Witness, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen proving, once again, that seperately, they have no appeal — and this time they're doing it in Badgley Mischka's upcoming print campaign. Funny, because it was just last year Proenza Schouler practically Dick Cheney'd the Olsen twins when M-K & A wore their garb.
Twin Set [People]
It's new Barbie designer (and Hollywood stylist) Phillip Bloch with the "spiritually grown up" Ken (on the left) and his "celebrity spokesperson" Ken. Or, as we like to call it, the homoerotic reason that no matter how hard Barbie tries, she'll never get Ken back.
(We should note, this is the publicity shot Mattel released. As in, the official version of the photograph they'd like to circulate among the press. This man, their marketing department said, will get us coverage. And they were right — for all the wrong reasons.)
BROKEBACK BARBIE? [PAYOR]
Ken's back and looking good. Same can't be said for Barbie's sales [New Jersey Record
We were as shocked as you to see this on eBay:
Not because fashion assistants with access to entire closets are trying to unload their swag bag goodies for a chance to break through the poverty line, but because this is the only item currently available when searching for "olympus fashion week" (and its variants).
No tickets to Zac Posen's show? No tickets to the Project Runway faceoff? We must say, we're a little disappointed in you folks.
"Olympus Fashion Week" Search [eBay]
LACOSTE CANVAS BAG FROM OLYMPUS FASHION WEEK 2006 [eBay]
As we are wont to do, we were scanning New York magazine's website for all the Fashion Week party photos that are just too numerous to fit in the magazine's FOB — or even Gotham's FOB, for that matter. From Diddy's cologne launch and the PETA fete to the DVF soiree and backstage at Betsey Johnson, it's just parties! parties! parties! photos! photos! photos!
Or, as we like to call it, Patrick McMullan's second through twelth minutes of fame.
But one photo stood out in particular — and not the one where Drew Barrymore's standing next to Anna Wintour aged the both of them by 10 years. Nah, it was the shot of ex-New York Observer scribe Jessica Joffe at Mario Testino's Out of Fashion Party at Phillips de Pury & Co.
Clearly NYMetro.com editor Kelly Maloni doesn't have her photo editors reading the gossip rags. Because as any New Yorker would know, Joffe ditched that staid publishing superlative a ways back. She now goes by "Arm Candy."
Mario Testino's Out of Fashion Party at Phillips de Pury & Co. [NY Metro]
We had a Bryant Park Roving Reporter For All Things Skinny Beyond Medical Safety planted at yesterday's Child magazine children's fashion show in the tents, where earlier reports already tipped off which fame-seeking parents agreed to parade around their kids pageant-style in the name of fashion.
Dina Lohan signed up Lindsay's siblings Aliana and Dakota. 50 Cent offered up offspring Marquise Jackson. And, of course, it wouldn't be a child labor ring without Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons' kids, Ming Lee and Aoki Lee.
Our BPRRFATSBMS reports Ming Lee and Aoki Lee – just like their Baby Phat ads – had the "plastered on smiles" that should really initiate some interest from the Department of Children and Family Services. Marquise Jackson, meanwhile, owned the show with his runway walk. And Aliana and Dakota? They seemed to have been lost among the 50 other models, most of which weren't big names (that is, little names with big last names).
In the end, the person we're happiest for is Child editor Miriam Arond, who's desperate to land one foot in the fashion world now that Cookie is stealing her readership. Unfortunately, Roberta Myers is on the other side of the door, leaning against it. She ain't having it.
Earlier: Fashion for the wild 'Child'
As much as we love reading Diana Von Furstenberg's "blog" about her Fashion Week preparations on New York magazine's website, we were just too distracted by some pretty brutal editorial-advertising line crossing.
(Click image for larger version in pop up window.)
But kudos to Adam Moss and Lawrence Burstein's team up — they're putting Jason Binn's Niche Media to shame in that department.
Friday Diary: Diane von Furstenberg [New York]
Bryant Park is surely all a bustle by now, and hopefully most of you are out of the office running around trying to snag glimpses of the runway girls. Fashion Week is in the air, and in the papers … but it's also online. So, now you don't have to be Anna Wintour, Beyonce, or Kate White to get a first row seat to the hottest February event.
From now until February 10th, 15,000 editors, buyers, stylists and fashionistas roaming Bryant Park tents each day, viewing over 4,000 outfits, from Kenneth Cole, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Narciso Rodriguez, Luca Luca, Betsey Johnson, Baby Phat, Tracy Reese, Anna Sui and Cynthia Rowley.
Jossip's got the must-know info, all packaged as tightly as a Zac Posen dress.
• What shows will Glenda Baily, Horacio Silva, and Amy Sacco be at? New York magazine has the inside scoop.
• The New York Times tells us what to expect from Kenneth Cole and John Bartlett.
• And it's not too late to catch the John Varvatos and Baby Phat shows live from IMG.
• Need a post-Super Bowl activity? Try to grab a seat at the Luca Luca show.
And if you're anything like us, you'll at least be hanging around the hotels and restaurants scattered around Bryant Park … to grab those accidentally left behind gift bags of course!
Four-inch heels are kickin' (if not flyin' across the boardroom) over at Jimmy Choo. The shoe company famous for its stifled in-fighting is making good on its rep.
At the center of the dolled-up drama is Choo's polished head designer, Sandra Choi (niece of the original Jimmy Choo, who ducked out of the company in 1996). Except, well, you might not know of Sandra's efforts at all, given corporate chief Tamara Mellon claims that it is she who's the the chief designer — and entirely responsible for the collections Choo spits out.
Sure, Tamara.
Sandra, we learn, has been mildly okay with this arrangement. She sticks to the creative realm while Tamara reaps in the Bungalow 8 sightings. Crucial to this arrangement as well is co-chief Robert Bensoussan, who handles the business end of things.
But since Sandra's contract expired in December of 2005, she's wised up: She knows she's talented and is keen to the fact that she's worth a shitload more than she's being paid. What to do? Threaten to quit if her compensation doesn't start reflecting her role in the company. And by "role" we mean "holding the entire company together."
And that, folks, would mean disaster for Jimmy Choo.
From inside the derailing Choo Choo train, we learn:
Sandra feels that she has contributed to the success of Jimmy Choo and had her own attorney negotiating a new contract. Robert Bensoussan doesn't want to pay her.
There is truly no one who can take on the design of the shoes if Sandra leaves and she is using this for her negotiating basis.
And that's only the catfight portion of this whole arrangement.
What's really at stake are the feelings of majority investor Lion Capital (nee Hicks Muse) — the latest in a long list of owners, which included former Vogue accessories editor Mellon herself, as well as a Phoenix Equity Partners, a division of Equinox Luxury Holdings. In November 2004, Lion Capital extended £101 million to acquire the shoe designer. And yet somehow, after all that money was wired over, they weren't exactly aware of the whole situation.
Also, all of the investors in Lion Capital can not know that a company was bought when one of
the main assets contracts where up in December.
Needless to say, this could create a problem for Bensoussan, the business brained half of the CEO duo, who may be searching for investors to keep the head of that little company four inches above water.
The bad blood between Sandra and media hog Mellon isn't helping to diffuse the Choi/Choo stand-off. Our insider spills on Mellon's incessant insistence that Choi receive very little media attention:
There is minimal press on Sandra. This is because Tamara has said that Sandra is not allowed to have press. All press is to go to Tamara.
The fact that we can't find pictures of Choi anywhere? Yeah, that might be evidence of such.
We've learned that both parties are knee-high in the negotiations process, and while Choi is certainly enjoying some of the comfort of her current kicks – such as hanging the fact she is chief boss but knows she is worth more than she's being paid for – she's putting her sateen swathed foot down.
"Jimmy Choo knows they can't afford to loose her," claims our insider. Unfortunately, it seems as though they may not be able to afford to keep her either … what with all that money being poured into Nicole Richie's endorsement deal.
Witness, Chloe Sevigny at HBO's Golden Globes after party.
Finally, Reese Witherspoon has someone else to feel sorry for.
(Oh, it's Friday, we'll post whatever we want!)
Related: Chanel totally punks our Reese
The enterprising folks over at Blog NYC have already latched on to the transit strike and flipped it into a perfect markeitng opportunity: The transit strike tee.
You've already got the blistering toes from your walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Now get the T-shirt to match.
Transit Strike 2005 Tee [Blog NYC]
Does it worry anyone that else Urban Outfitters might be offending their target demographic?
Die Hipster Scum Tee [Urban Outfitters]
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is gushing over more than Matt Damon's marriage to ex-Crobar barmaid Luciana Bozan (and snogging the bride). Bloom-B is continuing his celeb worship with Heidi Klum.
The mayor couldn't be happier that her Project Runway is highlighting New York's fashion (erm, garment) industry. So pleased is he with the positive public relations message, he's upping the ante with a deal to auction off couture made by the show's contestants, with a portion of proceeds benefitting the Garment Industry Development Corp.
“I’m pleased that Project Runway highlights our city’s superior garment industry and that the show is giving back to the community,†he said publicly.
And then, privately, he said, "I hope Luciana Bozan keeps her figure after popping out child, too."
Welcome To Klumberg! [FWD]
• Jann Wenner pokes his head up from his latest staff email offering Rolling Stones tickets to hire National Geographic Adventure exec editor Brad Weiners to take over the same position at Men's Journal. The unfortunately named Weiners will report to "editor" Tom Foster. Read: Jann's gonna be all up in his shit, but not in the gay way. We hope. [AdAge]
• Leave it to the New York Times to "discover" the one industry that gives gay men a leg up: fashion. [NYT]
• NYT staffers (that is, those who are left) will no longer be able to purchase the newspaper's stock at a 15 percent discount. Luckily, NYT Co.'s dragging price is discount enough. [Romenesko]
• Sure, ad pages are up at Martha Stewart, but her book and TV show were a huge let down. The domestician, however, still insists she's "the visionary." [Business Week]
• Ann Coulter, ousted by college students chanting "you suck, you suck." There's hope for America's youth, still. [Hartford Courant]
• Interviews by email are what's ruining journalism. Not Jayson Blair, Judith Miller, Bob Woodward, Tucker Carlson or Katie Couric, mind you. [AJR]
• In case you need a listicle to explain why Queer Eye for the Straight Guy has sucked since season one. [PAYOR]
• America's Next Top Model, we had imagined, was intended to award an attractive person the Covergirl gig. [FourFour]
Abercrombie & Fitch is more than the epicenter of teen homoeroticism, racial stereotypes and reversing decades of feminist progress with mere T-shirts.
It's also the place to be on Fifth Avenue if you're looking to sleep with a carbon copy of yourself, so long as "yourself" is a 17-year-old seashell necklace donning post-pubescent slogan T-shirt wearer with spiky blonde tips.
Alex Kuczynski takes readers on a tour inside this four-story "sprawling nightclub" of a flagship store – where jeans are served instead of Ketel One martinis at the bar – to discover even the youngins will fork over nearly $200 of their parents' money to procure an identity.
And god bless Alex, because we're going near this place. Until Black Friday of next year, when the greeter models don't wear shirts.
Browsing Out Loud [Alex Kuczynski, NYT]
You've seen the coke snorting video. You've seen the dancing in front of the orange sheet video. And now, atop Urban Outfitters on Broadway, we bring you Kate Moss in "Taking Her Clothes Off On The Couch For A Photographer."
Kate Moss Nakie On A Rooftop [Kontraband, via Popsugar]
This morning, NY1 goes "under cover" with a secret camera (!) to bring us a shocking report: Canal Street in Chinatown, it appears, is choc full of counterfeit designer goods. And they're selling them to tourists!
We knew there was a reason why New York needed its own 24-hour news channel: To bring the news to the people.
• Newlyweds skyrocketed Jessica Simpson from C-list to B-list, while Nick Lachey somehow stuck around on the D-list. No worries though, they didn't have a prenup — which means Nick's gonna get a hefty chunk of Simpson's purse. [PerezHilton]
• Speaking of Nick, he's retained publicionado Ken Sunshine to battle Jessica's supra-publicist Rob Shuter in the gossip columns. [Lowdown]
• More Lachey news? Even we are starting to get ill. He's in talks with The WB to star in his own sitcom, where he plays a famous baseball player in a new marriage. How eerily familiar .. we already know how the mid-season cancellation is going to turn out. [Reuters]
• First Jamie Foxx thinks he's the real Ray Charles. Now Lenny Kravitz is about to take on Jimi Hendrix's likeness. [Fox 411]
• In Paris Hilton's world, it's all about leftovers. While she's parading around with Mary-Kate Olsen's ex Stavros Niarchos, her ex-fiance Paris Latsis is new pals with Tara Reid. But it's just platonic, for all our sakes. [Page Six]
• Laguna Beach's Kristin Cavallari is extending her 15 minutes, thanks to co-hosting duties for UPN's new reality show Get This Party Started. Alongside Extra's Ethan Erickson, the career reality TV starlet will repent for her on-screen sins by throwing parties for those in need. [NYDN]
• Michael Jackson still hates the Jews. Now he hates the Italians. But he loves the Muslims. [Page Six & R&M]
• That sound you hear is A-list actresses wailing in agony, because Dolce and Gabbana decided not to design for the Oscars anymore, claiming it's "too conservative." [Extra]
• Miss America, the strapped-for-cash beauty pageant that's far less interesting than America's Next Top Model, has resorted to asking former winners to fund their scholarship program. Tina Fey needn't even write a punchline for this weekend. [AP]
• Britain is granting 24-hour liquor licenses to many of its pubs with hopes of curbing last-call violence. You know, when the bartender announces "last call," so you chug a half dozen drinks, drunkenly make a pass another guy's lady and end your night with a bloodied face in the sidewalk. [Washington Times]
• When you're shopping on Walmart.com (after laughing), you'll have two ways to spend that $10,000: On a new plasma TV or an 18-karat white gold ring. [NYT]
• It's not quite up to the Jenny Jones "murdered my gay neighbor who had a crush on me" caliber, but ABC's Wife Swap is being sued by an Oklahoma man who wasn't too pleased to see his spouse swapped for a gay man. The episode hasn't aired yet, and we have a feeling it's not going to. [NYP]
• Keith Olbermann will be back on the radio dial Monday thru Friday alongside Dan Patrick at 2pm. Even if MSNBC doesn't like it, too bad — it's good PR.
• Plastic surgery among men is up 8 percent this year, and only some of it is attributable to David Gest. [NYP]
• Jake Gyllenhaal is "flattered" when you call him bisexual — and ecstatic when you call him a nelly fag. [The Scoop]
• Congratulations to Camden, New Jersey, for snagging the "most dangerous city" superlative for the second straight year. [CBS 3]
We've always been big fans of wrestling, but our attention has been geared toward those home videos of one competitor's fingers shoved deep into his opponent's rectum during a match. It makes us giggle.
And those singlet uniforms? Yeah, that doesn't hurt the sport's appeal. But change is upon us! Some progressive thinkers at the NCAA have approved a two-piece uniform. No longer will wrestlers (and spectators) be subjected to a skintight onesey — now they'll don a skintight twosey! It's a painted-on top tucked into painted-on shorts, and you can bet The Buldge Blog is thrilled.
But not everybody's pleased — especially the fatties.
Compared to the singlet, its design is conservative, but it has touched off a smackdown among coaches, regulators and manufacturers over what two-piece uniforms will do for the sport.
The National Federation of State High School Associations, which administers sports guidelines among state athletic organizations, declined to join the N.C.A.A. in approving the new outfit; it is not permitted for scholastic competitions at some 9,300 high schools with 250,000 students involved in wrestling programs. Some critics have described the two-piece outfit as too casual for tournaments or unflattering to competitors with a spare tire. But in an age of ever vibrant football and basketball designs, others see it as the inevitable wave of the future.
Because, as we all know, a one-piece is so much more flattering to spare tires than a two-piece. And much less homoerotic.
And to think, some of you thought Kate Moss would never recover from her public coke binging. And yet, after a quick stint in rehab and half-hearted public apologies all around, here she is already shooting her first fashion spread.
A "comeback," some might call it, which pairs nicely with her Vanity Fair and V covers.
Seen here in Roberto Cavalli's spring/summer 2006 collection (who clearly isn't capitalizing on the buzz) — and look, she hasn't gained a pound. Just how does she do it?
We're so proud of you, Kate.
She's Back In Kate Shape! [News of the World]
Editorial Director
