LV Says N-O to LL

The news that Jill Stuart dropped LaLohan as the face of its ad campaign hardly came as a surprise but Page Six is reporting that fash labels are now refusing to even dress the starlet. After a shoot-gone-awry with Elle two months ago, Louis Vuitton has put a kabash on lending.

"Louis Vuitton had sent over some samples for her to wear in the shoot," said a snitch. "Lindsay, kept shoving the clothes into her bag, and a stylist's assistant kept getting them out of the bag, only to have Lindsay keep trying to take them. She ended up walking off with a very expensive shirt and some other items - which screwed Louis Vuitton because they were set to go to Vogue, W and Harper's Bazaar for other shoots. They were furious and kept trying to get their clothes back, but . . . Lindsay walked out with them and never returned calls."

Guess she'll have to stick with wearing Chanel.

Fashion's Gone To The Dogs

In case you missed it...we're loving yesterday's Bill Cunningham spread - cunning indeed!

On the Rumor Mill...

In the trenches: WWD reports that Phillip Lim has been meeting with Coach's president and exec. creative director, Reed Krakoff regarding the possibility of collaboration. "Further details could not be learned, but the focus could be on trenchcoats. The project is said to be in its nascent stages, and product is unlikely to hit Coach stores before spring or even fall 2008."

Pucci for All Mankind

Pucci and Seven for All Mankind have teamed up for a Skittles-esque 'taste the rainbow' denim collaboration. Designed by Pucci creative director Matthew Williamson, the one-off line will be produced in a limited 2,000 quantity run and sold exclusively at Pucci boutiques fo $400. Emblazoned with Pucci's insignia on the back pocket, the stretch jeans feature straight legs and a washed look.

Personally, I like my jeans blue. But if your preference runs rainbow bright, Seven already has a colored line, Joyce, available at shopbop.com for $180 as does Lisa Kline for $202.

Inside the New New Miu Miu

Baby's all grown up!

In case its price tags of late didn't let the cat out of the bag, Miu Miu has outgrown its days of living in Prada's shadow. All dressed up a la a French bordello, its newly redesigned SoHo digs re-opening is its debutante ball.

Inspired by the Paris restaurant Lapérouse, where Miu Miu staged its fall/winter 06-07 runway show, and designed by architect Roberto Baciocchi, the space features gold brocade covered walls and ceilings juxtaposed with perforated steel fixtures.

[NYT]

Yes Ma'am

Does H&B heart jewelry?
Mais oui

How 'bout Dior?

Double Oui

And Dior's 18K white gold and diamond Oui necklace?

We're crying oui, oui, oui, all the way home.

Oui white necklace, Christian Dior Jewelry, $1125 at Eluxury.com

What's In Store

A year after being denied access to the Champs-Elysées over French fears of "banalazing" the street, H&M gains entrée (Irony alert: the Champs already boasts Le Gap, Zara and Mango) to the famed thoroughfare. Prominent French architect Jean Nouvel will design the store.

Dylan's Candy is hitting the East End on Friday. "It's actually a minibar," said Lauren, "and East Hampton is the perfect place to open a cousin to our New York City flagship." Following the Main Street extension, other minis are expected in Aspen and Newport.

Free People, a subsidiary of Urban Outfitters, will open its first NYC outpost at 79 5th Avenue. The bi-level 6,000-sq-ft. store will hit the flatiron district come December.

Prada will host an aprés-runway New York Fashion Week soiree at its SoHo shop on September 7th with a performance by The Hours.

The Republic of Banana is expanding. Gap Inc. opened its first Banana Republic in Singapore on July 14th, following openings this past spring in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. WWD reports that, "This month, parent Gap Inc. will open its first franchise shops in South Korea for both Banana Republic and the Gap. The company is also set to expand into Turkey and Saudi Arabia before the end of the year, and launch Banana Republic in the U.K. next February."

Louis Vuitton is set to open its fourth London outpost in November '08 reports WWD. The 3,000-sq-ft. boutique will be housed at Westfield London, a new shopping mall in the west London neighborhood of Shepherd's Bush.

Chin Up

Precious tends to be right up my alley, hence when it comes to the home, I am especially drawn to Italian houseware-co. Alessi.

Newly added to their "SO CUTE" roster is the Mr. & Mrs. Chin Salt and Pepper Shaker Set, designed by Stefano Giovannoni with Rumiko Takeda, in collaboration with the National Palace Museum of Taiwan. How'd that happen you ask? The collaboration grew out of the museum's desire to broaden its horizons and understand more of western culture, and at the same time promote Chinese history in the West. Stefano Giovannoni created the Chin family as a "mascot" for the new Museum.

Mr. and Mrs. Chin, the Salt and pepper set, come in a specially lithographed box and are available at Fitzsu for $48. Enter DCFITZSU to save 25% at checkout (courtesy of DailyCandy)

Everything's Coming Up Irises

What: Iris Shoe Boutique
Where: Manhattan's Meatpacking District (827 Washington St.)
Why: How do we count the ways? A trip to this new shoe boutique is a heck of a lot closer (and cheaper) than a flight to Europe but really still quite exciting. There you'll find Marc Jacobs, Victor & Rolf, Chloe and John Galliano to name drop, and, most importantly you'll be fleur-ed by the selection: forget one to two selected styles per designer - Iris stocks the ENTIRE line of each label - that's every single look the designer created. Isn't nature beautiful?

Was YOUR Saturday Super?

Sweet Charity.

Christy Turlington, Mandy Moore, Sara Jessica Parker, Jerry & Jessica Seinfeld, The View's Barbara Walters and Elizabeth Hassleback, Molly Sims, ex-Soprano's Lorraine Bracco and Edie Falco, Petra Nemcova and just about everyone else descended upon Nova'a Ark Project in Water Mill this weekend for the 10th anniversary of Super Saturday.

Helping to raise over $2 million for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, the event is THE shopping event of the year, featuring steeply discounted designer wears (think 30-50% off) from the likes of 200+ designers including Abaete, Milly, Gucci, Botkier, Moschino, Zac Posen, Marc Jacobs, Vivienne Tam, Trina Turk, Nieves Lavi, Gussto, Generra, Carolina Herrera, etc. etc.

Hosted by Donna Karan (a personal underwriter of the event), Charla Lawhon and the rest of InStyle with special guest Kelly Ripa, the event drew over 1,500 fashettes, designers, celebs, and editors.

Christy Turlington

Barbara Walters

Molly Sims reads to the younger set in Target's reading room

Petra Nemcova

Essie Manicure Station

Get Intimate with Stella McCartney

Anyone familiar with Stella McCartney's ephemeral creations will be none too surprised to hear that she is foraying into lingerie. Through a licensing agreement with intimate apparel company Bendon, McCartney will launch an intimate apparel line in Spring '08, reports WWD. "This is a natural progression for me. Lingerie is an obsession of mine. I have been inspired by it for many, many years. Ever since my degree collection at Saint Martins, I have always used it in my work," said the designer.

The pieces, which will hit stores in January, will be sold at Stella McCartney stores and at Bendon units in Australia and New Zealand as well as Selfridges, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Holt Renfrew and La Rinascente. Price points range from $71 for panties to $447 for chemises.

[WWD]

Petite H&B

H&B wants you to know if she ever spawned, this would be precisely how she'd dress her one-off:

Burberry Fur Trim Trench, $502, Neiman Marcus

Bill Blass Gets Som

It's official.

Peter Som has been named creative director for women's wear at Bill Blass, filling Michael Vollbracht's shoes. "To me, Bill Blass really represents one of the great American design houses," said Som. "He had such a clear idea of his vision of streamlined luxury and ready-to-wear. His designs to me represent a woman who is strong, confident yet not afraid to show that she still has a feminine side...I think there is no doubt that I will be twice as busy in the upcoming year, but I welcome the challenge as it will only help me to continue to refine and perfect my craft," he said. "I will probably be drinking a lot more coffee in 2008."

A former Blass-protege, Som worked for the brand in the 90s assisting Mr. Blass and even accepting a CFDA award on his behalf when the designer was unable to attend. "Peter worked here as a young man, and I worked with him and knew him very well," said Michael Groveman, ceo of Bill Blass Ltd. "We spoke to a number of people, and he was the strongest candidate. We think he brings a lot to the table."

Som's first collection is expected to be pre-fall 2008.

[WWD]

Sale on buy...

FABiola Bersaca this baby's haute!

Who: Nieves Lavi

What: Square-neck silk dress

Where: Shopbop.com

When: NOW if not sooner

Why: Because with a travel pouch included it's the perfect dress in which to frock around the clock.

Double Why: It's been marked down from $374 to $187. Now, Go! Go! GO!

Calling a Spade a ???

It's arrividerci Kate & Andy.

The husband-wife team Kate and Andy Spade are walking away from their eponymous company following the end of the service agreement they reached when acquired by Liz Claiborne last November. They will leave their posts - designer and ceo respectively, by the end of next week.

"This is a hard decision, and I feel very emotional about it," said Kate. "But the emotions would be more about melancholy if I thought we weren't doing the right thing. We are with the right partners — we wouldn't make this decision otherwise. This an opportunity for employees, the fabulous teams we have in place, to take the baton and run away with it."

Both will stay on as members of the brand's board, which will also be comprised of Claiborne ceo William L. McComb, exec. vp of Claiborne's direct-to-consumer division Jill Granoff and some soon to be named Kate Spade execs including a new ceo and head designer.

WWD reports, "Their exit comes at a pivotal time for the company, just as Claiborne has put the accessories brand on a course for fast growth. "This has been something I've struggled with for the last six or seven months, but this isn't a situation where we are losing the founders," McComb said in an interview. "They so embody what the brand ideal is, and they have created very scalable DNA. I am very comfortable we can build right on top of what they have been very successful at."

Citing personal reasons for stepping aside (including spending time with their 2-year-old daughter), "Andy Spade said he and his wife fully endorse the direction Claiborne is taking their brand, and that they will 'be as involved as we need to be' going forward. 'It's our name, and we will be haunting them forever to make it right,' he said. "It's our turn to take a break, though. We've been working straight for 13 years now."

As for that direction, Claiborne has growth on the mind. It intends on opening a whopping 80 new Kate Spade boutiques over the next three years.

[WWD]

It's Lanvin, Dolly!

The designer doll category is gearing up for an all out celebrity death match. Every designer who's anyone already has a Barbie and/or a Visionaire Russian doll. And now, according to WWD, "Alber Elbaz is giving the concept of collectable [sic] fashion a new twist. The Lanvin designer has teamed up with the Taiwanese craftsman Franz to create a series of miniature porcelain dolls wearing signature looks from his collection. The hand-painted, stiletto-wearing figurines, starting with this fall-winter season, will each be produced in a limited series of 800 and cost 250 euros, or $345, a pop."

LV's High Profile Interns

Move over high prof designers. This holiday season, two graphic design students will be taken to task in designing Louis Vuitton's global holiday windows. As part of a contest held at London's prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (grads include Stella McCartney, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen), graphic design students were asked to draw inspiration from the luxury giant's history and image. "This year, we decided to give emerging talents the chance to freely express themselves and their vision of the brand," said Yves Carcelle, chairman and chief executive of Louis Vuitton. And emerge they will. The winners, 21-year-old Christopher Lawson from Ireland and 26-year-old Marcos Villalba from Spain will have their design - an abstract landscape of Vuitton's historic Asnieres workshop - prominently featured in 370 store fronts during the busiest shopping time of the year.

[WWD]

To LaLohan: A Long Distance Request & Dedication

Wednesday's Item du Jour pays tribute to a certain troubled celebutante (from H&B's home town), who managed to get collared for driving under the influence of alcohol and coke (which was discovered after a body search - nice job Lindz!) mere days after leaving rehab. We know what you're thinking today's item's a rehab anklet but as that has proven ineffective, we're upping the ante and breaking out the big guns. That's right, H&B is going all Nancy Reagan on your @$$! Maybe this will keep you out of trouble!

Nancy Reagan Just Say No Baby Tee, $22, New Manhattan Products

And we will all go down together

Next to fall?
After yanking the plug on Jane, rumors are rife that Condé Nast isn't done killing magazines in its stable. One insider said, "Teen Vogue could be the next to fold. Their ad pages are down and people are freaking out. A bunch of editorial staffers have recently jumped ship, including [editor-in-chief] Amy Astley's assistant, and many more are looking for new jobs." A rep for Condé Nast said, "Not true. Teen Vogue makes money." [Page Six]

Friends with Benefit(s)

It's out with the old and in with the new at Benefit, where they're clearing house on loads of cosmetics that sadly are never to appear again. Check out their website to save up to 75% before they are going, going, gone.