>> A Christian Lacroix spokeswoman wouldn't comment, but reports are floating around that French company Bernard Krief Consulting, which specializes in buying up failing companies, plans to make an offer on Christian Lacroix next week — potentially as early as next Monday. 

Louis Petiet, the company's president, said that he considers Lacroix part of France's "national patrimony" and couldn't bear to "allow it to die."  He added that if the deal goes through, he hopes to multiply Lacroix's sales by five in the next five years.  Petiet declined to go into details about terms of the deal, but Lacroix estimated that the company would need 50m euro for a relaunch.

Bernard Krief Consulting believes it is the only bidder for the company, so hopefully the deal goes through by the end of July; otherwise, Lacroix's owner Falic Group plans to activate a restructuring plan that will reduce the workforce from 124 to 12 and render the operation licensing only.

>> Karolina Kurkova Switches Agencies, Is Having a Boy —Karolina Kurkova seems to be switching her focuses now that she's six months pregnant with her first child — a boy — and her Victoria's Secret Angel contract lapsed earlier this year.  Her first blockbuster movie — G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra — comes out this Summer, and she's switched from longtime agency DNA to IMG, joining the ranks of models who have become brands like Kate Moss, Heidi Klum, and Gisele Bundchen. [FWD]

>> Du Juan Is Having Some Legal Woes —Du Juan has been sued by Chinese modeling agency New Silk Road for allegedly violating their contract by signing with IMG and may face a fine of up to 4.5m yuan (approx. $659,000).  The agreement was made in Sept. 2002, after Du Juan was crowned at the agency's annual model search, and stipulates that New Silk Road remain her sole agency.  Since she signed with IMG in 2005 before the contract expired, New Silk Road demands part of the model's earnings at IMG, as well as another 3m yuan (approx. $439,000) fine. Du Juan's attorney says that she was forced to sign the New Silk Road contract in order to enter the final round of their competition, as opposed to after the show as the company has claimed. [China Daily]

>> There was a teaser a couple of days ago, but now it's been confirmed: New Zealander Jenna Sauers is the model who has been writing for Jezebel as "Tatiana Anymodel"; she says she quit modeling this Summer and plans to continue writing for Jezebel — and on her own blog — under her own name.

Sauers has been under suspicion of being Tatiana since at least a year ago, when fingers were pointed her way and her journalistic aspirations were uncovered. Sauers repeatedly denied that she was Tatiana, and posted a comment on her own blog last July: "I’m not the anonymous columnist . . . There are an awful lot of models who are smart and good-enough writers to do what the Jezebel blogger does, and plenty who are also low enough on the fashion food chain for their on-the-side efforts to go unnoticed." But a picture of Sauers with a Jezebel founding editor surfaced, grabbing even more attention.

Anonymous no more . . . »

>> Men.Style.com Closing; Vogue.com Spinoff Pushed Back —Conde Nast is closing Men.Style.com in favor of GQ.com and Details.com in October, marking a move away from its web-only brands like Style.com and Epicurious.com to print brand names. Style.com is safe, says Conde Digital president Sarah Chubb, because its users consume more of the site's content than they did on Men.Style.com, but when Vogue.com is spun off — a move which has been postponed to next year — it might be more of an issue, as media planners say Vogue.com would be more desirable to advertisers than Style.com. [AdAge]

>> The expected thirty percent decrease was optimistic for some fashion magazines, it turns out, particularly those in Conde Nast's fold.  Yesterday, Conde CEO Charles Townsend sent out a memo acknowledging the hire of consulting firm McKinsey & Co. to analyze its business strategy — and no wonder: with the loss of the ad-filled September Fashion Rocks supplement, Vogue fell to 427 ad pages in September, down 36 percent from last year; Teen Vogue tumbled to 136 pages, down 31 percent; and W may be in serious trouble — it lost the most ad pages out of any Conde magazine, down 53 percent to 185 ad pages. 

For comparison's sake, Elle will carry 21 fewer pages in September at 327 total, and Harper's Bazaar is estimated to run between 275 and 285 pages, or about 25 percent fewer pages.  It is worth noting that Vogue still tops in total number of ad pages.