• Victoria Beckham opens up to Women's Wear Daily about everything from the childhood bullying she endured to why she couldn't bring herself to tell Marc Jacobs she was starting a fashion line. Clearly, someone wants to be Taken Seriously:

• And Beckham sure is a busy woman these days. Not only is she judging American Idol next month, bu she recently redesigned her denim and sunglass lines, after taking them in-house (the innovations she came up with include square rivets). And she chaperones school field trips in her (limited, we imagine) spare time. When she moved into fashion, people were derisive — surely she was just another celebrity cashing in on the brand of her self. But perhaps we got it wrong? "There have been people that have wanted to knock me that haven't been able to because they haven't been able to argue with the quality or the sell-throughs," says the star, who moves about $7.5 million worth of products a year. "I've always been driven. I was mentally and physically bullied when I was at school and that gave me a very thick skin.…The only reason for me bringing that up is I have always been a fighter." [WWD]
• Yet somehow we're still happier for this Bronx priest, Father Andrew O'Connor, whose sustainable cotton clothing line was worn by Cameron Diaz in Vogue and is now selling extremely well. A chance encounter set the wheels in motion: "I was helping a young woman and her fiancé prepare for their marriage," explains Father O'Connor, "and she said I'm an editor at Vogue; I'd really like to see your clothing line." In the resultant issue, Anna Wintour herself wrote in her Editor's letter, "the neat pair of checked shorts from the charitably minded fashion company Goods of Conscience [is] my personal favorite." The profits from the line fund domestic violence initiatives in the Bronx, and support the native Guatemalan communities where the fabric is woven. [NYDN]
• Matt Tyrnauer tells the long, horrifying, funny, and strange story of making and distributing a documentary film about a subject who could be — a little difficult. And Tyrnauer financed the film by taking out credit cards with 0% introductory APRs. Whenever Giancarlo Giammetti inquired about the production's cashflow, Tyrnauer would reply, "It's fully financed by a bank called Capital One." Valentino: The Last Emperor is now shortlisted for a Best Documentary Oscar. [TDB]
• Two men were found guilty of stealing more than £4 million worth of Cartier jewelry from an airport warehouse in 2001. They had apparently gotten away with it, but were found out when their third accomplice, a contestant on a reality TV series about cooking made by Jamie Oliver, contacted police to confess the crime last year. [BBC]
• Tune in tomorrow to watch Tom Ford on the Martha Stewart Show. Then on Thursday, Roberto Cavalli takes his mark at Martha's kitchen island. [Glamchic]
• Louis Vuitton's spring campaign does in fact feature Lara Stone, the company has confirmed. The Dutch model was shot in a pastoral studio set with white doves and handbags nestled into moss by Steven Meisel. [WWD]
• The February release of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland will be heralded in Paris by a display of one-off Alice-inspired dresses by designers Ann Demeulemeester, Christopher Kane, Alexander McQueen, and Martin Margiela (or at least whoever it is who designs under Martin Margiela's name these days) at the Printemps department store. [Elle UK]
• Daphne Guinness has officially moved from being Steven Klein's unpaid muse to his paid one. The heiress is featured in the spring Akris campaign. [WWD]
• Coach has filed more than 100 lawsuits against retailers it suspects of selling counterfeit Coach goods in 2009, including several lawsuits in Texas. Even though selling counterfeited goods is a criminal offense, the lawsuits are civil, because the fashion company wants the court to file injunctions against the offending retailers. One manager of a Fort Worth store named in the suit says, "I didn't know it was wrong." [DN]
• Barneys is looking to open its first Brooklyn Barneys Co-Op, most likely in Cobble Hill. [Crains]
• And in other retail news, the Chelsea Filene's Basement on the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 18th Street will close this March, after the company was unable to renegotiate the terms of its lease. Seventy-five employees will be affected; the company could not say whether or not the workers would be transferred to Filene's other New York stores. It is looking for a new location nearby. [Crains]

• Daul Kim's boyfriend was the first to find the body of the 20-year-old Korean model, artist, and writer, who died by asphyxiation. Police believe Kim's death was a suicide. Her agency has confirmed that her mother is en route to Paris. [AP]

• Don't want to wait until December 1 to watch the whole Victoria's Secret show? USAToday has video highlights, including Marisa Miller anxiously awaiting post-show cupcakes backstage, and Miranda Kerr doing a little dance on the runway to the Black Eyed Peas. [USAToday]
• Women's Wear Daily says it was "pandemonium" outside. [WWD]
• Eva Mendes has signed on to do more ads for Calvin Klein. When was the last time she was in a movie, anyway? [Elle UK]
• Valentino: The Last Emperor has been short-listed for the Academy Award for Best Documentary. [SB]
• Karl Lagerfeld, on Lily Allen: "I love Lily's humor, her cheekiness, her talent, her little upturned nose, and her perfect décolletage." [Elle]
• Rumor has it that Ungaro's two top executives, Asim Abdullah and Mounir Moufarrige (who once said of bringing Lindsay Lohan aboard, "It might work") are fighting over whether the actress should be fired or not. Her first collection for the brand was poorly received by buyers, the press, and the peanut gallery of the Internet; even Emanuel Ungaro himself called it a "disaster." [Elle UK]
• Claudia, Eva, and Helena share the new cover of i-D, like it's 1992 or something. [FWD]
• Shanna Moakler just launched a cosmetics collection. Called Smoak. [People]
• Moncler and Pharrell Williams are doing a line of clothing. It'll incorporate fabrics from Bionic, the eco-fabric company Williams invested in earlier. [WWD]
• Yves Saint Laurent's pots and pans sold for 15,000 Euros (just over $22,000) at the ongoing auction of the designer's household effects. [AFP]
• Sarah Ferguson will not be doing an apparel line with QVC. Pity. [WWD]
• Hand model Christina Ambers fell in love with Angel Rotger, one of the doormen at her Upper East Side building. Their romance and subsequent marriage cost Rotger his job, and led to them both being treated as pariahs by the other building staff, the two now allege in a $10 million lawsuit. Allegedly, the superintendent's wife got drunk and hit Rotger in the groin hard enough to cause a contusion. [NYDN]
• Here's an odd choice of knight in shining armor: supermarket magnate and modelizer Ron Burkle. Burkle has, through his company, invested millions of dollars in buying some of Barneys New York's debt from Citibank, for a reported 60 cents on the dollar. Barneys took on around $500 million in debt in 2007, when it was sold to current owners Istithmar. [WSJ]
• 100 new stores by March 31 is quite a clip, but Tommy Hilfiger thinks it can do it. [WWD]
• Gap's profits rose 25%, to $307 million, for the quarter ended October 31. It made $246 million during the same period last year. [WSJ]

• Today in pointless clothing lines of the stars: Miley Cyrus and Max Azria's Wal-Mart collection! The digs look well worth every penny of their sub-$20 price point. [Lucky]
• Now, even the Kings of Leon has one. [Blackbook]

• Lady Gaga wants in on the action. On starting a clothing line, she told Flare magazine, "At some point, I will. Right now, I'm more concerned with using my fame to promote young designers such as Gary Card, an artist who designed a piece I used on stage." Why would she do such a thing? "There hasn't been a commercial artist lately that has embodied avant-garde and couture so insistently as myself." [ONTD]
• Gaga has one new position to console herself with: M.A.C. Viva Glam AIDS fund face. Cyndi Lauper will co-star in the campaign to sell lipstick and raise money for research. [WWD]
• The British Fashion Council and British Vogue are launching a fashion prize to encourage young talent, somewhat along the lines of the American Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund awards, which kicked off in 2003. £200,000 will be awarded to one UK designer who can demonstrate he or she has international stockists, a media profile, and demonstrated need of the money. [Telegraph]
• Angelina Jolie and Shiloh are apparently fans of Stella McCartney's line for GapKids. [Radaronline]
• That Christian Louboutin made his first public appearance in Washington, D.C., under Obama's watch is no coincidence. "For eight years I was invited, but I never wanted to come before. I never wanted to come with Bush," says the shoe designer. "I'm looking forward to coming back — at least for four years." We really want to make a crack about voting with your feet here. [WaPo]
• Roberto Cavalli: "All over the world people don't treat me like a fashion designer; they treat me like a rock star… I can't walk down 5th Avenue without being treated like a rock star. In fact, maybe it's more… Many times I've walked down 5th Avenue with rock stars and nobody pays attention to them. It's very strange." [FWD]
• Gisele Bundchen passed the written exam portion of her pilot's license. Although heavily pregnant, and "Almost too big to fly," according to her instructor, she's still making supervised practice flights up to three days a week. [People]
• Karolina Kurkova has given birth to a baby boy. [People]
• Kelly Osborne: Fan of Spanx. [People]
• Christian Siriano says his new reality TV show will reflect the best of several recent high-profile fashion documentaries. "It's very like The September Issue, very Valentino [The Last Emperor]. We want it to be as cool and as real as possible." Apparently, September Issue director R.J. Cutler wouldn't touch the project, but he did advise Siriano "just to be real." [The Cut]
• Sadie Frost's clothing line with Jemima French, FrostFrench, is opening its second store in London's Soho. [WWD]
• A real ad man of the 1960s has some bones to pick with Mad Men's treatment of the brand London Fog. So an employee of an industry that manufactures fictions objects to a fictional show's fictionalizing history? We shake our heads at the irony. [AdAge]
• JC Penney is being sued for trademark infringement by the retailer New York & Company. New York & Company says Penney's new "NYC Style" slogan is too close to its "NY Style" advertising tag line. [WWD]
• Can Sir Philip Green conquer America? [Bloomberg]
• Polo Ralph Lauren reported a 10% rise in second-quarter profits. [TS]
• Bata shoes was, before Communism, an international brand headquartered in Slovakia. The company town isn't doing so hot right now, with the economic transition and the competition from Asia. [BussinessWeek]
• Liz Claiborne may have had seven consecutive quarterly losses, with the announcement of an eight expected next week, but C.E.O. Bill McCombs doesn't have to worry about one thing: his job security. McCombs recently had his contract renewed for another three years. It's not an unusual strategy: only 38 companies in the S&P 500 have replaced their C.E.O.'s in the year to September 30, down 10 on the same period last year, despite the trying economic times. [WSJ]
• Not so lucky is Missoni's general manager, Massimo Gasparini. He has been let go and his position will not be filled. [WWD]

• Yasmin and Amber Le Bon: They share a nose, and a familiar mother/daughter wardrobe dynamic. Only Yasmin, being a supermodel, can parry Amber's incursions by going nuclear with, "Maybe I'll donate to the V&A..." [Telegraph]

• This interview with André Leon Talley and Matt Tyrnauer, the director of Valentino: The Last Emperor, is absolutely wonderful. Tyrnauer explained again just how upset Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti were when they first saw a rough cut of the documentary, an anger that only softened at the Venice Film Festival: "the audience gave a very long standing ovation, which Valentino received like Mussolini. There's something about Italians and balconies." The director also says that the reason Valentino has a butler dial Giammetti's number in the movie is because the designer doesn't know how to call long distance. "He lives a life that hasn't existed for 50 years. Valentino never changed." Talley interjected, "Karl Lagerfeld knows how to dial." [The Cut]
• American Apparel is letting you, the person who will have to look at it, pick the next ad to adorn its Harlem store. Exercise your consumer rights and vote for ass or titties, now! [Racked]
• Bravo's idea of a replacement for Project Runway? Something involving third-rate celebrities being mentored by industry figures as they compete to start their own fashion lines. Whatever happened to that supposed show with Fern Mallis and Isaac Mizrahi? Don't these people realize that the thing that made Project Runway fun was that its subjects' famewhore quotient was generally matched by their actual design abilities? And watching someone absorbed in a task they enjoy and have mastered is fun? Celebrities. Starting clothing lines. This is so much worse than when Jeffrey won. [Reuters]
• At least you can still catch Isaac Mizrahi on the radio: his new show for Martha Stewart's radio network debuts this Thursday evening. You can call in, and ask him questions about fashion, and he'll tell you to forget about it and just spend more money on your hair. [Fashionista]
• Meanwhile, Liz Claiborne has decided to limit distribution of its Isaac Mizrahi-designed line...to one store per mall. That slight measure of exclusivity might be enough to make the brand more desirable to consumers, and less vulnerable to markdowns. [WWD]
• Whitney Port will no longer pretend to work at Diane von Furstenberg for the purposes of her reality show. Instead, she will pretend to work at People's Revolution, with Kelly Cutrone. [The Cut]
• Talbot's sales dropped 23% in the fourth quarter, and the company lost a total of $366.5 million. [WSJ]
• Standard & Poor's downgraded Barneys' debt obligations yesterday. It's no surprise that a department store wouldn't be doing so great just now. [WWD]
• Word is, the July cover of American Vogue will feature Sienna Miller. Anna Wintour recently went to the premiere of Miller's new flick, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, and rumors have been swirling since. That would be Miller's second cover in as many years, which means that Keira Knightley and Gwyneth must both be busy that weekend. [Racked]
• If you feel moved to vote on the best-looking model on the current Vogue cover, you can now do so. (Unfortunately, there's no option for "They all look like plasticine dolls! Who retouched this?") [FabSugar]
• Re-designed versions of the plain white T by such talents as Philip Lim, Richard Chai, and Henry Holland are coming to Topman this May. Because nobody has ever "re-designed" T-shirts before! [FTape]

The Good:
Anne Hathaway should just wear Valentino all the time. Okay, she gets a pass on laundry day.


I daresay Valentino looked at her blankly, but Shenae Grimes is adorable and more starlets could take a page from her not-trying-too-hard-sexy book. It's a dull read, but whatever.


Tracee Ellis Ross has the height and the elegance to pull off this cummerbund silhouette - no easy task.


Rose McGowan's playful LBD is pretty, whimsical and elegant.


The Bad:
Gwyneth likes to show she's tall and slim by sporting ensembles that would make the rest of us look like gnomes - ie, structured puff sleeves and leg-shortening gladiators? Well, just cause you can doesn't mean it's not — how do you say? Unfortunate.


Victoria Hervey apparently had an encounter with a pack of furious rats on the way over. Maybe they didn't like the unflatteringly closed neckline?


Could we stomach this on someone other than Janice Dickinson? Hmm...maybe if the waist were less bulky and the "Swan Lake - goes-to-camp-and-learns-tie-dye" less pronounced...


First of all, leggings? For Valen-friggin-tino?! And Sofia Vergara would have looked so lovely if she'd just wear a little color and pull her hair back or other mom-bromides. In any case, shiny leggings are crummy and Mary Janes are no palliative. (I swore I'd work "palliative" and "bromide" into one caption. And damned if I didn't. Damned if I didn't.)


What Say You?
Nicky Hilton: lovely in lace, or bride doll?


How do we feel about Rachel Zoe's footwear, runway to reality?

[Images via Getty]

• Fresh off his CFDA award women's wear nomination, Marc Jacobs is reportedly engaged to his Brazilian boyfriend of one year, Lorenzo Martone. Mazel tov to the happy couple! [WWD]

• Anna Sui, who is being given the Geoffrey Beene lifetime achievement award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, talked to Style.com for the occasion about New York's garment district, which has been threatened by rent rises and zoning changes, not to mention the increasing number of designers who outsource their fabric and notions sourcing, and their sample construction. "So much of my work is based on the resources in that neighborhood — the lacemakers and the pleaters and so on," said Sui. "I have my design studio here; I drape on a mannequin; we sew our own samples. That's how I know how to make clothes. I can't make sense of a dress without seeing how a fabric drapes, for example...I would just really hate to see the fashion industry go the way of all industry in America, and give up and go totally outsourced. We used to have the most beautiful woolen mills here, and the best denim. There was a sense of craft." [Style.com]
• Louis Vuitton, a company whose zealotry in protecting its intellectual property is well-known, is taking on Google in the European Court of Justice. At issue: the fact that the search giant sells ads to companies that make counterfeit Louis Vuitton products, and that those ads appear above the legitimate search results. Louis Vuitton says it's tantamount to copyright infringement, Google says it's up to users whether they click on any ads or not. [The Cut]
• Spring at H&M involves a wide-legged drop-crotch zebra-print jumpsuit. Don't say nobody warned you. [Fabsugar]
• This otherwise fine profile of Lauren Hutton begins by calling her "fashion's most wondrous wrinkly." Which certainly made me wrinkle my nose. [Telegraph]
• Even though he, like Hutton, is increasingly an actor these days, Tyson Beckford wishes magazines would use more models on their covers. [AP]
• And as if to taunt him, here's Penelope Cruz, looking sort of like she needs to pee, on the April cover of Spanish Vogue. [Popsugar]
• There are all kinds of fashion-y things going on with your television this week. Today is the premiere of CNN International's Carine Roitfeld documentary, which you can watch online, Friday is Valentino Day on Martha Stewart, and Saturday is the debut episode of the newly revived House of Style with Bar Refaeli and Chanel Iman. In case that's not enough, Valentino: The Last Emperor is opening in select theaters today, and soon enough we'll be treated to whatever Morley Safer cooks up on Anna Wintour, too. Phew. [Fashionista]
• Speaking of Valentino: his half-dozen pugs might guest-blog on Martha Stewart's dogs' blog, the Daily Wag. I thought the whole point was that on the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog? [The Cut]
• Meanwhile, Gwyneth Paltrow (who says those pugs are "not good kids dogs") said at the New York premiere of the film that it had failed to reveal Vava's "naughty" side. "He's the naughtiest [man]-slash-gentlemen in the entire world," said the actress. [WWD]
• Catherine Zeta-Jones can be seen moonlighting in a seven-minute advertisement for Unilever's Lux hair product brand, developed for the Asian market. [AdAge]
• Nike's sales for the third quarter declined slightly, but there may be worse times ahead: the company largely sells according to futures orders, orders for clothing and shoes scheduled one season ahead of time. And those have contracted by 10% this quarter, to $6.5 billion. [WSJ]
• The company that makes Crocs is likely to go under. At least, that's the opinion of its auditor, as disclosed in the business's annual report. Falling revenue makes it all but impossible that the company will be able to secure a new revolving credit line after its current one matures on April 2. [The Street]
• Eddie Bauer also says it's at significant risk of violating its debt obligations. After two attempted debt restructuring deals were rejected by creditors, a third amended debt deal was made, under which the company will pay higher interest rates and issue warrants for its stock. Fourth-quarter revenue fell 5.7%, and the company has seen a wave of recent layoffs and store closures nationwide. [Reuters]
• The auction of items from Gianni Versace's Lake Como villa netted some $10.3 million — far exceeding the original estimate of $3.3 million. And that was after the withdrawal from sale of the 18th century Johann Zoffany painting whose ownership is now in question. [Telegraph]
• Hermes beat its profit forecast for 2008, and says it is on track as of right now to meet its expectation of stable sales in 2009. [FT]
• Proctor and Gamble-owned Rochas, which in the years since firing Olivier Theyskens has existed only as a perfume brand, is a fashion house once more thanks to Marco Zanini. Zanini was most recently heard from as the guy hired to relaunch Halston. (It didn't go so well.) The new collection looks a little bland, and it's interesting that only now, in the post-shows news gulch, is this a story. [WSJ]
• And in news to make you barf, Goyard has a "limited-edition" pink trunk for sale at Colette in Paris. It's large enough to fit a Barbie doll and her accoutrements, and it costs $3650. [Forbes]

• Is former overweight person and current size-o-phobe Karl Lagerfeld changing his Hedi Slimane stripes? Beth Ditto, who in addition to being very talented, weighs somewhat more than 100 lbs, is playing a Fendi party. [FWD]

• Agyness Deyn's 17-year-old sister Emily is starting a t-shirt company with a chum named Aliyah Hussein. Their first offerings feature images of the girls' icon, Queen Elizabeth II, whom Emily called "the original gangster!" [Blackbook via Nylon]
• I have no idea why this writer seems to think female models all have drivers — that might be true of the dozen top girls who walk in every show, but, trust me, the rest of us ride public transport. But it is correct that even the top-earning male models are always paid significantly less than their female counterparts. Russian Matvey Lykov, for instance, walked 34 shows in Europe, and only made enough to buy a ticket to the Dominican Republic to relax for a spell afterwards. [LA Times]
• And the indignities just don't stop: Doutzen Kroes, the model and Victoria's Secret angel, was treated to a super-original pick-up line on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. At a bar called Tantra, a drunk stranger cooed, "I thought you couldn't go out without your wings." Barf. [NYDN]
• The Daily News also has this horrific model blind item: "Which top model's plastic surgeon is in big trouble? He accidentally spilled acid on her chest while they were having sex in his office." That, right there, is fodder for nightmares. [NYDN]
• Caroline Trentini, the elfin, freckled Brazilian whom Anna Wintour puts in every issue of Vogue, has been less omnipresent this show season. In fact, people were wondering where she was — models of her caliber don't normally just skip the shows. Well, mystery solved! She was on exclusive for Yves Saint Laurent, whose show she closed just yesterday. [Fashionista]
• More forthcoming about his schedule is Valentino. The retired Italian designer has announced he'll be in New York on March 17 to tape an episode of The Martha Stewart Show, just ahead of the theatrical release the documentary modestly titled Valentino: The Last Emperor. I hope they bake amazing cookies, or do collage in tones of red together. [The Cut]
• According to Women's Wear Daily's "sources" — who can be pretty spot on about these things — Halston is sizing up the London designer Marios Schwab to become their new creative director. The revived Halston has struggled, and is still trying to replace Marco Zanini, the designer they let go after just two seasons last year. [WWD]
• Cathy Horyn, whose life is more fun than your own, describes what it's like to run into the people she's savaged ("I said hey to Anna...") and then hangs out with Karl Lagerfeld on his doorstep on the eve of the Chanel show. [On The Runway]
• Jil Sander might be back. After being dumped from her namesake label — and then begged to return, and then fired again — following its purchase by Prada, Sander has been a fashion orphan. Attending an industry textiles fair might mean she has a new project. Or it might not. [WWD]
• Feministing is surprised an article in H&M's in-store magazine on dressing like a tomboy ignored any hint of a queer perspective — despite using Samantha Ronson as one of its examples. Remember, girlie, it's OK to steal from your boyfriend, just remember to add that feminine touch! [Feministing]
• Beth Ditto, meanwhile, is enjoying her first fashion week in Paris. Coming off her cover spot in the first issue of Katie Grand's Love magazine, the Gossip songstress has the keys to the carrousel du louvre. And mark no fear of queer connotations on her part: Ditto's favorite thing about the Jean Paul Gaultier show was "the butch clothes! I mean that in the best way. Masculine is hot!" [FWD]
• Three different women designers — get this — respond differently to the question of how to clothe, and by extension, represent, the female body. Imagine, there's not a 1:1 correlation between being female and making feminine clothing! [International Herald-Tribune]
• Buyers at Paris fashion week aren't sure exactly what consumers are going to want to own in six months. Handbags are a sure bet in the Middle East, says one, because they can be toted freely in public despite women's clothing restrictions. Russians will still want to buy, well, everything, says a buyer for one boutique. London might be about jewelry and scarves; Paris stores aren't sure whether to under-order for a fall in demand, or bet on a surprise recovery. Left unsaid is the fact that almost nobody in retail could stand to see a repeat of last fall's choked-off sales. [Reuters]
• American Apparel, which had to recently renegotiate costly new financing of both their $75 million Bank of America revolving credit line and their $51 million loan from private equity group SOF Investments, now is approaching the March 21 deadline for both loans. [WWD]
• L.L. Bean's revenues were down $1.5 billion, or 7.8%, over the last financial year. The company expects to be making layoffs. [The Street]
• The Italian brand Tod's finished out a difficult year with enough money to give $1,700+ bonuses to all its employees, including the people who make their goods in Italy. [WWD]
• A small American fashion brand that sells its wares in France reportedly included the message "We are sorry that our president is an idiot, we did not vote for him" on the care tag. Obviously they meant Bush. Reminds one of how the teenaged Alexander McQueen stitched "I am a cunt" onto the interlining of a suit for Prince Charles when he was apprenticed to Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard. [InventorSpot]

• 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]

A Puppytastic Preview Of The New Valentino Documentary [NY Mag]