>> Since she's not in London for Fashion Week, Vogue's Meredith Melling Burke showed up last night at Rag & Bone's store opening in New York, her two-year-old daughter Eloise Honor Burke in tow. Who's betting we'll see this little girl listed as a Teen Vogue contributing editor in ten years time, Bee Shaffer-style? She's getting in her fashion training already.
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>> INSIDER WIRE — Now that New York Fashion Week is over, Barneys creative director Simon Doonan has reason to celebrate — and it's not just because he gets to catch up on sleep. He and his partner of fourteen years, Jonathan Adler, tied the knot earlier today at City Hall in San Francisco. A more formal ceremony was set to be performed back at the couple's hotel before they were whisked away to Big Sur for the honeymoon. [FabSugar]
>> Sheer is still the word, and Markus Lupfer made it his business to play with the idea as much as possible. His Armand Basi One line showcased transparent tops, see-through skirts, and even wisp-thin pants, all tempered by more substantive, structural pieces. Perhaps most eye-catching were the two-faced Rei Kawakubo-inspired looks, leaving Sessilee Lopez and Daul Kim half-covered up, half-exposed.
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>> MODA OPERANDI —Although he shushed rumors last month, Peter Dundas — formerly of Emanuel Ungaro and currently of furrier Revillon — will be taking Matthew Williamson's place at Emilio Pucci. Wiliamson's last collection for the house shows in Milan Sept. 25 — he is departing to focus more on his signature collection — and Dundas's first Pucci collection will show next February for Fall 2009. [WWD]
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>> Does Kate Moss miss the catwalk? She took an impromptu runway stroll for her friend's The House of Blue Eyes fashion show earlier this month, and now she's turned up front row at Vivienne Westwood this evening — a position she hasn't taken since viewing the Topshop Unique line at London Fashion Week two years ago.
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>> INSIDER WIRE — Just as suspected, the opening of the first American Topshop flagship in Soho has been pushed back from October to mid-March. Sir Philip Green, Topshop's owner, says it has nothing to do with the state of the economy, but rather "the complexity of this project." I wonder how long it will take them to change the big "Opening Fall 2008" sign out front? [WWD]
>> He showed for the first time ever at New York Fashion Week — by appointment only — and already he's getting major buzz.
As Mickey Boardman at Paper put it, "The name all those in-the-know were dropping was Joseph Altuzarra. French Vogue . . . told Paper that Altuzarra, who worked previously at Proenza Schouler and Givenchy, is the one [to] watch from New York Fashion Week." Stores are vying for exclusives on his first collection — and he's got a lookbook model in Vanessa Traina, who chipped in her two cents: "The right magazines came to see his stuff, the right stores want to buy it—which means, personally, it’s been a pretty good week for the guy." And Julia Restoin-Roitfeld already wore one of his dresses to the Calvin Klein 40th Anniversary party last week.
But the part that really sticks with me is Vanessa Traina being in the lookbook — seems like Joseph is just where Alexander Wang was a couple of years ago, when he was just starting out and had Vanessa modeling in his lookbook.
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>> INSIDER WIRE —Those finely crafted straw boater hats Stephen Jones made for Marc Jacobs's Spring 2009 show? They were finely crafted by the sole of a boot: "We trod on them to get that flattened effect," Jones divulged. [WWD]
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>> You've got to love Anna Wintour's excuse Rolodex — there's a new article in Forbes about how Vogue's publisher is using Model.Live to keep the magazine relevent — and Anna wasn't available for comment because she's "attending Fashion Weeks in Paris and Milan." Funny thing is, the article came out yesterday, and Milan Fashion Week doesn't start until Saturday . . . with Paris following after that.
But nevermind mincing details — let's look at the bigger picture. Vogue still makes its money from print ad pages, but this year's subscriptions are down — and Tom Florio, the aforementioned publisher, is worried about keeping Vogue relevent for the next generation. That's where Model.Live comes in — Florio created the show with his 16-year-old daughter in mind — without Anna Wintour's involvement: "I'm comfortable with it, because I feel that the principals of what we're doing are based on the same principals as the brand."
He says if Anna didn't like where the content was going, he would kill it, and a Conde Nast spokesperson said that Wintour understands Vogue.TV is run by the business department and stays informed about its programs. But there are a couple of concerns: Will partnering with brands like Express (which sponsors Model.Live) dilute the Vogue brand? And: If online video series produced by the business side become big moneymakers for Vogue, will Anna's sphere of influence at the company be diminished?
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>> IN PRODUCTION — Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen guard all details about their high-end label The Row like no other, but one new tidbit has leaked: under Ashley's direction (Mary-Kate works more on contemporary line Elizabeth and James), the line may be expanding into menswear as early as next Fall. [WWD]
