Weeping Milan Model Gets No Sympathy From Jil Sander

By Sadie Stein | March 2, 2009 | 4:30pm

So, why was Lithuanian-born model Auguste Abeliunate crying on the Jil Sander runway? Was it Raf Simons‘ severe, Germanic threads? Sander’s in denial: “No model was crying on the runway!” says a rep. [WSJ]
Michelle Obama‘s Michael Kors White House portrait LBD marks the biggest American designer name the first lady has chosen so far. [WWD]
The mystery man who bid $40 million for two Qing dynasty bronzes from the YSL collection is now refusing to honor the winning bid, as the 18th century pieces were looted in 1860. [NYT]
Notorious designer/rapist Anand Jon is requesting a new trial. [Times of India]
Speaking of legal troubles! The perennially ludicrous Roberto Cavalli is being sued by Ittierre Spa‘s administrators for his comments regarding the Just Cavalli license. [WWD]
He, characteristically, seems unruffled: “I have 11 million fans [on Facebook], I saw that only Madonna has more than me. It’s lovely. It’s not for the money–believe me, I don’t care. It’s vibrations. I hate drugs, I’ve never used them in my life–never smoked a marijuana cigarette. But my drug is the adrenaline, the vibrations. That’s what makes me love life!” [Fashion Week Daily]
H&M, struggling with fast fashion, gets into fast home textiles. [WSJ]
Art world macher Dasha Zhukova has been appointed as editor in chief of POP magazine. [WWD]
We’re all for “feisty females” inspiring designers – and we dig the Pam Anderson-Westwood collab – but Pixie Geldof? Srsly? “Spoiled children” wasn’t really what we had in mind. [Independent]
Not, mind you, that actress/model/writers havn’t suffered in their long lives. Writes Peaches: “As early as age 9, I preferred to wear garish, ill fitting ‘80s prom dresses over jeans – usually to disastrous results. I did envy the more put-together girls who had armoires full of perfectly ironed, timeless pieces; they looked effortless in their black or white silk staple skirts and trousers dressed up with a statement bag or Chanel jacket. But at heart, I was a magpie, always rooting through bargain bins at charity shops for, say, a sequined cape, which for some reason I just had to own.” [Nylon]
$7 grand for a heel? A bargain! The Louboutin “Marie Antoinette” is “an open-toe platform high heel in satin, embroidered with colorful beads by the house of Jean-Francois Lesage, edged with a ruffling of chiffon and velvet.” Oh, and even better: it’s grotesquely ugly! [LA Times]
ScarJo, Dolce, Gabbana, some Italian department store. For unclear reasons, this drew a crowd of a thousand. Quoth the Waits enthusiast, “Who doesn’t want to look like the femme fatales from the Forties and Fifties?” [WWD]
Nicole Farhi‘s psyched to be a grandma, but within reason: “One thing I won’t be doing, though, is a range of Farhi clothes for children. I love kids, but I’m not making kids’ clothes!” [Telegraph]
Stacy London is on a quest to end “mom jeans'” bad rep. “Moms are superheroes. ‘Mom jeans’ should be a super cool . . . pair of jeans,” says the What Not to Wear maven. [LAT]
Victoria Beckham‘s dress line has singlehandedly boosted the business of one British fabric mill. [Telegraph]
“Do you want to smell like Halle Berry?” Well, that really depends on what she smells like. Presumably, like the new perfume she’s seen advertising here in a series of diaphanous cover-ups. [The Life Files]
In case you were wondering, model Eva Herzigova is “a 35-year-old woman, mother to a 21-month-old son – beautiful, powerful and in total control.” [TimesUK]
Oh, and homeless style enthusiast/model Erin Wasson? “It’s humbling…I still can’t get over the fact that these people want to come out to see little old me.” Us, neither. [Style.com]
Speaking of genuine modesty, we love Tim Gunn: “I’m grateful every day that I still have a job at Liz Claiborne. I make no assumptions about me…I’m confident that Liz Claiborne, Inc. will pull out of this, because we’re operating so thoughtfully and so strategically … But it is a challenging time.”[New York]
Even Obama fave J. Crew is feeling the pinch: they’ve eliminated 95 positions. [WWD]
Steve Madden, at least, is up! [WWD]
A “model” who fell through a hole in a “runway” in 2007 is suing the companies involved in the fashion show. [The Life Files]
Crocs is confident that a new CEO will turn the company around. Hey, we couldn’t have predicted their initial success…[WWD]