The ‘Journal’ Blows the Lauder Clan’s Mild Awkwardness Wide OpenToday, The Wall Street Journal digs into the dirt surrounding the Lauder family, one of New York’s most influential business and social clans. Okay, so they don’t get into that much dirt, but, for the Journal, it feels positively juicy. According to the blaring headline, tensions are “Roiling” the Lauder dynasty! See, the Estée Lauder Companies are going to have a permanent non-Lauder CEO for the first time ever this year. And even though we’ve known that for months, Rupert Murdoch the Journal editors felt that readers deserved a look into the personal lives of Estée’s heirs. What do we learn? Well
• Former CEO and current chairman Leonard Lauder hasn’t done the best job of ceding power to his son, William, who is the current CEO (he has a bigger office! And he writes notes!).
• Leonard’s brother, Ronald, has borrowed a lot against his company’s shares and recently unloaded $100 million of them (but he’s still confident in the company!).
• Ronald loves art!
loose threads
Oscar Fashion Bores — Now on to Paris!• The inane glories of the red carpet: Atonement’s 13-year-old Saoirse Ronan doesn’t care what people think about her outfit, George Clooney’s date seemed restless, and Steve Carell claimed to wear $14,000 Spanx. [WP]
• Most Oscar dresses were boring and many red-carpet walkers’ “behavior could have used a little refinement,” like Jessica Alba who chewed gum the whole walk down. [WWD]
company town
Stephen Colbert Backlash: The Fall’s Hottest TrendMEDIA
• The American version of the Guardian hits our shores! [Guardian via Gawker]
• Stephen Colbert is leading Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich, and Mike Gravel in national polls; the media backlash has already begun. [WP, HuffPo, Gawker]
• ASME announced the finalists for the 2007 best magazine cover. They must have missed the backlash memo: Colbert is featured three times, more than any other star. [ASME]
new york fugging city
Proenza Schouler Show More Fun Than Your GYN AppointmentProenza Schouler moved uptown to the magnificent Park Avenue Armory this year, and their fans came with them. We spotted the usual cadre of interchangeable blonde fashion editors, a sprinkling of socialites (including Aerin Lauder and avowed Proenza lover Jessica Joffe, who was wearing the same outfit she had on at the 11 a.m. Sari Gueron show scandale!), and, of course, Anna Wintour, this time with daughter Bee Shaffer in tow.
