Alexa Chung has shut down her Instagram account after finding that virtually every photo she posted elicited a string of negative comments about her body. Things reached a nadir when the above image of Chung with her mother, which the ex-model/writer/T.V. presenter/fashion personage published yesterday, drew responses including "Your legs are too skinny now," "ur ugly," "You're [sic] legs look unhealthy," "Ew, she's so skinny it's gross," and "Skinny. Horrid," and more. (Just as worryingly, more than a few users commented that they were jealous of Chung — for being skinny.) She appears to still be using her public Twitter — which counts some 778,000 followers — but she has also received nasty comments there. On Instagram, Chung actually joined her own comment thread, writing, "Hi, I am here. I can read. Ok everyone thanks for the teen angst discussions. People are different sizes. I'm not trying to be thinspo for anyone. I am now making this acct private. Byyyyyeeee." Instagram (like Pinterest, Tumblr, and virtually every other social media site that traffics in pictures) does have a bit of a thinspo problem, and shutting down the account is certainly one way to prevent other users from scouring her feed for images they want to use for thinspo. The way to bring a woman down, it seems, is still to criticize her body as though it were some kind of product put forward for public review; nobody deserves to face that kind of bodysnark, hatred, and concern-trolling. [Daily Mail]
Bar Refaeli had a bad airport security experience. [@BarRefaeli]
Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen are on the cover of W. [W]
Crystal Renn hinted that she had "some projects in the works" since dying her hair white-blonde. This (very Photoshopped) cover of Schön, shot by Ellen von Unwerth, must be one of them. [DS]
Costello Tagliapietra has launched a diffusion line of 15 dresses available exclusively at Barneys. The price point — dresses start at $298 — hits right between the duo's Uniqlo collaboration and their main line. Like the main line, the prints are all done with the AirDye technique, which saves water (and is therefore more ecologically sound than traditional textile dyes). [Fashionista]
- Jessica White is working on her debut album, everyone. "I'm a poet first and foremost, before the modeling. I mean, modeling, it's being an artist as well. It's just being a silent artist. It takes a lot of self-control and a lot of discipline." White says that all of her best ideas come to her at night. (To be fair, some of Jessica White's worst ideas also occur to her after dark. Like deciding to assault people outside night clubs.) [The Cut]
- Gisele Bündchen's five-year-old niece is a child model — and Duda Bündchen is preparing to launch a namesake line with a Brazilian children's wear chain. [Forbes]
- Women with uncomfortable shoes, Christian Louboutin wants you to quit your bitching already. "I really have not so much sympathy," says the designer. "If Tina Turner and Prince's back-up band can perform on stage in them for three hours, you can't tell me they are impossible to walk in. High heels are pleasure with pain. If you can't walk in them, don't wear them." [Telegraph]
- Donatella Versace diaries 24 hours for Harper's Bazaar. She likes to dress up with "a couple of pieces from my personal collection of fine jewelry," and she describes herself as "a bit of a news fanatic." [HB]
- Time magazine included just two figures from the fashion industry on its annual list of the world's most important people: Alexander McQueen designer Sarah Burton, and Spanx founder Sara Blakely. Women's Wear Daily points out that "the innerwear industry" disputes Blakely's claim that she is a "self-made billionaire" thanks to girdles. [WWD, Time]
- The British brand Aquascutum has entered the U.K. equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company, owned by Harold Tillman, has been fighting to fend off insolvency going back at least to 2009. [WWD]
- Rag & Bone, known for its denim, is launching a handbag collection this fall. [Racked]
- Louis Vuitton sold more than $8.6 billion worth of handbags and tchotchkes during the first quarter, a 25% jump in revenue over the same period one year ago. [WWD]