- Stella McCartney's fall ad campaign makes a Bambijoke out of all that nature imagery that suddenly became hip over the past few years. For everyone who's ever considered an ironic taxidermy at a bar and concluded, "Why?" [WWD]
- Joshua Walter, the 20-year-old male model whose clients included Hugo Boss, has confessed to a series of armed robberies in Queens, and is currently being held in a prison barge moored off the Bronx. Walter, who pistol-whipped one victim during a heist, last came to police attention in May, when he pleaded guilty to punching and choking his girlfriend, 37-year-old former teacher Gina Salamino. (Salamino, who taught second grade, was fired after her relationship with Walter, by whom she has a child, was discovered.) Walter insisted to a New York Post reporter that he is still modeling — how he's doing that from behind bars, after failing to make $550,000 in bail, is unclear. [Gothamist]
- Naomi Campbell is one of the celebrities donating a Birkin for charity to Hermès' annual vintage auction. Campbell's green alligator Birkin will be sold to raise money for the White Ribbon Alliance, which works to reduce the number of women who suffer preventable pregnancy complications every year worldwide. Also for sale on November 10 will be one of Grace Kelly's handbags, donated by her daughter, Princess Stephanie of Monaco. [UK Elle]
- WWD is already referring to the Beatrice Inn as "the former hipster hotspot." Ouch. Also, Lissy Trullie is going to be the fall face of Hervé Leger by Max Azria. [WWD]
- Prada's Seoul building, the Rem Koolhaas-designed Transformer, is changing its appearance once again. The elements of the structure, which are covered in a membrane, are designed to be shifted around to accommodate entirely different uses for the interior space. Opening in April to house a fashion exhibition before becoming a temporary movie theater, the Transformer is now becoming a contemporary art museum. "I want fashion for fashion and art for art," says Miuccia Prada. "So the Transformer concept was not for a generic space, but to be very specific, with all things separate in one building." [NYTimes]
- Meanwhile in Paris, Prada opened a more traditional kind of temporary structure: a pop-up store. Naturally, among the items sold will be an "exclusive," "limited-edition" gray handbag. Uniqlo also just opened a pop-up in Paris, intended to operate until its flagship in the city opens this fall, and Comme des Garçons' Black line currently has a pop-up in the Marais. [WWD]
- Perhaps not realizing that the coal mining scene in Zoolander was a parody, cult Paris shop Colette is releasing a limited edition collaboration with Timberland boots. Forty pairs of pre-distressed Timbs with blue trim will go on sale at the boutique this September, for 235 Euros. [Refinery 29]
- Some designers support the proposed Design Piracy Protection Act, which would offer limited copyright protection to fashion designers, while others either don't mind the knock-offs, or think the DPPA's proposed solution unwieldy. Maria Cornejo, who designs Zero +Maria Cornejo and has had her work ripped off, thinks the proposed law is a sound one. Makers of knock offs are "basically putting their hand in my head, which is my bank, and stealing ideas. It's basically robbery." Isabel and Ruben Toledo, fashion designer and illustrator, respectively, disagree strongly. "The American fashion system is all levels of value," says Ruben. "A woman knows when she's buying champagne and when she's buying soda-pop. It's two different markets. But why shouldn't a woman have the right to drink Coca-Cola when she feels like it and champagne when she wants to? That's the American way." Europe and Japan already extend copyright protection to clothing designs, but in the U.S., only a graphic of print used for a piece of clothing can be copyrighted, not the garment as a whole. [Reuters]
- Jason Wu covers some familiar territory — Michelle Obama, the loveliness of having pet cats — and some that's out of left field — sleeping pills! — in this sweet diary for the Times of London. The designer complimented a woman he saw wearing his clothes on the street, and, like a sartorial Secret Santa, didn't even tell her he had made it. [ToL]
- Some designers had standard-issue summer jobs for the fashionably-inclined, like working at a fabric store or a vintage shop, or being a doorman at a hip Manhattan club. (Wu, for his part, was a waiter at a BBQ restaurant in Taiwan during the summers when he was growing up.) Angela Donhauser and Adi Gil of Threeasfour worked for Buena Vista, touring Germany dressed as characters from the Lion King. [Style.com]
- Diane von Furstenberg hangs upside down from a swing in her Meatpacking District office. Diane von Furstenberg runs a business with 155 employees, 97% of whom are women. Diane von Furstenberg is 62, and she looks like a minx, like a dangerous, business-minded, fashionable minx, when photographed curled up elegantly on her desk. Diane von Furstenberg compares staying solvent in this economy to being "on a surfing board in the middle of a tsunami," and, if there were one woman who could pull off that totally sick stand up barrel, by God, after reading this profile, we believe it to be her. [NYTimes]
- Italian Vogue is re-releasing last July's iconic issue, which featured only black models. Because it's Barbie's 50th birthday year, the re-released magazine will come with a supplement dedicated to black Barbie. [British Vogue]
- Karl Lagerfeld shot press images for his pre-spring collection on the Rue Royale with Lara Stone and Baptiste Giabiconi — and a customized low rider motorcycle, which Chanel will, remarkably, not sell. [WWD]
- London's Estorick Gallery is holding an exhibition that pairs Italian Futurist paintings with the clothes designed by Ottavio and Rosita Missoni in the 1960s and 70s. Looks like a perfect match. [NYTimes]
- Celebrity hairstylist Ted Gibson is replacing Nick Arrojo, the hair makeover consultant on What Not To Wear. Arrojo, said network executives, was not "fresh" anymore, after six seasons. [WWD]
- There have been numerous stories about the possibility that the company that makes Crocs might go bankrupt — including one in the Washington Post last week. Even the company's auditor has raised doubts about its ability to meet its debt obligations. Unsurprisingly, the C.E.O. says everything's fine and dandy. [WWD]
- The new owners of the bankrupt Eddie Bauer brand say that most of its 370 stores will remain open. San Francisco investment firm Golden Gate Capital Management bought Eddie Bauer at auction for some $286 million. [UPI]
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