Elizabeth Taylor‘s world-famous collection of fine jewelry, including the 33.19 ct diamond ring Richard Burton gave her, is on public display at Christie’s in Manhattan, pending an auction that is expected to see $50 million in total sales. You could also pick up Taylor’s first wedding dress, her Louis Vuitton luggage (remember your yacht varnish!), or one of her three Oscars. [Telegraph]
This Louis Vuitton sales associate in the Philippines did a pretty awesome performance for company C.E.O. Yves Carcelle when Carcelle visited the store. It turns out the 24-year-old part-time employee has won the Philippines national yo-yo championship. Twice. [Fashionista]
Tommy Ton shot Garage magazine’s Shala Monroque in her native St. Lucia for Vogue Japan. [Beauty is Diverse]
Dominican model Marihenny Rivera Pasible says it was a highlight of her runway season to be the only black model to walk for Marni. She also says her family is supportive of her career — mostly. “Every time [my mother] sees my pictures in magazines she shows everyone, saying, ‘Look, this is my girl!’ My brother is jealous, though, because the boys back home always bug him about me, and say, ‘What about your sister? How is she? I want to be her boyfriend.’ He tells them that I got married to my mother agent, who’s gay, just to shut them up.” [The Cut]
Madonna is sending pairs of male models to hand-deliver her new perfume to editors of major publications. For future male model-related deliveries, Gawker Media is located at 210 Elizabeth Street, fourth floor. [Allure]
Mary J. Blige continued her record-breaking run as a perfume saleswoman on HSN. In an appearance, in which she hawked her perfumes and sang, Blige sold all 26,000 available units. [WWD]
Franca Sozzani says that Vogue Italia’s circulation has risen since the magazine started to put an effort into its website. “This means that it’s not so true that the Internet steals readers from paper publications.” [WWD]
Jessica Simpson is adding maternity clothing and a children’s line to her namesake fashion label. As for the kids’ stuff, don’t expect any tacky, sexualized clothes. “I think that keeping it age important is extremely important,” says the always-eloquent celebrity. [Fashionista]
Brian Atwood says those photos of Kristen Stewart switching from a pair of his high heels to a pair of Vans slip-ons at her Hollywood Walk of Fame hand-print thingee were misconstrued. “She didn’t want to put cement feet” back into velvet heels, he explains. [Fashionista]
Rumor has it that Ashley Brokaw, the U.S.-based casting director who casts Proenza Schouler and Balenciaga’s shows, among others, will replace Russell Marsh in casting the Prada show. [@hisssquad]
Online shopping could get a lot easier: Google is reportedly in talks to develop a way for consumers to receive their online purchases within one business day, for a fee. This would compete with services like Amazon Prime. [WSJ]
Speaking of retail sales, the month of November may have seen a record, $1.3 billion Black Friday weekend — but that aside, analysts report the month was pretty slow, with same-store sales rising overall just 3.2% over November 2010. Stores are nervous about the rest of the holiday shopping season. [WWD]
Designer Adam Lippes just lost his financial backing. This development, along with management changes at Kellwood (longtime American Apparel C.F.O. Adrian Kowalewski jumped ship for the company in October, and the current V.P. of business development is leaving for Nordstrom) seems to signal the end of Kellwood’s recent acquisition spree, which saw it buy up several smaller labels. Its investment in Adam Lippes was made just last year. Without Kellwood, the label will need to find new backing, or close. [WWD]
Here’s a preview of Alexa Chung‘s new reality show, 24 Hour Catwalk. [People]
Nail polish sales rose by a whopping 59% during the first ten months of this year, compared with the same period one year ago. [WWD]
Oh, so the notably hideous Versace for H&M collection, though hyped to the extreme, is still languishing on the racks at various locations in New York City? You don’t say. We wonder how all those people who lined up for upwards of 20 hours feel now. [Racked]
Of the late master embroidery designer François Lesage, Valentino Garavani says, “He was capable of creating the most extraordinary masterpieces for all different designers, from the most traditional to the avant-garde ones. You would give him a design or an idea, and there was no limit to beauty.” Lesage once described his work thusly: “We’re a bit like a restaurant: We don’t propose meat to a vegetarian. Schiaparelli liked religious embroidery, a bit like [Christian] Lacroix. Yves Saint Laurent was fabulous to work with — we had such complicity — as is Karl Lagerfeld. The trick with Karl is to follow him around the Galignani book store and then go to the counter and say, ‘I want what he’s having.’” [WWD]
And now, a moment with Manolo Blahnik. Manolo, what’s the life goal that still keeps you up at night?
“I want to do the perfect shoe. I’ve done quite good ones but I haven’t done one yet that’s made me really happy.”
