Since we took note of the Style.com scribe's apparent dealings with Yves Saint Laurent, a company he both "consults" for (for fees understood to be in the thousands) and "reports" on, stories of his other exploits have started trickling in.
Several tipsters gave us versions of the same story of Blasberg hitting up Cole Haan in Rockefeller Center last month, and picking out over a half-dozen pairs of free shoes to take home. Blasberg promptly Tweeted his approval:
We stopped following Blasberg's Twitter ages ago because it read like an ad for The Fabulous Life Of Derek Blasberg. But we probably should've known it was full of actual ads! And Blasberg omitted any mention that the men's shoes he so loved were freebies — which may put him in a dicey legal position, considering the Federal Trade Commission currently requires bloggers to disclose when goods or services they write about are provided free of charge.
Meanwhile, when he covered the art fair Art Basel Miami, Blasberg allegedly demanded first-class return airfare and a private chauffeur for the junket. Blasberg is rumored to have pulled quite the diva routine — when he wasn't initially given a private car service, he became upset, and according to several witnesses, threw a fit. None of the other writers on the trip were catered to the way that Blasberg was. According to one tipster, Blasberg made "threats" to one publicist that if "the necessary travel arrangements weren't made for him at Art Basel, he wasn't sure he'd be able to commit any coverage for them."
Although Condé Nast said in a statement yesterday that it is "reviewing" Blasberg's situation, for now, the only place you won't read about the fashion writer's alleged bad behavior is Style.com. That is, except if you count their aggregator feed, which today updated with this item from The Gloss:
The Daily took this gleeful screengrab.
Whether Blasberg, who currently writes for Style.com, V, V Man, and Harper's Bazaar will be fired or not, he's certainly learning something new about the fashion crowd: People talk.
Have further insights into the wonderful world of Derek Blasberg? Please do drop me a line.
@DerekBlasberg [Twitter]
The Trouble With Aggregation [Chic Report]
Earlier:
Condé Nast "Reviewing" Derek Blasberg's Employment
Fashion's Tastemaker Journo Will Come To Your Party For A Mere $2500