Lady Gaga Looks Like A Butterfly On The Cover Of V

Lady Gaga is on the cover of the new issue of V, shot by Inez von Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. This is her third appearance on the magazine’s cover. Gaga’s cover is timed to coincide with the start of her new sideline gig as a V columnist. [Fashin]

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This is styled as V magazine’s “Asia” issue — and aside from the cover, which seems random — it looks like it’s not just an excuse to run a bunch of fashion spreads that are heavy on the Orientalist references, it appears to actually be about Asia! It includes an interview with actress Nancy Kwan (“Minorities still have a hard and very difficult time getting work here. Especially Asians. Asian women over 40? Forget it”), and a story about Diane von Furstenberg in China. This is a portrait of Chinese agency Longteng’s top 14 new faces for the Paris shows. [The Cut]

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Emma Watson‘s Lancôme campaign was launched in Paris. Mario Testino shot it. [Style.com]

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The two-year-old calfskin Launer London handbag the Queen carried to her grandson’s wedding has sparked a 60% increase in sales for the brand. [Telegraph]

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The current issue of Vogue Girl Japan is available (in English) for free on iTunes. [iTunes]

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• Anna Wintour is now a voting member of the board of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She had been an honorary trustee since 1999. The annual Costume Institute Gala, which Wintour oversees, has raised over $85 million for the museum. [WWD]
• No black models walked in yesterday’s 74-look Chanel cruise show; there were two Asian models, Fei Fei Sun and Shu Pei Qin. Notes Amy Odell, “In fact no black models walked in the label’s resort show last year, the fall 2011 show, the spring 2011 couture show, or the pre-fall 2011 show.” [The Cut]
• This is Abbey Lee Kershaw‘s band’s first single. It sounds intentionally like the Bad Seeds, and it seems to be about how “love is a battlefield of blight.” [Modelinia]
• Katie Holmes has kindly given Isabella Cruise, Tom Cruise’s daughter with Nicole Kidman, an internship at Holmes & Yang, the fashion line she does with Jeannie Yang. Ah, nepotism! [This is London]
• The online flash sale business is getting crowded. Gilt Groupe, perhaps the U.S. industry leader, is now valued at over $1 billion and operates divisions in Japan and India, but the largest flash sale company in the world, Vente Privée, is expected to announce Thursday it is entering the U.S. market in a joint venture with American Express. HauteLook was acquired by Nordstrom for $270 million, and Amazon launched MyHabit last week. [WWD]
• Giovanna Battaglia: “If I don’t have the right outfit on I cannot even go to a meeting. The way you see yourself, it just psyches up your mind for the day. If you dress too comfy or too relaxed for a tough business day — I cannot endure.” [The Cut]
• Topshop is opening a second U.S. store. It’ll be in Chicago. [WWD]
• Iris Apfel, on jeans: “Have you seen the prices? Scandalous. I mean, yes, if they are embroidered or beaded or made special in some divine way, but honestly, jeans are jeans. I live in them most of the time, but I had a helluva time getting a pair of jeans around 1940, when I was at the University of Wisconsin. I thought I’d wear jeans, a turban, and some old earrings. So I went to an Army-Navy store, but you have to remember, back in those days, all the men in Wisconsin were the size of Paul Bunyan. Then the salesman told me, ‘Young ladies don’t wear jeans.’ He wouldn’t sell me any or have them cut down. So I kept going back to the store, and they kept throwing me out, so to get rid of me, they finally ordered me some boys’ jeans. I love men’s jeans; they fit me better.” [Architectural Digest, via Fashionista]
• Today in odd collaborations: Missoni and Bugaboo. [WWD]
• Bulgari, which recently sold a 50.4% stake to Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, is now back in the black as of last quarter. In fact, the luxury brand made $13 million in the three months ended March 31. [WWD]
• Macy’s also performed well beyond expectations in the first quarter. Net income hit $131 million, compared with $23 million a year ago. [WWD]
• Business at Hermès is similarly booming. Revenues hit $870.8 million during the first quarter, and sales rose 25.5% over the same period last year. Silk scarves, watches, and perfumes were top sellers. [WWD]