One way of reaching consumers in emerging markets? Offering purchase by installment plan, as Levi's is doing in India. [FT]
• Sales at Ann Taylor fell 21% in the second quarter, and the company swung to a loss. The company, which this spring admitted its product lines had been dowdy, is hoping that new fall offerings — and a new ad campaign with Cameron Russell — will reel consumers back in. [WSJ]
• Marc Dreier's ponzi scheme defrauded $400 million, mainly from large investment funds, and Dreier was sentenced to 20 years in prison last month. But a number of fashion companies, including Nike, Adidas, Seven For All Mankind, Tommy Hilfiger, Rock & Republic, and Nautica, were also investors, who are now seeking to be repaid some of what Dreier took. [WWD]
• Charlotte Russe, which put itself up for sale in March, will be bought for $380 million by the private-equity firm Advent International Corp. [WSJ]

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

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

• 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]

• Mango has replaced Penelope Cruz with Scarlett Johansson for its fall campaign. [WWD]
• A gigantic, 16'x24' nude photo of a 26-year-old Carla Bruni reclining in bed is up for auction in Berlin. Just the thing to brighten up any living room. [Daily Mail (NSFW)]

• When they first met, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana didn't take to each other's looks at all. Says Gabbana: "I thought he was a monster. Seriously, he was such a fashion victim. He looked like a priest, all dressed in black with that white skin and a shaved head. It wasn't very impressive." Says Dolce: "Stefano was very Milanese, with his long hair and Lacoste T-shirt." Then they spent 20 years together as professional and intimate partners, and though each now has a boyfriend, they say they'll be best friends until they die. [Telegraph]
• You can vote for one of 100 American fashion designers, or nominate one not already on the list, in the Council of Fashion Designers of America's newly introduced Popular Vote award. Cast as many votes online as you like, and register to win two tickets to a Spring/Summer fashion show in New York yourself, until June 9. [WWD]
• Roberto Cavalli just can't decide whether or not to sell a stake in his company. Lately, he thinks not. Translation: In the current market, nobody could offer him a price he'd accept? [WWD]
• Critical Shopper Mike Albo does the Tommy Hilfiger store in the West Village: "The male form was dressed in flower printed pants, a green polo and dark blue blazer. 'See? Jonathan would so wear that!' said one woman to another. Minutes later, a young man in white sunglasses stopped suddenly, clutched his faux-hawked friend and motioned to the window as if it were a large landscape painting. 'This. Is the moment. I am wanting,' he said." Funny. I walked by that display with a guy friend, elbowed him once the window had revealed its full grandma-wallpaper horror, and hissed Those pants! We both laughed. [NY Times]
• Forever 21 has made an offer of $17.7 million for 17 stores from the bankrupt Gottschalks chain. [WWD]
• Meanwhile, the jury in the Forever 21/Trovata copyright case — Trovata alleges that the fast fashion chain copied six of its shirts — told the judge it was deadlocked, with one juror suspected of misconduct by the others. The jury will begin deliberating again on Friday. [WWD]
• Lily Cole's first major film — The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, directed by Terry Gilliam — débuted at Cannes and has been roundly panned by critics. They say that the effort, which was also Heath Ledger's last movie, and features Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell as replacement actors, is a basically a mess. But Cole's performance, as 16-year-old Valentina, is being hailed by critics from such publications as Variety and the Times of London, which gave the movie only two stars but said the Cole "is mesmerizing as the teenage siren, Valentina. It's her tangos with the various [men] that keep us focused on the romance." [Fashionologie]
• Christian Audigier will show at the Las Vegas fashion trade mega-show Magic this season. [WWD]
• Levi Strauss & Company supports gay marriage. Not only did company lawyers file an amicus curiae brief with the California Supreme Court against upholding Proposition 8 last year, but the company sponsors programming on the Logo network, and now 20 of the company's stores in four major cities — New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco — will incorporate white knots into its window displays. White knots are a symbol of marriage equality. Which only leads one to wonder: why just 20 stores in a handful of urban centers? Wouldn't it be something if the Levi's shop at, say, First Colony mall in Houston, was decked out with white knots? [NY Times]
• Hong Kong-based YGM Trading Ltd. confirmed yesterday that it is in negotiations to buy Aquascutum, the British fashion house. Renown, the label's Japanese owners, last week rejected an 11th-hour buyout bid from CEO Kim Winser, who subsequently resigned. [WWD]
• Burberry throws open its doors in Manhattan, and switches on its new neon sign, on Thursday. Or, if you're Mike Bloomberg, "Burberry Day." [WWD]

• PETA named Madonna one of its 6 worst-dressed celebrities, along with "Maggot" Gyllenhaal and the Olsen twins. "Someone needs to tell Madge that wearing fur doesn't make you a cougar," the animal-lovers sniffed. [PETA]

• Meanwhile Madonna might be doing a line with Ed Hardy. Expect lots of rhinestones. [Elle UK]
• An Armani Exchange ad featuring the naked ass of male model Parker Gregory has been rejected by billboard company Van Wagner. [Towleroad]
• Did Forever 21 knock off Alexander Wang's shoes? Does the pope shit in the woods? [Fashionista]
• Model turned photographer Christina Kruse started learning how to take pictures back in 1996, by concentrating on the only convenient subject available — herself. When traveling for work, she'd also create collages and drawings, and compile them into books. Her first show is now up at the Steven Kasher Gallery in Chelsea. Says Kruse, "I didn't show anything to anyone for a long time. But I think that's good. Doing things by myself meant that I didn't just teach myself to take pictures, but that I also got to teach myself how to see." [Style.com]
• Valentino Garavani is sure glad he quit last spring, before the economy cratered. Now he just gets to do fun things, like go around the world to places like Aspen and New York City where a documentary made about him, Valentino: The Last Emperor, is opening. Just don't call him "Emperor": "That doesn't sound very young or fresh," says the former designer. [W]
• I realize Roberto Cavalli is in trouble, and all, with the bankruptcy of Just Cavalli's licensee, Ittierre, and the lawsuits stemming from that, and the ranting in front of reporters and the tears and heartbreak of it all, but I wonder if launching the "Roberto Cavalli Pets" collection is really the answer. [W]
• Angela Missoni, who built her family's clothing company into the multinational knitwear brand we know today, was honored at the annual Women's World Awards in Vienna. Princess Rania of Jordan gave her her prize, which I'm imagining as a kind of Stanley Cup of womanhood. [Elle UK]
• There's a fashion line called Jezebel, which we like. Unfortunately, it's done by the daughter of a celebrity, and seems to be exclusively overpriced t-shirts, which we don't. Shoulda trademarked that shit, Denton. [WWD]
• Anna Kournikova, new face of K Swiss, poses seductively with a variety of tennis nets and balls for the spring campaign. [Daily Mail]
• Bertrand Hennet, an executive at Elite Model World, the parent company of Elite, the world's largest modeling agency, has been charged with buying and transporting cocaine. Hennet admitted sending as much as 2 grams of the Colombian marching powder up his snout every night, and both his home and office were searched during the bust. However, he was not charged with supplying the drug to others. [Breitbart]
• Lambertson Truex, makers of $3,995 python handbags, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the state of Delaware. The company reports debts of $10-50 million, and assets of $1-10 million. [WSJ]
• Three editors at Cosmopolitan have reportedly been fired. [Daily Intel]
• Olivier Theyskens takes a different approach when folks try to fire him. Theyskens, creative director of Nina Ricci, has been the subject of increasingly urgent rumors about his future at the company over recent months. This week, after he showed a masterful collection for the brand in Paris, the word is that Puig boss Mario Grauso fired Theyskens but that he will not leave. [The Cut]
• Also not taking any crap from anyone is cantankerous Canadian septuagenarian Morley Safer. Following Anna Wintour around the global fashion circuit, Safer might have missed his bedtime a few too many nights in a row; he stopped editors and celebrities from taking their front-row seats at Balenciaga and "shushed" them so he could finish a chat with Wintour, whom he's covering for 60 Minutes. [NY Times]
• Apparently, Marky Ramone used to play in a band called King Flux with Andy Hilfiger. This led him to meet Tommy Hilfiger, King Flux's sometime manager/stylist, which in turn led him to design a line of Authentically Punk (TM) ripped (of course) jeans and studded (natch) leather jackets, which you can now buy at Tommy Hilfiger's stores. [Observer]
• Katy Perry, a celebrity designer Marky probably wouldn't want to be associated with, is making sure to take her time with her clothing line. She wouldn't want it to look opportunistic, after all. [Hindustan Times]
• Ann Taylor's fourth quarter loss has widened significantly, to $375.6 million. [Crain's]
• Dior's strategy for the recession: insuring that nobody forgets their brand is the meaning of luxury. Those that will brook no substitutions will still probably be wealthy enough to shop there. [Portfolio]
• Yves Saint Laurent is also digging in to an ambitious plan for growth. [WWD]
• We had the Lipstick Bellwether (which wasn't actually true, but sounded good) and then the Hemline Indicator (which just never made any sense to begin with). Then it was the Heel Height Index and the Platform For Economic Growth, because you know platform shoes were invented during the Depression (not). If you can abide one more idiotic trend story about what item of clothing we are, or are not, buying in this economic climate, this one about the Skinny Tie For Lean Times is good for a laugh. [Telegraph]

• This seems like a heavenly match: Britney Spears asked DSquared to create the costumes for her comeback tour. Dan and Dean Caten's fetishistic, high-energy sense of style should be a perfect foil for Brit. [WWD]

• Let slip the knock-offs! The Oscar gowns worn by Kate Winslet, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Angelina Jolie will be among those replicated by the notorious inspiration-takers on the design team at prom label Faviana. (This is the utterly shameless company who called its collection re-creating things Michelle Obama wore the "First Lady Collection.") Interestingly enough, last year Faviana knocked off Miley Cyrus's Oscar dress — but not this season. Perhaps being copied is the ultimate test of taste. [NY Post]
• Amber Le Bon, daughter of Simon and Yasmin, just signed with Models 1 in London — her mom's agency — and says she might make her catwalk debut next season. For now, she's sticking to watching shows in Milan and "guest-editing" the Moschino online boutique, whatever that means. [WWD]
• That "announcement" that Roberto Cavalli said he'd make about the future of his Just Cavalli line? At the showroom presentation he held in lieu of his normal splashy runway show, the chain-smoking designer launched into a 45-minute rant in a variety of languages about the bankruptcy of Just Cavalli's production licensee, Ittierre, the just-announced bankruptcy of Ittierre's parent company, IT Holdings SpA, and the state of the fashion industry and the shrinking consumer dollar it chases. I never thought I could feel bad for a man who believes in leopard print sequined everything, but my heart actually goes out to him. I mean, he cried. [Guardian]
• In case you missed that: the bankruptcy a few weeks ago of Ittierre, licensee to John Galliano, Just Cavalli and Versace Sport, among others, has been followed by the bankruptcy of parent company IT Holdings SpA. IT Holdings owns the brands Gianfranco Ferré and Malo, both of which still plan to show and present, respectively, at Milan fashion week. IT Holding's debts total $376 million. [WWD]
• Mango, the Spanish fast fashion chain, is continuing its pattern of rapid expansion into the US market, even despite the recession. Earlier this month, the company announced what passes for healthy sales figures in the retail sector these days — revenue growth for '08 of 8%. [WWD]
• Eddie Bauer, on the other hand, sees a meager future in women's fashion apparel. It's retreating to its neglected core concern — outfitting the rugged menz for adventuresome outdoor pursuits. [WSJ]
• Fourth quarter profits at the Gap shrank 8.3%, which beat analysts' expectations because sales for the same quarter fell 13%. The retailer has been focusing on cutting costs and reducing inventory. [AP]
• Some of the many women who work at LVMH, the luxury conglomerate, posed for black-and-white portraits for a photo project concentrating on women in fashion. An exhibit of the photos opens on March 8, International Women's Day, at LVMH's Avenue Montaigne HQ in Paris. [WWD]
• Newlyweds Tommy Hilfiger and Dee Ocleppo confirmed they are expecting their first child together. [People]
• Seeking to diversify his portfolio of irritations, Pete Wentz has designed some t-shirts. [FWD]
• And Pamela Anderson has garnered a spot in the runway lineup for Vivienne Westwood's Red label, showing next week in Paris. [Vogue.co.uk]
• The perks of being a celebrity's parent: you get to go randomly to fashion week and hang out backstage. Hello, Gerard Hathaway, nice to meet you! [Times]
• The re-launched Versace diffusion line, Versus, is designed by Christopher Kane. It includes bags and shoes. [Telegraph]
• Model Erin Wasson left her issues with the homeless to go to London to launch her RVCA collaboration line. Which promptly sold out. [UK Elle]
• Cecille Villacorta was either a spectacular jewelry sales associate at Saks, earning over $400,000 in salary and commission in her final year with the company, or an inveterate thief who kept customers coming back by giving them unauthorized refunds and credits that were only discovered when the company updated its computer system. A criminal case and a countersuit in New York City aim to determine which it was. [NY Times]

• Freida Pinto looks fantastic on the March cover of Vogue India. [ONTD]

• Stella McCartney and Net-a-porter.com have announced the designer will produce a capsule summer collection exclusively for the e-tailer. [WWD]
• Coco Rocha posted an excerpt from her E! Canada show about New York fashion week to her blog. She goes on a fitting at Michael Kors, and then has an odd conversation with Heidi Klum about pole dancing. [OhSoCoco]
• Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant shares a favorite designer with Edina Monsoon. She still can't talk about her potential namesake line, however. [The Cut]
• The rumor that Debra Messing and Cameron Diaz dumped Rachel Zoe as a stylist isn't true, say Debra Messing, Cameron Diaz, and Rachel Zoe. Phew. [People]
• Zoe also still styles Anne Hathaway, whose spectacular art deco-looking Oscars dress was Armani Privé. [USA Today]
• And everyone approved of Kate Winslet's Yves Saint Laurent — except, that is, for her daughter Mia, who objected to the fact that it was gray. [Yahoo! News]
• A coda to all this talk of hats coming back (or not) might be provided by an exhibition, curated by milliner Stephen Jones, at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Called Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones, it was culled from over 7,000 hats in the museum's collection, including the hat Cecil Beaton made for Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Darth Vader's mask, and, appropriately enough, a bonnet and a top hat from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, respectively. [Style.com]
• Rodarte's response to the economic situation? Not making pants. "We don't sell our pants anyway," said Kate Mulleavy at a panel in Los Angeles — so as a cost-cutting measure, they didn't even design any for this fall. At the same event, Adriano Goldschmied, who does make pants — jeans that cost $200, to be precise — said in the downturn, luxury will return to its true, dreamy essence. "Even if [customers] can't afford it, at least you give them a dream. A dream, in my opinion, is the engine for our work." Of course, if dreaming is all your customers do, you're in trouble. [WWD]
• Former fashion editor Nonnie Moore died at 87 in Manhattan. Moore, who was the fashion director of Mademoiselle, Harper's Bazaar, and GQ during the 1970s and '80s, was an early promoter of Perry Ellis and Issey Miyake. [NY Times]
• Coach announced plans to cut 10% of its US corporate workforce. [WWD]
• All those 85% off sales over the winter were, unsurprisingly, harbingers of really bad quarterly results: Saks joins Nordstrom and other department stores in reporting sharp declines in sales for the quarter ended January 31. Same-store sales at Saks Fifth Avenue fell 15.3% in the period (in the fourth quarter of 07, same-store sales grew by 9%). All told, the retailer lost $98.75 million dollars during the quarter. [NY Times]
• Speaking of Nordstrom, it's making money — or at least stopping the losses — any way it can. Which includes sneaking up the finance rates on its store cards. And lowering its prices. I'd call that about a draw from the consumer's perspective. [WSJ]
• Someone who's expanding in this market is H&M. The fast fashion chain expects to open its first store in South Korea in the spring of 2010. [WWD]
• Could Tommy Hilfiger's new wife Dee Ocleppo be pregnant? [Page Six]

• Shh! Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson went on some kind of super secret date in Paris. Don't tell!

As you may recall, Owen and Kate were an item in 2006; she broke up with him in 2007 and he allegedly attempted suicide shortly after. [The Sun]

• Is it possible to resign from the human race? Nadya "Octomom" Suleman was offered $1 million to make a porn flick. [TMZ]
• By the by, Nadya Suleman told Dr. Phil that the hospital may not release her kids unless she can prove she can care for them. [LA Times]
• Warren Beatty wants Lindsay Lohan to star in a film he's working on, and to live in his house. Here's to hoping she plays his daughter and not his love interest. [Fox 411]
• There's a warrant out for the arrest of Adnan Ghalib: He's charged with assault with a deadly weapon, battery, and hit and run. And awful facial hair. [TMZ]
• The LAPD is still "vigorously" investigating how that picture of Rihanna was leaked to TMZ. [E!]
• Chris Brown is reportedly taking anger management classes. [Gatecrasher]
• Alex Rodriguez just found an apartment on Manhattan's Central Park West, two blocks from Madonna's home. Be careful: Jesus is watching! [Page Six]
• This was bound to happen: Slumdog, the musical. Proceeds would help fund Mumbai's destitute kids. [Hindustan Times]
• It's cool that housing officials in Mumbai plan to give the Slumdog kids' families some free apartments, even if it is a publicity stunt, but you've got to imagine that the kids friends and cousins are like so, so jealous, no? [The Sun]
• If you were watching the Oscars in Asia, the words "gay" and "lesbian" were censored. Gay Asians are pissed! [AP]
• Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes is going to be a gay ol' time: Apparently Holmes and Watson share a bed. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law under the covers! [News Of The World]
• Finding Nemo vet Ellen DeGeneres will do another animated flick, Dog Show. Robert Downey Jr. and Tina Fey are the lead voice actors. The plot? A stray dog and her misfit friends "shake up the purebred world" of a Westminster-like dog show. [Hollywood Reporter]
• Will Iman pop up on Project Runway? [Page Six]
• Jay-Z and Khloe Kardashian had drinks and Jay left a $2000 tip. Klassy! [Page Six]
• Chow Yun Fat had eyelid surgery? He says: "As I grew older, my eyelids began to droop. I began going for cosmetic surgery in Hong Kong when I was filming The God Of Gamblers in 1989. If you go to Hong Kong for cosmetic surgery, I can introduce you to the doctor. He's cheap and good." Uh, thanks? [Straits Times]
• A TV commercial in China has David Beckham "talking" about an anti-impotence drug and saying, "It's the secret weapon with which I can satisfy Victoria." They're using celeb faces without permission. [Daily Mail]
• Eartha Kitt was nowhere to be found in the "In Memoriam" section of the Oscars. A fan contacted her rep, and her rep responded: "It was noticed and I'm handling it the best I can. Please continue to send your thoughts to ABC and SAG." [ONTD]
• Eartha Kitt's publicist tells Page Six: "It's clear that [Oscars producers] thought that publicist Warren Cowan was more of a household name." [Page Six]
• Robert Pattinson had better "watch out," because Taylor Lautner, the Twilight/New Moon werewolf Jacob Black, is a "hunk." [MSNBC Scoop]
• Evan Rachel Wood will play Juliet. In Romeo And Juliet. On the stage in Theatre In The Park in her hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. Congrats? [Mirror]
• Pictures of Lily Allen dressed as a panda and a baby bird just make you like her more. [The Life Files]
• OMFG: Gossip Girl will return to the CW in the fall! So will One Tree Hill, 90210, Smallville, Supernatural and America's Next Top Model. Fate undecided: Privileged. [Reuters]
• Guests were "encouraged" to wear pink at Paris Hilton's second birthday party of the year. [Page Six]
• Jimmy Fallon on Late Night: "I have a realistic attitude about all this. People are going to see me who are awake at 12:30. College kids and prison guards." [The Daily Beast]
• Apparently Simon Cowell's comment about wanting to be frozen after death was a joke. [AP]
• Tiger Woods is talking about being lucky to get to stay home with his wife and kids while recovering from a knee injury and holy crap his daughter is adorbs. [People]
• In Amy Adams's next film, Sunshine Cleaning, she plays a single mom who cleans up crime scenes to make enough money to send her kid to private school. Oh, and she wears $100 jeans. [USA Today]
• Tommy Hilfiger's new wife is three months pregnant. (Tommy's daughter Ally is about to turn 24.) [Page Six]
• LOL: Keith Richards is telling people to sober up? [Page Six]
• Sandra Bullock stopped by Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis to research her role for The Blind Side, a film about a student who left his impoverished life and went to live with a wealthy couple, going on to become a successful football player. [UPI]
• By the by, Sandy Bullock sleeps with three dogs in her bed. [Page Six]
• The Killers are countersuing a former manager in Nevada federal court; both sides seek millions. [USA Today]
• Craig Bierko maybe dated Meg Ryan, Charlize Theron and Gretchen Mol. He definitely had something going on with Janeane Garofalo; he calls her "he" and she calls him "she." [Village Voice]
• If you want to read Mike Leigh's Oscar diary, it is here. [Guardian]
• The lead singer of the Bare Naked Ladies has resigned in a "mutual agreement." [ONTD]
• Blind item: "Which rock star has extra-special house parties? Guests check their clothes at the door, don a robe and indulge in huge bowls of every drug you can imagine." [Gatecrasher]
• "Like we've always said - someone that's good to our Mom, that's very important. And someone that has a good sense of humor." — Nick Jonas, on what kind of girl he and his brothers want. [Mirror]
• "She is pathetic now. Madonna used to be a symbol of rebellion in the '80s, someone who was against religious orthodoxy. Now we have this Madonna who is always preaching kabbalah, trying to teach people how to live their lives" — Camille Paglia in Brazil's Veja magazine. [Page Six]

[New York, February 19. Image via Getty]

[New York, February 19. Image via Getty]

• Olivier Theyskens is holding true to the fundamentals. “When the economy changes, it’s not like you want to start eating bad-tasting chocolate,” he said, after showing his pre-fall collection for Nina Ricci. [WWD]

• Serial rapist Anand Jon, the former celebrity designer, is scheduled to be sentenced today. The penalty for his 16 counts of sexual abuse against models, including 7 counts of forcible rape of women aged 14-21 is a mandatory life sentence, with earliest parole eligibility in 2075. Regardless, his mother was apparently overheard approaching wealthy guests at a hotel in Chennai, India, asking for money for an appeal. Jon's website greeting page opens with a quote from Gandhi: "Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is still the truth." [NY Post]
• Nixonite dirty trickster Roger Stone — subject of an excellent Jeffrey Toobin profile last year — apparently thinks himself a fashion maven. Taking up the mantle of the deceased Mr. Blackwell, Stone inaugurated a new annual feature on his website, a worst- and best-dressed list. Though occasionally wacky ("Lobbyists are the only elegant men left in America"), his advice isn't all off the mark: Obama and Carla Bruni tops the men's and women's lists, respectively, and he says Tom Wolfe "looks like he's a cross-dressing character in a lesser Dickens novel." [The Stone Zone]
• Designer Vivienne Tam held a fashion show in Beijing to raise money to save the panda habitat destroyed in last year's Sichuan earthquake. The five one-off outfits she auctioned featured panda motifs. Adorable. [Reuters]
• As part of his prize for winning the 2008 CDFA/Vogue Fashion Fund award, Alexander Wang gets one year of professional mentoring from none other than Diane von Furstenberg. Runners-up Vena Cava and Albertus Swanepoel are to be mentored by Patrick Robinson and Andrew Rosen, and Andy and Kate Spade, respectively. [WWD]
• Ellen Tracy has inked a licensing deal for intimate apparel. Expect to see "sleepwear, at-homewear, robes, foundations, shapewear and lingerie" everywhere Ellen Tracy is sold as soon as this fall. [WWD]
• WWD has a good round-up of the status of designers' venue preparations for New York Fashion Week, just one month away. IMG is not introducing a fourth, off-site presentation venue this season, as had been floated, meaning rental at the Bryant Park Tents proper will cost $28,000-$48,000. Many designers are opting for cheaper locales. Calvin Klein is moving its show to the ground floor of the company headquarters, Vera Wang is holding hers in her new SoHo store, smaller labels are banding together for shared shows, and others, like Thakoon and Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti, are showing in Chelsea gallery spaces. Meanwhile, Tommy Hilfiger is back to the tents after a multi-season absence. Marc Jacobs, as usual, intends to use the Lexington Avenue Armory. [WWD]
• Sass & Bide are down for the count entirely. Although they intended to return to fashion week this season, co-founder Sarah Jane Clark's third pregnancy means the Australian duo will stay home. What a happy event to spur such a sad occurrence. [Fashionista]
• High dudgeon at a retail bigwig confab: J. Crew's chief executive Mickey Drexler reportedly took Neiman Marcus' chief executive Burt Tansky to task over luxury markups. Drexler told Tansky the days of the $800 high heel are over. “Wall Street is over,” he continued, and “more wealth has been created on non-productive [financial] transactions” than ever before. When the market comes back, Drexler said, consumers will not be tricked into paying department store margins again. “There’s a whole reset button that has been pushed," he said. Tansky responded by saying “It’s premature to start denigrating what the affluent customer will want.” This fight sounds like it was awesome and very, very awkward. [WSJ]
• The man behind the "Save Anna" t-shirt has a new thing for you to wear: A Rachel Zoe "bananas" shirt with a Warhol-esque screenprint of the stylist-approved fruit and the phrase "I die. Bananas." underneath. Eating disorder, tanning club card, and giant hippie dress optional. [The Cut]
• NY Mag has a sweet video of Marc Jacobs in bed talking about the Stephen Sprouse graffiti collection, which was recently relaunched. "I have a lot of Stephen's clothes and the thing is every time I look at them, they never feel old-fashioned to me, they never look out-of-date. I don't originate or create anything, I'm just here putting things together or re-putting things together, and I like it that way," says Jacobs. [The Cut]
• Wait, what? Stephen Alan for Uniqlo? Please let this not be like that time Amy Winehouse said she was doing a clothing line. [The Cut]
• Dolce & Gabbana's new campaign, shot by Steven Klein, is being proudly trumpeted as a potential source of controversy. Inspired by the Visconti film The Leopard, about a Sicilian aristocratic family at the time of Italian unification, the ads will feature images of male models praying. "For sure they will say we are offending religion," sighed either Domenico or Stefano, reports Reuters. "Instead it could be read as a return to values. And there is a need for that at this time." Yes. For "values," and, presumably, for valuable clothes. [Reuters]
• Remember how Domenico Vacca and John Varvatos both claimed to have dressed Jeremy Piven for the Golden Globes? Turns out it was a tie. The actor's publicist says he wore a Domenico Vacca jacket and John Varvatos pants. Which might be true, or it might be her trying to stay on both companies' good sides after pledging separately to each to wear its clothes and screwing that up royally. How much you want to bet pissed reps for both labels are poring over photos trying to tell their lapel notches from the competitor's as we speak? [WSJ]
• Nonetheless, expect more of the same as award season wears on through the grim retail market. The thin consumer dollar means designers are even more eager to get their gears on a red carpet. Katie Holmes' Golden Globes stylist even received personal phone calls from several solicitous designers. "That never happened before," said the stylist, "usually I just hear from their publicists." And cows walk upright and eat manburgers in this strange opposite world! [WSJ]

• Katy Perry has design aspirations. "Agyness Deyn and Dita Von Teese are my fashion icons. I love to create a character, and I like looking like I've just stepped out of a history book." [New York]

• L'Oreal has signed Zach and Miri star Elizabeth Banks! About time she got a lead! [WWD]
• Speaking of L'Oreal... aging heiress Liliane Bettencourt denies that she's ill, being duped by a gigolo. [FT]
• And: Oy. L'Oreal lays off 500 in U.S. [AdAge]
• Liar! Despite claims to the contrary, Paris Hilton has been spotted wearing the same dress twice! [E]
• Is acclaimed designer Olivier Theyskens out at Nina Ricci? People are tossing around "creative differences," which it totally the "irreconcilable differences" of the work world. [FashionWeekDaily]
• Will Tommy Hilfiger be the only designer actually showing at the Bryant Park tents? [WWD]
• We kind of don't want to contribute to this latest Levi's ad going viral. [Videogum]
• Fun, PETA-style: throw virtual snowballs at celebrity "fur hags." [AdRants]
• Stores aren't even bothering to deck the halls of their sad beauty aisles this Christmas. [WWD]
• Fashion darlings Rodarte have discovered the secret to living left-coast: "This is the secret to L.A.; you listen to music from Peanuts. We realized it last night, driving — it was late, and the Peanuts theme was playing, and it’s like the whole city was transformed." [Style.com]
• Carine Roitfeld and Kanye West are BFF. [Style.com]
• The founder of Aussie label JustJeans was caught with his hand in the till...or the white-collar, $100 million equivalent thereof. [News.com.au]
• Speaking of crime, the fashion industry took a hit in the Madoff scandal. [WWD]
• Along with other less-than-hip brands, Laura Ashley's feeling the economic pinch. [Guardian]
• J. Crew's bridesmaid's dresses are becoming an industry standard. See, J, when you price things reasonably they sell! [W]
• Accessories brand Lambertson Truex is on the block, if you're looking for a sideline. [WWD]