So rumors in Europe are still flurrying that the Karl/Elbaz/Chanel/Lanvin rumors actually have some validity. Breath -- bated! [Fashionologie]
The dust has settled at Interview, and it appears that Fabien Baron is back at the helm as editorial director. [Fashionologie]
Gareth Pugh, along with, like, everyone else, won't show at Paris men's fashion week. [The Cut]
So...Hermés breeds their own crocodiles for their bags. Nothing makes a statement purse like a little added morbidity. [The Cut]
In Kanye West news: he shops at American Apparel with Amber Rose -- where they buy the same thing -- and blew off being Agyness Deyn's date for the Glamour fashion awards. Such a gentleman. [American Apparel] and [The Mirror UK]
In double, triple, even quadruple take news, uber-insider Diane Perent at A Shaded View on Fashion is reporting that Karl Lagerfeld is not renewing his contract at Chanel! And even crazier than the Kaiser bowing out is who's set to replace him: Lanvin's own Alber Elbaz!
So what happens to the beloved French label with the absence of Elbaz? Well, according to the last leg of this rumor, Olivier Theyskens, formerly of Nina Ricci, will take over at Lanvin. Mind-blowing? Yes. Though, of course, none of it has been entirely substantiated. Chances are that by the end of the day the dust will settle and answers will emerge.
UPDATE: Unable to contain themselves, The Cut went to straight to Chanel and Lanvin to question the validity of this meaty rumor, and when asked if Karl was in fact leaving with Elbaz as his successor, they were, not surprisingly met with a resounding "NO!"
For a mere $4,000 you can have this Hermésified Batavus Old Dutch bicycle complete with supple Taurillion Clemence leather detailing and the label's signature orange color. It will park quite nicely right next to your Chanel Segway.
Marc and Lorenzo are finalizing their nuptials. The ceremony will likely take place in June in Provincetown, MA and the party not until December in St. Barts. [Cityfile]
Contrary to speculation, Jesus Luz will not appear alongside Madonna in her new Louis Vuitton ad. But, he is their friend... [The Cut]
What's with Karl Lagerfeld and his obsession with quirky female artists? First Beth Ditto and now he's tapped Lily Allen to star in the new Chanel handbag ad campaign. [WWD]
A day in the life of Steven Alan. Factoid: he can't sketch. His cats look like goats. [Fashionista]
Alber Elbaz, always good for a soundbite: "I don’t have children. I’m always pregnant, but I never had kids. Obviously I’ve never been through labor, but I think that having a collection is the closest thing to it." [Fashionologie]
Michael Kors wants Spanx for men. It could do a few bodies good. [The Cut]
While it's not nearly as "what the hell?" as the Chanel Segway, why exactly is a Chanel guitar necessary? Chanel's Spring 2009 collection was said to be inspired by a painting by Marie Laurencin, a 20th century avant-garde artist who hung around with the likes of Guillaume Apollinaire and Pablo Picasso -- maybe it's the bohemian thing. In fact one of the models went down the runway in a floor-length ruffled print dress with the featured guitar slung over her shoulder. Flagrant triviality in fashion is one thing, but Segway plus guitar plus Karl Lagerfeld Barbies meets our quota for Chanel branding.
Barbie's 50th anniversary was eagerly celebrated in New York during Fashion Week, so it's no surprise that everyone's favorite, impossibly proportioned plastic woman would get equal treatment in Paris -- from Karl Lagerfeld, no less.
Starting this Monday through March 15th, the windows of Colette will be plastic-ered with Barbie and her man, played by model Baptiste Giabiconi. Both get styled high by Lagerfeld, with Barbie in everything from a wedding gown to a swimsuit to, of course, Chanel; and Baptiste looks like KL reincarnate -- chain, gloves, sunglasses and all.
If you miss the windows, the whole exhibition will be on view in the Colette gallery until the 28th. Feel free to remember fondly those days as child spent making Barbie fabulous and wishing Ken was anatomically correct.
Roberto will present Just Cavalli after all. But not in a runway show -- rather with private appointments for a group of select editors. He's also planning to address the state of the line. [FWD]
Yikes! Famed photographer Annie Leibovitz (pictured) is mortgaging rights to her art for money. Apparently she's taken loans upwards of $15.5M from Art Capital, and is now being forced to mortgage -- for the life of the loans -- all the rights to her photographs, even those she will take in the future. When even the immortal starting to fall, we should all be frightened. [The Independent]
Chanel made their own Segway. Sure. Why not? Makes perfect sense. [Luxist]
Apparently the 90s are the new 80s. Didn't we already go through this with leg-warmers and off the shoulder looks a few years ago? Enough! [The Moment]
Rolex anyone? One of the greatest collections of Rolex watches -- gathered since 1984 -- will be sold off in Milan on Mach 22nd by Geneva-based auction house Patrizzi & Co. The sale will be previewed in New York and U.S. buyers can bid online during the actual auction. Pieces range from $50,000 to $225,000. We're guessing Annie Leibovitz won't be in on the bidding. [WWD]
Tom Ford has started shooting his new movie, A Single Man. Prancing around on set looking amazing with a bunch of shirtless guys looks like such hard work. [Fashionologie]
Karl Lagerfeld (pictured) designed specialty coins for France's Monnai de Paris. To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the birth of Gabrielle "Coco"
Chanel, they're issuing, among others, a solid-gold coin with a face value of 5 euros, in
reference to the house's iconic N°5 fragrance. At least somebody's making money. [Hint]
Marc Jacobs and bf Lorenzo Martone are all about the PDA. They
were seen making out with each other at the the celebration dinner for the
re-opening of the Mango store in SoHo. I guess if you can't do it at
your own canceled holiday party you gotta take it somewhere else. We know we'd
feel honored to have him lock lips at one of our parties. [NYP]
Open for business: Prada's London nightclub. Space 15 Twenty -- Urban Outfitters grand collaborative project on L.A.'s Cahuenga Corridor that includes not only Urban Outfitters, but also ALife and NYC vintage fave What Comes Around Goes Around.
> Casting Chanel: Alessandro Nivola (above) has been confirmed to play a dashing Arthur "Boy" Capel to Audrey Tatou's Coco Chanel in the upcoming big screen biopic.
> Steven Alan opens in Brooklyn: For anyone in search of perfectly tailored basics, when price is no option.
> Will the Pope go naked rather than wear fur? The Italian Association for Defense of Animals and the Environment has launched an online petition appealing to Pope Benedict XVI, as an animal lover, to stop wearing robes trimmed with ermine.
> Artist Ryan McGinley's animalistic Wrangler ads:Banned in the US for appearing to glorify the murder and rape of young women, but still seen all over Europe (and online). Mission accomplished?
> The map to Barneys men's section: Some useful details to navigate the warehouse sale.
"It was lightning in a bottle," says Paul Wilmot, who was head of public relations at Calvin Klein in the late 1980's, when the supermodel phenomenon took flight. "Suddenly you had five or six incredibly glamorous and beautiful girls, and they all looked different. And they all were known by their first names. And they all palled around. That has never happened before. It was almost the female equivalent of Sinatra's Rat Pack."
Look no further than September's Vogue to find the Supers in a succession of ads: YSL, Prada and Chanel, starring Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Claudia Schiffer. Turn another page for Kate Moss cocooned in Donna Karan's claret wool bouclé, then Stella Tennant posed in gold lamé Marc Jacobs and then, a few pages later, Tennant again, this time jeweled and glossy for Vera Wang.
On the way from Kate to Stella, don't miss a visit from "'90s icon Alex Lindquist for Brooks Brothers (in other photos from this spread, not in Vogue, he shares the bench with "80s Bruce Weber muse and model Jeff Aquilon). At 300 or so pages in there's also a double page spread of Christie Turlington in Escada, and then Schiffer again, paired with the sensational ballet dancer Robert Bollé for Salvatore Ferragamo...
The glamazons return -- and we haven't even hit the editorial yet. In the meantime, enjoy this clip shot by fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh, which captures the creative zeitgeist of the girls' silent screen aura:
Gay men love fashion, and fashion loves gay men. Is it something in our jeans? Celebrating this long tradition, Truman Says exists to offer advice, tips, and the occasional catty observation on celebrity style coups and faux pas.
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