Joan Juliet Buck wears a unique blend of Yves Saint Laurent men’s perfume and Gerlain Shalimar together. And she always wears her father’s old watch.

Dripping in Bulgari earrings and necklace, Leviev ring, Graff diamond on the wrist, and a Louis Vuitton leather top, there are most likely 8 guards flanking her every corner, and have been photoshopped out.

For more deets on the ladies, see the WSJ.

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

This industry super shadow has been powering designers like Marc Jacobs and Miuccia Prada with her styling and trend-generating design dexterity. Marc Jacobs will be handing her this well-deserved award.

Acclaimed for collaborating with Swiss duo Herzog & De Meuron for Beijing's Olympic "bird's nest", this Chinese artist is currently in jail for his political activism. He is pictured here with his exhibition of 100 million sunflower seeds - made of porcelain. They were painted by 1,600 Chinese artisans and scattered on a floor for the public to walk upon.

His concepts are radically beautiful with a sense of peaceful unity. His dedication to sustainability kicks up his stunning designs. His proposed West 57th St waterfront pyramidal sky scraper would forever enhance our skyline.

He's revolutionizing three industries - Automobiles, Energy and Space - all while looking super debonaire. Robert Downy Jr. modeled the Iron Man after this tech god. He founded Tesla, known for its sleek sports cars and foray into electric power. He sees a near future where homes and businesses run on solar power, and a time when humans live on Mars.

He's figured how to digitally print in 3D. Watch a robot print an end table.

Chef and founder of our favorite tex mex chain Chipotle, this man has been changing the face, waistline and conscience of fast food for the past decade.

Two of the wealthiest individuals in the world teamed up just over a year ago to convince America's wealthiest to pledge donations of huge sums of money to philanthropies. They've attracted 69 billionaires and over $150 billion already.

- Notorious recluse, Rei Kawakubo of Commes des Garçons offers a rare interview with the Wall Street Journal. [WSJ]

- V Magazine offers a special preview of its 72-page Elizabeth Taylor tribute, styled by Carine Roitfeld and shot by Mario Testino. In it, Stephanie Seymour channels Liz and at least a few of her eight marriages. [The Cut]

- A gift from the retail gods? The Barney’s Warehouse Sale has been extended through Wednesday, September 7th. [Racked]

- Legitimate organization (?) Cosmetic Executive Women (U.K.) will honor old-school diva Joan Collins for being “a true cosmetic executive woman” and “a wonderful advocate for the beauty industry.” [WWD]

- According to recent statistics released by Match.com, Manhattanites are 3% more interested in dating someone from Brooklyn than someone from Manhattan. [Refinery29]

- The Wall Street Journal called in an expert to explain why Linda Evangelista‘s son needs $46,000 a month from his father, billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault-Hayek. Turns out young Augustin James is ballin’ out of control. [The Cut]

- A report that Jay-Z bought Billionaire Boys Club – Pharrell‘s clothing line — have been refuted by Jigga himself, who claims he’s only “partnering” with the Neptune. [GQ]

Famous for its diffusion lines with Proenza Schouler, Zac Posen and most recently Missoni, Target gained considerable clout with the fashion set. However, clothing and home goods sales — which are more profitable and make up more than 40% of annual sales –  are sluggish.

And why is that? Poor people, of course.

When Target started adding more groceries and introduced a 5% discount to all customers who used their credit and debit cards, they attracted “more medium- and low-income shoppers at the expense of the higher-end shopper.”

Because who wants to pick up their Rodarte for Target discount couture next to a mom with a cart full of diapers and screaming kids? No one, that’s who.

So with other department stores picking up on their high-end designer collabo brilliance,  Target is quickly and unfortunately approaching Wal-Mart levels of cool. [WSJ]

Photo: Wall Street Journal

A recent survey of the wealthy shows that their spending habits have changed post-recession with more emphasis on discounts, less trust in branding and more caution in discretionary spending. As a result, Costco and Target are the favorite shopping destinations of the wealthiest Americans, a little tidbit I’m filing under my continuing “Coming Signs of the Apocalypse” scrapbook.

The American Affluence Research Center a.) is a real thing and b.) found that 60% of people said discounts didn’t affect their opinions of a brand. And although well-to-do Americans now think twice about making it rain at the cashier they will stay pay full price on “one-of-a-kind clothes and accessories” as well as “experiences that create fond memories” such as weekend getaways, vacations and I’m assuming high-class call girls.

It’s always sad when the rich have to cut back on their number of homes or size of their yachts — I mean, who else can us po’ folk aspire to and/or steal from? [WSJ]

Step 1: Dilute your brand far past the point of recognition and/or respectability, i.e. Pierre Cardin toilets, strollers and heating units.

Step 2: Stage a “rambling” runway show during Paris Fashion Week that no top editors or buyers bother to show up for.

Step 3: Pull a wildly exorbitant asking price tag seemingly out of nowhere then justify it thusly:

“Asked how he came up with the billion-euro valuation, he takes out an old greeting card and, scribbling, says, ‘If I ask €10 million per product, which is nothing at all, per country, multiplied by 1,000, that makes one, two, three….’ Dismissing the profusion of zeroes, he concludes, ‘One thousand products, 100 countries, that’s how it calculates. It’s nothing.’”

Easy, peasy, right? Using a similar method, I valued my company, Werqing Gurl Ltd., at $450 million because that’s asking roughly $100 million for every second it’s been in existence. [WSJ]

- The Wall Street Journal‘s profile on Vogue editrix Anna Wintour is enlightening. Not only does she explain the mag’s “backbone” (“I think we have a Vogue vocabulary, and there are certain people we like to have as the backbone of the magazine—Vogue‘s signposts.”) but there’s also this handy dandy graph identifying each and every vertebrae of that backbone. One vertebra, however, is in rehab in Arizona right now. [WSJ]

- Professional booozehound and Boardwalk Empire actress Paz de la Huerta was arrested today after making some reality star see actual stars at the Standard Hotel’s Boom Boom Room on Sunday. And of course a drunken-bitch-beatdown wouldn’t be complete without Lindsay Lohan. But the Troubled Starlet was only there to help, removing shards of champagne glass from the reality star’s leg like a regular old Lilo Nightengale. [Daily News]

The Wall Street Journal will start to look more like its mainstream rival The New York Times on Dec. 4 when it puts out the first issue of WSJ., its weekend lifestyle magazine supplement, edited by Deborah Needleman.

WSJ. has covered the intersection of fashion and business since it launched two years ago. But the first issue of Needleman, the former chief editor of Domino who also heads up Off Duty, the Journal’s new weekend lifestyle section, broadens the fashion coverage to help deepen the magazine’s appeal with female readers and fashion advertisers.

“Part of what we’re doing is creating a woman-friendly place,” Needleman explained. “What I’m trying to do in every issue is a women’s fashion story and a men’s fashion story, and I want to try to do a couple’s fashion story. This reader is not buying fashion magazines. So I feel like there’s a real opportunity here.”

It could be a risky move, given the female Journal reader isn’t fashion-obsessed. And fashion advertisers already have a glut of glossies to run in. (credit: mediaweek.com)

Go from Hollywood Agent to Successful Fashion Designer in Three Easy Steps.

The Wall Street Journal has an awesome write up on Scott Sternberg, the man behind one of the fastest growing mens brand in fashion, Band of Outsiders. We love the Outsiders and their quirky ad campaigns, so it was definitely cool to see where this brand all began, and how someone with no formal training in fashion really made a successful business for himself. Read the full article here.

The Wall Street Journal does fashion articles? Why? They are so dumb, and if you don’t believe me right this second you will when you step back and really look at this article they wrote on “Heavage”….yes “Heavage”This term “heavage” is apparently used to describe love cut shirts on men, which sure it’s a dumb name but whatever. It’s when they go into the reasons why it’s dumb that I think is rediculous. The article is so subjective it’s not even funny. I’m not a very big “heavage” person myself, but when you’re “trendbusting” something please make sure it’s something that looks bad on a high majority of people.

Oh and Wall Street Journal, can we stick to stocks, finance, and Wall St. d-bag stories and leave the fashion to people who know what they’re talking about? Thanks!

LINK LOVE: Gawker

The May 2009 issue also cites her in the list of contributors, thereby giving models just a little more credit.

The spread, shot in Miami, features one-piece suits, which you can see in action in WSJ’s behind-the-scenes video.

GALLERY: Hilary Rhoda for WSJ.

Thanks NY Mag!

Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie and Free People have grown a whopping 79% in sales second quarter.

According to the Wall Street Journal, they’ve “been attracting shoppers with an eclectic mix of full-price clothing and home goods in stores where employees create their own displays.” And instead of flooding the market, they plan to cap the number of stores at 250. “Big is the enemy of cool,” says the company’s founder.

Who still shops at Urban Outfitters? I get that there sales are pretty good, but otherwise that store is nauseating. If anyone doesn’t agree, let me know.

Thanks BlackBook