>> INSIDER WIRE —When Anna Wintour was asked by previous alma mater New York Magazine about her retirement plans the day after rumors of her retirement circulated, she didn't take too kindly to it: "I'm so sorry, I think that's an extremely rude question. Leave me alone . . . Go away"  It seems like the subject is a sore spot, especially since she didn't deny the rumors — or maybe she was just fixated on the fact that in 2008, competitor Elle had one of its most successful ad years ever. [The Cut]

*image: source

>> INSIDER WIRE —The results are in and, as expected, it's not looking pretty.  A number of fashion magazines saw their ad pages drop by double-digits in 2008: W lost 12.7 percent, Teen Vogue is down 10.2 percent, and Vogue, which had a record-breaking year in 2007, declined 9.6 percent.  For the latter, the results burn even more, as Elle gained 3.2 percent over 2007, and Harper's Bazaar only lost 0.3%. 

Granted, in overall numbers, Vogue (2,893 ad pages for 2008), still trumps Elle (2,578) and Harper's Bazaar (2,067), but the losing trend can't be good — maybe the rumored Michelle Obama and Blake Lively covers will give them the boost they need in 2009? [WWD]

>> Eric Wilson's article in The New York Times today about those mysterious items in fashion magazines listed as "price upon request" — turns out a lot of them never went into production and aren't available for purchase — is especially ironic, considering a conversation Elle editors Joe Zee and Anne Slowey had on last night's episode of Stylista.

In the clip below, the show's contestants are presenting the trend page they created for the magazine, full of product, but Anne notices that they forgot to add in the shopping credits: "What's that all about?"  One of the contestants tries to explain that she "didn't think it would be okay to make up prices" but Anne retorts that on a shopping page, the credits are "imperative . . . it's the only reason why we exist as a fashion magazine."  Joe backs her up — "Credits are key" — and then Anne ends the conversation with a sarcastic, "I want everything on this page, but I don't know where to buy it."

[break]Funny she should say that . . . »[/break]

Funny she should say that, because in the October issue of Elle, Eric reports, 104 items were listed as "price upon request," and most of them were never available for purchase — one pair of metal suspenders was listed as available at Kiki de Montparnasse, but when called, the store said it didn't carry them.  Oh, the irony.

Erin Kaplan, Elle spokeswoman, excuses her editors because they photograph collections within days of the runway shows and only have the pricing information the designers can give at the time, but at Vogue, there's a policy to always publish the price, so very few items aren't clearly listed.

A commenter at Fashionista, who self-identifies as "a fashion editor who has handled credits," may offer a more accurate group of reasons as to why Elle can't keep up with Vogue in the crediting department: "1) you didn't hear back from the PR for pricing/availability before your deadline; 2) the PR tells you to list it as 'price on request' because they're too lazy to get the real price for you; 3) you had too many credits to get and forgot to do this one . . . so you make it up."  Some food for thought while the Elle editors eat crow.

>> After the second episode of Elle's Stylista aired last night, I think it's safe to say that it's not going to get any better.  Fashion news editor Anne Slowey still can't walk on a pair of heels — never good when you're acting as omnipotent fashion editor on national TV — and her show has been relegated to the bargain basement with the label of "tremendously silly and kinda boring fashion magazine editor competition show."  Even with some of The Devil Wears Prada furniture on-set, the show remains a sad shell of the real thing; Anne Slowey is no Meryl Streep.

There are numbers to prove how unimpressed watchers are — the second episode lost 30 percent of its viewership from last week, and while it's lead-in show, America's Next Top Model, attracted 4.4 million in audience, Stylista "fumbled all but 2.4 million of the viewers, which is barely better than The CW was doing in the time period with repeats of the next generation of 90210."

The jury is still out on whether Stylista will drive up newsstand sales and ad pages, which is it's main purpose, but it's looking like Anne Slowey is no Nina Garcia, either.
*image: photo courtesy the cw

>> Between the reviews yesterday and the original preview clips, I wasn't expecting much from Stylista — except maybe the inane tasks and overblown drama that was readily served up.  Toward the end of the pilot episode, however, there was a nice cameo from Elle style director Kate Lanphear, who appeared to help with the judging.  She wore her trademark black and white, but even she couldn't escape the excessive makeup treatment before going on camera — it was strange to watch, since Kate is so striking in her usual minimal-to-no makeup.  It was just another symbol of how unreal this reality show is — Kate may have played along, but she barely talked, and my guess is, she would have rather been somewhere else.

>> Elle's first major foray into TV — aside from a long-running but now defunct Project Runway sponsorship — premieres tonight, and the reviews are in.  Fashion news director Anne Slowey has restyled herself from a reasonable person to someone more cold-hearted, working in an obviously staged Elle office.  For the so-called reality show Stylista is supposed to be, there are an awful lot of facades going on, but one thing is real — the critics have spoken, and while there are no caustic words, the general feeling seems to be apathy: "Oh, another reality show? Ho-hum."

The Washington Post:

Stylista is — what is the phrase? — like a little tick that you want to flick off, but it's no worse than other reality games that have come before and will come after. It celebrates and elevates life's most trivial drivel, but if that were a crime, reality television would quickly go the way of the crooked quiz shows of the '50s.

[break]"It is exactly the same as every other gimme-a-job reality show . . ." »[/break]

The New York Times:

Are there any bosses anywhere as demanding as Ms. Slowey pretends to be? Not really, and maybe on some level we miss them. Part of the appeal of a show like Stylista is that it resurrects a long-vanished way of office life, one filled with rules and regulations, distinct hierarchies and dress codes and nothing as fuzzy as flex time. As Ms. Slowey succinctly explains to the contestants at the outset: “To be in my world you either get it or you don’t.” No one has to spend a lot of time figuring out a manager like this.

NY Daily News:

Any resemblance between the entrance of Anne Slowey in the new fashion reality show "Stylista" and the entrance of Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada" is just what the producers wanted.  Alas, a competition to find a junior editor for Elle magazine, where Slowey is fashion news editor, differs from a two-hour drama in enough ways so the TV show doesn't have quite the same charm.  It's fun. Just not as much.

Los Angeles Times:

Except in the decorative details, it is exactly the same as every other gimme-a-job reality show ever made, with the contestants all banged up in a fancy dormitory from which they disappear one by one after themed weekly challenges.

*image: photo courtesy the cw

>> INSIDER WIRE —Anne Slowey has been given grief for her diet and pitted against former co-worker Nina Garcia, but nothing seems to phase her; She's still got a show debuting Wednesday.  Besides, she doesn't seem to think much of Nina: "I think she certainly. . . . by comparing herself to me, lent it some credibility. I'm not even really conscious of the fact that, oh yeah, she used to work at Elle." But the real question is, why was Anne at her town dump before being interviewed? [LA Times]

>> The shakeups at Elle just keep on coming.  Ever since creative director Joe Zee joined the team in January 2007, former longtime creative director Gilles Bensimon has seen his role at the magazine majorly diminished — his title changed to international creative director, his name moved from top of the masthead to the bottom.

He usually sits with the Elle team during Fashion Month, but during New York Fashion Week, he was a no-show due to a "top-secret project" in Paris.  He also didn't show at Elle's Women in Hollywood Awards Monday, and he has only photographed three out of the eleven Elle cover stories this year — compared to going twelve for twelve last year.

It comes as no surprised that Gilles would want to get out — and Nina Garcia may be just the woman to help him.  His contract with Elle expires at the end of the year, so it's the perfect time for him to make his move.  Rumors started flying when he arrived at the Chanel show last week in a towncar with Nina, his former colleague, who is now trying to increase fashion coverage in her new position as fashion director at Marie Claire.  Is Nina wooing Gilles, who used to be Elle's go-to celebrity photographer, to Marie Claire?  That is the allegation . . .
*image: source

>> Founded or unfounded, the buzz about Russian Vogue editor Aliona Doletskaya as Anna Wintour's successor continues to grow, especially since The New York Times brought the possibility up earlier this month while Aliona was in town attending New York Fashion Week.

Page Six is reporting today that Elle has finally surpassed Vogue by 66 ad pages in the October issues — not good for Anna, especially when earlier this week in Moscow, Aliona was introduced as "The next editor of American Vogue."  It all seems a little suspect to me — Freudian slip, maybe? —but here's a May profile video of Aliona in case you want to get to know her and her smoker's voice a little better.  She and Anna have at least one thing in common — they both love their fur.

Anna, meanwhile, is carrying on with her duties in Milan, where last night, she (randomly) dined alongside Matthew McConaughey and his girlfriend.
*images: source

»Mario Sorrenti returns to his modeling days, Kate Moss days for the cover of Purple Fall 2008 [FAD]

»Jenni Kayne is pregnant, will be missing her Spring 2009 presentation [FabSugar]

»Anna Sui, staunchly anti-Forever 21 though she is, seems to have copied a vintage bag for production [Fashionista]

»Calvin Klein launches e-commerce [FWD]

»Who's more expensive: September Vogue or September Elle [Jezebel]

»Designers are increasingly using embellishments and high-tech fabrics to ward off knockoffs [The Cut]

»American Apparel to do shoes? [Fashionista]

»Avion Feminin launches lingerie [Style File]

»Kate Moss has backyard teepees that are causing problems [Daily Mail]

»More Spring 2009 show packages: DNA, 1 Model Management, Women, Trump [Of the Minute]