“It’s very sad, but English fashion will survive, and be stronger,” Vivienne Westwood said of Luella’s recent closing. “It’s a bit of a cautionary tale for all involved on tightening up the business side of things—but for that conversation, we will need several hours.” Given that we caught the flame-haired designer at her Spring ‘10 [...]

Since she seems to navigate the front row gauntlet with such glam savvy, it’s tough to recall that Rihanna is a bit of a fashion-show newbie. She briefly did Paris last year for Fall 2008 shows, attending only John Galliano and Sonia Rykiel. Back then, her looks left something to be desired. (There were some [...]

Knockoff Speedy bags are old news. In London a trial date has been set for three people accused of selling counterfeit versions of clothing Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren were selling at their store Sex in the seventies. What’s next? Faux Fortunys? [WWD]
One star sighting that might slip by the Japanese paps at the Bryant [...]

How many supermodels can you fit into a pair a Beth Ditto’s leggings for Evans? Apparently a “bale,” which is British for a lot. [The Guardian]
On the other hand…the future of skinny jeans for men looks bright. The Gap, Levi’s, and True Religion are all amping up their slim-denim efforts. As one client puts [...]

A new concept store opened this week in the rue Montorgueil area of Paris, and if its creators—twentysomething sisters Vanessa and Laetitia Roggwiller—have their way, it will up the capital’s fashion ante considerably. Freshly minted graduates in fashion marketing and communications, respectively, the sisters were mulling a boutique launch, but when they saw this duplex [...]

Fashion Week notes from the co-founder and editor of Purple.

Background Photo: Ally McErlaine

Could there be any better revenge than looking good? When the very publicly dumped Jo Wood—ex of Ronnie-running-around-with-a-Russian-Wood—took to the catwalk in a golden dress at the Vivienne Westwood Red Label show, her newfound weight loss, smoldering eyes, and Bardot hair were not lost on anyone. “You go girl!” the crowd shouted in the back [...]

“9:30, Sean coming, 11:30, workout, 5:00, David Letterman, 8:00, Showtime, 1:00, Meet Sandra.” Three guesses on whose handwritten journal this is. Well, considering the Sean is Penn and Sandra is old buddy Bernhard, you guessed right. This agenda, along with thousands of other personal effects, was brought together for a major Madonna moment—Simply Madonna: [...]

When it comes to creative collaborations, Melissa, the Brazilian company that has elevated the plastic shoe to lofty heights many miles above the jelly, could give Marc Jacobs a run for his money. Each season the company commissions a creative type—from Vivienne Westwood to the Campana Brothers—to design a custom pair of shoes. Under the [...]

Breaking news: Lou Doillon has just accepted an ambassadorship. The country? Bargain-istan. It’s a French territory for those of you not up on your make-believe geography.
Former Target-eer Isaac Mizrahi unveils his first collection for Liz Claiborne. It looks pretty happy; he calls it more “grown-up.” Just don’t use that word around him.
Meanwhile, Mizrahi’s former [...]