<![CDATA[Gawker: defamer, fashion]]> http://tags.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gawker.com.png <![CDATA[Gawker: defamer, fashion]]> http://gawker.com/tag/defamer/fashion http://gawker.com/tag/defamer/fashion <![CDATA[New Photos Reveal 'Mark Zuckerberg' Wore Nothing But Gray Hoodies]]> Collegiate Mark Zuckerberg just wore an endless series of gray hoodies, according to new photos a student sent us from the set of The Social Network. Hey, the young cyborg was starting Facebook, not a fashion house.

Johns Hopkins photographer Will Shepherdson, who shoots for the News-Letter student newspaper, sent us the above and below pics from the set of the forthcoming Facebook movie (click to enlarge). In the Aaron Sorkin-written film, co-founder and CEO Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg, sports such diverse outfits as a light grey Gap hoodie and the darker, logo-less gray hoodie below, also seen in earlier pictures of the filming.

When Eisenberg has his hoodie up and on his head, we'll know that's the scene where he's breaking into the dorm to steal student data while a couple makes out on the sofa.

(Pics: Will Shepherdson/Johns Hopkins News-Letter)

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<![CDATA[New Queen.]]> The nubile Emma Watson definitely upstaged old bag Victoria Beckham at Burberry's London fashion show.

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<![CDATA[Rapist Designer Will Die in Prison]]> No surprise: convicted rapist and former designer Arnand Jon Alexander, who appeared America's Next Top Model, was sentenced in LA to at least 59 years in jail. The 35-year old now faces trials in NY and Texas. [NY Post]

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<![CDATA[Sean Avery's Vogue Movie Has a Title]]> What do you call a film about a celebrity fashionista famous for gleefully manufacturing drama with other men? Other than The Marc Jacobs Chronicles, that is?

For its biopic on professional hockey player and ex Vogue intern Sean Avery, New Line Cinema is going with the delightful working title Puckface, the New York Times reports.

Now the New York Rangers left winger just has to decide what to call the "line of designer athletic wear... he'd like to create." How about "Sloppy Seconds?" After all, the tagline is already written.

(Pic: Avery walloping Cal Clutterbuck of the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, a month and a half after Avery completed a lengthy, NHL-mandated anger management regimen. Getty Images.)


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<![CDATA[Mickey Rourke Will Wrestle Every Last Item In Your Closet]]> Mickey Rourke had dinner at Nello last night. Probably hoping to evade paparazzi, the actor apparently threw on everything in the coat-check room before leaving.


Rourke headed to Midtown, where he was photographed anyway. The Sun headline: "Mickey Dork."

(Pics: INF)


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<![CDATA[Red Carpet Oscar Fashions]]> Evening! The celebrities are stumbling down the red carpet into the Kodak Theater for the Academy Awards right now. Keep checking here for updates on all the fashionz. Also, someone please smack Ben Lyons.

All images via Getty and AP


Miley Cyrus has 'Gone Green', and is thus wearing a dress made entirely of kale.


Emile Hirsh: Tiny nom nom nom snack.


TV Guide host Lisa Rinna has just returned from a vacation on the surface of the sun.


Virginia Madsen: Divine


Milk scribe Dustin Lance Black (with Cleve Jones) is just too good looking to be a writer. But he is!


Oh, Zac Efron


Zac's professional girlfriend, Vanessa Hudgens, wears John Galliano for the Glad Family of Products.


Slumdog Millionaire stars Dev Patel and Freida Pinto should be made into a stew, because they are delicious. Mulligatawny!


Benjamin Button nominee Taraji P. Henson looks like a black version of my dear friend from college, Jackie. Hi black Jackie!


Melissa Leo: Princess of Power!


"Halo! I am Heidi Klum! German noodle, kitten kaboodle! In Germany we have flamingos that we call Standy Birds. Halo Standy Bird, you are me! I'm German!"


Sarah Jessica Parker just wants someone to marry her. Someone, you know, real.


Some detailing on that dress. And on that relationship.


Viola Davis looks terrific. And like an Oscar. I hope she wins.


Sigh, Diane Lane. Unfaithful was a long time ago.


Amy Adams: The Devil's wife.


Marisa Tomei couldn't decide which white-ish dress to wear, so she wore all of them.


Amanda Seyfried: B'oh!


Ohhhh the vampire! Eat me Robert Pattinson! Eat meeee!!


Leslie Mann, funny wife of Judd Apatow, skinned a disco ball.


Beyoncé. My friend Kelly tells me she'd "put a ring on it." I'd put a bag over it.


Mickey Rourke will show you to your table.


Penelope Cruz ith Au'rey Hepburn. (That is how you type in a Spanish accent, btw.)


Angelina Jolie is wearing a black dress. Fascinating.


Jessica Biel goofed the floof.


Dark Knight fan Kate Winslet in her Harvey "Two Face" Dent costume.


Marion Cotillard will explode tonight.


Evan Rachel Wood is sad about being Evan Rachel Wood.


A teenage boy and his fifty-something-year-old father just fainted. Thanks, Meryl Streep.


Alicia Keys: Stunning.


Lovely old ladies being lovely and old together. I think I had Sophia Loren's dress for dessert last night.


Tilda Swinton's top half is full of raked leaves.


Anne Hathaway is too skinny. Her dates are too gold.

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<![CDATA[Who Got Punked By Bruno?]]> Comedian Sascha Baron Cohen's outrageous gay Austrian character Bruno recently made his own movie, in which he makes fun of the fashion industry. Curious about who got got? Fashion Week Daily has the answers.

Well, OK, they only profile a few people, mainly a magazine editor and a prissy French designer who gets the joke but only sort of.

From the inelegant English of designer, Lloyd Klein, caught unawares at Studio 54:

I go backstage to try to find my manager to ask 'Who the hell is this person?' But I stayed very cool with the situation ... I know the way French people react because I am French. They don't have a big sense of humor. They're very bitter, so I think it will be a tough one.

From Marie Claire (high fashion!) editor Joanna Coles, who got Bruno'd in Milan last year:

We literally didn't realize it was Bruno. We said—thinking it was just some Italian tagalong—'You can't come in, we don't have a ticket for you!' If we'd realized it was him, we'd have totally taken him in—why not?

Cohen fooled lots of other people too, like Stella McCartney—apparently he waved a tampon around at the designer's Spring '09 show in Paris—and supermodel Tom Brady-dater Gisele Bündchen, of whom Bruno claimed to be an old friend ever since they met one time in Los Angeles. To her credit, Gisele didn't try to fake that she remembered him. Most of these high-nosed fashion waifs were pretty okay about it and found it funny. You know, after the fact. At least they took it better than those cage match attendees. Though, I hear that Jonathan Antin can really throw down.

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<![CDATA[Cruise and Holmes Slammed For Fashion-Line Faux Pas]]> Kate Moss is not happy: Do Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, fashion nobodies, know how many fashion gods they pissed off by cutting the line at a fashion ball?

The line-cutting happened at last year's Met Costume Institute Ball, and the bitter memory is still fresh in supermodel Moss's mind. She relived the trauma at the end of a lengthy interview in this week's New York:

And the thing is, we stood in line for an hour or something to say hello to the meet and greet in the receiving line. Donatella is in front of us, and Francesco Clemente was behind us with his wife, who I knew from back in the day. And we're going, I can't believe this. You can't smoke. You can't have a drink.
When we got to the receiving line, this lady came up and said, "We're sorry, they've all gone to their tables." We were like, What? Tom and Katie just walked right up to the front, and we were like, Who the fuck are they? They're not even in fashion!

Who the fuck are they, indeed.

Moss will have everyone know she was personally invited to host this year's ball by Anna Wintour and Marc Jacobs, so she won't have to worry about missing out on the meet-n-greet, thanks to Hollywood carpetbaggers or whatever.

But let this be a lesson to all you movie industry A-listers during Fashion Week: You can spend your celebrity cachet in the fashion world, but the conversation costs will probably come back to bite you.

[via Digital Spy]

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<![CDATA[Return of Runway]]> "The new [Project Runway] season will air later this year."

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<![CDATA[Runway Producers Pissed At Bravo 'Copycat']]> SafariScreenSnapz003.jpgWhen NBC Universal poached executive producers from TV fashion competition Project Runway in May, we wrote the move would "enable [NBC's] Bravo to create something very similar to Runway," which producer Harvey Weinstein was in the midst of moving to Lifetime. That seems to be precisely what has happened, per a Bravo casting call on Craigslist for "talented designers where the winner will win a large cash prize." The likes of Weinstein are none too happy that NBC is moving ahead with a copycat show while the Weinstein Company is enjoined by court order from doing anything with Runway. Poor Harvey is going to get clobbered! Says Page Six:

Another source said: "Basically, Bravo took all the benefits of the 'Project Runway' brand without being a good partner..."
The producers of Project Runway fear Bravo is stalling to get Fashion House on air before the court case is resolved and capture the original show's viewers.

Oh man, NBC is being a bad partner to poor Harvey "I Own New York Media" Weinstein? Just wait until the angry calls and emails start pouring in on that outrage, Jeff Zucker! Just you wait!!

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<![CDATA[In Memoriam: Remembering the 10 Best of Mr. Blackwell's 10 Worst]]> Richard Sylvan Selzer — better known to pop culture observers as the acerbic, list-making fashion zealot Mr. Blackwell — died Sunday of complications from an intestinal infection. He was 86. A former hustler, petty thief and model whose acting and B-grade fashion career overlapped with the infamous 10 Worst-Dressed Celebrities list he launched in 1960, Mr. Blackwell found his voice firing one-line zingers into a crowded pop culture at a time when celebrities could do little wrong. His latter-year rhymes weren't always fully functional, but some of his early jibes were as vicious as anything you'd find online today; 10 years ago he said of his commentary: "The list is and was a satirical look at the fashion flops of the year. I merely said out loud what others were whispering. ... It's not my intention to hurt the feelings of these people. It's to put down the clothing they're wearing."

Believe us, Mr. Blackwell, we can relate — as can so many of our peers and colleagues in print and online who, for better or worse, trade on his influence every day. After the jump, we mourn his passing with our own top 10 of Mr. Blackwell's withering witticisms from nearly 50 years on the scene. Rest in peace, (un)kind sir.

10. Jane Fonda (1967) — "Stretch pants on angel food cake."

9. Howard Stern (1995, the first year a man topped the list) — "Let's face it. Howard's 'Miss America' drag looks like Godzilla impersonating Gypsy Rose Lee."

8. Elke Sommer (1973) — "Do-it-yourself kit with the wrong instructions!"

7. Martha Stewart (1999)— "She dresses like the centerfold for The Farmer's Almanac."

6. Melanie Griffith (2003) — "Melanie defines 'fatal fashion folly,' a Botox'd cockatoo in a painting by Dali!"

5. Brigitte Bardot (1962) — "A buxom milkmaid reminiscent of a cow wearing a girdle, and both have the same amount of acting talent."

4. Madonna (1997) — "Let's be blunt, yesterday's Evita is today's Velveeta."

3. Ann-Margret (1966) — "Marlon Brando in a g-string."

2. Carol Channing (1966) — "Finger paints, chicken feathers, and glue thrown into an electric fan."

1. Elizabeth Taylor (1967) — "Looks like two small boys fighting under a mink blanket."

Honorable Mention: Lest you think the man had a pincushion for a heart, it's also worth recalling the note that concluded his 2007 Top 10: "For those of you who were expecting to see Britney's name adorn the 2007 list, I felt that it was inappropriate at this time to make comment, when her personal life is in such upheaval. I hope 2008 is a better year for her." Aw! Oh well.

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<![CDATA[Vogue's "Model.Live": Don't Get Famous, And Other Gems Of Parental Wisdom]]> The second episode of "Model.Live", Vogue's nifty Internet realidocumodelshow, is up. This week, Cato — who seems to think that college entails more partying than modeling — sets off from the Netherlands for New York, leaving behind a concerned but supportive mother who doesn't want her to get famous and a mystified but supportive father. (Dad: "Modeling is certainly a nice effort, but you know I'm an engineer, so I know the external side oxidizes. You always have to work on the inside.") Also joining the farewells is Simon, who seems like every utterly reliable, reasonably good-looking, overall sweet-natured and totally stultifying high school boyfriend, ever. Simon has the resigned hangdog look of a dude who knows he has lucked into a relationship with an amazing girl who's out of his league, and that whatever day she comes to share this knowledge is the day he'll be out of the picture. Check out Cato's mortified expression when Simon explains that, even though he hears fashion is all about sex and drugs and stuff, he trusts Cato because he knows she would never do any of that.

Sound quality isn't the best in this video. Also: I made an error in my last post about "Model.Live." I was confused, and wrote that the series documented the Fall/Winter 08/09 show season, ie the season that happened back in Spring. Incorrect! The show unfurls in medias res, covering the show season that kicks off in New York on September 5th. Sorry for my mistake.

Earlier: Points For Effort: Vogue Reality Series About Modeling Is Surprisingly Realistic, A Little Boring

Related: Model.Live

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<![CDATA[Did Pineapple Express Steal This T-Shirt?]]> Sartorial scandal alert: Is the upcoming Seth Rogen film Pineapple Express guilty of wanton t-shirt design theft? A small Brooklyn t-shirt maker called WOWCH says that co-star James Franco's character appears in the movie wearing shark-and-kitten shirt that is really just a slightly altered version of a WOWCH design that was sold at Urban Outfitters in 2005. But the big stars don't give the little guys credit at all! The photographic evidence for this potential merchandising mockery—and the demands for redress—after the jump.

The original WOWCH shirt:

The Pineapple Express poster:

A closer look at Franco's shirt-wearing:

On WOWCH's blog, the company points out an interview in which Franco credited the shirt's design to director David Gordon Green. Yea right! WOWCH is demanding free tickets and popcorn to a showing of Pineapple Express to make up for what is, in all likelihood, the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of licensing fees (we just made that figure up). Justice!

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<![CDATA[How Harvey Weinstein Squeezes Millions Out Of Project Runway]]> harveyweinstein.jpeg$8 million. Does that seem like a lot of money for a company to pay to have mediocre models use their hair products on a mediocre cable show for a few seasons? It kind of does. But that's how much The Weinstein Company, run by entertainment mogul Harvey Weinstein, is trying to squeeze out of L'Oreal for three seasons of sponsorship of Project Runway. Of course, Weinstein has a long history of pimping out the fashion reality show to every company on earth willing to pay a dime to be on it, using it as a profit machine to support his company's less sure-thing ventures. And he's still milking it for every cent. How do we know? Because he left all the evidence in a public trash can:

Project Runway was a big hit on the Bravo network. But Weinstein decided to move the show to Lifetime, which agreed to up his cut to around $1 million per episode. He also screwed Bravo by lining up sponsors for the show on his own, which precluded the network from selling ads to other companies in the same categories. Weinstein even ended up favoring a Wal-Mart placement on the show over a Macy's one, proving he wasn't in it for taste.

Still, the show is a hit, and a cash cow. Project Runway has been successful enough to demand that fashion magazines like Elle and Marie Claire pay for the privilege of being featured on the show. Hardcore media hardball.

And a treasure trove of new evidence dug out of Weinstein's trash can by the Village Voice's Tony Ortega shows that the mogul himself is closely involved in the show's sponsorship choices. An email from a former Weinstein Co. employee shows the calculating negotiation process:

"I wish there was more time. Twc [The Weinstein Company] has already gone to great lengths with new partner at lifetime to not only secure both categories for you but also to be flexible toward loreal in coming up with an alternative for you on their packaging of [seasons] six + seven. Unfortunately, due to filming of season five and tresemme's feeling that they are being iced out of season 6, there just is not more time to give. As you know, season five commences in days...twc is now at risk that tresemme will pull out of season 5, which puts twc at risk for 1.1m [$1.1 million]. Carol is welcome to call hw [Harvey Weinstein] or me, but the deadline has to remain at close of business tuesday for loreal to decide on hair category for [Project Runway]/models for season 6 and structure of [seasons] 7/8. I would additionally say that the whole reason we are to this point is a result of the relationship! Without the relationship and the history, l'oreal would not have the opportunity to even engage in the opportunity to obtain the hair category."

Good thing they have such a good relationship! Or this sponsorship thing would really be nasty. And here's how much the company is expected to cough up to Weinstein in order to have its goop featured on the faaabulous production:

"Hw - if you get a call from carol hamilton it will be regarding [Project Runway] season 6 and beyond. I've imposed a tuesday, close of business deadline for them to commit to hair category in addition to make up. They have two choices: 1) Take both hair and make up for [$2 million] plus [$1 million] to twc (no split) for season 6 and [$2 million] for hair and makeup for season 7 plus [$1 million] to twc for a total of [$6 million]. 2) Commit to season 6 only for [$2 million] hair/make up plus [$1 million] to twc] and then by 3rd episode must pick up both season 7 + 8 for a total of [$8 million] (but must take additional [$1 million] to twc regardless) They have asked for additional time and I have declined that citing tresemme and season 5 which starts shooting shortly. Call me if you have questions. Best, lori"

A mogul's life: not so different from a used car salesman. Buy now! There's a guy on his way here right this minute to take it off my hands if you don't want it.....

[VV; pic via NY Mag]

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<![CDATA[A Superflack Scorned]]> Earlier this week we gave you a brief history of Rob Shuter, the shameless former celebrity flack whose various transgressions have reduced him to editing OK! Magazine. That post brought back some memories for Michael Lucas, famous gay porn performer and impresario (pictured, on the left). According to Lucas, he once snubbed Shuter's request for love, which sparked a neverending campaign by the uberflack to exact his revenge! Worst of all, Lucas says, Shuter even used poor supermodel Naomi Campbell for his own nefarious ends. Lucas' full, telling letter is below.

Hey guys,

I just read your article about Rob Shuter and I have my own story on this guy that you might find interesting, useful or not.

I met him first at a party where he told me he wanted to talk business. He came over to my apartment several days later and after a few minutes, I understood that it was nothing about business, the guy was just horny. Nevertheless, he went into a long "proposal" to work on the project with me and Naomi Campbell which would be "groundbreaking." I am a very ambitious person, but I am also realistic so I didn't even listen and was thinking of how to get rid of the liar. When the guy made a move, I very politely declined.

Since then, this guy has done everything in his power to make me suffer for that.

I was always a guest at Heatherette show but I am no longer welcomed any longer. Lately, I found out that this was Rob's doing. Apparently, he has or had something to do with Heatherette's people.

During another fashion week, I was a guest of Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and was sitting in the first row for the Huricane Relief fashion show. The next day, there was an article in Page Six accusing me of "hiding under a makeup table backstage for hours to get in." When I asked someone I knew at the New York Post how such an article could come about, he told me that all information was provided by Rob Shuter. Indeed, I was behind the stage that night, but not to sit under the makeup table. I had a very good time socializing with Carmen Dell'Orefice (who I later had a photoshoot with for Korean GQ), Timothy Sanders, and others. I also saw Rob, who came over to me and told me that he was Naomi Campbell's manager and that she would like to take a picture with me. He brought me to her table where she was giving interviews while getting her hair done and told me to wait. After 30 minutes of waiting, I decided to go back to my seat, as the show was about the start. Mr. Shuter was just enjoying my waiting while he knew the picture with Naomi Campbell would never happen. He just kept saying, "Michael, just another minute!"

I rarely meet such a vicious person as Rob Shuter who put so much energy toward making others miserable. And with his looks, shouldn't he be used to rejection?

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<![CDATA[The Barely Dressed Beckhams Just Can't Resist Stripping Down For Cash]]> This may come as a shock, but we have some troubling news to report: it seems that the Double Dating, Non-Eating foursome of Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and power duo Posh 'n Becks differ in one key regard. As opposed to TomKat's demure sartorial choices, from their first public motorcycle ride to their wedding attire to Katie’s current desire to wear dresses with hemlines as long as possible, their British counterparts just love showing us some skin. As People reports, frosty-locked David has been confirmed to appear in yet another glossy ad campaign for Armani, in which the soccer star will continue to contort his Adonis body into poses highlighting his too-good-to-be-true physical assets. Since the new pictures coincide with recently released oddball shots taken of permanently deadpan wife Victoria Beckham for Marc Jacobs’ Spring/Summer print campaign, we took a nostalgic (and arousing) look back at just how many times the Beckhams have admirably sold their bodies for bundles of cash. Enjoy the various real and fake body parts belonging to Britain’s most rare creation: a real live hot couple.


David has already shown his pecs, abs, glutes, and all other kinds of abbreviated names for manly muscles in ads for Gillette, Motorola and, of course, last year's bulge-centric ad for Emporio Armani's fragrance.


But Posh enjoys taking off her size 00 divvies just as much, seen here in 2006's infamous W spread (shot by Steven Klein) in which the LA-bound Beckhams played house in lingerie, treasure trail-revealing pants and, often, nothin' at all. Together again to promote their his-and-her fragrances "Intimately Beckham," a porn-y straddle session seemed perfectly in order. And just for fun, we've included a shot of David playing gladiator for Pepsi, standing in a sea of...Pepsi. But his arms are visible! Which reminds us: we could really use a Pepsi right about now.

[Photo credits: People, Thisislondon.co.uk, Daily Mail, PopCrunch, JustJared]

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<![CDATA[Meat Lover Jessica Simpson Becomes Latest Celebrity To Face Snarky Wrath Of PETA]]> No blog, talking head or alcoholic British songbird can compete with PETA when it comes to snark. For decades, the animal lovers have verbally beheaded countless starlets for their fur and snakeskin accessories, but only recently have their targets bitten back. After seeing a recent photo of plumper-than-usual Jessica Simpson sporting one of those so-last-season message t-shirts reading “Real Girls Eat Meat,” we wondered how many of her peers have boldly set themselves up for one of PETA’s trademark white powder massacres. Having called Nicole Richie “an incredible shrinking woman with the heart to match,” advising Ashley Olsen that “wearing fur does add 20 pounds, but if [she] wants to fill out her frame, we suggest using a fork instead,” and telling Lindsay Lohan “there's no road to recovery for the foxes who are anally electrocuted so that you can look skanky,” has PETA inspired any other starlets to publicly react just as vehemently? We take a look at the ongoing battles after the jump.

After making PETA's 2005 Worst Dressed List and earning particularly mean reason from the group's trademark bag of bitchy tricks, ("If she keeps on wearing fur and eating at Carl's Jr., she'll be back on the list next year as Star Jones."), Paris allegedly sat through animal torture videos from China and promised to stop wearing fur. As a reward, PETA removed the "heirhead" from next year's list. Christina Ricci followed a similar path after making the 2006 list, sitting through a Martha Stewart expose (shudder) on how mean it is to hurt the fuzzy wuzzies, and PETA obliged by removing her from the list as well. And the always crafty Lindsay Lohan managed to put a stop to her inclusion on the 06 list before its release date by assuring the PETA prez she was working on "weeding out" fur from her wardrobe. Too bad last month's whole fur bandit shenanigans didn't exactly make our favorite chic lesbian look like a woman who keeps her word.

As for those stars who've decided to fight back against all the haters at PETA, Ashley and Mary Kate Olsen have made the Worst Dressed List more than a few times, but quietly made their reactions known by including tons of animal fur in their clothing collection last year. As for the queen of Best Dressed Lists (just not PETA's), fur lover extraordinaire Kate Moss has continued to sport everything from beaver to rabbit to mink to who knows what kind of lizard skin onesies after hours despite PETA's threats and cutting remarks ("Nothing completes the transition from supermodel to super tramp like a fur coat.")

Bonus: Britney Spears, endless black hole of lovely surprises, was cut from PETA's poll earlier this year because, according to a PETA spokesperson, she "needed a break." While it doesn't quite fully endear us to the red paint sabotage army, we can't help but think that it's a positive gesture.

[Photo Credit: X17, Bauer-Griffin]

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<![CDATA[Emma Watson Selling Soul For Cash, Controversy And Curse-Laden World Of Chanel's Fallen Stars]]> As excited as we are for borderline troublemaker Emma Watson and her rumored new deal to become the “face of Chanel” at 18, the $6 million contract comes with a curse or two. The French cosmetics giant has been airbrushing celebrity visages in ad campaigns for years, but its most recent short-term star partnerships haven’t always ended amicably, nor have they resulted in the kind of chaste and glossy reputation sources predict for Watson. Though a friend insists that “She’s not going to end up like these other Hollywood train wrecks, she just isn’t...No one is going to be saying, ‘I never wanted to see Hermione in that light,’” we took a look back at her quilted bag-carrying predecessors to shine a light on the kind of controversy this same wallet-fattening gig has earned its celebrity reps in the past.

Despite having represented Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle fragrance in addition to appearing in campaign after campaign as the brand's moody red-lipped rep since 2001, Kate Moss and her contract were kicked to the curb months after the supermodel's famed cocaine tape hit the tabloids in April 2005. Though Keira Knightley was loudly announced as Moss's replacement, Kate very quietly usurped a bit of Keira's thunder by re-entering the house of French glamour after her comeback hit its stride a year later. But by far the most publicized partnership between Chanel and star occurred when Nicole Kidman appeared in a short film directed by Baz Luhrmann to promote her new role as iconic fragrance Chanel No. 5's porcelain-faced embodiment.

But all the hullabaloo and fanfare came to a stop when Kidman became pregnant, irking Chanel and causing them to pull yet another switcheroo, hiring fellow French star Audrey Tautou to take over the reign. As Tautou's star remains lukewarm, industry insiders began buzzing with the surprising and off-kilter news that none other than heiress to the grunge throne, Frances Bean Cobain, would begin appearing front and center as Chanel's new ad girl. But Cobain's upward momentum towards the fashion world's limelight never materialized, and having perfected the art of sudden blows, Knightley is now rumored to be ousted as Watson prepares for her year or so of acclaim and glossy ads. We just hope Emma manages to keep the apparently very short attention spans of the Chanel bigwigs, or at the very least, has the stamina to turn her inevitable drug- and Britney-flashing downfall into a glittery comeback like Kate.

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<![CDATA[Hollywood's New China Rule]]> stonetibet.jpegSharon Stone has finally apologized for her "inappropriate" comment that the recent massive Chinese earthquake was a product of "bad karma" for the country for its treatment on Tibet. She's sorry, okay! Nevertheless, fashion house Christian Dior announced that it's pulling all of its ads featuring the actress from all department stores, and the entire country of China. Though the comment itself was stupid, Stone's hasty retreat from her brash Tibet-championing—and Dior's even harsher public rebuke of her—are a great illustration of what is becoming the New China Rule: "Do Not Talk About The New China Rule." It's been de rigeur for top stars to prove their class by endorsing luxury brands, and to prove their morality by pontificating about Tibet. But guess what: pretty soon you're going to have to pick one or the other, Hollywood. And it's not looking good for the Dalai Lama.

Everybody wants IN to the Chinese market. This particularly goes for high-end luxury brands, which are slobbering over the prospect of Chinese people—more than a billion of them!—soon having enough money to start buying their products. As the country gains a stronger middle and upper class, Dior and Armani and Chanel and Vuitton and all their friends are counting on a huge new customer base. Politics be damned!

And all the stars who model for, receive freebies from, or endorse all these brands? They're going to have to shut their traps about Tibet. China accepts no dissent on the issue. The Chinese government will happily blacklist any company foolish enough to publicly raise the issue, and no company would ever do such a thing. Nor will they allow their endorsers to. It's as simple as that. Every major company on earth has, thus far, folded in the face of Chinese totalitarianism, because the promise of their untapped customer base is too good to sacrifice for an abstract political cause. The shareholders want profits, not slogans.

So here's a prediction: In the future, the only Hollywood stars to loudly adopt the Tibet issue will be those who are too old or unpopular to land the juiciest luxury endorsements. Or maybe some of them will willingly ditch their endorsements in order to continue arguing for the cause? Ha ha! Yea, we hope so too. Maybe Richard Gere will stick it out.

Think that's cynical? The same thing has already happened in the sports world. NBA superstar Lebron James refused to sign a letter from ten of his own teammates condemning China's business connection to the atrocities in Darfur. Why? Because he has a $100 million contract with Nike, and the Olympics are coming up in Beijing, and Nike wants a big piece, as well as big peace. Most other big name athletes have already fallen in line as well.

Hopefully the Dalai Lama can do without Beverly Hills.

[Photo via Getty]

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<![CDATA[Gwyneth Paltrow's New Call Girl Look Lands Her A Gig]]>

By donning a procession of fleshy, high-heeled escort outfits over the last few weeks, Gwyneth Paltrow managed to land herself a new job! No, it’s not a plum acting role (remember, even Gwyneth herself knows she’s “the worst actress ever”), but at least it’s a paying gig. Seems after all that prancing around in see-through dresses and S&M booties has caught the attention of reputably tame brand Tod’s, they of the classic driving shoes and boring leather bags. And just yesterday she began her first day on the new job, shown here filming a commercial in Rome, triumphantly displaying a new pair of towering heels. A closer look at the pair of stilettos that we must admit we find ourselves craving, plus how Paltrow’s Lady Of The Night wardrobe selections have affected sales at British boutiques, after the jump.

We've got to give credit where it's due: in a matter of weeks, Paltrow has managed to make a lot of people (temporarily?) forget about her days as boring, macrobiotics-obsessed bad baby-namer, confirming our suspicions that she's one sly dame. And even though Sienna Miller's career didn't exactly skyrocket following her fierce spreads in last year's Tod's campaign, from the looks of Gwyneth's "advert" above, the brand is banking on more than simple ads in glossy bibles. The other plus to Gwyneth's decision to sell out? According to the Daily Mail, UK department store Selfridge's has witnessed a 35% increase in high-heel totterers, while highbrow Harvey Nichols has seen sales of four-inch plus heels grow by 7%. And here comes the author's confession: just last week, after writing post after post about Paltrow's new fierceness, we fell victim to a pair of four-inchers ourselves. Bravo, Gwyneth. Not only have you improved Britain's economy, you've emptied our bank account. That's power.

[Photo credits: Splash]

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