- Naomi Campbell celebrated her 42nd birthday lighting candles at a church in Jerusalem. No word if she later burned said church down. [Racked]

- The Great Gatsby trailer has finally premiered and one thing is obvious: the costumes are great and gasp-y. Trailer after the jump! [Huff Po]

- Aww, Prince William loves his nana, saying of Queen Elizabeth II: I would like to take all of her experiences, all of her knowledge and put it in a small box and to be able to constantly refer to it.” All right, Will, get a room. [Us]

- Williams’s dad, meanwhile, loves him two turntables and a microphone. Prince Charles was recently  in Toronto where some kids taught him to deejay. Introducing Prince-Mix-A-Lot! [Paper]

- In the words of “Rack City (Remix)” — who that on the pole? Is she that on the pole? It’s Heidi Klum and yes. She is that. The recently divorced super gets in touch with her inner bad bitch for Hunger Magazine. [Styleite]

- Condé Nast is reviving its high-end men’s fashion mag, M, which disappeared from newsstands in the early 90s before the advent of the metrosexual. [NYP]

- Gisele and Tom Brady are rumored to be expecting their second superhuman spawn after allegedly telling Riccardo Tisci she was two months along so that he could adjust her gown for the Met Ball. [Telegraph]

- And speaking of model babies, Sasha Pivovarova gave birth to daughter Mia Isis and tweeted a picture of her and the newborn out to the world this morn. Welcome to the world…of social media, baby. [The Cut]

- In a clear-cut case of “not letting shit go,” Gucci is now suing Guess in Italy, China and France. They’ll get that $221 million one way or another. [WWD, sub req'd]

Feedbox

The Initiative consists of the following six points:

1. We will not knowingly work with models under the age of 16 or who appear to have an eating
disorder. We will work with models who, in our view, are healthy and help to promote a healthy
body image.

2. We will ask agents not to knowingly send us underage girls and casting directors to check IDs
when casting shoots, shows and campaigns.

3. We will help to structure mentoring programmes where more mature models are able to give
advice and guidance to younger girls, and we will help to raise industry-wide awareness through
education, as has been integral to the Council of Fashion Designers of America Health Initiative.

4. We will encourage producers to create healthy backstage working conditions, including healthy
food options and a respect for privacy. We will encourage casting agents not to keep models
unreasonably late.

5. We encourage designers to consider the consequences of unrealistically small sample sizes of
their clothing, which limits the range of women who can be photographed in their clothes, and
encourages the use of extremely thin models.

6. We will be ambassadors for the message of healthy body image.

Jonathan Newhouse, chairman of Condé Nast International, emphasized the importance of The Health Initiative, saying, “Vogue believes that good health is beautiful. Vogue editors around the world want the magazines to reflect their commitment to the health of the models who appear on the pages and the wellbeing of their readers.” [Fashion Foie Gras]

However, don’t expect to see Mario Testino‘s work in the pages of CR. The duo worked together for decades on The Face and later for Vogue Paris, but since he’s contractually obligated to Vogue, Testino is a no no. But that doesn’t mean there’s any shortage of talent. For the first issue’s mock-up, Argentinian photographer Sebastian Faena captured a topless — this is Carine after all — Kati Nescher while Bruce Weber shot Patti Smith in all her Miss Havisham glory.

In addition to scouting new talent, Roitfeld is being more hands-on than ever before, taking meetings with advertisers like Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Cartier for the first time in her career. And according to her they were “very receptive and eager to participate.” Though carrying over 100 ad pages, ads in CR won’t look like other fashion mags since it will reportedly only carry spreads and have no front-of-book content — that will be reserved for the online component.

The fashion book will also only have longer-format articles, published in the writer’s original language — whatever that may be — with translations in the back. In her mock-up, Roitfeld had articles written in Arabic, Japanese and Russian, although CR itself is an English publication with offices located in The Standard hotel.

Carine insists that this new magazine of hers is in no way a form of revenge to her former bosses at Condé Nast, saying, “Vogue is a very beautiful magazine, an institution, and I learned so much working there. You can’t put yourself into competition with a magazine like Vogue; you have to create something new, something different.” She added, “It’s time to find something new, something fresh — for me and for the readers…I find that some people in fashion are so blasé. Fashion has to be fun”

Roitfeld will bring her trademark irreverence to styling photoshoots, which she admits “will always be edgy.” She’s trying to find new ways to push the envelope, not by being “safer” but rather just “different,” explaining, “Maybe it will be more mental than physical.”

CR Fashion Book‘s first issue will have 288 pages at a cover price of $9.95, with a publication of 50,000 copies, mostly in Europe but also including the U.S. and Asia.  And when Carine’s not busy working on that, she’ll have a host of other projects keeping her busy, such as styling campaigns for Max Mara and Chanel, musing for Givenchy‘s Riccardo Tisci and then there’s a full-length documentary on her slated for 2013 by Fabien Constant.

So I think it’s safe to say leaving French Vogue was the best thing to happen to Carine Roitfeld. [WWD]

Mock-up of CR's cover by Sebastian Faena

Patti Smith by Bruce Weber

Carine's Obsession

Another spread mock-up by Faena

Photos: Fashion Gone Rogue

It’s been a tough year for women’s fashion magazines across the board, except for Vogue, which has managed to increase its ad pages by 9% and its newsstand sales by 13%, thus earning it the title of Ad Age‘s Magazine of the Year. Conversely, Glamour‘s ad pages and newsstand sales are down – by 7% and 17%, respectively. As Condé Nast‘s biggest seller, it’s imperative that Glamour turn a strong profit for their publishing parent; and so to ensure that, Leive is planning a redesign and overhaul of the mag.

The new Glamour will launch in March with new columns and contributors and an increased focus on pop culture. Michael Angelo, Nylon‘s former art director has also been brought on to assist with the redesign. “The format of many women’s magazines — Glamour included! — hasn’t changed much for a decade,” Leive told WWD, ”but young women are consuming media in totally different ways now. Our team is creating a new Glamour and glamour.com for this new generation of readers….”

Hopefully someone informed Ms. Leive that this  new generation of readers doesn’t actually read. [WWD]

So this whole shebang is getting all kinds of complicated so here’s a quick run-down:

New York, London, Milan and Paris had agreed — at least in the minds of New York and London — to always and forever start the fashion show calendar on the second Thursday of February and September way back in 2008. Milan and Paris claimed they had agreed to no such thing.

In accordance with this — the “second Thursday rule” — NYFW would start on September 13, thus moving everyone else back one week. Milan said, “Not cool, bro” and threatened to decide its own dates and Condé Nast threatened a boycott by all Vogue editors.

Milan said “Screw you guys, bring it on,” by deciding to keep their original dates, September 19-25, thus conflicting with both New York and London, prompting DVF to ask, “Can’t we all just get along?”

Then New York said, “Fine, you win” and offered to move the dates of the September 2012 shows, to Septembr 6 (the first Thursday) through September 13.

Milan said, “Damn right we win,” then decided to throw its weight around by stipulating that New York had to cut out the September 13 date to accommodate London’s men’s collections. And New York said, “Fuggedaboutit.”

Which more or less brings us up to speed. So the CFDA is waiting to hear if the Camera Nazionale accepts this latest development. As for the second Thursday rule, the CFDA proposed revisiting it after three years and meeting with the Camera in 2013 to discuss the 2014 show dates.

Still confused? Don’t blame you. Which is why they should just settle this with a good old-fashioned walk-off like civilized people. [WWD]

Karachi Fashion Week

One must also consider the undeniable impact of the internet and blogs, bringing the latest and greatest in fashion to anyone with a decent internet connection. Now a teenager in Ohio can gasp at the fantastical creations from Beijing Fashion Week as a blogger in Thailand livestreams the latest Marc Jacobs runway show. But with this democratization of the fashion industry comes its inevitable oversaturation. “Every other city is doing a fashion week. I think there can be only one market in the U.S., and that’s New York,” Kolb opines. So fashion weeks in Moscow, Karachi, Berlin, Zurich, Huston, Dubai, Portland, Rochester, Islamabad and Tel Aviv won’t garner the kind of respect or attention paid to London and Paris; clothes from its runways won’t land in Elle or W – nor might they ever be worn outside of their respective countries. However, Glenda Bailey’s or Anna Wintour‘s is not the only eye foreign designers hope to capture.

For participants in Islamabad Fashion Week, fashion is a new form of expression that further immerses them in the global culture of the 21st century. When filming Fashion Week Internationale for Vice.com, hostess Charlet Duboc was surprised at the presence of women in full Burkas volunteering backstage:  “I couldn’t quite believe it. How does that work? How can you look at that and admire it and yet know you can’t wear it? But they were there, they were appreciating it and it didn’t feel like there was a divide. Like, ‘You do your thing, I do my thing’ and everyone got along.” Fashion transcends more than just clothing to become a force for cultural change. And a force for economic change. Speaking with the Wall Street Journal, Zurain Imam observed,  ”Fashion in Pakistan for a long time has been an entertainment sport; at [Karachi Fashion Week], we are trying to really make it about the business of fashion.”

While Kolb concedes that smaller fashion weeks can be good training ground for prospective designers, some bigger names are flocking abroad to show their collections. There probably is no hotter designer in America than Singapore-born, Nepalese-raised Prabal Gurung, whose last two presentations at New York Fashion Week met with near universal acclaim. Even he is considering showing his wares abroad in Moscow, Turkey, London and his native Singapore, saying, “There are so many emerging markets that we want to in some way be a part of, and I would love to showcase my collection in a more global way.” With a crowded and contentious calendar, Glenda Bailey won’t likely end up in Richmond, VA, but who’s to say that she won’t be stomping through a Singaporean jungle for the latest in spring ready-to-wear?

Karachi Fashion Week

There’s an André Leon Talley-esque character, clad in a Louis Vuitton cloak and a fairy godmother bearing a striking resemblance to Isaac Mizrahi in Swarovski crystal wings. I would assume Anna Wintour would be cast in the role of some sort of wicked witch, but Florio Kasouf’s memories of her are actually rather fond. The author recalls having her first lunch with the editrix at age 10:

“She asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said, ‘I’m going to take your job.’ Apparently she had said the same thing early on in her life, so she thought it was cute.”

Yeah, Wintour thought it was real cute. Next thing Kelly knew she was being sent off to live with seven queens who looked for diamonds all day and ended up fighting for her young life after Anna, disguised in Yohji Yamamoto, fed her a poisoned stick of gum.

Anyhoo, The Adventures of Sophie will be sold exclusively at Barneys — naturally — but it being the future and all, there will also be an app for it. And they all lived fiercely ever after. [WWD]

By juxtaposing Schiaparelli’s and Prada’s viewpoints on these topics, museum curators Andrew Bolton and Harold Koda hope to create a dialogue between the designers:

“If we can play with that idea of what Schiap would say, with her real words, and what Miuccia would say, in her real words, on a variety of issues,” Koda explained, “we could end up with something that was a mind-teaser for the audience, and would allow people to see Schiap with increased relevance and Miuccia with a different kind of understanding than they perhaps already have. We want it to be serious in content but playful in its approach.”

This approach will certainly be playful considering who the Met has in charge of the production and design: no other than that master of the spectacular spectacle, Baz Luhrmann. According to Koda, the exhibit will have “a very high-tech aspect” so as to bring the past to life.

On Fashion will run from May 10th to Aug, 19th and will include some 80 designs by Schiaparelli from the late Twenties through the early Fifties and by Prada from the late Eighties through today. The annual Gala — my ticket to which is clearly already be in the mail — will be chaired by Anna Wintour, Miuccia herself and Carey Mulligan — a Prada and Vogue fave as well as the star of Luhrmann’s upcoming adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Hello, multi-brand tie-in.

Amazon.com, who along with Condé Nast is underwriting the exhibit, will serve as the Gala’s honorary chair. [WWD, sub req'd]

Photos: WWD

Elsa Schiaparelli

Miuccia Prada

A Schiaparalli gown

Prada Fall 2007

A Schiaparelli dress from 1937

Prada Spring 2008

Photo: Roxanne Lewitt / Obsession Photo

Ostroff will be Condé’s first president of entertainment as it hopes to ween the Nast off the teet of advertisers and start rolling in that Hollywood dough. Though projects like The September Issue and America’s Next Top Model, featuring a be-caped André Leon Talley, already give CN a multi-media presence, the publisher’s not getting any money from it. Which is where Ostroff comes in.

“This is all content that Condé Nast should be able to build a library with in some way — even if it’s in partnership with other companies,” said Ostroff. “It could mean films, it could mean documentaries, it could mean television shows, it could mean digital series or digital content, it could be digital channels. And it could be across all platforms: Cable channels, cable broadcast networks. It ranges across the board.”

In that case, allow me to pitch my first — of many — Condé Nast-themed shows. Picture it, The Golden Gossip Girls, starring Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington as Blair Waldorf and Serena Vanderwoodsen, respectively (naturally)…50 years in the future. It’s got Emmy written all over it…or at least People’s Choice Award scribbled somewhere on its side. [NYT, WWD]

Photo: Roxanne Lewitt / Obsession Photo

Photo: Trendland

Italian designers are forming a united front to decide on their own dates, out of the three following options: 1.) move to July; 2.) show before New York in September; or 3.) leave things the way they are, which could mean an overlap between Milan and London.

Condé Nast, for its part, is not having any of this. In a letter to Mario Boselli, head of the Italian Chamber of Fashion ”obtained”  – *cough* stolen *cough*– by WWD, CEO Jonathan Newhouse writes that Vogue editors “like the schedule the way it is presently organized. We at Condé Nast do not want the schedule to be changed. We very much oppose moving the Milan shows earlier so that they overlap or conflict with the London fashion shows — or with the New York fashion shows or those of any market.”

Newhouse then goes on to basically threaten a boycott by all Vogue editors — American, British, French and Italian — of Milan shows, stating matter-of-factly that “they will not under any circumstances abandon the London or New York shows if the Milan shows are moved earlier.”

The root of the conflict stems from a pact in 2008 when all four cities agreed to kick-off the fashion weeks on the second Thursday of February and September. Boselli claims that the agreement was only for three years while the CFDA‘s Steven Kolb and the British Fashion Council‘s Caroline Rush contend that it was indeed a permanent arrangement.

As for the fromage standing alone, Paris is expected to side with Milan. However, Didier Grumbach, head of the Chambre Syndicale, would rather come to a compromise and wants everyone to just chill the eff out: “When planning our schedules we have to factor in the time constraints of houses such as Jean Paul Gaultier or Givenchy that deliver couture, men’s and women’s shows with one designer. In any case, these things can’t be improvised. We have our locations. To move dates on venues like the Grand Palais cannot be improvised. Those dates are decided months and months in advance. If [anyone wants to] move dates for 2013, why not, we have the time to talk about it, to arrange it.”

Frankly, it’s a little odd that London is siding with New York considering the hubbub over model castings earlier this season, with London designers blaming New York for hogging all the best girls and the general feeling that LFW was being squeezed out. Now it seems Milan is feeling the crunch and are going to have to come to a decision soon or face the wrath of Wintour. [WWD, sub req'd]

Photo: Trendland

- Speaking of schooling the children, Condé Nast UK is opening up the Condé Nast College of Fashion and Design in London come next September. I’m hoping André Leon Talley will teach a class on haberdashery and great-capes.[Styleite]

- Hey tranny, it’s tranny. Andrej Pejic channels famous Warholian tranny Candy Darling in Chris Benz‘s spring 2012 collection. [Fashionista]

- While everyone was consumed with whatever was happening on Tuesday in and around the Tents — days have just blended together by this point — Michelle Obama was holding court at the White House for the 2011 National Design Awards. [Telegraph]

- Scientists recently discovered a diamond star of 10 billion trillion trillion carats. I’m thinking of a platinum setting. [BBC]

- And it’s a sad day in retail. Borders is closing. #fuckoffkindle [Racked]

Vogue Italia‘s “Day and Night,” left; W‘s “Transformers,” right

The two shoots are not completely alike; after all W used 10 models including Linda Evangelista, Karen Elson and Jessica Stam, while Vogue Italia only used Zimmermann. And Karl Templer styled for Vogue Italia while Edward Enninful styled for W.

Still, the theme, and even some of the poses, of the two spreads are remarkably similar and they’re both in black and white, thus making the similarities even more apparent.

Sure this doesn’t seem like that big of a deal — fashion continually recycles itself, even if after only a month — but WWD, at least, thinks there might be repercussions:

“The fallout will be worth watching. If it damages W’s relationship with Meisel, [Stefano] Tonchi will lose out on a big-name photographer he’s craved for the magazine. If Tonchi doesn’t act, it will demonstrate the lengths a fashion magazine editor will go to appease a photographer who holds considerable influence in the industry.”

What’s Tonchi going to do, go to Condé Nast and issue a recall of all August Italian Vogues? Mesiel’s a brilliant photog — he just got a little lazy. It happens to the best of us. I got lazy when it came to the conclusion of this post…The End. [WWD]

Ok, so maybe we’re exaggerating.  Ms. Wintour probably had very little to say about the fashion industry’s notorious new Twitter account @CondeElevator, the hilarious account that reported on over the top statements made in the elevators of the Conde Nast building.  The clever tweeter lasted a mere 35 tweets and about 7 days, and gained an impressive amount of 56,000 followers by the time it announced its shut down this morning.  More likely, it was the investigative nature of the uber-controlling Conde Nast HR department that pressured the account’s closure.  Several websites postulated rumors about who supposedly started the account, but insider sources revealed them all to be false.  If anyone knows the real identity of the @CondeElevator, send us a tip!

OK let’s be brutally honest here. What in the hell were the people at Details & Conde Nast on when they  thought Ashton Kutcher was the right man to put on this cover. It’s not just any cover, it’s a SEPTEMBER ISSUE. To add insult to injury they stick him in a nondescript black v-neck sweater against a white background. No offense but we’ve litettaly seen better id pictures, hell mugshots even.

This is a prime example of the magazine industry putting celebrity in front of substance and fashion. This is pretty much a slap in the face for anyone who considers this publication as a good source of mens style and fashion.

Let me know how you feel by commenting below or tweeting me directly at @mcarthurjoseph.

I’ll be honest this is the best we’ve seen Rihanna since she’s decided to go for the Kool-Aid red look. Hopefully this is a precursor to her Vogue and Esquire covers also coming out soon.

Keep reading for more shots

Photo: Zimbio

They will be joined by Condé Nast International chairman, Jonathan Newhouse, to form Voguetron show support for the country’s ravaged economy and fashion industry. This show of support includes a gala dinner for fashion executives, celebrities and VIPS on November 4th and Anna will once again miss my birthday when the next day she and the other Vogue ladies attend the Tokyo FNO. [WWD]

Enter cover girl Pippa Middleton. Kate‘s younger, saucier, more bootylicious sister. Reardon finds the sisters Middleton to be the perfect embodiment of Tatler for despite their constant exposure to the media, the sisters “always look cheerful and grateful and enthusiastic.”

Reardon has especial admiration for Pippa whom she thinks “has a much more complicated situation than Kate” being without “advice on how to deal with the media, or protection from the media.”

The reinvention of Tatler will not only feature less snark and snobbery — how it will continue to call itself British I have no clue — but also a hunting, shooting and fishing supplement, which Reardon claims “no other glossy magazine on the planet would touch.”

And for good reason. But Reardon, an avid fox huntress herself, wants to perpetuate this world of beautiful manners and brilliant society, even while admitting that it’s not particularly realistic:

“It might not really exist, but then again I think the world of American Vogue doesn’t really exist. I mean, it is a lovely, soothing, entertaining fantasy.” Yes, but that fantasy at least involves couture and never fly-fishing. [WWD]

Editor-in-Chief Stefano Tonchi explains the reasoning behind the campaign:

“Other publications have these parties that are sometimes very formal, sometimes very brief, sometimes very boring, sometimes very glamorous, but somehow it is always a place where you don’t necessarily have a lot of fun. And we were talking about how you have fun after the party.”

The ads feature photos that have appeared in W and will be seen on taxi rooftops and phone kiosks as well as in Condé Nast magazines and on their Web sites. In addition, W will get the after party started a little early by sending out bottles of Dom Perignon to celebrities, designers and a few restaurants and nightclubs around the city and the Hamptons.

If this is really the after party, I hope those bottles also come with an eightball of cocaine and a dead hooker. Because if Charlie Sheen taught me anything, the after party’s when shit gets real. [WWD]

Photo: Socialite Life

Glamour is Condé Nast‘s top newsstand seller, averaging 550,900 copies per month last year, though this year that number is down to 459,000. Editor-in-Chief Cindi Leive, however, is keeping a cool head for these numbers, claiming that it’s “no secret” sales have been falling off:

“It’s the classic thing. A girl has 1.7 seconds at the newsstand to make her decision about your magazine. Are we using that 1.7 seconds as well as we should? If we need to do that more ferociously and with different people and different topics, then we will.”

Glamour‘s array of different people this year have included Reese Witherspoon, Kim Kardashian, Diane Kruger, Kate Winslet, Emma Stone and Olivia Wilde with Blake Lively covering July’s issue. Leive hopes Lively will turn things around, especially in light of recent alleged events:

“My top seller this year is Kim Kardashian. Although I have hopes that Blake Lively’s nude picture scandal will put her over the edge. Just kidding, Blake.”

Totes kids…but honestly, Blake, if you could leak some other “fake” nudes, Glamour would seriously appreciate it. [WWD]

Lady Gaga, Karl Lagerfeld, Nicole Kidman, Alber Elbaz, Charlize Theron, Orlando Bloom, Blake Lively, Cyndi Lauper, Victoria Beckham and Gwyneth Paltrow lend their considerable star power to the project which is expected to donate about $1.2 million to relief efforts. [WWD]

Alber Elbaz

Blake Lively

Charlize Theron

Cyndi Lauper

Gwyneth Paltrow

Karl Lagerfeld

Lady Gaga

Nicole Kidman

Orlando Bloom

Victoria Beckham

On moving to L.A. and living in a hotel room: “I was very lonely,” Cruz says. “I would find cats in the street and take them with me. I raised a lot of cats in that period.”

Her take on karaoke: “I’ve gone to karaoke bars in almost every city I have been to,” she says. “Every time I am on a movie location, we find a karaoke bar and take the crew.”

On being a mother: “From the first second, you feel so much love,” Cruz says. “It is a revolutionary experience. That’s the best way I can describe it. It transforms you completely, in a second. Nature is very wise and gives you nine months to prepare, but in that moment—when you see that face, you are transformed forever.”

And you have transformed Vogue‘s image in my eyes Penelope, if only for a month. Beauty and talent and heart – that is what a cover girl should encompass. Read the full interview at Vogue.com.

Photographs by Mario Testino

Photos: Vogue Italia.it

- André Leon Talley ranks Beyoncé in Emilio Pucci as his best dressed from the Met Gala last night, though he modestly put himself at the lowly position at #12 when in reality he was the only lady to really turn it out on that carpet. [Vogue]

- Livia Firth, wife of this year’s Best Actor Oscar winner Colin Firth, had a meeting in the ladies room at the Met Ball with Stella McCartney, Lauren Hutton, Yoko Ono, Salma Hayek, Rihanna and Hilary Alexander and was gracious enough to tweet pics of it. [Refinery29]

- Mert & Marcus by Mert & Marcus. [Fashion Gone Rogue]

- John Galliano fired his lawyer, Stephane Zerbib over “apparent irregularities in respect of his firms administration of Galliano’s financial affairs over a number of years.” Sounds like someone had their hand in the couture cookie jar. [Vogue UK]

- Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, also known to commoners as Kate Middleton, wore White Gardenia Petals by Illuminum on her special day, thus ensuring that White Gardenia Petals by Illumnum will sell-out in a matter of minutes. [Grazia]

- With only three days left to the Royal Wedding, Kate Middleton‘s dress still remains the best-kept secret since the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. If the Royal Family has its way, and it will, we all won’t find out the name of the designer until 11 am GMT, at which point  www.officialroyalwedding2011.org will release the details as Kate saunters down the aisle at Westminster Abbey. I won’t be surprised to find that bin Laden’s been quietly sewing away in his private atelier — a literal hole in the ground — all this time in eager anticipation. [WSJ]

- Adweek has named the “10 Most Successful and Influential Magazines of the Year” and Vogue is nowhere in sight. The rankings were based on a number of criteria such as ad pages, ad revenue, overall circulation, and allegedly a “product quality measurement.”  Considering the 10 magazines chosen (Food Network Magazine ranks #1!) we are a nation of overweight, not particularly stylish, celebrity-obsessed nerds. U!S!A! [Adweek]

- The sight of Anna Wintour in Easy Breezy Tennis Casual was at first jarring. Then my mind was officially blown when I learned that she was in $158 J. Brand boot-cut jeans. Not because they were $158 J. Brand jeans, but a boot cut! I recently dug up a pair of flairs that I may or may not have stolen from a fifteen-year-old girl and of course proclaimed that the boot-cut was back. Anna Wintour is totes copying me, you guys. [The Cut]

- Bikini Man-Waxing is becoming a trend among — I’m guessing since it’s now becoming a trend — among straight men since the gays have been hairless since the early 90s. Boy Brazilians for everyone! [Refinery29]

- Three paparazzi photographers are taking Gisele‘s bodyguards to court after they allegedly fired shots at them two years ago during the super’s wedding to football-playing-guy Tom Brady. Sounds like Gisele needs to hire bodyguards with better aim. [Huff Po]

- Condé Nast got swindled into paying $8 million to someone who was apparently in Deliverance. [Styleite]

- James Franco has retired from Twitter, leaving a noticeable dearth of kitten pictures and tirades against Bruce Villanch. I’d be happy to take up the latter cause. [EW]

- According to American Apparel‘s Chairman Dov Charney, the company is doing just fiiiiiine, thank you: “We have a variety of options. We could do a private placement of stock. Or we could use the resources we have. We do $10 million a week in sales.” However, $10 mil a week in sales didn’t keep the company from an $86.3 million net loss in 2010. I guess sheer bodystockings aren’t as popular as they used to be. [WWD]

- Rumor has it Carine Roitfeld was banned from Paris Fashion Week after Condé Nast big-wig Jonathan Newhouse fired off a letter asking designers not to invite the ex-editrix as it “might send a confusing message.” In other news, Emmanuelle Alt recently graduated from an at-home signature forgery class. [Hint]

- Speaking of Alt, her first cover of Vogue Paris has hit the interwebs. Gisele looks great as usual, but this could easily be American Vogue and I could easily fall asleep looking at it. [Models.com]

- And speaking of American Vogue covers I hate, ladies and gentlewomen, Rihanna. [Twitter]

- I’m as excited for the Royal Wedding as the next gal, but some people are seriously starting to OD. [Beautylish]

- One of John Galliano‘s “victims” feels kind of bad that he might have ruined the designer’s career and doesn’t think he’s really a racist or anti-Semite. Thanks for your swift action regarding this matter. [Huffington Post]

- Japan really can’t catch a  break today. [BBC]

- And in equally tragic news, Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake have called it a day on their relationship. Personally, I think J-Tims looks better without a beard. [People]

-But as usual, Charlie Sheen provides the light at the end of the tunnel. Reports of the actor/hooker connoisseur’s death have been grossly exaggerated…by a virus spreading through Facebook. Now if this were the only the first time that we caught something contagious after poking Charlie Sheen…. [HuffPo]

Here are some great quotes from her interview:

On being heavy when she was younger…

“I will tell you that when I was heavy, people would say to me—and it was such a backhanded compliment—they would say, ‘You’ve got such a beautiful face,’ in the way of, like, ‘Oh, isn’t it a shame that from the neck down you’re questionable.’ ”

On whether or not she’s had plastic surgery or wants to change anything about her body…

“No, I have never tried any of that stuff…. I don’t have parts of my body that I hate or would like to trade for somebody else’s or wish I could surgically adjust into some fantasy version of what they are.”

On what she thinks her life will be like in five years…

“I don’t want to know. As long as my kids are OK, I think it is really good for me not to have the answers.”

To see the full list of the 50 Most Glam, click here. The April issue will be available on newsstands nationwide and digitally (on the iPad and the Barnes & Noble NookColor) March 8.

On her tenure at Vogue Paris:

It took a little time, because when I came to Vogue ten years ago, it was not the Vogue it is today. Joan Juliet Buck, who I was working for as a freelancer, was more a journalist editor than a fashion editor, so it was focused more on the text and writers and not so much on fashion. And me, I come with all my fashion ideas, but it was very difficult at the beginning, because a lot of photographers, it’s easy to forget, didn’t want to work for the magazine…Each time we try to be better and better, and it takes almost ten years to be a team, and now I think the best team is there. It’s very sad to leave your family after ten years…But I think the times are changing, too. I said to Jonathan [Newhouse, chairman of Condé Nast International], when I can make it ten, it will be great for me. And I think in the last [period] that maybe I got less freedom than I got before, so I think it was just the right time for me to leave, because I want to enjoy and do everything that I want to do. And Jonathan was an amazing boss, because he let me do such crazy things. To put a black transsexual with a beard and high heels on the cover? I don’t think a lot of presidents will let you do that. I think it was fun to look at French Vogue. Each month was a new happening. But I think now they want to change a bit. Even the French president [Xavier Romatet, of Condé Nast France] now wants something a bit [pauses]…sweeter I would say, and if I cannot have a lot of fun, then I prefer to do something else.

…I think the French president—maybe not Jonathan—but the French president thinks he wants something more [pauses]…I won’t say I’m too provocative; it’s my way of expressing myself, you know. They won’t change everything, because when something has been so [successful], it would be stupid to change it. Maybe they want [things] a bit more easy for everyone. It’s true, I’m always pushing. I like that. I’ve always been provocative, but what I’m going to do next is a new way of provocation. I did for many years porno chic. I was the queen of porno chic. And I will do something totally different now.

On being “fired” because of the Tom Ford issue:

No, that’s wrong…I think it was a controversial issue, but they were all controversial issues. I told you, at the end of this decade, I could see that the new president in France wanted to change the direction of the magazine. I’m sure the Tom Ford issue is not the way they’re heading in the next few years, but it was not because of the Tom Ford issue. I was not fired, because if I was fired, it would not be a very nice ending. It was a discussion between Jonathan and myself, and he never fired me…I know I did a good job. I know the March issue is a record in terms of advertising. So I’m not leaving a sad magazine, an empty magazine. I’m leaving a magazine that has an epic stop. I’m very happy about that…I think it’s sad because when I did this Tom Ford issue…we put a lot of little girls with makeup, a lot of jewelry. It was for Christmas and it’s nothing compared to what Guy Bourdin did 20 years ago or what I saw in all the magazines ten years ago…but when you put kids, you always know it’s going to be a problem. There was no nudity, it was always a T-shirt under the evening dress, but you know, people see what they want…These are the risques du métier.

On the “Tom Ford” issue:

I’m not going to work with Tom. That was ten years ago. If I look back at my CV, when I was freelance, I worked mostly ten years with Tom Ford at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. And after [that] I stopped and it was ten years at French Vogue. Now it’s a new decade and I don’t want to be doing what I was doing ten years ago. Of course, Tom is my friend and if he asks me what I think, I will answer. But I will not go and stay one week before the show and work with him.

On modeling in Tom’s next show:

He didn’t ask me.

On the Balenciaga controversy:

Oh, there are a lot of designers I admire. There’s a long list. In the young generation, of course I love Nicolas Ghesquière. There were these problems with Balenciaga last season, but I know him since the beginning. I was one of the biggest supporters of Nicolas, and I just saw him for a cup of tea and now everything is fine again between Nicolas and me.

…Sometimes people like to put oil on the fire, to make something bigger, and afterwards with blogs and the Internet, things [get out of] proportion. But now it’s gone back like before and I’m very happy because I think he’s full of talent.

On her relationship with Emmanuelle Alt:

It’s true that we are in not in the best relations, [but] I don’t want to talk about it, to be honest.

On the public’s perception of her:

People sometimes think I’m very cold, but I’m not. I’m a very shy person. When people know me, I’m not cold; I’m quite a nice person. It’s difficult as the editor of a magazine to be totally yourself because you’re a bit frightened. Now I think I go back where I was ten years ago, so I get younger, which is always good. Younger with dreams and younger with energy. Younger with risk, because now it will be my own risk; it won’t be Vogue’s risk. Always I will be a risky woman. I will keep this legend.

Link Love: Style.com

“A special team is working on this important and ambitious project, which we plan to launch in 2012,” declared Xavier Romatet.

When asked who is going to be the editor, Xavier Romatet replied only with a grin, but the rumor in the editorial offices point to Madame Carine Roitfeld. Is it true?

I suppose only time will tell on this one.

LINK LOVE: Humor Chic

Romatet, it seems, wants to follow American Vogue‘s  example by expanding beyond fashion and taking advantage of new technology to utilize the iPhone and iPad as well as developing a new website.

He explained:

“What I want is for Vogue Paris to be very open, that it will be a magazine where all of the sensibilities can express themselves, where all styles can exist. A magazine where everyone can express themselves because they have talent. Emmanuelle Alt is capable of opening the magazine to that.”

Alt is game for the challenge, saying that she “will task [herself] with developing the incredible potential of Vogue Paris.”

What do you think of Roitfeld’s replacement and French Vogue‘s new direction? Is the end of an era?

Link Love: Huffington Post

LINK LOVE: Humor Chic

Racked‘s “very well-placed” sources, claim:

[T]he magazine’s parent company was unhappy with all the bad press surrounding Roitfeld’s alleged pay-for-play scandals…demanding huge sums of money for extracurricular consulting gigs and the enormous, public embarrassment of being banned from Balenciaga last season for abusing her position at Vogue. In the latter case, Roitfeld allegedly borrowed Balenciaga preview pieces and sent them to her client, Max Mara, to copy…”

Then there’s that other scandal with ANDAM winner Hakaan:

“An angry anonymous letter, which was circulated among French media this week, asked “how a Turkish designer out of nowhere books Natalia Vodianova, Maria Carla Boscono, Lara Stone or Natasha Poly for his show—models asking €15.000 min per show, and who aren’t really famous for their charity!”

Roitfeld also made an unprecedented move by showing up to Hakaan’s first show with Kate Moss in tow. And then there’s that other scandal involving LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, who “allegedly threatened Conde Nast International Chairman Jonathan Newhouse with the removal of all LVMH ads from the next issue of” French Vogue after the last issue (edited by Tom Ford) apparently didn’t contain enough LVMH ad credits and exercised “poor taste” in this editorial.

As for rumors that Carine will be working with Ford on his new womenswear line, Ford recently told the New York Times Cathy Horyn:

“Carine and I have no plans to work together at the moment, and it is nothing that we have even discussed, but of course I think she is brilliant and we are close friends so who knows about the future.”

Well, I guess Heidi Klum‘s been right all along. In fashion one day you’re Anna Wintour and the next, you’re …Carine Roitfeld. It will be interesting to see how this story unfolds, who will succeed Carine (Emmanuelle Alt is apparently not an option) and where Carine lands, besides inevitably on her stilettoed feet.

LINK LOVE: Racked

Earlier this year, photographer and makeup artist Mario Epanya imagined several covers for what would be a future African edition of Vogue. Though there’s a Vogue Nippon, Vogue India, and even a Vogue Australia, there isn’t a Vogue Africa–and Mario was dedicated to changing that.

The last we talked to him, he was pursuing ways to purchase the license to Vogue Africa from Conde Nast International.

Imagine our disappointment when Mario posted the following message on Vogue Africa’s facebook page this past Friday (the post has since been deleted): “DEAR ALL. The Wait is over. Condé Nast said NO to an African license of VOGUE. So this is the last cover. Thanks for all your support. Enjoy, but it’s a beginning of something.”

I had to call Mario up to clarify.

Mario, who is based in Paris, said, “I have a friend who is friends with the head of Conde Nast France.”

“…About a month ago I sent the director of Conde Nast France a message, via my friend, asking how I would go about getting a license for Vogue Africa. He replied that no, it would not be possible to do the project.”

He continued, “It’s ok. Now I feel more free to work on my own projects and concentrate on good, original ideas.”

Interesting.

Conde Nast France is itself a license of Conde Nast International, the originator and creator of the Vogue brand. Does Conde Nast France have the authority to reject Vogue Africa? And shouldn’t Vogue Africa have been discussed in a business meeting instead of via e-mails shuttled between friends?

It sounds to me like the idea hasn’t been given the push it deserves in front of the right people. But maybe people really don’t want a Vogue Africa.

Or do they?

LINK LOVE:Did Conde Nast Reject Vogue Africa?

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[www.theawl.com]

New York Times is reporting rumors that Conde Nasty might be moving downtown to areas hottest destination, the future World Trade Center/Freedom Tower. Guess Anna Wintour will say goodbye to 5th Avenue in exchange for Century 21. [NY Times]

Thomas J. Wallace, Editorial Director of Condé Nast, announced today that Stefano Tonchi has been named the Editor-in-Chief of W Magazine, effective April 12th. Tonchi was the creator and Editor-in-Chief of T: The New York Times Style Magazine, which he introduced in 2004 after serving as Style Editor at the Sunday Times Magazine. “Stefano Tonchi is an extraordinarily versatile editor whose expertise in the world of art, fashion, design, and entertainment will help W realize its full potential in both print and digital formats,” said Wallace. “We welcome him back to Condé Nast.”

Conde Nast is claiming that their troubles are only temporary.

“We have what we believe is a short-term problem with advertising revenue,” [Conde Nast editorial director Tom Wallace said]. “That problem seems to be improving. How long will there be print magazines? I don’t know. But for as long as there will be, Condé Nast is well positioned.”

And more:

“The advertising revenue until proven otherwise is cyclical,” said Mr. Wallace. “And if it is proven otherwise, we’ve already adjusted for it.”

LINK LOVE

Thanks Blay Report!

With all those cutbacks at Conde Nast, Anna can’t afford to NOT wear the same outfit three times!

LINK LOVE

Newsweek guesstimates that Condé Nast’s 2009 revenue will shrink by $1 billion…which means Anna Wintour’s salary might shrink $1 million.

Gawker via Newsweek

It’s official, print is dying. Conde Nast said goodbye to four of their publications: Modern Bride, Elegant Bride, Cookie, and Gourmet. CEO Charles Townsend said:

“The review has led us to a number of decisions designed to navigate the company through the economic downturn and to position us to take advantage of coming opportunities.”

In other words, “Print is dead, we’re hoping there is room for us on the internet”

Hey Townsend, there isn’t. Get over it.

‘Brides’ and ‘Bon Appétit’ will take over the bridal and cooking for Conde’s list..but I’m thinking/hoping they’re all dead soon..

LINK LOVE: Fashion Week Daily

• Budget reductions of around 25% at Details, Traveler, Glamour, Gourmet, and Teen Vogue.
• Unknown budget cuts at the rest of the Conde mags—except the New Yorker, which is escaping unscathed, according to the NYO.
• The various mag editors get to determine how to achieve their budget cuts.
• No immediate magazine closures are predicted, but some of the weaker titles may reduce their frequency.
• Layoffs are coming.

I’m going to say it again…Print is DEAD!!

LINK LOVE: Gawker

Apparently Condé’s consultant friends aren’t too happy on the way the money is being spent over in Times Square. They told the Observer:

“There are little ways of cutting,” said one staffer, who drank a bit of the McKinsey Kool-Aid. “You don’t need to send an entire posse to Joshua Tree for a shot in the desert! Who cares! If the photographer is good, and the clothes are good, the models are good, it’s fine — you can shoot downtown.”

Yes, desert and downtown aren’t the same, but is this likely to be a win for the non-prints? I think so! Print is dead ftw.

LINK LOVE: NY Mag

(photos by Kris Kidd)

Four months ago a bunch of my favorite people to follow on Twitter were filling up my feed with news of a new magazine.  ‘Check out  @clichemagazine!’ so I did. I headed over to the site and saw the clean format of their first issue with Cody Kennedy on the cover, and started e-flipping through to pages, reading articles, and seeing photos from some of my favorite photographers.  From then on, I became a huge fan of Cliché, an online magazine based out of California that publishes monthly, and features spreads and content that you aren’t going to find anywhere else on the web, or at any store, for that matter.  I continued to check back monthly to see Brittany Flickinger on the cover, and an entirely green issue, all complete with great feature stories, interviews, street style photos, and spreads from the Cliché staff; but then I realized: outside of the photographers I already follow, I have no idea who is behind this magazine.

Naturally, I scoured the internet to figure things out and found the editor-in-chief’s name, Jeremy Fall, and I made one of those emails to a general address to try and get ahold of Jeremy in order to figure out just what goes on behind the scenes at Cliché.  After long chains of emails and iChat conversations, Jeremy and I have grown to be great friends (I’ve even heard him talk on the phone in French…it’s actually his first language), and I’ve learn that Cliché is definitely a magazine that is here to stay, and here to join Fashion Indie’s digital revolution by creating the ‘print is dead’ campaign.

See what Jeremy had to say on the start and growth of Cliché, and why the internet is way better than Condé Nast:

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FASHIONINDIE: Where were you at before Cliché?

JEREMY FALL: Before starting Cliché, I had an event production & artist management agency in LA called Mad City Entertainment. I started with that when I was sixteen, and we mainly produced all ages events in clubs around the city and represented artists from around the world. I also organized private events on the side ranging from fashion shows to corporate events to birthdays.

FI: Once you got the idea (and how did that even happen?), where did you go next?

JF: No one ever believes me when I answer this question, but I got the idea for Cliché at 5 AM when I couldn’t sleep. I suddenly felt the need to take on another project and always thought that there weren’t many magazines out there that take a completely different approach to their themes. I was looking through a few issues the other day at Barnes & Noble and found one with an “up and coming talent” theme. The issue consisted of 100 little biographies of people that no one has ever heard of, and it just seemed like the creators were crossing their fingers that at least one person of their choice would someday blow up and give them credibility. As for Cliché, I’m not saying that we don’t go for up and coming talent, I think that’s great, we just prefer showing different things in our issues. For example, in our July rising stars issue, we also showed a merging city, growing hotels, different types of designers, etc.. Sorry I might be getting a little off topic, to answer your second question, once I had the idea for the mag I immediately started looking for photographers and writers over the Internet and through people that I knew. This was probably the hardest part and I admit that I didn’t have any experience in creating magazines. It took about a month to completely assemble our team and then we started creating issues. The name was an easy pick for me, with my French heritage (where the é comes from), but also because I promised myself the magazine would be anything BUT a Cliché…meaning, the only thing Cliché about it would be the name (ha ha ha).

FI: Is this something you always wanted to do?

JF: Being the editor-in-chief of a magazine was something that I had never thought of doing. I’ve always had a passion for management and when everything started coming together, I fell in love with the idea.

FI: Did you anticipate it would grow so quickly?

JF: A lot of people ask me that too actually, and honestly I really didn’t expect this at all. I’m so grateful for all of our readers and the attention that Cliché’s been getting. I had projected around 100,000 readers monthly by January 2010 thinking that I was crazy for aiming so high, and we’re at over 600,000 monthly now. I definitely think that it’s not done growing yet and that there are still many improvements to be made.

FI: Where do you plan to take Cliché, assuming it continues to grow exponentially in viewers?

JF: I never say never but I really don’t think that we’ll ever become a printed magazine. In 10 years, glossy magazines will be considered luxurious items and everyone else will have theirs available online. The way technology’s growing right now, it would be surprising if the Internet didn’t take over printed publications, but you can never know, that’s just my opinion.

FI: Do you think you’ll ever switch to a daily update format, or just stick with the monthly issue?

JF: Actually, we’re in the process of integrating a blog called Kitsch on our site to give a more “frequent update format”. This should be out soon and we really want to give our fans a more personal feel and interaction with who’s behind the mag. The goal right now is to make it daily, we’re just figuring out if that’s going to start right away. As far as the issues, those will remain monthly.

FI: We love you for it, but why jump on the ‘print is dead’ bandwagon? And why did you decide to turn your magazine entirely ‘green’?

JF: (laughs) The “print is dead” bandwagon, like I said earlier, is something that’s really growing exponentially. I honestly don’t see what the point of printing is aside from making it “look pretty”. I mean, I do agree on the fact that holding a mag in your hands on the plane or at the dentist is a nice feeling (when its a good publication) but in the end, the result is the same as when it’s online. In a few years from now, you won’t remember how nice it was to flip the pages, but how interesting an article was. Whether you read it online or on paper, you retain information the same way. Sometimes it is scary to see how technology is quickly taking over, but we also can’t live in the past when new mediums are being developed everyday. If you still don’t agree with me, take a look at how blogs have grown and how you mostly read the news online now, or how you’re sending e-mail more than paper letters, or how you text instead of sending notes (for high schoolers), or how you’re reading this interview on Fashion Indie. The list goes on and on and on.

FI: How do you decide on a theme for each month?

JF: Honestly this might really sound cliche but I really get inspired from anything that happens around me! I know that everyone always says that but its seriously true in my case. I don’t sit in a field pondering for hours but themes come to me at random times throughout the day. Usually it starts when I’m reminded of a topic that interests me a lot and then I develop it from there and find a way to turn it into an issue. It can get hard sometimes, but I try to think ahead.

FI: Tell us a bit about the rest of your staff, you’ve got some younger talent working for you, do you think young people are taking over the industry?

JF: Our staff for the most part is pretty young. I definitely think that we are taking over the industry and feel like the generations to come will start even younger.

FI: Who have been some of your favorite people to work with?

JF: I truly think that every single person I work with strongly contributes to the mag. Now, I’m not just saying this because they’re going to be reading this interview, but honestly everyone has helped a lot. Its actually really cool because the team that you see now was built really quickly, most people have been around since day one.

One of the best additions to our crew was definitely Dirk Mai (www.dirkmai.com), one of our main photographers. He’s an amazing artist and one of the best people to work with. You’ll find his work throughout every single issue that we’ve done so far and I honestly believe that Cliché wouldn’t be what it is today without his contribution.

FI: What has been your favorite part about this experience?

JF: My favorite part about this experience is seeing the number of readers grow and communicating and being able to directly communicate with them. I do as much as I can to be in contact with our fans and love hearing feedback, that’s really the only way to get better.

FI: What are some of your favorite magazines?

JF: I actually didn’t read many magazines before starting mine. If I had to pick one to read for the rest of my life, it’d have to be Vanity Fair. The reason being that it’s probably the most intelligent mag available in the US and the photography you find is truly amazing. I also read Nylon monthly and open GQ when I stumble upon it.

FI: If Condé Nast offered to print Cliché, but you had to give them full ownership of it and would only collect royalties, would you?

JF: I would never do that, it would completely negate everything I just said in this interview, and make me look like an idiot.

FI:  You’ve got 1 hour until stores close and $500 dollars to spend, where do you head first?

JF: I’d probably head to a restaurant first to eat, and then with whatever I have left head to Alexander McQueen (my favorite designer).

FI: Any secrets you can give away?

JF: I can’t really say anything except for the fact that we’re going to be getting better and better. We have our new site launching very soon, created by my wonderful web designer Michael Gramling (http://www.thevintageskeleton.com), new amazing writers and photographers. You’ll have to take a look to see what I mean.  I’m also working on building my own social networking platform outside of the magazine, so keep a look out for that, too.

–

And that’s what you should do!  Check out the new issue of Cliché that is out TODAY on their site, see the new webisode on Cliché TV, and follow them, and Jeremy Fall on Twitter to keep updated on their world takeover(I smell a blog coming soon??!).

Andre Leon Tally, at the demand of Anna Wintour, set out to lose some girth 3 years ago. Judging by how new his Louis Vuitton gear is though, I’d say he started when the director yelled action.

If I was Andre, I’d be shaking in my barely worn New Balances. I hear they are trimming the fat at Conde Nasty these days.

Conde Nast is making their employees do there own dishes these days. Can you say struggling? Who would have thought they would see the day where the interns actually have to do work! Don’t worry, here at Fashion Indie we still treat our interns like interns, which is why we make them walk the dogs, clean the kitchen, and take our clothes to the dry cleaners. Oh and by the way…Have a glorious day! haha.

via Buzzfeed

GQ magazine will begin publishing in China! The first issue is expected to hit stands this coming October, as international Condé Nast chairman, Jonathan Newhouse, expects great things from the operation.

LINKAGE: WWD