- Hermès apparently wanted to tap noted sculptor Helmut Lang to replace Jean Paul Gaultier after the latter left in 2010, but the former wanted to shred clothes, not make them. [Fashionologie]

- New York’s kinda foxy governor, Andrew Cuomo, reportedly hired the stylist from girlfriend Sandra Lee‘s “cooking show,” Semi-Homemade Cooking to do his makeup during his campaign. To the tone of $1383.86 [NYT]

- Speaking of money well-spent, the National Institutes of Health used tax dollars to conduct a study on gay men’s penis size and how it effects their sexual health: Those who felt they had an inadequate penis are more likely to be psychologically troubled and anal receptive—or “bottoms”—while those with larger penises usually identify themselves as “tops.” Meanwhile, a quick run-through of Manhunt would have unearthed the same conclusion. [Jezebel]

- Amancio Ortega, the richest man in Spain, is stepping down as chairman of Zara, which he founded in 1975. [The Cut]

- While at the premiere of Friends with Benefits, sounds like one WWD reporter was less than enthused about stars Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake‘s behavior. To wit: Mila Kunis wore a red, tight Lanvin dress and the watchful gaze of an exceptionally beefy bodyguard, who dissuaded revelers from speaking with her. “She doesn’t want to talk,” the guard explained, “to anybody. ”

And: Timberlake didn’t particularly seem to want to be with anybody. Visibly pained, the singer-turned-actor had forced a mile-wide grin for the press on the red carpet. “I think it’s a good movie?” Timberlake offered through clenched teeth. Sounds like someone hasn’t had any friends or benefits in a while.  [WWD]

- Borders, my favorite bookstore chain — suck it, Barnes & Noble –  is closing all of its 399 stores, including the six in NYC because no one reads anymore. [Racked]

- Anderson Cooper will host the CFDA Awards and hopefully his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, will make an appearance, preferably in this fashion. [Refinery29]

- Britney Campbell, the 8-year-old Botoxed beauty queen in training, has been removed from her mother’s custody by Child Protective Services. Britney may have been distraught but her face was the picture of serenity. [The Cut]

- Jason Wu may be new to Twitter but he’s already mastered the requisite art of irreverence. His Twitter handle is @MissWu_NY and is managed by an owl. [WWD]

- Isaac Mizrahi donated newly designed uniforms to the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy and the NY Post had a pun field day. [NY Post]

- Princess Beatrice’s fascinating fascinator is generating a bidding war on eBay.  [The Cut]

- Barnes & Noble and Borders are censoring Andrej Pejic‘s ladylike boychest in their stores. [Elle]

Knightley is just one of two cover stars, the other being James Thíerrée, a French performer who counts Charlie Chaplin and Eugene O’Neil as antecedents. The current  issue — well, really the only issue since the last Egoiste with a naked Natalia Vodianova on the cover came out 5 years ago — also features a wide range of interviews and collaborations from Roman Polanski, Beth Ditto, Diane von Furstenberg, Yoko Ono and others.

Besides coming out when it damn well feels like it, Egoïste is different from other mags in that all of the ads therein are the brainchild of its kooky editor, Wisniak, who now works from her own bed in her Parisian apartment.

To wit, the ad for Louis Vuitton sounds better than whatever they’re planning with Angelina Jolie:

The Louis Vuitton ad took Wisniak and her deputy, Eleonore Therond, a full year to create. It features a lost polar bear on an adventure with a monogrammed Louis Vuitton trunk. He embarks through the tundra with it; clings to it like a buoy in frigid waters, eventually finds shelter on a boat bound for civilization—and then, trunk in hand, crashes onto the stage of a lecture given by Al Gore on the perils of global warming.

A true rarity in fashion, in publishing and just in the pace of the modern world, Egoïste has become a collector’s item with the December 1977 issue featuring Mick Jagger recently selling on eBay for $1,100. And appropriately, you won’t find Egoïste hanging around on a shelf at Barnes and Noble; the only retailer in America that carries the mag is New York’s Rizzoli Bookstore.

Perhaps one day Keira Knightely’s cover will fetch a similar price tag. The actress and occasional Chanel cyclist may seem an odd choice considering the iconoclastic cover stars before her, but for Wisniak, it’s not about being current or on trend: “It’s about lasting. It’s like a bet to see who will still be interesting in 10 years.”  [Daily Beast]

PURCHASE

If you remember correctly, PETA threatened the Olsen twins with an anti-fur campaign, featuring the twins decked out in dead animal parts and looking rather drab. Well, the Hairless Halloween turned into the bashed book signing at the Barnes and Noble in Union Square. While the Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen contently signed their new book, Influence, PETA supporters protested outside in their Hairy-Kate and Trashley Halloween masks…just a few days early! The next time PETA gathers to protest, I think they should tell their supporters to avoid wearing fake fur (see middle)…it just isn’t getting the anti-fur message across. 

Sorry PETA, you may have started this war, but it looks like you lost your first battle. Fur is fur and fur is fashion. You’ve got other issues to worry about…like the meat purse…

Thanks NY Mag and Popgloss!