>> THE MODELIZER—Karen Elson's vintage foray is almost open for business: Venus & Mars — The Showroom officially debuts Oct. 23 in Nashville, and will stock rare high-end vintage, with the option of custom tailoring in-house. As Elson describes it, "The aim of the store is to encourage shoppers to think that vintage isn't just an old hand-me-down but a one-of-a-kind garment with a wonderful history." [The Pipeline]
>> Karen Elson has plenty of projects these days — her modeling work, raising two young children, opening that vintage store in Nashville — but when Zooey Deschanel came through Tennessee with her band She & Him a couple of weeks ago, Karen joined her onstage for a resounding edition of "The Tennessee Waltz." The two have previously appeared together in Sarah Sophie Flicker's short film Lay Down Lean, and seem to run in the same Erin Fetherston-Leith Clark circles.
>> TheAugust 2008 issue of Vogue Paris is dedicated to Yves Saint Laurent, and likewise, the editors at Vogue Italia had their own August 2008 YSL tribute in mind. The follow up to the hugely successful July "Black Issue" features Karen Elson, Linda Evangelista, Guinevere van Seenus, and Iris Strubegger in a funereal Steven Meisel cover story, "Silent." In one picture, a huge headstone features the name "Black," strangely implying that "black is dead." I wonder if the message was purposeful? A strange choice to follow up the celebratory nature of July's issue, especially considering that there are no black models in this editorial . . . *image: source
>> In a fun riff on Carine Roitfeld's iconic Vogue Paris editorial with Snejana Onopka posing as Anna Wintour, the August 2008 issue of Vogue has an editorial featuring five models styled by five different Vogue editors in their own style. Sasha Pivovarova, Raquel Zimmermann, Maryna Linchuk, Tanya Dziahileva are all involved, but first up, Karen Elson as Vogue's cat-loving creative director Grace Coddington. *image: source, source
»Anna Wintour has been bestowed with an OBE (Officer of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for services to British journalism and British fashion in the US [WWD]
»Bottega Veneta tops the list of the Luxury Institute's list of designer brands accorded the highest social status by affluent consumers [WWD]
»Devon Aoki shot with Self Service and Yves Saint Laurent at the Chateau Marmont last week [FWD]
>> Just on the heels of the news that Irina Lazareanu's album is debuting this Fall and Nadja Auermann is working on a music career, Karen Elson revealed yesterday that she, too, is in the initial stages of recording a solo album. Of course, it doesn't hurt that she's married to Jack White of The White Stripes.
Also on Karen's plate? A vintage clothing boutique she's planning to open in Nashvile, where she resides. The store has yet to be named, but she does have an idea about what is going inside: "I want to sell everything from vintage Kenny Valenti and rare Ossie Clarke to Valentino couture — but also cheaper vintage stuff to attract a wider audience."
So if you're ever in the neighborhood, stop by Belmont Boulevard for a likely Elson sighting. *images: source
fashionologie is the musings of a twenty-something American girl who wishes she could have a Freaky Friday incident and switch bodies with Carine Roitfeld.