Posts for March 28, 2008 -- The Cut: New York Magazine's Fashion Blog

March 28, 2008

Marc Jacobs: Foodie?!

Digestion is important to this man.Photo: WireImage

Eats.com is an online social network for foodies. On April 3 it's having a party at Marquee to celebrate its launch and you'll never guess which "V.I.P. foodie" is headlining. That would be Marc Jacobs. Now, we know Jacobs has a taste for the finer things (he does design a good portion of them in this world), but we're surprised food tops that list. After all, in the Marc Jacobs documentary by Loïc Prigent, which follows the designer from his less-svelte days, we learn Jacobs used to live off muscle milk and protein bars. Now trim 'n fit, he told us he drinks green vegetable juice and doesn't consume sugar or caffeine. So, what gives? As you'll see in the clip of the documentary after the jump, he might be looking for inspiration.

Macaroons made the purse! »

More: Cult of Personality »food, marc jacobs

Retail Therapy

3/28/08

6:15 PM

Go Buy New Shoes This Weekend

It's depressing and dreary outside right now but this weekend promises to be positively sun-kissed. So why not get a little spring shopping under your waist-belt? As we learned from our latest tastemaker, Zia Zeprin, earlier, outfits are all about shoes this spring. So start with those when building your warm-weather wardrobe. We picked out 158 damn fine-looking kicks in all price ranges for our latest Shop-A-Matic, so you can skip the browsing and go straight to the source. We'll start with women's picks:

High: Yasmin by Christian Louboutin (left)
Price: $795
Available at: Bergdorf Goodman, 754 Fifth Ave.; 212-753-7300

Mid: Stepping Stone Thong by Mystique (right)
Price:$168
Available at: Anthropology, 85 Fifth Ave., Union Square; 212-627-5885

On to the Mandals. »

More: Retail Therapy »christian louboutin, phillip lim, shoes, shop-a-matic, shopping

Retail Therapy

3/28/08

5:15 PM

What Puma and Adidas Have to Do With the Nazis

We love when fashion collides with seemingly non-related topics like history and politics. In today's chapter of hold-the-phone collisions we learn about the birth of sportswear companies Adidas and Puma, which began in WWII, and were founded by brothers Adolf (a.k.a. Adi) and Rudolf Dassler. See, they co-owned Dassler Brothers, an athletic shoe enterprise before they started feuding. Then Rudolf was forced to serve the German forces in Poland. Not only did this make him angry, but he believed his brother Adi had something to do with why he wound up there. So when the war ended, Rudolf told the Allies that Adi assisted the Nazi war effort. And they basically hated each other from them on.

Naturally, Rudolf broke off from Dassler and opened his own shoe store called Puma. Adi renamed his store Adidas. The whole town of Herzogenaurach got involved in the feud and sided with one shoe store or the other. Anyway, eventually the brothers realized if they wanted to sell more merchandise than the other, they'd need famous athletes to wear their stuff. This explains why the Olympics are the marketing circus they are these days. If you need a new read for the L-train, Dutch journalist Barbara Smit wrote a book about all this called Sneaker Wars: The Enemy Brothers Who Founded Adidas and Puma and the Family Feud .

Now go to a cocktail party and start a conversation. You're welcome.

Sneakers, Nazis, and a Family Feud [Business Wire via Jezebel]

More: Retail Therapy »adidas, puma, sneakers

Beauty Marks

3/28/08

4:30 PM

Screw Skin — Tattoo Your Teeth! Also: Red Bull for Hair

We knew our smiles were missing something...Photo: ToothArtist.com

SKIN
• Tattoos for teeth are the latest, um, cosmetic enhancement. To be honest we'd prefer a gold or platinum grill. [BellaSugar]

• Jo Wood, wife of Rolling Stones rocker Ronnie, supposedly convinced Kate Moss to use organic beauty products. Wood has her own line of 'em and Moss reportedly loves them. That's one healthy habit under her belt. [People’s Off The Rack]

FRAGRANCE
• Jewelers David and Sybil Yurman will launch the first Yurman fragrance in August. [WWD]

• The Mustang car brand is launching its second men’s fragrance this June called Mustang Blue. It’s going to be a “car-themed men’s scent.” Yeah, that new-car smell gets us so hot. [WWD]

HAIR
• Bumble & Bumble launched a hairspray this month called Spray de Mode. They created it during Fashion Week to keep hair flexible and soft under harsh conditions. [Blogdorf Goodman]

• Philip Kingsley’s Elasticizer is a $6 shower-cap hair treatment with restorative deep conditioners. It revatilizes hair to make it look as though it “chugged a can of Red Bull.” Riiiight. [BellaSugar]

MAKEUP
• The Clinique summer collection debuts next week. The Long Last Glosswear is a fan favorite, with one tester’s color lasting through two lattes, a cigarette, and lunch. If only she'd indulged in a salt-rimmed margarita to give it the super test. [Product Girl]

More: Beauty Marks »beauty, fragrance, hair, kate moss, makeup, skin, tattoos

Run Through

3/28/08

3:33 PM

Rumor of the Day: Prada Casting Director Accepts Bribes?

IMG girl Sasha Pivovarova.Photo: Courtesy of Prada

Our slow news day just picked up its pace. A lot. Fashionista.com reports rumors are swirling about a bribery scandal at Prada and Miu Miu. The label's casting director, Russell Marsh, purportedly accepted bribes from IMG and Women modeling agencies to put their girls front and center in Prada and Miu Miu ads and runway shows. Looking at runway slideshows, it's pretty clear Women and IMG girls get prominent placement. Sasha Pivovarova of IMG, after all, has appeared in over nine Prada ad campaigns.

An e-mail supposedly from Marsh is circulating that says he'll be "going away for a while." Then again, it could be from a faux Marsh. Fashionista brought up the theory that a competing agency started all this in the hopes of getting its girls a fair shot with Miuccia's camp. Not unlikely. A Prada rep said she had no knowledge of the rumor and declined to comment. If it's true the label might get some good advice from the good people at Marc Jacobs, who are dealing with a bribery scandal of their own. Sigh. Oh, fashion industry...

Update: Tomaso Galli, group communication and external relations director for Prada, had this to say: "I can't believe this ... We have worked with Russell for so many years ... He is such a great guy!" And there you have it.

Prada Casting Director Accused of Bribes [Fashionista.com]

More: Run Through »marc jacobs, miu miu, miucca prada, prada, russell marsh

Dress Code

3/28/08

2:45 PM

Our Carla Bruni Watch Continues: She's Wearing Purple!

Carla is the center of attention at the royal ball. Random aside: Apparently they still wear those robes.Photo: Getty Images

Our Carla Bruni-Sarkozy watch continues! On day two of her First Official First-Lady Trip, she wore only Dior again, but she looked much more comfortable and cheery, and even delivered her first speech. It seems she's getting used to all this official-ness, and the British press are giddy again today over her chicness. And we kind of are too since we've accepted that although she's a former model, first ladies just won't vamp through the royal court in one of those new latex Balenciaga dresses. Her clothing choices matched her enlivened spirit: She broke out the bright purple we love so much on her. Now if only her fashion sense could rub off on poor Sarah Brown, who held a luncheon for her yesterday. See what we mean and check out her outfits after the jump.

Bouquets are the new clutch. »

More: Dress Code »carla bruni, christian dior, nicolas sarkozy, royals

Tastemakers

3/28/08

1:45 PM

Zia Ziprin of Girls Love Shoes on Vintage Kicks and Rationalizing $700 Heels

Zia with her bounty — her glorious, glorious bounty.Photo: Melissa Hom

When designers and costumers need a little inspiration, they know where to go: Girls Love Shoes. The Lower East Side treasure trove houses thousands of vintage shoes, some from as far back as the 1800s, serving as a historical archive of footwear, a resource for industry insiders, and a great online boutique for aficionados. Sisters Zia and Dana Ziprin learned the vintage ropes from their mother, a model and stylist who opened her own vintage store in California in the sixties. When Dana began sourcing shoes in California, it didn't take long before they amassed 2,000 pairs (imagine that shoe rack!) and opened the rental service. Now Zia, a former fashion designer, runs the new boutique as she prepares to launch her own shoe line this August. We pulled her aside to find out what pair of shoes she'd never part with and why a $700 pair of shoes is actually worth it.

Yes, she always wears heels »

More: Tastemakers »alexander mcqueen, christian dior, girls love shoes, lower east side, martin margiela, shoes, vintage, zia ziprin

Model Tracker

3/28/08

12:15 PM

Meet the New Girl: Liu Wen

Photo: Imaxtree

Unless you’re a huge fan of Chinese fashion glossies, you probably haven’t seen much of Liu Wen. After all, she only hit major runways last month. But her debut at shows like Burberry and Jean Paul Gaultier earned her some Stateside fans, us included. We just added Wen to our Model Manual, where you can find loads of pictures and info on her, like that signed with Marilyn in Paris, the same agency as Julia Stegner and Stella Tennant. Read her profile to find out more about this long-haired beauty. —Kendall Herbst

More: Model Tracker »julia stegner, liu wen, models, stella tennant

Run Through

3/28/08

11:50 AM

Kate Bosworth Gets Drunk, Makes Style.com Nervous

Sturgess and Bosworth: sober?Photo: Getty Images

Karl Lagerfeld's security didn't beat anyone up yesterday, Arden Wohl didn't launch a clothing line (thank God), and Target doesn't have a new Go collection. So it's kind of a slow news day for fashion blogs, like Style.com. Maybe that's why they came up with a post about the fashion implications of Kate Bosworth's role in the new movie 21. A bit of a stretch, perhaps? (Hey, we've all been there.) Since Bosworth is a fashion muse (she's on the Calvin Klein billboard on Houston and Lafayette) Style.com seems a bit nervous about how her gambling character will impact their glamorous, clean-lined world:

[S]hould we expect ateliers across town to be closing up shop early, the better to let Bosworth-favored designers like the Proenza boys take in a screening? Further: Given the Bosworth connection, and given that she plays a card-counting MIT applied mathematics major, should we be expecting a sexy brainiac theme at the September shows? Or perhaps—inasmuch as the movie is set in Vegas, with the principal action at the blackjack tables—we should clear our calendars for some casino-flavored benefits, and punch up our own card-counting skills?

Oh Style.com, don't worry your pretty little head about those things! Just get used to getting black-out drunk on Grey Goose. The actress told People she got so wasted when she shot her love scene with British hottie Jim Sturgess she couldn't even remember it. Apparently they're good friends and needed to get past the awkwardness. Sturgess told People, "It was brilliant for about half and an hour. As we continued to drink...it just became sloppy and messy. I couldn't stand up at one point."

Hey, fashion designers love Amy Winehouse. The bottle's a natural next muse.

Forever 21 [Style.com]
Kate Bosworth Blacks Out Her Steamy 21 Love Scene [People]

More: Run Through »21, jim sturgess, kate bosworth, style.com

Cult of Personality

3/28/08

10:55 AM

Jason Preston Spends All Day Googling Himself

Preston and all his free time.Photo: Getty Images

Yesterday a spy sent in a Jason Preston sighting to Gawker. The tipster reported Preston, Marc Jacobs's ex, was carrying "loads of heavy shit," which might indicate he was moving out of Jacobs's crib. Or something. Anyway, Preston saw the stalker sighting and somehow got a hold of writer Ryan Tate's cell-phone number, which he called last night to clear the air about his baggage. He left this voicemail:

Ryan, what's up, this is Jason Preston calling. Umm, I'm calling on behalf of, I guess the column or whatever in Gawker.com, I guess you sent something in saying you saw me on the street today with a whole bunch of shit.
First of all, I just had my gym bag, that's all I had, a little, small, little Louis Vuitton gym bag.

And number two, my boots, they are $2,0000 fucking [unintelligible brand] boots, brah.

And three, as in the words of Lil' Kim, you should get your facts straight or Shut Up, Bitch, because you don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

Wow. Our voice mailbox is so jealous.

Jason Preston's Correction Involves The Words "Shut Up, Bitch" [Gawker]

More: Cult of Personality »jason preston, lil' kim, marc jacobs

Loose Threads

3/28/08

9:10 AM

Kate Moss Biography Hits Shelves; Seven Jeans Flagship Coming to Soho

Kate Moss.Photo: Getty Images

• An unauthorized biography of Kate Moss has hit bookstores in France. The author calls her the "Snow White of modern times." Make puns in your head at will. [WWD]

• Seven for All Mankind will open a flagship on West Broadway in Soho this fall. [WWD]

• The fashion industry has begun to understand the power of blogs and that they need to allow them access to fashion shows and events. Chanel even flew some bloggers to Paris to promote a new perfume launch and Gucci flew some bloggers to New York to cover the opening of its new flagship. Ahem, Chanel. [WWD]

• Sarah Brown held a lunch for Carla Bruni-Sarkozy yesterday, but her outfit didn't quite hold up next to Carla's. [Times]

• Converse is coming out with two new sneaker styles to celebrate its 100th anniversary: One is $200 and basketball-inspired, the other is $50 to $65 and has scrawlings from Kurt Cobain's journal on them. [WP]

Brody Jenner gets rowdy. »

More: Loose Threads »brody jenner, carla bruni, chanel, converse, gucci, house of holland, kate moss, kurt cobain, sarah brown, seven for all manking

Fashion Calendar

3/28/08

8:55 AM

Weekend Sales: Get a Piece of ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ Set

STARTING TODAY
• If you need more conversation starters in your apartment, hit up the Props for Today sale, where items from the sets of The Devil Wears Prada, 30 Rock, and more are up to 70 percent off. Through 3/30. 330 W. 34th St., nr. Eighth Ave., 14th fl.; 3/28 (noon-8:30), 3/29 (10-7), 3/30 (noon-3).

• Built by Wendy unloads past seasons’ collections of tent dresses, carpenter pants, and gauze tops at 75 percent off. Through 3/29. 46 N. 6th St., nr. Kent St., Williamsburg (718-384-2882); 3/28 and 3/29 (11–8).

• Ananas handbags and GirlCat are teaming up and taking up to 80 percent off reversible silk charmeuse cocktail dresses (now $164), leather shoulder bags (the Isabel is now $115), and Delman shoes (now $120). 167 Elizabeth St., nr. Spring St. (212-219-1647); 3/28 and 3/29 (10–8).

• The W Hotel Store is knocking down prices at their online-only warehouse sale. The Ro briefcase is now $89 (was $275) and a double stone bolt bracelet is $22 (was $58).

More: Fashion Calendar »sales, shopping