Male model Andrej Pejic, famous for his androgynous good looks and his ability to work a runway in men’s wear or a Gaultier wedding dress, has landed his first job actually modeling lingerie. The Dutch chain Hema hired the Australian to advertise its line of push-up bras. Which obviously seem to work as intended (though we strongly suspect some chicken cutlets came out of the stylist’s bag of tricks, too). Pejic, whose cover of art mag Dossier had to be sold in opaque plastic bags after Barnes & Noble complained about his nude torso, has said in interviews that he doesn’t necessarily prefer being styled as a woman or as a man, but that he appreciates the variety of work available to him. “To me, it doesn’t really matter. I don’t really have that sort of strong gender identity — I identify as what I am.” This morning, he Tweeted, “Did I ever think I had enough booty to advertise a push-up bra? No. But am I working it or what??” [Mirror, @Andrej_Pejic]
Approximately three zillion fashion designers have been reportedly considered for the top job at Christian Dior, which fired its longtime creative director John Galliano ten months ago after he was arrested for hurling racist and anti-Semitic invective at a couple in a Paris café. Marc Jacobs was said to be very close to taking the job, but then word came that negotiations had broken down. Riccardo Tisci was also supposedly a front-runner. Even Alexander Wang‘s name was thrown into the ring, despite his lack of experience with couture. Today, Women’s Wear Daily ran a story saying that Raf Simons — who currently designs for Jil Sander — is very close to taking the job. Simons started his career as an industrial and furniture designer, and launched his men’s wear collection in 1995. He began designing women’s wear in 2005. [WWD]
Cathy Horyn, one of the many critics who have praised Simons’ collections for Jil Sander, is on board with this idea. “If judged solely as a minimalist, Mr. Simons might seem an odd fit for romantic Dior, but his Jil Sander collections are actually proof of a nimble mind that seeks a broader aesthetic expression. And Dior is much more than the crinoline narratives that its former designer, John Galliano, adored.” [On The Runway]
Nail polish: as you probably know, it’s kind of having a moment. As previously reported, nail polish sales rose by 59% during the year through October, compared with the same period of 2010. According to Gallup, 64% of American women use nail polish once a week or more. Three thousand Wal-Mart stores sold out of Justin Bieber’s OPI collection on the day it went on sale. Fashionista summarizes the year in nails, in numbers. Our DIY post on the ’30s-style “Moon” manicure, meanwhile, is among the most-read DIYs of 2011. [Fashionista]
Taiwanese Elle put Hello Kitty on a cover. Actually, two. [Fashionista]
Two additional new face models, both 15, have been confirmed for Balenciaga‘s spring campaign, and one of them has eyebrows that are just so wrong for her face. Oh honey, no! Those don’t do you justice. Eyebrows: always so important. [The Cut]
- Model/Kardashian Kendall Jenner, whose first editorial pictures we just saw, is launching a jewelry line for fall 2012 with her sister Kylie. Every Kardashian receives a kar and a kollection for her 16th birthday. It’s kompany policy. [WWD]
- Daisy Lowe, who worked with Terry Richardson on the 2011 Pirelli calendar, says he’s “so much fun” to shoot with. “He just exudes this sexual energy, so he doesn’t need to ask girls to take off their clothes. Honestly, they just do it! He’s got the funniest stories as well, and he’s such a mummy’s boy that he likes women that are really sweet to him. And while we were there, he didn’t sleep — he just took pictures of all of us. I swear that camera’s glued to his hand. He was like, ‘Why would I sleep? I’ve got eleven of you here, and you’re all getting into your underwear for me!'” [Fashionista]
- Gloria Estefan signed with Wilhelmina for modeling and endorsement work. [WWD]
- Tyra Banks and her hedge-funder boyfriend of three years John Utendahl have broken up. Banks has gone on vacation to Bali for a “spiritual retreat” — someone‘s a fan of Eat, Pray, Love — and Utendahl was spotted on a date with gasp another model. [P6]
- Russian model Vika Falileeva says that when she went to a modeling competition in her home town, Irkutsk, the judges took one look at her and said there was no need for her to even bother. “When I went and the judges met me they were like, ‘You don’t need to do this. You can just get signed now.’ Then I came to New York last September.” She’s since walked for Alexander Wang, Louis Vuitton, and Marc Jacobs, though the stress of her debut show season had its toll. “I lost like five kilograms last time. I was superskinny. You don’t have time to eat. We have castings, shows, fittings, refits, more castings, more shows.” [WWD]
- According to Russian-language news sources, Sasha Pivovarova is pregnant. Pivovarova has been married for three years to Igor Vishnyakov. [Modelinia]
- American Apparel‘s talks with supermarket billionaire modelizer Ron Burkle, who had expressed interest in extending the troubled company a financial lifeline, have reportedly stalled. American Apparel wanted an investment of $90-$100 million, because it needs money to pay off both its revolving credit line with Bank of America (more than $47 million, as of October) and the $114 million it currently owes primary lender Lion Capital. American Apparel has failed to meet its obligations to Lion so many times that Lion has been able to jigger the interest rate on that loan up to a whopping 18%, so the $114 million is “rapidly ballooning.” Although American Apparel’s sales have recently shown some modest improvement after around two years of successive declines, the company is still losing money at an alarming rate, largely because of its interest payments. It doesn’t currently have enough cashflow to meet its debt obligations, so it needs to negotiate a loan from somewhere, if not from Burkle. [WWD]
- Sephora is having Prabal Gurung redesign its U.S. uniforms. [WWD]
- Tidings from the sad, sad story of the Filene’s/Syms bankruptcy: secured creditors have been entirely paid back, and unsecured creditors have recouped 72.5% of their losses. The court expects unsecured creditors will top out at a return of 75%. Anyone want to enlighten us in the comments about the ongoing liquidation sales? [WWD]
- Urban Outfitters, which has been having a very rough year — four successive quarters of declining profits, and drops in crucial same-store sales — has announced some good news: it expects same-store sales to rise in the mid-single digits this quarter. [WWD]
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