- Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have reportedly been indicted on tax evasion charges in Italy. In 2004, the duo transferred their brands to a holding company; they could be found liable for $1 billion worth of taxes and fines. [WWD]
- Kim Kardashian — who is known for wearing heels so high a trip resulted in a broken toe — and Kris Jenner are going to be the mother-daughter faces, feet, and butts of a Skechers campaign for those butt-firming sneakers that don’t work. [E!]
- Alexa Chung and Carey Mulligan approve of Kate Middleton‘s style. [People]
- Lanvin creative director Alber Elbaz met people queing up outside the Rockefeller Center H&M store on Saturday morning, the launch of the Lanvin for H&M collection. [Fashionista]
- “I can’t believe it,” said Elbaz. “I was sure there would be no one. I was a bit panicked. This is a once in a lifetime experience.” [WWD]
- Betsey Johnson is getting a makeover now that the brand is owned by Steve Madden. New C.E.O. Susan Falk says she wants to boost sales by opening more stores and improving the brand’s website — and to change the clothes, which she says are too young and “a little too short.” Says Johnson, in an email, “I am so happy Madden loves our brand! I am still the captain of the ship, and it’s a happy and exciting ‘full speed ahead!'” [WSJ]
- In the summer of 2000, Jay-Z, Damon Dash, and P. Diddy decided to settle their clothing-line rivalry in the most hip-hop Battle Royale way possible: by holding a Rocawear v. Sean John baseball game in East Hampton. The game is described in a new book by Dan Charnas. The Post sets the scene: “Jay-Z looked on as Dash pitched a ‘low and fast underhanded ball’ to Combs (who was wearing, naturally, a white Sean John T-shirt). Combs knocked it to the dirt and barely made it to first thanks to a flub by a Rocawear fielder. Andre Harrrell of Bad Boy records offered color commentary on the sidelines. Aaliyah, Jay-Z and Dash’s young protégée (who would die in a plane crash in August 2001), was cuddly with both her mentors but not so great at the bat. ‘Okay, at least I hit it,’ she said after sending the ball straight to an opponent’s glove.” Team Rocawear won the day. And fashion was never the same. [NYPost]
- January Jones will be the spring face of Versace. Apparently Donatella is a Mad Men fiend. [WWD]
- Miranda Kerr has become a spokesperson for an Australian suicide prevention hotline. One of Kerr’s relatives committed suicide in 2009. [Carol White, Naomi Campbell‘s former agent, is now suing (and being counter-sued by) Campbell over a perfume deal gone bad. (The scent was to be called, “Cat Deluxe With Kisses.”) White now says she has a taped conversation with Campbell’s manager which may prove something in relation to the suit; Campbell’s people deny it. [P6]
- Mulberry‘s creative director, Emma Hill, became a homeless single mother five years ago after her boyfriend left her while she was pregnant. So she set about earning a living. When she saw the first prototype of Mulberry’s immensely successful “Alexa” bag, her nose twitched because she could “smell the money.” [Vogue UK]
- Hamish Bowles, who curated the Balenciaga show currently up at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute museum in New York, says memories of vintage clothing he hasn’t bought keep him up at night. He started collecting when he was 11. The first thing he ever bought was “a Balenciaga suit in a French navy wool from 1962. I got it at a jumble sale at Sadler’s Wells [Theatre in London] — a fundraiser for the ballet. They had a mini-auction, and one of the things was a Balenciaga embroidered bolero that Margot Fonteyn had given them. It sold for £60 — much more than I could afford because I was about 11 at the time. I could afford the suit because it was 50p, and I always regretted the bolero and remembered it vividly. I walked into a vintage store in Los Angeles five years ago and the bolero was there, lacking its label. It’s now in the show.” Someone call Paul Auster! That’s a total sartorial F-above-middle-C moment. [Nowness]
- Someone at the New York Daily News noticed that guest Vogue Paris editor Tom Ford put the very young model Daphne Groeneveld on the cover while featuring older women, including 67-year-old Lauren Hutton, inside. New York puts Groeneveld’s date of birth at December 25, 1995, which would make her 14, not 15, as the Daily News claims. [NYDN]
- 40-something club kid designer Richie Rich says Tavi Gevinson and Jane Pratt‘s magazine has his subscriber vote. “There are not that many people who inspire me, who I look up to fashion-wise, and [Tavi] is one of them. I just like her individuality. Tavi knows what she’s doing. I just think she’s adorable…I think youthfulness really helps because it’s refreshing, compared to the old, bitter cranky people in the magazine world. A lot of these people live uptown, they do their work and go home. She’s eager and happy. I’m sure they’re envious. They’re probably cackling behind her back. But in the end, she has the last laugh.” [The Cut]
- Ann Taylor, which has been trying to revamp its product offerings, saw a sales improvement during the third quarter — same-store sales rose nearly 12%. As a result, its stock is up 8.5%. [WWD]
- There’s a rumor going around that The Daily, which is a very funny trade paper given free to fashion week attendees, is being sold by its owners, IMG, to its founding editor, Brandusa Niro. The Daily recently saw a spate of staff departures. [Fashionista]
- Lisa Loeb‘s eyewear collection is out! [Racked]
- The $9,500 Fendi bicycle (limited-edition, of course) includes a built-in GPS system, ponyhair saddlebags, and a leather-covered lock and chain. [TLF]
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