>> INSIDER WIRE —Is the Obama camp holding a grudge against Oscar de la Renta after his disparaging comments toward Michelle Obama a few weeks ago?  During White House social secretary Desiree Rogers's cover shoot for this Sunday's WSJ. magazine, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs vetoed a shot of Rogers in an Oscar de la Renta ballgown in the First Lady’s garden.  But doesn't seem to be a matter of branding sensitivity — the rest of the shoot features Rogers in the likes of Jil Sander, Viktor & Rolf, Prada, and Calvin Klein. [WWD, WSJ.]
*image: source

>> WSJ., The Wall Street Journal's glossy, is back this weekend with a fashion-centric March issue featuring LVMH chief Bernard Arnault.  Inside, Arnault hints that LVMH might be in the market to acquire more companies.  “We’re about to enter a market of buyers over the next six-to-eight months.  There will be opportunities, and we will be looking at them.”  According to WSJ., Arnault was “in talks to invest in a fashion company with ecological and ethical goals founded by a global celebrity” at the time the article was written — WWD is guessing Edun, Bono’s green clothing line.

But there are certainly a couple of other designers on LVMH's radar.  Gareth Pugh is the obvious one — rumors have run rampant about him taking over at Dior Homme ever since LVMH heiress Delphine Arnault sat front row at his debut menswear show, and Bernard Arnault has already confirmed that LVMH has helped finance Pugh's shows.  Talking acquisitions, however, Rodarte may be a more likely candidate — Pierre-Yves Roussel, CEO of LVMH's fashion division, was in attendance at the Fall 2009 show, and soon after, Katherine Ross, PR honcho for LVMH, hosted a poolside tea party at the Chateau Marmont in LA for the designing duo, so they're definitely on the radar.

Bernard Arnault confirmed in January that Gareth Pugh wasn't the only "new talent" LVMH supports — "LVMH does that with many talented people" — so a number of other brands may be being looked at.  Especially now, when as Arnault points it, it's a buyer's market — young brands with plenty of talent may need that big-company backing to keep them going.
*image: source

>> Even icons aren't safe anymore.  In late December, Village Voice laid off 30-year veteran and fashion writer Lynn Yaeger — she's since been picked up to blog for New York magazine during Fashion Week — and now, the Wall Street Journal has dismissed 23-year veteran Teri Agins as part of a decision to close its fashion and retail bureau.

The number of staffers has been reduced from nine to five — currently retained are columnist Christina Binkley and editor Lisa Bannon; the seven other employees — including Teri Agins, Rachel Dodes, and Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, who generally writes the newspaper's must-read Heard on the Runway blog — have all been let go effective at the end of March and asked to reapply for the three remaining positions in the bureau.

All WSJ.'s fault? »