Steven Kolb Does the Work, DVF Takes the Credit, and that’s A OK by the CFDA

Edited by Jessica Lapidos

The workhorse behind the CFDA, C.E.O. Steven Kolb, lingers momentarily on Diane Von Furstenberg‘s runway post-show, making his way from backstage to the front of house. I overheard him tell another journalist, “I do all the work, Diane takes all the credit. It’s established and out in the open.” It’s quite alright with all parties involved; if he didn’t do the lion’s share of the CFDA workload, when would DVF possibly have time to create a collection and run her powerhouse? That said, on the 50th anniversary of the CFDA, there is much excitement abounds with the relocation of CFDA headquarters, so we got a little nosy.

The Museum at FIT Celebrates 50 Years of the CFDA and American Fashion

Edited by Lester Brathwaite

Eleanor Lambert founded the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1962 and since then the organization has had some 600 members. This Friday, the Museum at FIT opens its latest exhibition, Impact: 50 Years of the CFDA, featuring 70 iconic looks that trace the development of American style over the last half century. 

VS Angel Goes with God, Ellen Dances on Moms’ Anti-Gay Pedestal and Kanye Returns to Paris

Edited by Lester Brathwaite

- Joan Rivers has had 739 plastic surgery procedures — meanwhile, Ground Zero has seen less construction. [Buzzfeed]

- Celebrities are clamoring to spice up their red carpet lives by wearing Victoria Beckham to this year’s Oscars. [Daily Mail]

- Victoria’s Secret Angel Kylie Bisutti apparently took her title too seriously and quit VS because god doesn’t care for that kind of behavior in his heavenly hosts. [Vogue UK]

CFDA’s Move from the Garment District Ruffling a Few Sequined Feathers

Edited by Lester Brathwaite

Located at 1412 Broadway for the last 15 years, the CFDA has been, as president Diane von Furstenberg puts it, the “soul of the Garment District” — working tirelessly to preserve the once thriving neighborhood with initiatives such as the CFDA Incubator and Made in Midtown. Now that the Council is planning to physically abandon the District, some fear it will also leave the Garment…out to dry. 

IndieNewsroom: Anna Plays Nice in “The Fashion Fund”…Rachel Zoe Dies for LOVE…Ab Fab for Alexis Bittar

Edited by Lester Brathwaite

- The Fashion Fund is a new webseries that takes a look at the process behind the CFDA‘s annual award for up-and-coming designers. The first episode takes us behind the close doors of the committee that chose recent winner Joseph Altuzarra, featuring Anna Wintour in full HBIC mode. Flipping through the lookbook from Nice Collective, Anna purrs,”Well this is just generic…I mean, it’s fine. It’s not offensive.” And then she set it on fire and threw it in Jeffrey Kalinsky‘s face. [NYT]

IndieNewsroom: Intro to Beyonce-nomics…IMG’s Renaissance Women…A Sneak Peek at Adriana Lima’s Super Bowl Ad

Edited by Lester Brathwaite

- Rutgers is offering a class in Beyoncé and her impact on race, gender, politics and putting a ring on it in America. [Paper]

Plus Model Magazine and Fashion’s Obsession with Unrealistic Body Image

Edited by Lester Brathwaite

The weight, dress size and health of models have always been hot-button topics, both in and out of the fashion industry. While runways are slowly shying away from the ultra-thin, heroin chic craze that dominated the late-90s and resurfaced in the mid-00s with all those pale, starving girls from Eastern Europe, and the CFDA has enacted initiatives to ensure the health and safety of models, there is still a large disparity between the average woman and what she sees when opens up the pages of Vogue. And with fashion, the trend simply trickles down to the rest of society. Just take a look at the skeletons on this Sunday’s Golden Globes red carpet. Bombarded with these images on a daily basis, how can impressionable young girls and women in general have a healthy body image? Plus Model Magazine decided to address this issue head-on with an editorial featuring Katya Zharkova and a handful of disturbing factoids.

New York Bows to Milan Finally Settling Fashion Calendar Dispute

Edited by Lester Brathwaite

The Great Fashion Week Calendar War of 2011 (and early 2012) has finally come to an end…at least for now. And while the fashion industry as a whole is a winner, New York as an individual city is totes the loser.