MADONNA & MIU MIU

Madonna directs new Miu Miu ad:

Fabulous, darling

M.I.A AD MEN

While flicking through September's VOGUE, we noticed some major brand name advertisers missing in those 726 pages of "Sumptuous Fall Fashion."

Louis Vuitton, Giorgio Armani and Neiman Marcus were all absent.  We aren't talking the credits in the editorials but actual ad pages.

That is lost ad revenue for VOGUE ---- that could have bumped up total pages to at least 750 or 775 for the Conde Nast marquee brand.

Neiman Marcus will usually commit to 10+ pages showcasing major designers that they sell.

Giorgio Armani and/or Emporio Armani  will place at least 4 pages.

A Louis Vuitton ad can secure at least 2 to 4 pages of prime real estate placing in the magazine.

What gives?  The economy is rebounding in most sectors.  Are luxury brands saving that ad dollar for the holiday issues?? 

Fabulous, darling

T & R MAGAZINE

T Magazine was able to score their Women's Fall Style 2010 cover from one of today's most-talked about and hottest photographers, Ryan McGinley, 32.

This cover is sedate for Ryan.  Very commercial.

Usually his models are in the woods or an open field or a lake or in a cave NAKED,  looking malnourished and unbathed.  Very flower child 2.0.

RyRy has shot for Wrangler, Levi's and his own installations around New York.

More please!!  Any chance he can do the Men's cover next month???

Beatnik, youthquake lenser Ryan McGinley, below:

Fabulous, darling

THE WU EFFECT

Harry Goodwins, below:

Sam Lawson, below:

Caspar Pole, below:

Lenser Justin Wu clicked these fantastic images for CO: LAB exclusively.

We're in LOVE with Sam Lawson.  ADORBS!!   XOXO!!

Models featured in the work:

Alex S (Next), Andrew Hulme (Storm), Caspar Pole (Premier), Cosmo Macdonald (Premier), Eli Rietveld (Next), Emmanuel Corre (Premier), Guido Carminatti (Premier), Harry Goodwins (Models 1), Jamel (Models 1), James Smith (Models 1), Jamie Kendrick (FM), Joe Flemming (Premier), Korrel Kennedy (Elite), Max Cocking (Premier), Michael Bamber (Elite), Nick Gardner (Elite), Sam Lawson (Select), Sebastian Sauve (Premier), Sid Charity (Select) and Tom Lander (Select).

For more:

CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE

Fabulous, darling

CLOSURES

Saks Fifth Avenue and Abercrombie & Fitch plan to close some stores in the USA.

Saks is using the excuse of an impending expiration (2019) of a lease to close its 98,000-square-foot store at The Shops in Mission Viejo.

A store in Plano, Texas will close as well.

The OC Register reports:  

“In the ordinary course of business, we assess the productivity, profitability and potential for each of our stores and may determine it is appropriate to close a store from time to time,” CEO Steve Sadove said. ”Store closing decisions are never easy, but the planned closing of these two stores is consistent with our strategy of employing our resources in our most productive locations.”

WE ARE ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE:

WHERE ALL THINGS YOU WON'T FIND IN OC OR TX:

We thought this would be an opportune moment to view a vintage Saks Fifth Avenue ad!!

Remember them??

Retailer Abercrombie & Fitch plan to close 60 stores when those leases expire.

The Cut details:

After a pleasantly surprising first-quarter increase, Abercrombie's revenue is up in the second quarter, too! Net income totaled $19.5 million compared with a dismal $26.7 million loss in the same period last year; revenue in stores open at least a year increased 5 percent compared with a 30 percent loss last year. However, basic math tells even the least financially inclined of us that this isn't enough to completely offset quarter after quarter of embarrassing losses. Investors, too, are weary of the company's overall financial health. Plus, the company will close 60 stores in the U.S., many of which will just go down when their leases conveniently expire.

Fabulous, darling

GQ COVER

THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE:

LeBron James covers the new GQ.

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DIESEL FALL/WINTER 2010 AD CAMPAIGN

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"THE" SEPTEMBER ISSUE

We so likey!

A rarity for this year, AnnER gets a VOGUE cover right!

Covers for 2010 we have liked thus far:  March (Tina Fey-- a name on our recommended cover list), April (Gisele), July (Marion Cotillard).

4 out of 9 covers thus far, AnnER.  Not a very good percentage of pleasing your paid subscription customer base!!

Fabulous, darling

SHOE FLY

Over the weekend in Irvine, CA, at a swim meet, hunky Ryan Lochte showcased his bad-ass custom-made Nikes.

These are so pimp.

The soles have RYAN on one shoe, LOCHTE on the other shoe in raised rubber. When he walks on sand or in a puddle they leave his name embedded in the footprint!!

The shoes are embellished with rhinestones. In green-- our absolutely favorite color.

As RyRy would say Hell Jeah!!

Fabulous, darling

ON THE MARC

For Harpers Bazaar, iconic American designer Calvin Kleins interviews iconic American designer Marc Jacobs.

The varied topics ranged from:

The Menswear line:

CK: With your menswear collection, do you look at the clothes and say, Would I wear this?

MJ: In terms of having a business, I wanted to let it go beyond what my personal taste is. Basically, I’m in a kilt and a white shirt every day. So, you know, I don’t have a lot of scope, and I’m really picky about what I wear. Even if it’s weird, it’s very particular to me. And you can’t make a business out of what I would wear. We’d be out of business.

His fragrance, Bang:

CALVIN KLEIN: I’d like to talk about the fragrance. How would you describe it?

MARC JACOBS: I like it! But no, it’s important to say that because I thought this had to be something I would wear and use and want. So it was in the gym that I came up with the name Bang, like bang! That’s it. Then I thought about what I loved and about spices in particular. So I talked to the people at Coty and I said, “I really like pepper — black, white, yellow, pink peppercorns, pepper fragrance — and I want to wear it.” And then we talked about the bottle and the packaging and the image.

Robert [Duffy], my business partner, said, “I think you’re in really good shape, and you should do the ads.” I had to come up with references where I felt that that was a good idea. I had to find, for me, someone who had done it that made it okay for me to be in it. So, of course, I came up with the famous Yves Saint Laurent image by Jeanloup Sieff, and I thought, Well, there's someone I respect and admire, and if he can take off his clothes — and it also made a lot of sense because, fashionwise, I'm not a guy who's sartorial. I'm not Tom Ford in terms of the grooming and the knowledge of clothes and the precision and perfection of getting dressed. There's nothing I can wear in this ad that isn't going to look ridiculous. At one point, I tried jeans and a shirt, and it didn't work. So then Juergen said, "Take off the clothes." So I did, and that became the ad.

What it FINALLY took to get Jacob's ass to the gym:

CK: Your health and the way you feel and the way your body feels are the result of diet and exercise. That’s a very big deal. It’s very easy to let yourself go when you’re busy and justify it or find the excuse, like, I can’t be bothered.

MJ: I told the nutritionist, “I don’t have time for all this stuff,” and he said, “Well, you’re not going to have much time left. You’re burning the candle at both ends. You’re working in two different countries. You’re jet-lagged all the time. You’re sick all the time. How much time do you really think you have left if you don’t do something?”

Fabulous, darling

WE HAVE A SITUATION

Jersey Shore's Mike The Situation Sorrentino is crafting a clothing line.  And with all the bejeweling-- it's definitely looking homespun.

The Unit is modeling one of the wares.

Fabulous, darling