Carole Middleton Is Allegedly Fashion's New Muse

Fashion, having exhausted its interest in Kate Middleton, Pippa Middleton, and Pippa Middleton’s ass, is turning for inspiration to the last female member of the Middleton family: Carole. Fashion writer Sarah Mower wrote an entire column about how Carole Middleton is fashion’s new muse — because she dresses her age, because 46-year-old supermodel Kristen McMenamy is walking shows and getting magazine covers again, and because Karl Lagerfeld recently decreed that “You cannot be sloppy and middle-aged.” [Telegraph]

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Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin have been taking portraits of models wearing the wares of designers nominated for the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards. This shot of Anja Rubik — and the rear view, which shows just how her hair got so big — is our favorite. [Inez and Vinoodh, via Fashionista]

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Diesel: sticking with that stupid ad campaign. [WWD]

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Photographer Ben Watts — Naomi Watts‘ brother — has lent his name to a new Hipstamatic lens? And Victoria’s Secret model Behati Prinsloo appears in an ad campaign for the new lens? So, in essence, here we have some cell-phone photos of a supermodel. [Fashionista]

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• American Apparel has received another subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This time, the government wants to look into some allegedly shady dealings in foreign currency transactions. A whistleblower former employee filed a complaint; the company says it will cooperate with the investigation. [Bloomberg]
• Gap C.E.O. Glenn Murphy says the chain’s main problem is a lack of consistency. Gift for understatement, that one. [WWD]
• Luxury accessories designer Barry Kieselstein-Cord is in ongoing litigation with soon-to-be ex-wife Karen Cord, who is allegedly owed $52,917 in overdue support payments. The IRS has also placed a $1,394,504 tax lien on him, and he owes his landlord more than $200,000 in back rent. Still, the designer has the best response to the requests for comment of a gossip rag we’ve ever heard: “This story and your kind inquiry reminds me of a Texas longhorn steer. A point here, a point there and a lot of bull in the middle. Thanks for asking.” [P6]
• François Girbaud says buying jeans is “a political act” because of its impact on the environment. Conventionally raised cotton is one of the world’s most water-intensive crops, and jeans are typically washed after construction, which wastes yet more water. Alternative fabric treatments, like sandblasting and spraying with potassium permanganate, are also bad for the environment — and can cause fatal lung disease in garment workers. Now Girbaud, the man widely credited with inventing stonewashing, says the best way to age jeans is with lasers or a process that uses ozone gas. (Except isn’t ozone at ground level bad for the environment and a primary ingredient of smog? Ozone is supposed to be, you know, up in the ozone layer.) [WWD]
• Former Barneys New York buyer Julie Gilhart: “It’s very difficult to buy 100 percent organic or sustainable, but the number one conscious decision is to not buy more than you need, and to buy things that last. If I had a choice to buy a T-shirt that’s made in New York City versus a T-shirt that’s made in China, and they’re very similar, I’m probably going to choose the one that’s made in New York, you know? And if I choose the one that’s made in China — and that would be because it has a certain look, or a certain fit, or a certain price that’s appealing — then I’m going to buy it and keep it and wear it for a long time. It’s just about not being wasteful.” [The Cut]
• Derek Lam has launched a diffusion line called 10 Crosby. The collection will retail for $195-$895. [WWD]
• Moss on Middleton: “Oh, I love her! She was so chic and seamless [on her wedding day], and just beautiful; it was just as a royal wedding should be. [We watched it] in the country, with friends and kids who were all crying.” [Vogue UK]
• Yohji Yamamoto: “I’m an epicurean. I’m an anarchist. I hate power.” [WWD]
• Petra Nemcova and the charity she founded, the Happy Hearts Fund, has opened the first of several planned schools in Haiti. [PopEater]
• Paris couture week is going to be a little bit extra fancy this season. How much more fancy? A dinner at Versailles for 600 that “climaxes with fireworks”-more fancy. The party will close couture week and inaugurate an exhibition of 18th Century fashion. [WWD]
• Issey Miyake has named Dai Fujiwara‘s replacement at last: the label’s new creative director will be Yoshiyuki Miyamae. [WWD]
• And Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi, most recently let go from Gianfranco Ferrè, now have new jobs: they will become the co-creative directors of Fay, a little-known outerwear brand owned by Tod’s. [WWD]