H&M's capsule collection of evening wear made from sustainable fabrics hits stores today. Amanda Seyfried, Viola Davis, and Michelle Williams have already been wearing pieces from the collection on the red carpet. Dresses made of organic cotton and hemp and recycled polyester will retail for around $60-$300, which is a good deal pricier than H&M's usual wares. The collection is seen as H&M testing the waters for the new chain of more expensive stores it wants to start, which it recently announced would be named "& Other Stores." [Fashionista]
Scarlett Johansson is one for pretty heady conversation, according to her friend Stella McCartney. "We started sipping dirty martinis with some friends of hers, and she opened a debate, which was ‘Are you born a killer, or are you made into a killer?' I thought, Wow, she's not just a pretty blonde actor." [Vogue]
Lindsey Wixson is now 18. Happy birthday, Lindsey. [Fashionologie]
Crystal Renn says she dyed her hair blonde "because I think it's the last thing people would expect me to do — which is exactly why I did it. Besides, I was having a Gemini moment." What, pray tell, is a Gemini moment? "It means that you can get bored and you want a bit of a change." She also mentioned that she has "projects in the works," the implication being thanks to the new hair color. [Fashionista]
A pregnant Alessandra Ambrosio appears on the cover of Spanish magazine YO Dona. [FGR]
Charlotte Free, who still has pink hair, is now the face of Forever 21. [HuffPo]
Fashion blogger BryanBoy takes a political position more conservative than Bill O'Reilly. Huh. Also uses the word "tranny." Ugh. [The Gloss]
Elizabeth Olsen says that when dressing for the red carpet, "You literally have to use a stylist. There's no way you can figure it all out … Whatever you wear is like a huge statement out to the world." [People]
Street-style photographer Tommy Ton says his clothing spending spiralled "a little bit out of control" last year. "I actually spent the average person's salary on clothes, which is kind of frightening. I have not regretted anything, but it got to the point where I couldn't go a day without ordering something online." [Shop Ghost]
The clothing brand Stüssy is running a tasteful Facebook promotion called "Strip for Likes." It promises that the more people "Like" a photo of a model dressed in winter gear on its page, the more photos of the model progressively undressing it will post. This appears to violate Facebook's terms of service, which prohibits using "Likes" as a substitute for votes in a promotion. [TNW]
Zac Posen says he's excited for the Met Costume Institute's Schiaparelli and Prada exhibit. "I'm so excited to see how Schiaparelli and Prada are balanced with each other. Schiaparelli was bad ass. There's that amazing autobiography she wrote that I read this summer — it's a hard book to find but you can find it on eBay. I love reading fashion history books because you see how everything changes but it's all the same." The designer also says, "I was an intern at the Met for three years in high school when Richard Martin was there and that's where I learned my fashion history." [Fashionista]
Paparazzi trap Los Angeles boutique Kitson is in trouble for labeling real fur and leather as faux. The Humane Society caught the mistake after it purchased some suspiciously real-looking items and had them tested. Kitson is located in West Hollywood, which recently voted to ban the sale of fur. And on the federal level, all real fur is now supposed to be labeled with the kind of animal it comes from and its country of origin. [Accessories Magazine]
Marc Fisher, the head of Guess's footwear licensee, concluded his cross-examination in the $200 million Gucci knockoffs lawsuit. Gucci's lawyer grilled Fisher about a photo folder of "reference" shoes — all made by Gucci — that it uncovered from Fisher's company. The folder was nearly one foot high. Fisher said that the Gucci folder represented only a small part of his company's library of design references. Gucci's lawyer also drew the court's attention to Fisher's repeated purchases of Gucci goods, allegedly for study, to a total value of $75,000 (over six years). The judge perked up at the mention of this figure: "'I never saw a $2,000 pair of shoes. What do they look like?' Judge Shira Scheindlin said, pointing to a higher-priced item." Developing. [WWD]
Petra Nemcova and her fiancé, Jamie Belman, are calling off their June wedding. Their spokesperson says the two "remain close friends." [Vogue UK]
Kati Nescher, on being 28 and a runway model: "The clients say that it's great to have someone who's older, who's a woman, and not a child anymore. But it's also not all about age. I'm there to sell something." Also, "I've spoken to a lot of girls who are just 19, and actually they're very interesting because of their experience traveling and the time they've spent just being alone. But, for clients, what I'm doing is about respect; it's a pleasure to walk for them. It's about teamwork for me." [T]
Joan Smalls says the fictional character she most identifies with is Stewie from Family Guy. [Vogue]
Smalls, along with fellow top models Lily Donaldson, Jourdan Dunn, and Toni Garrn were hacked on Twitter and Tweeted dieting spam to all their followers. [Fashin]
Garrn just became a Victoria's Secret Angel. [Fashionista]
Kimberley Ovitz is launching a lower-priced line, O by Kimberley Ovitz. A dress will set you back "less than $200." [WWD]
Tory Burch is reportedly in talks to sell a stake in her company to Coach — and she's looking for a deal that would value her brand at over $2 billion. Tory Burch has also been in "informal discussions" with luxury giant PPR. But she has a "sticking point" in the form of her ex-husband, Chris Burch. "Christopher Burch, to the chagrin of his ex-wife, has launched a retail venture, C. Wonder, which some critics say looks like a lower-priced version of Tory Burch." The possibility of a lawsuit between Tory Burch and C. Wonder is understandably giving potential investors pause. [NYPost]
Puig, which owns Carolina Herrera, Nina Ricci, and Jean Paul Gaultier, among other companies, announced a 19% year-on-year rise in net income for fiscal 2011. [WWD]
Uniqlo's parent company, Fast Retailing, had a good six months. Net profit rose 38.7% compared with the same period last year, to $747.30 million. Net income rose 11.8%, to $1.19 billion. [WWD]
And now, a moment with Daphné Hezard, the editor of L'Officiel. Daphné, when was the last time you saw Daphne Guinness naked?
"I just discovered Henri Chenot-he is the guy who discovered phytotherapy forty years ago. He has a place in Italy called Chenot and he's doing detox therapy; it's a big center for detox. I spent a week there alone for New Year's. You have to stay a minimum of six days, you don't eat too much — you eat 600 calories a day — you do some baths and some treatments all day long. You do yoga, and all day long they do blood tests, and they put some oxygen in your blood…they didn't do it to me because I was quite healthy. [Laughs] All the athletes go there, like Zidane. Daphne Guinness was there; I couldn't recognize her because you're not doing your makeup everyday and she was wearing slippers only."