- Michelle Obama will receive a CFDA award — but CFDA president Steve Kolb isn’t certain she’ll attend. “We’ll do whatever we can to get her here, but the award isn’t about getting her to come.” [AP]
- The other nominees include: Marc Jacobs, Narciso Rodriguez, and Kate and laura Mulleavy of Rodarte, for women’s wear designer of the year; Italo Zucchelli of Calvin Klein and Michael Bastian and Scott Sternberg of Band of Outsiders are up for the men’s wear award. Interestingly, the nominees for the Swarovski women’s wear award, which celebrates emerging talents, include two designers who shot to acclaim after Michelle Obama wore their dresses: Jason Wu, and Thakoon Panichgul. (Alexander Wang, no lesser light, is the third nominee.) The Council of Fashion Designers of America will host its annual shindig at Lincoln Center — a change of venue from the traditional Bryant Park-adjacent Public Library — on June 15. [WWD]
- Model Tyson Beckford gave up texting, which he doesn’t like to do, for Lent. Someone should maybe tell him how it works… [The Cut]
- Salma Hayek is reportedly set to debut a range of anti-aging cosmetics. [Daily Express]
- Naomi Campbell, meanwhile, is organizing a runway show benefit for victims of the Mumbai terror attacks; she’ll walk in the show with Bollywood stars, and afterwards the clothes will be auctioned for charity. [WWD]
- So that’s what Jil Sander was doing at the fabric fair in Paris: plotting new looks for Uniqlo! The Japanese fast-fashion giant — picture American Apparel without the cokey company culture and advertisements drenched in ballsweat — has taken on the long-unemployed designer as a kind of creative director with responsibility for all men’s and women’s apparel. She’ll also do a special capsule collection, set to debut this fall, for sale at Uniqlo. [WWD]
- People say models look angry. I say anyone wearing a neutral expression always looks about 30% more sullen in a still photograph than they do live; anyone who’s ever laid eyes on a photograph of themselves going about daily business without a posed smile has probably said the words, “But I look so angry!” Even though you weren’t actually angry at the time. It’s the same with models! If you want the camera to catch you looking vaguely sweet-faced, you have to kind of ham it up (slightly raise your eyebrows, widen your eyes, drop your bottom lip, purse your mouth like you’re about to say something nice). And there’s no fucking time for that kind of delicate facial maneuver on the runway. So you walk with a blank face and, yes, sometimes you look angry. Even though you are not. Is that all right with everyone? [The Cut]
- Scott Schuman‘s book, to be titled, The Sartorialist, will be released by Penguin this fall. To celebrate it, the Times of London is saying there’ll be — what else? — a pop-up shop called Sartorialust selling accessories from pajamas to suspenders inside Barneys New York; Fashionista says the only confirmed store is Colette in Paris. Schuman would love, he says, to consult for a venerable menswear label and make it more modern; he’s currently exploring some other kind of deal with Net-a-porter.com and the possibility of writing a style guidebook. [Times of London via Fashionista]
- Now that the fall collections are over, the Wall Street Journal is shuttering its excellent fashion blog, Heard On The Runway. I hope they don’t somehow rate this a higher priority. [WSJ]
- In her CNN: Revealed documentary, screening this week, Carine Roitfeld goes through options for an upcoming cover featuring Scarlett Johansson (the editor was apparently disappointed the actress had dyed her hair brown before the shoot, since it made her look less recognizable). CNN just released a teaser video, which has footage of the potential cover shot. [Fashionologie]
- Juicy Couture on 5th Ave. certainly has some imaginative window dressers: their current offering features one mannequin on its hands and knees, in that awkward doesn’t-quite-bend mannequinly way, wearing a saddle. Another stands over it, holding a riding crop, in case you didn’t get it. Do they think this will sell sweats? [Racked]
- Singer Adele, whom Anna Wintour styled for the Grammys and had Annie Leibovitz photograph for Vogue‘s “Shape” issue, says she would have walked the red carpet in a “jumper” if Anna hadn’t rang. “Anna! As if we’re on that level! I hate fashion! I had to tell her I’ve got four bums…” She took Vogue editor Hamish Bowles, her Grammys date, out for In N Out after the ceremony. [Grazia]
- JC Penney, the Humane Society has announced, has gone fur free. By which the company means they currently have no fur items and no plans to sell any in future. It’s as if McDonalds went “cruelty-free” by announcing that they are definitely never going to serve any foie gras. [HSUS]
- A Swedish company owns the rights to Gucci’s iconic double-G logo, at least in Sweden, a patent court there has found. Fishy. [UPI]
- Various brands, including Lacoste and Coach, are planning price cuts for the coming seasons. They hope to prevent retailers from having to make steep discounts of their own, as happened last year, because seeing something expensive marked down by 70% makes customers question whether the item was ever worth its original price. Lowering the original price by 30% makes customers say, This is surprisingly cheap, let’s buy it! Allegedly. [Forbes]
- Or will “vengeful populism” destroy our appetite for luxury goods altogether? [AdAge]
- Either way, Escada’s losses are even greater than originally reported for the quarter. [WWD]
- American Apparel, which was saved from bankruptcy with an eleventh-hour financing agreement last week, reported a 29% increase in net profits last quarter. [WWD]
- Valentino says if you want to be his friend, you have to love his designs. [VF]
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