WTF: Chris Brown Wants to Be a Model

Chris Brown has signed a modeling contract with Wilhelmina. The agency describes Brown, a convicted felon and British GQ‘s Worst-Dressed Man of 2012, as a “multifaceted artist with a unique take on style.” Brown himself says, “Art and style has always played a significant role in my life — it’s evolved with me throughout my career.” We somehow doubt there will be strong demand for Brown’s services as a spokesmodel, what with the stupid neck tattoo, the terrorist Halloween costume, and the fact that, oh yeah, he once beat a woman into a bloody pulp by the side of the road. [WWD]

---

This Juicy Couture ad, directed by Terry Richardson and starring Candice Swanepoel, has fields you can click on inside the video that show you the names of the products Swanepoel is wearing and how to buy them. We are living in the future, kids. Flying cars have to be next. [YouTube]

---

• This year, an unprecedented number of retailers will be open on Thanksgiving. Gap — including its subsidiaries Banana Republic and Old Navy — will be open essentially all day, as will Lord & Taylor. Target and Wal-Mart stores will open at 9 p.m. and 8 p.m., respectively. K-Mart will open on Thanksgiving from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., then reopen at 8 p.m. Unsurprisingly, many of the retail workers who will be covering these shifts are not happy about losing the chance to spend the day with their loved ones. Over 200,000 people signed a Target employee’s online petition to get the retailer to “save Thanksgiving” by opening at 5 a.m. on Black Friday instead. A Target spokesperson says, “The holiday season is highly competitive, and Black Friday is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Target’s opening time was carefully evaluated. Opening at 9 p.m. gives Target’s Black Friday guests added convenience and a way to create an after-dinner shopping event that the entire family can enjoy.” [WWD]
• In which the New York Times tries to write about Fuck Yeah Menswear without actually printing it. [NYTimes]
• Louis Vuitton has revamped its collection of stationery and writing-related accessories. This, in practical terms, means fountain pens that cost $2,220. [WWD]
• Racked visited the line for the Maison Martin Margiela for H&M collection, which hits select stores today. In New York, the first people to queue were a couple of Korean tourists who have been waiting since 9 a.m. yesterday. [Racked]
• Sean John, P. Diddy‘s clothing line, has named Jeff Tweedy (not that Jeff Tweedy, a different one) its new C.E.O. [WWD]
• The principal of the local public high school in Minnetonka, Minnesota, has emailed parents to alert them to the social menace that is the legging. Principal Dave Adney, coming down firmly on the leggings-are-not-pants side of the issue, warned parents that students need to “keep things covered up.” [Twincities]
• Expect more media attention to be focused on Sasha and Malia Obama’s clothes in the coming years. [NYTimes]
• The Times critically shops the new Brian Atwood store, and finds it opulent, with purple Venetian plaster, a limestone façade, and marble and quartz walls:
• The cheek: you have to love it. The shop is “not exactly minimal,” Mr. Atwood told reporters shortly before it opened last month. “It’s like a Fabergé egg.” Contributing to the ornateness of it all are rows of gem-cut glass vitrines housing Mr. Atwood’s latest fancies.
• [NYTimes]
• Moda Operandi is adding in-season e-commerce to its product array. [WWD]
• Gucci creative director Frida Giannini talks about her favorite haunts in her hometown, Rome. [NYTimes]
• And Duro Olowu tells the International Herald Tribune about the city where he grew up, Lagos, particularly the markets there:
• “My Jamaican mother used to find the tailors who carried sewing machines on their shoulders and get them to make patchwork shirts and furnishings from local fabrics mixed with others she picked up on holidays abroad. She was a big influence on how I see color and print.”
• The designer adds that he is also looking for a space to open a boutique in New York City. [IHT]
• France’s Chambre Syndicale for ready-to-wear has four new members: Viktor & Rolf, Acne, Jitrois, and Anthony Vaccarello. [WWD]
• Elie Tahari, who was raised in an orphanage after the breakup of his parents’ marriage, was honored at a gala for the Worldwide Orphan’s Foundation. [Vogue UK]
• Customs officials at the Port of New York/New Jersey have seized 537 cartons of counterfeit Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Michael Kors accessories that would have been worth $20 million had it been authentic. [WWD]
• Marc Jacobs‘ townhouse was flooded during Hurricane Sandy, so he’s heading to Europe for the rest of the year. As you do. [P6]
• Limited Brands, which owns Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, and Henri Bendel, among other companies, reported its net income fell year-on-year by net income fell by 22.2%, to $73.4 million, during the quarter just ended. Net sales fell 5.7%, to $2.05 billion, but same-store sales were up by 5%. [WWD]