Terry Richardson's PR Pushback; Karl Lagerfeld Likes Escorts; Hello Kitty Wears Malia Obama

Latest
  • Now begins the round of stories comparing Terry Richardson to Helmut Newton, wherein friends deny he could be any kind of a sexual predator. “You can’t scare him,” says Tom Ford. Why won’t Richardson answer these allegations, then? [TDB]
  • Yesterday, after reading a genuinely creepy account of just one model’s experiences at Richardson‘s studio — the famous photographer asked to make tea with her bloody tampon, took off his clothes and started waggling his penis “dangerously close to my unclothed person,” and he maneuvered her over to his couch, where he “strongly suggested” she give him a hand job while his assistants looked on — we asked for others to share, with or without giving names, their experiences with Richardson. And boy, have we gotten a lot of responses! But if you have information about Richardson and his behavior that you’d be comfortable sharing, even anonymously, please consider telling us.
  • Victoria Beckham is a good designer, and her fashion business certainly appears to be capably run. She also seems, based on interviews and anecdotes, to be a pleasant person. But has she really earned comparisons to Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo, fellow British women fashion designers whose talents are much more far-ranging? [ToL]
  • “I admire porn… And I personally only like high-class escorts. I don’t like sleeping with people I really love. I don’t want to sleep with them because sex cannot last, but affection can last forever. I think this is healthy.” — Karl Lagerfeld. [The Cut]
  • Lagerfeld is set to do a one-off collaboration with Hogan next summer. [WWD]
  • Coco Rocha tweeted her very elegant wedding invitations. [@OhSoCoCo]
  • Anna Sui was mentioned in an SAT vocab question. “Because her clothes are both inventive and lucrative, Anna Sui is truly a __ designer.” But what was the correct word for the blank? [FWD]
  • If you’re hankering to see Tory Burch respond to such incisive questions as “The Fall 2010 collection was really “cool” in a way we haven’t seen from you before. (Those leather cargo pants were to die for–definitely on our list for fall!),” “It feels like the rise of ‘Tory Burch, The Brand’ was pretty fast. One season your signature shoes appeared in the pages of Vogue and the next season they were on every woman’s feet. Did you feel like it was a quick climb up the ladder?” and “Why do you think your pieces have such a broad appeal?” then, well, click on through. [Fashionista]
  • Akon‘s fragrances, Konvict for men and Konvict for women, come in bottles that look like handcuffs. Cute. [Honeymag]
  • Fergie worked with Lady Gaga‘s sometime stylist for the Black Eyed Peas‘ current tour. [People]
  • Puma‘s new line of perfumes for men and women, called Animagical, will be fronted by none other than sprinter Usain Bolt. The track & field nerd in us is happy at this prospect. [WWD]
  • Hello Kitty, a fictional character, is going to wear a cartoon version of a dress Malia Obama once wore IRL. [NYDN]
  • Today in celebrity fashion lines: Liam Gallagher‘s…still exists. And he’s adding women’s wear. [Vogue UK]
  • Ramona Singer is entering the handbag business. [Racked]
  • Gwen Stefani says fashion is about making a way for herself to be creative, even after she one day stops performing. “I made so many clothes growing up, and I used to do my own costumes…all I would do was just daydream about what I was going to make.” [People]
  • A study by Arizona State University, the University of Cologne, and Erasmus University has found that plus-size models are as likely to negatively affect a woman viewer’s self-esteem as straight-size models are. [ASU]
  • Talbots is continuing its effort to make its offerings more fashionable, and less like “your grandmother’s Talbots,” in the words of the C.E.O. The company recently introduced two new fits of pants, and for fall, expect a new denim line. And, apparently, a lot of leopard print. [WWD]
  • NO! Someone stole our “Colonial Williamsburg Brooklyn” idea. Dammit. We have pondered the resemblance between the residents of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Williamsburg, Virginia, and made snarky comments about hipster-colonists we’ve spotted on the street, for ages. We still think there could be a reality show in this. Call us! [NYT]