>> Gareth Pugh and the good people at LVMH may deny that Pugh hasn't been welcomed into the luxury group fold just yet, but there's definitely something going on between them.  LVMH is financing Pugh's shows and keeping close watch on him for a future appointment or partnership — Dior Homme seem to be the suggestion.

"We’ve been helping with his shows. That’s what we always do, support new talent,” according to Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH. "He’s an interesting designer, and it’s good to support him. Don’t ask me for the exact amount. But LVMH does that with many talented people."

The sum extended for Pugh's menswear show on Sunday is said to be a low, five figure sum, and sources say that Pugh has met with executives at LVMH headquarters.  Karl Lagerfeld, who is creative director at LVMH-owned Fendi, is said to have advanced Pugh's candidacy for Dior Homme.
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>> INSIDER WIRE —Following in the footsteps of Zac Posen and Peter Som, Diane von Furstenberg has joined with American Express to hold a second Fashion Week show specifically for cardholders.  Instead of a repeat of her Fall 2009 show, the event will showcase mostly Spring 2009 looks that are currently in stores, with a few Fall 2009 looks at the end.   She will also do a short Q & A session with Andre Leon Talley before the presentation. [Heard on the Runway]
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>> It's been a few years since Brooke Shields told us that nothing comes between her and her Calvins — almost two decades.  Not since the early '80s, when those Calvin Klein Jeans commercials were running, has the brand tried to top them.

Enter 2009, the year the label finally gives it another go, with a grainy Steven Meisel-shot commercial featuring Anna Selezneva, Anna Maria Jagodzinska, and Natasha Poly greased up and writhing in nothing but their Calvins.  The ads have already been banned from even late-night cable TV — nothing CK isn't used to, since the same thing happened last year with their Eva Mendes Secret Obsession commercial — but they plan on having this one actually make it on TV in the US.  An edited version will air on American cable, and countries like Italy, France, Spain, and Germany will run the unedited version below.

The banned commercial (NSFW) »

Luella magazine is a hoax and no matter how many times the statement is released, the dream is kept alive...

The first brick and mortar space for Thom Browne's Black Fleece line is poised to open this weekend in the West Village. 

Refinery 29 has a second edition to their report on the Stockholm Fashion Week shows.

Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney, governed by the same franchise, are both closing their recently-opened Moscow stores. 

>> INSIDER WIRE —Yesterday's rumors about The New York Times outing Jason Wu to his family turn out to be false.  Style editor Trip Gabriel's response to the matter: "During his reporting, Eric Wilson asked both Wu and his partner, Gustavo Rangel, if it was okay to mention in print that they were a couple. They both consented . . . [I]t is wrong to leave readers with the implication . . . that The New York Times someone [sic] outed Jason Wu. We take this issue seriously here. We did no such thing." [Jezebel]
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