- The feds seized $76.8 million in counterfeit Burberry, Coach, Fendi, Prada, Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton and other fashionable items as part of a six week sting appropriately titled “Operation Holiday Hoax.” [WWD]

- Oh, Rihanna. Following a legal flip of the weave by David LaChapelle over copying his photographs for her “S&M” video, the pop tart looks to have turned her pilfering eye on the work of Sølve Sundsbø with her latest clip, “You Da One.” [Fashionista]

- Mark Fisher, who produces the controversial shoes Derek Lam has accused Ivanka Trump of “blatantly” copying from him, “strongly denies Lam’s claims.” Fisher argues that Lam’s design “has been used by numerous manufacturers for many decades” and adds for good measure, ”There is nothing iconic about the appearance of the Lam sandal.” Calling a man’s wedge sandal not iconic? Dem’s fightin’ words. [WWD]

- Oooh-la-la…oh, no. No. French health authorities are recommending that 30,000 women who received potentially defective breast implants from a French company have them removed as a preventative measure. [NYT]

- Brittany Murphy‘s mother is claiming her daughter and son-in-law Simon Monjack were killed by toxic mold found in their Hollywood home. The mold apparently caused the pneumonia that killed both Murphy and Monjack and now Momma Murphy is taking legal action against her lawyers for mishandling her case against the construction company back in January. [TMZ]

First appearing as part of Vanity Fair‘s March 1997 “Swinging London” feature, the portrait was acquired with the help of Daphne Guinness, a close friend of both McQueen and Blow. La Chapelle and Guinness were in London last week for the induction ceremony. [DLC.com]

Photos: Homotography

from “Atonement” by Andy Houghton

Justin Timberlake

Fashion producer Chico Lowndes curated the exhibition that will feature 30 large-scale works and 30 original Polaroid shots from Klein’s collection. Among the pieces include images of Madonna, Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie, Tom Ford, and Justin Timberlake.

The Iguatemi Photo Series is a cultural initiative sponsored by Iguatemi Sao Paulo and  part of the largest chain of luxury shopping centers across Brazil, that aims to present the public with photography that goes beyond their typical mindset. on. Iguatemi Photo Series at MuBE has previously sponsored works by artists such as Guy Bourdin,  David LaChapelle, & John Rankin.

The exhibition will run from Aug 11^th-28^th.

Keep reading for more featured pictures of Mr. Klein’s work.

In his suit, LaChapelle alleges RiRi appropriated eight of his images for the video, directed by Melina Matsoukas who was also behind the camera for the singer’s “Rude Boy” video.

You may remember, if your memory consists almost completely of Wikipedia articles as mine does, that this is not the first time that Matsoukas has been accused of plagiarism.

The “Rude Boy” video was criticized for copying M.I.A.‘s video for “Boyz” but Matsoukas defended that video, saying that she “definitely wasn’t trying to rip anybody off” and that “we’re all inspired by similar elements and it came together in that way.”

It’s not clear whether LaChapelle can win this case — intellectual property suits can be tricky — but it certainly raises questions as to where inspiration ends and plagiarism begins. And also raises questions concerning why Perez Hilton is allowed anywhere near a music video.

Photos/Link Love: Daily Mail

This one is for Becks. Who happens to share a name with this extremely greased up footballer. Check out the full David LaChapelle images and the amazingly sexy spread after the jump.

It’s David Beckham. Don’t you love the Victoria tee at the end…

“Stay Close” – Kafei from Zoe Robyn on Vimeo.

Check out Kafei’s MySpace Music page here!

Lady Gaga and David LaChapelle are a perfect match, both visionaries that push boundaries. Images via ICYDK

“The image is a piece of David LaChapelle’s latest work “The Rape of Africa” a single large-format image that makes references to Botticelli and one more time collaboration with Naomi Campbell.”
VIA YVY Mag

David LaChapelle captured Lady Gaga for the cover of Rolling Stone.  I understand what they were going for here, and I think the bubbles look cool, but that wig really, really bothers me.

SOURCE: PerezHilton

Starting Friday, Paris Hilton will star in “Repo! The Genetic Opera,” a film by Darren Lynn Bousman of “Saw” fame. A campy, gory musical, the movie is set in a future in which organ failure has plagued the human race. A company called GeneCo (whose chief executive officer is played by Paul Sorvino) offers salvation in the form of organ transplants — with rather dark consequences. Hilton stars as Amber Sweet, Sorvino’s obnoxious daughter who struts around in S&M-worthy outfits, blowing her family’s cash by continuously going under the knife. She talked to WWD about her experiences;

In the film, you play an heiress addicted to plastic surgery. What made you want to take on that role?
Paris Hilton: Just to have the chance to play something completely different than myself was a huge honor because usually I’m always cast as myself or another blonde. But in this film, it was the complete opposite.

And I hear you contributed a lot to the costume wardrobe. Amber wears some pretty out-there ensembles…
P.H.: I was really inspired by Yves Saint Laurent and Vivienne Westwood and then David LaChapelle pictures and Courtney Love’s look. The movie was very low-budget, but I wanted to make sure I had great clothes so I brought, like, 10 suitcases full of amazing outfits.

What was the most challenging part about playing Amber?
P.H.: Just how agro she was. I’m very nice and sweet and shy and Amber’s, like, the complete opposite. She’s very loud and crude and rude and she screams a lot. Playing her felt really different, like, a little bit uncomfortable.

You’ve had a really busy year: “The Hottie & the Nottie” came out a month ago and you have your MTV show and your new perfume. How do you juggle all of that?
P.H.: When you’re running an empire, you have to really be on top of everything. My new fragrance is called Fairy Dust and it’s inspired by Tinkerbell because I love fairies.

Do you mean your dog Tinkerbell? Does she wear the perfume?
P.H.: Yeah, all my dogs do. I have doggie perfume and a clothing line as well.

How do you know which fragrances the dogs like?
P.H.: They just smell good in it so…[I don’t use it] all the time. Just if I have a party, they always get their baths and then I’ll spray them with it.

You don’t seem to go out as much anymore. Are you making a concerted effort to stay in?
P.H.: It’s not an effort. I used to love going out. But now I’m in such a great relationship [with Good Charlotte’s Benji Madden] it’s not really what we like to do.

So when you do go out, how do you decide what to go to?
P.H.: I typically only go out if I have to, if it’s for work or I’m promoting something or I’m being paid to be there. I don’t go out for no reason anymore.

Do you do a lot of paid appearances?
P.H.: A lot. For different holidays like New Year’s Eve or Halloween or my birthday.

Isn’t it tough doing paid appearances on personal holidays?
P.H.: No, I like it. If I’m going to be going somewhere, I’d rather get paid than not.