Francesca Burns

>> Olivier Zahm Teases Upcoming Purple Fashion #12 —Olivier Zahm took the upcoming issue of Purple Fashion — out in September — to the printers' today and gave us a peek at Terry Richardson's "Best of the Season" editorial that was photographed at Milk Studios in June.  In the past couple of months, Zahm has offered a number of teasers on the issue: a Gareth Pugh spotlight editorial styled by Francesca Burns, a nude pictorial captured by Mario Sorrenti, a Venice shoot with Baptiste Giabiconi by Karl Lagerfeld, and a set by Paola Kudaki. [Purple Diary]     

>> Just today, Swarovski announced that they were going to clothe Michael Jackson head to toe for his "This Is It" tour kicking off next month — his costumes and sets were to feature over 300,000 crystals, in 53 different shapes, 43 different sizes, and 27 different colors.  In April, The Imagist reported that Balmain stylist Emmanuelle Alt "would weep" if Jackson allowed Balmain to do his tour costumes because she was "100% obsessed" with him — a fact reflected in Balmain's flashy runway pieces.

Jackson had catapulted himself back into fashion's eye in recent months after he was spotted in a number of different Balmain looks — no doubt courtesy of Emmanuelle Alt — and a favorite gold studded Givenchy jacket.  At the news of his death this afternoon, an outpouring of reactions — some incredulous — came from models, editors, and designers alike — those from a few, below.

"This is unbelievable..."

>>  If one fashion magazine isn't hurt by the current economic conditions, it has to be Katie Grand's new endeavor for Conde Nast UK, Love.  The "high-end," "edgy" magazine, which was originally being tossed around for a February or March 2009 launch, is going full-steam ahead — new logo above — with an official launch on Feb. 19.  Katie has taken most of her team from POP — including creative directors Lee Swillingham and Stuart Spalding, plus fashion editor Phoebe Arnold, who masqueraded around as a gravestone with the POP logo on it at Halloween.

New additions to the team include — as rumored — Francesca Burns, formerly of i-D, as senior fashion editor-at-large, plus Mark Frith, former editor of celebrity rag Heat, as editorial consultant.  And Katie won't be the only stylist heavyweight on board — Joe McKenna is on the masthead as senior contributing fashion editor.

>> Katie Grand's new magazine has a name — Love — just as previously rumored.  Nicholas Coleridge, managing director of Conde Nast UK, which is publishing the magazine, explains: "We came up with the name together.  It's just a great name. It's a very positive name denoting a love of fashion and a love of style."

Love — which comes out late February, early March, will go for £5 and is already attracting a "very positive response" from advertisers.  It's also rumored to have attracted Francesca Burns from her post as fashion editor at i-D — she's said to be joining Love as senior fashion editor-at-large.

*image: source

>> INSIDER WIRE —At Louis Vuitton, there is never a shortage of monograms or trinkets — and Sunday's show was no exception.  Marc Jacob's business partner Robert Duffy mentioned backstage that the models had on pretty lingerie, and Raquel Zimmermann and others flipped up their skirts to reveal LV-monogrammed underpants.  Meanwhile, after the show, Marc handed out the shoes straight off the runway to his favorite editors — Francesca Burns from i-D and Victoria Young of POP among them. [NYT, On the Runway, Style File, Jak & Jil]