Marc Jacobs

Project Runway contestant Christian Siriano has signed a deal with Payless to design a line of affordable shoes and handbags. [NY Post]

Designer Roberto Cavalli has been cleared of all tax evasion charges brought against him in Italy in 2002 when he attempted to write off taxes on renovations to his Tuscany home. [Vogue UK]

Louis Vuitton is re-releasing Marc Jacobs' collaboration with graffiti artist Stephen Sprouse for a new limited edition collection that the designer will advertise by posing nude painted in Mr. Sprouse's graffiti. [WWD]

Heidi Klum's father, Gunther Klum, who also acts as her manager, has sent a $275,000 bill to a German party promoter who used the supermodel's image on a flyer and on his Web site. [Vogue UK]

Italian video artist Francesco Vezzoli has created a fake ad for a perfume he named Greed, starring Natalie Portman and Michelle Williams filmed by Roman Polanski. [NY Mag]

Diane von Furstenberg on plastic surgery: "I know that a lot of people look at me and think, 'Why doesn't she do something to that face?' But I made a decision. I do yoga and I hike, but I won't do Botox. I know if I start doing things I will get insecure. You wear your own face. It is a little bit of your history, a little bit of who you are." [Vogue UK]

An email from a PR employee at Holly Dunlap's Hollywould line sent out to press earlier seems to indicate that the line is closing: "Many of you have heard that Hollywould is up for sale. Sadly, the press office is closing, and today is my last day... As of now, I do not know where I will be going, but I will stay in touch." [P6] 

Marc Jacobs has designed a limited edition Bugaboo stroller that sells for $1500. [Racked]   read more »

Chicago-based Hart Schaffner Marx, the suit retailer favored by Barack Obama, has added this to its homepage:  “Dressing Presidential. Pick Your Power Suit. President-elect Barack Obama Found His at Hart Schaffner Marx.” [WWD] 

Marc Jacobs would like to marry Lorenzo Martone, if the latter will have him. [The Cut]  

Karl Lagerfeld has released a Chanel bag based on the house’s quilted 2.55 classic released in the '90s and celebrities like Katie Holmes, Milla Jovovich and Lily Allen are already wearing it. [WWD]  read more »

So you know how Marc Jacobs' shows are really cool because they take place at the 69th Regiment Armory instead of the tents at Bryant Park? 

Well! In February, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo was considering charging the designer with bribing Armory officials in order to secure the space for his shows. Back then, Mr. Jacobs was reportedly refusing to cooperate with the investigation. But now, according to TMZ, Mr. Jacobs has agreed to pay a $1 million fine after being investigated by Mr. Cuomo. 

The documents acquired by TMZ indicate that Mr. Jacobs has been giving bribes to James Jackson, the former Superintendent of the Armory, and others over an eight-year period to use the space run by the state.  read more »

When asked about the Sex and the City sequel that Kim Cattrall recently confirmed, Sarah Jessica Parker said, "I'm thrilled to know Kim is excited but all the deals are not yet done." [Vogue UK] 

Marc Jacobs has cast model Raquel Zimmerman for his spring women's campaign and downtown artist Ryan McGinley for the men's collection. And former Marc Ronson-dater and daughter of Gavin Rossdale, Daisy Lowe, has been selected for the Marc by Marc campaign.  [WWD] 

Diane von Furstenberg is blogging about The Standard Hotel and her travels through Asia on her website. [DVF.com via Cityfile]  read more »

We have some terrible news. As of about 30 minutes ago, Women's Wear Daily is reporting that the annual masquerade holiday party thrown by Marc Jacobs and his best friend and longtime business partner Robert Duffy--has been canceled due to the current economic situation. 

"Due to the financial climate, I had to make the decision to cancel the 2008 holiday party," Mr. Duffy wrote an e-mail that went out earlier today to guests invited to the annual bash, which had been scheduled for Dec. 10 at the Rainbow Room and was to have a "Rock and Roll Circus" theme. "It pains me as this has been a Marc Jacobs tradition for the past 18 years.  read more »

Marc Jacobs, along with Kate Moss and Justin Timberlake, are confirmed to co-chair the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute Gala in May with Anna Wintour. [Vogue UK]

The new celebrity trend is not to wear the actual designer handbag, but rather the dust bag in which it is sold, as seen on Keira Knightley and Jake Gyllenhaal. [Vogue UK] 

Zac Posen has made a promotional video urging people to vote on Tuesday which is being screened on fashionthevote.org. He also suggests you wear blue on Tuesday and accent it with red. [WWD]  read more »

Anya Hindmarch's handbag collection for Target sold out within two minutes when it went on sale at 11 a.m. on the designer's Web site. [Vogue UK]

Balenciaga has signed a deal with Coty Inc.’s Coty Prestige division to create a new line of fragrances under the Balenciaga name. [WWD]

Gossip Girl Taylor Momsen's high fashion spread in Crash magazine is everything we hoped it would be: a little awkward, a little scary, and way too fun to stare at. [FabSugar via The Cut]

Marc Jacobs is still wearing skirts around town. [FashionIndie]

Marc Jacobs and business partner Robert Duffy have settled on a theme of "Rock and Roll Circus" for their annual holiday party, to be held Dec. 10 at the Rainbow Room. [WWD]

Diesel will throw a 30th anniversary party in Brooklyn on Saturday night featuring performances by N.E.R.D., MIA, and possibly, Britney Spears. [FWD] 

For people in the fashion industry, seeing nude male and female models backstage at shows is hardly exciting. [NY Times] 

Vanessa Paradis, the new face of Miu Miu, on her life with Johnny Depp: "I'm really lucky. I do stay in wonderful hotels and houses and that's amazing, but we're not very social at all. We don't go to parties or premieres." [Vogue UK]

Sarah Palin wore a tote in public that reads "Real Women Hunt Moose." [Ecorazzi via Racked]

Usually at this time of year, there is a little flutter of excitement as one confronts one’s closet: all those layers and accessories necessitated by the slight snap in the air; the contemplation of the long party season begetting a kind of dream shopping space that doesn’t end till January. But in fall 2008?

“You’re going to be a little more sensible with how you use your money,” said the model Helena Christensen—hello, understatement!—at a glitzy West Chelsea auction benefiting Food Bank for New York City, several days after the implosion of Lehman Brothers.

Clad in a timeless black Stella Mc-Cartney gown, Ms.  read more »

Last Thursday, Helena Christensen and Danish design company VIPP hosted at a charity auction in West Chelsea boasting haute trash cans designed by creative famous types like Michael Stipe and Francisco Costa of Calvin Klein. Julianne Moore and hubby Bart Freundlich wandered in, looking like they were lost on their way to a Phish reunion concert—Ms. Moore wore plaid; Mr. Freundlich, scruff and a baseball hat.

Lorenzo Martone, the Brazilian advertising executive best known as Marc Jacobs' strapping boyfriend, arrived with a man who was not Mr. Jacobs. "I'm friends with Helena and I'm really curious to see what her charity initiatives are, I'd like to be part of it. So that's my first contact with her... with charitable Helena!" he explained.

Mr. Martone sat front-row at Mr. Jacobs's well-received show during Fashion Week after arriving hand-in-hand with stylist Rachel Zoe. "I was surprised, because I knew more or less what it was going to be about, but I still had a very emotional reaction, which I think is what fashion should be about," he recalled, in a thick accent. "Bring emotions to people... I was really, really happy with the results. And hopefully everyone!"  read more »

Anna Wintour's new competition is the editor of Russian Vogue, Aliona Doletskaya. [NYT]

Meanwhile, French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld is flying in on Friday to catch the last day of Fashion Week. [The Cut]

Lanvin is reportedly in talks to sell a share of the company to a buyer in the Middle East. [WWD] 

Naomi Campbell began to serve her 200 hours of community service in London yesterday. [Vogue UK]  read more »

It could be that fashion industry types are drinking away their slow-economy blues this Fashion Week, or perhaps they've just finally acknowledged that many runway looks are more attractive after a strong drink, but alcohol is is increasingly prevalent even in daytime Fashion Week events. Designers providing free liquor to their guests so far include Alexander Wang, Vena Cava—champagne and Budweiser tall boys!—and Loden Dager, whose Bungalow 8 show morphed into an afternoon cocktail-party, with waitresses proffering tasty concoctions made of the ginger liqueur Canton.

Rag & Bone, which has in the past opened a bar at Cipriani 42nd Street, went dry for their Joy Division-inspired show last Friday.  read more »

At 8:30 p.m. on Monday, September 8, the bi-annual paparazzi bloodbath had already started outside the Marc Jacobs show. Gawkers and cameramen lined Lexington Avenue, which was clogged with town cars, while security guards admitted guests to the Lexington Avenue Armory, a sign that the designer intended to start on time-at 9 p.m. (who could forget the show a year ago, when attendees appearing at the appointed hour were told to "get a drink and come back?").

Inside, the flashbulbs were blinding, accompanied by desperate shouts every time a Kelly Osborne, or a Kim Raver from Lipstick Jungle, or a J. Lo, or a freshly shorn and dyed and pixie-ish Victoria Beckham arrived.

"I'm really a plus one," said bewildered painter John Currin, taking in the scene with wife Rachel Feinstein, an artist and friend of Mr. Jacobs'. "People are better looking," he added, appraising the difference between art and fashion parties. "There's a lot more money, I think, and better-looking women."  read more »

Over the summer, Council of Fashion Designers of America president Diane von Furstenberg sent letters to Fashion Week designers beseeching them to start their shows on time this fall, rather than offer the traditional wait of 40 to 45 minutes.

Ms. von Furstenberg’s edict—coupled with Marc Jacobs’ shocking, almost arrogantly prompt 20-minutes-late start last season, following criticism levied at his more-than-two-hours-tardy start a year ago—raised the possibility of a seismic shift in Fashion Week start times.

Alas, it hasn’t occurred. The Yigal Azrouel show in Chelsea on Friday, Sept. 5, was scheduled for noon, but the lights went down at 12:34. At Rag & Bone later that day, opening model Sasha Pivovarova stalked angrily down the catwalk at 4:36 p.  read more »

The young designer and downtown socialite Catherine Holstein was surveying a rack of clothes in her publicity company’s showroom the other day, planning out looks for her first runway show, scheduled for Sept. 6 at the Bumble & Bumble salon in the meatpacking district. She was wearing a schoolmarmish pale-pink, midcalf-length wrap skirt from her new collection. “When I first started designing, everything I did was kind of short because I love wearing short things,” said Ms. Holstein, 24, a Parsons School of Design dropout. But she soon grew bored with short. “I brought my hemlines down. My main hemline now is below the knee, shin-length, more 1940s.  read more »

On June 17, Anna Wintour co-hosted a fund-raiser for Barack Obama with Andre Leon Talley, Calvin Klein and Michelle Obama followed by an $10,000-per-head dinner at Mr. Klein's home.

Now, with New York Fashion Week approaching, Ms. Wintour has roped in Sarah Jessica Parker to help with a second fund-raiser on Sept. 9 at Charles Nolan's West 27th Street studio, according to British Vogue.

In the spirit of Fashion Week, the fund-raiser will include a mini-fashion show, with designs donated by Diane von Furstenberg, Marc Jacobs, Zac Posen, Proenza Schouler, and Narciso Rodriguez making their way down the runway.  read more »

Ford modeling agency founder Jerry Ford passed away on Sunday in New Jersey at the age of 83. [NY Times]

Nicole Miller, often perceived as an evening wear designer, is launching a line of day dresses for Spring 2009 under the label Nicole Miller Studio One. [WWD]

The Russian girl band t.A.T.u. are the new faces of the Marc by Marc Jacobs Fall/Winter '08 campaign in Russia. [t.A.T.u. via The Cut]  read more »

In this week's New Yorker, Ariel Levy writes about the transformation of Marc Jacobs from a "chubby Jewish guy" into what she describes as a "Superhero."

But even though Mr. Jacobs seems to be doing well these days, his famous obsessive streak (which has contributed to more than a few drug and booze binges) hasn't disappeared completely. 

"Marc gets enchanted with certain things at certain times," said Robert Duffy, the designer's business partner and best friend, told Ms. Levy.

There was Mr. Jacobs' interest in art that led him to borrow large sums of money. "He was buying art until I was like, 'Marc, stop! You've got to pay your taxes!" recalled Mr. Duffy.  read more »

The new ads for Gossip Girl that use criticisms of the show as complimentary slogans--"Mind-blowingly inappropriate"--make the show's creator, Josh Schwartz, feel bad. [Daily Intelligencer]

A Los Angeles cop, who was said to be fearful for his safety, pulled a gun on P. Diddy and his entourage during a routine traffic stop. [NY Daily News]

Casey Johnson, the billionaire heiress previous linked to Courtenay Semel, showed up at Kathy Lee Gifford's 55th birthday party with a new girlfriend named "Lisa," who was wearing a leather trench coat. [P6]  read more »

Olympian Kim Glass--she's an outside hitter on the US volleyball team--auditioned to be on America's Next Top Model five times. [The Cut]

Luxury retailer Saks Inc. is reporting losses of 31.7 million dollars for the second quarter. [WWD] Less luxurious retailer Target Corp. is having similar problems, reporting a 7.6 percent drop in sales. [WWD]

In a move that will force fashion editors to scramble, rising star Michael Bastian's first-ever New York Fashion Week show has been scheduled to end right before Marc Jacobs’s September 8th show. [FWD]

Lifetime’s made-for-TV biopic Coco Chanel, starring Shirley McLaine and Barbara Bobulova, is being “savaged” by critics. [Vogue UK]

Oscar de la Renta's public relations manager, Michelle Lederer, is leaving the company to start her own e-commerce site for "special occasion gifts." [FWD]

Marc Jacobs and boyfriend Lorenzo Martone—whom we still think are not married—vacationed in Ibiza with Kate Moss and her mom, Linda. Ms. Moss's daughter, Lila Grace, was on hand to snap the party photos. [Fashionologie via The Cut]

Diane von Furstenberg is teaming up with the Andy Warhol Foundation to create a resort 2008 and pre-spring 2009 collections of swimwear and other pieces featuring the artist's prints. [WWD]

Eva Mendes is pleased that her topless video ad for Calvin Klein has been banned in the U.S. (And yes, click through to see the titillating video.) [The Sun]  read more »

The Marc Jacobs ad showing Victoria Beckham peering out of a giant shopping bag and another in which she's swallowed up by the same, have been described as disquieting, daring, and modern.

The New York Times' Cathy Horyn wrote about the ads, which were created by photographer Juergen Teller, back in April. But in today's Daily Mail, a couple of months late, Liz Jones came out with a fresh theory about the images: The ads are actually making fun of Posh and she has no idea! Aha!  read more »

Speaking of fashion! Now that we know the latest in Marc Jacobs’ love life at the click of his Facebook page, the Transom was wondering: Will other designers follow suit?  read more »

Graydon Carter gets the full Devil Wears Prada treatment in How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, a movie based on Toby Young's subtly titled book about his experiences working at Vanity Fair. In the film, the editor-in-chief is played by Jeff Bridges and named Clayton Harding. [P6]

Lydia Hearst says that GG's Michelle Trachtenberg is her BFF while wearing nipple tassels.  read more »

Marc Jacobs' friends tell Page Six that he's out of control with his boy-chasing and partying ways, afraid he'll "pull a Halston." [P6]

Donatella Versace wishes Hillary would give up the pants. [P6]  read more »

Having broken up with Jason Preston, Marc Jacobs is on the prowl and a drama queen. [P6]

France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's nude portrait taken by Michel Comte in 1993 will be auctioned at Christie's on April 10th. [NY Daily News]

Is there discord in the Mortimer home? Tinsley and Topper arrive separately to the Young Fellows of the Frick Collection midnight breakfast after party last night and avoided each other while there. [P6]  read more »

Harper’s Bazaar has all sorts of fun ideas tucked up its couture sleeve. The latest: recreating the Marc Jacobs spring ’08 runway show as a spoof, to be snapped by famed fashion photog Peter Lindbergh. This clip shows the on-set happenings at the magazine shoot. And make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the famous faces assembled in the “front row”—yup, that’s Marcia Gay Harden sitting near party photographer Patrick McMullan. Meanwhile, model Helena Christensen—does that woman ever rest?!—gets to play, as Mr. Lindbergh puts it, “the little bitchy fashion editor,” who looks at her watch impatiently while Mr. Jacobs does god-knows-what backstage. Hmmm…who could that be?

“People get bored and wait too long,” explains Mr. Lindbergh of the spread’s concept. “Because the bad behavior fashion crowd, you know?” Perhaps surprisingly to some, Mr. Jacobs appears an extremely good sport in the video, gladly making fun of his own notoriously-tardy fashion shows. “This is a good way to kind of end it,” the fashion designer says. “Just have it documented as a spoof and be on to the next. I’m really amused by it. And fashion is such a circus, and shows are such a circus. I think for anybody who doesn’t know this—it’s insane what we all go through. So it makes good pictures.”

Victoria Beckham (a.k.a. Posh Spice) had chosen a clear winner by the time all five of Project Runway’s finalists—Chris March, Christian Siriano, Rami Kashou, Sweet P and Jillian Lewis—finished showing their collections in the Tent at Bryant Park this morning. But while speaking to the Daily Transom, the singer and Marc Jacobs muse revealed a bit too much.

Read through for, well, it's not really a spoiler so much; but if you're obsessed with the show and want everything to be a secret, don't read through.  read more »

Some fashion week models are wearing T-shirts backstage that tout Angelina Jolie's Global Action for Children to attract attention to the cause as they get their pre-show hair and makeup done. [WWD]

Amy Winehouse was denied a US visa to attend the Grammy Awards, but she may appear via satellite. [Us]  read more »

Despite a front row that included the singer Fergie, stylist Rachel Zoe (in a coat that must have killed 6 orangutans), Kate Moss baby daddy Jefferson Hack, and French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld, the Marc by Marc Jacobs show on Monday at the Lexington Avenue Armory had the vague feel of a dress rehearsal for the real thing, the showing of the signature line, to be held Friday, February 8 in the same spot.  read more »

On Thursday, Jan. 31, the designer Marc Jacobs, his boyfriend, Jason Preston, and the stylist Rachel Zoe were sitting on a wooden bench outside the Mercer Hotel. Inside a party was being held for the new shopumentary, Marc Jacobs and Louis Vitton, directed by Loïc Prigent.  read more »

MONDAY

First, the good news: it looks like the strike may be coming to an end. Now, the bad news: even in the most hopeful scenario, new episodes of popular shows, like Grey’s Anatomy, won’t hit the airwaves until April or March, if at all before the fall. Jeff Zucker may have found a silver lining in all of this—at least publicly—but what does the rest of America have to show for it except for a newly acquired taste for reality programming?  read more »

To the long list of oxymoronic garments produced by our novelty-desperate fashion complex—corduroy culottes! Uggs in Malibu!—now add sleeveless coats. “They look great!” enthused Kasia Steńczyk, 27, a special-events intern at the Brooklyn Academy of Music who owns a whopping ten of ’em. “I just make sure I have a long-sleeved shirt under, or very long gloves. You can have a lot of long cute and diverse gloves with that type of coat.”

What’s the latest thing in fashion these days? Buying stuff that requires you to buy … more stuff. Think iPod accessories, those little clip-on gew-gaws now available for Hermes Birkins, and these baffling arm-exposing coats that appeared on the Marc Jacobs fall ’06 runway and have been spotted everywhere from high-end stores like Opening Ceremony and Miss Sixty to Forever 21, H&M and Club Monaco. “This silhouette is extremely versatile,” said Wichy Hassan, co-founder and creative director of the Sixty Group. “Wear it open for a stylishly casual look on warmer days or zip it up when the temperature drops!”  read more »

When New York Fashion Week starts on Friday, Feb. 1, many will promptly begin anticipating its climax seven days later, when Marc Jacobs is scheduled to show his fall 2008 collection at the Lexington Avenue Armory at 7 p.m.—an improvement over last season’s 9 p.m. start time, which turned into 11 p.m. Mr. Jacobs had emerged from a stint in rehab tanned, honed and—after a thorough drubbing from a normally tolerant press—kinda defensive.  read more »