Donatella Versace—sans ring. (Thanks, Liz.) Image courtesy of ImaxTree.com.

Donatella Versace was interviewed at Oxford University yesterday, and—of course—did not disappoint. After proclaiming that she wants to dress Queen Elizabeth in black leather, she told a delightful tale about the time Elizabeth Taylor robbed her. She said: “My brother collected vintage jewellery and I was wearing a ring that he had given me. Elizabeth said in this extraordinarily breathy voice: ‘Darling, I love your ring, may I try it?’ And she didn’t give it back! She put it on and breathed, “Oh darling, thank you, you didn’t have to do that.’ But I hadn’t!” [WWD] 

Hey Steve Madden, what’s it like working with the Olsen twins? “Painful. Painful,” he told Fashionista. “They are very demanding, they’re very tough…they are difficult, they are exacting, they are a pain in the ass. But they’re very good though.” Madden has worked with MK and Ashley for the last five years on their Elizabeth and James shoe line, as well as a recent Superga sneaker collab. [Fashionista]

This has the potential to be either really awesome or totally awful: Devil Wears Prada scribe Lauren Weisberger has announced plans to write a sequel to the beloved book turned movie. Titled Revenge wears Prada: The Devil Returns, the story follows Andy Sachs, now the editor of a bridal magazine, who crosses paths with Miranda Priestly again. I reacted to this news the same way I reacted to the news that they’re making an Arrested Development movie. Cautious hope, and a fervent prayer to the universe: “Don’t screw it up!” [BBC]

More stylish scoop, featuring Kate Moss and the inimitable Karl Lagerfeld…

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Scott Schuman, The Sartorialist. Photo courtesy of Christopher Peterson.

Another day, another designer saying crazy things. This time, it’s Pucci’s Peter Dundas, who told Harper’s Bazaar that he commutes from Paris to Florence every day by air (which takes an hour and a half). “I own 20 to 25 pieces of taxidermy; between whole deers, boar heads, croc heads, plus the birds there are quite a few. I also collect insects. A lot of the animals have been relinquished to the basement.” Cue PETA and climate change protesters in 3…2…1… [The Cut]

In news that surprises absolutely no one, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention report that the flesh-eating carp used in fish pedicures—where fishies eat the dead skin on your feet—could spread infections like HIV and Hepatitis C. Anyone else think it’s totally plausible that a zombie apocalypse could be sparked by fish? [Ecouterre]

Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist fame—you know, the guy who once told the Globe and Mail that he’s “good at the sex”—gave another revealing interview to GQ, and he didn’t hold back. Remember when Dolce & Gabbana put bloggers in the front row, on their own little podiums, with laptops? “They got a humongous amount of press,” Schuman fumes. “Look we brought the bloggers in and gave them the front row. Look at the dancing-monkey bloggers! I could barely bring myself to sit down….Like, Oh, look at the cute bloggers! Isn’t that cute! Are they playing Angry Birds? When you’ve got Ron Frasch behind you going, “I spent two f—ing million dollars on D&G’s last collection, and I’m sitting here? For these little schmucks?” [GQ]

More style scoop after the jump!

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                                               Image courtesy of FRY

Marc Jacobs and street artist Kidult are feuding. It all started when Kidult defaced the storefront of Jacobs’ SoHo boutique with gigantic pink letters spelling out the word “Art.” So, Jacobs did what any sensible fashion designer would do: he released a set of limited edition T-shirts featuring the store’s graffiti-tagged image, with a line that read: “Art by Art Jacobs.”  (They retail for 689 bucks). Then, designer FRY got in on the action, and created a T-shirt depicting a picture of Marc Jacobs’ T-shirt. Now Kidult’s got a T-shirt too, with an image of him defacing Jacobs’s store and the tagline “Not art by Kidult,” which is on sale for a symbolic price of €6.89. And the dance continues. [Fashionista]

Speaking of feuds, Kelly Cutrone has declared war against a former assistant on Twitter. The People’s Revolution PR guru/America’s Next Top Model judge tweeted this yesterday: “One of my old assistants is getting arrested this week for grand larceny—stealing money from People’s—cannot wait—revenge is sweet.”

She followed it up with: “@HussyChildPlz you better run cause you are going down CLOWN.”

And topped it off, for good measure, with: “I wonder if my former assistant will be wearing stolen clothes from our showroom when HE gets arrested…”

Quick question: who places their trust in someone with @HussyChildPlz as a twitter handle?  [Twitter]

It’s hard being Chloë Sevigny, you guys. The hipster style icon was quoted as saying that she hates attending runway presentations. “I don’t enjoy going to fashion shows. It’s very high school, it’s very ‘the popular kids in the front row.’ And everybody’s checking everybody else out, and you have to do all this press and get your picture taken…It’s not fun for me, it’s work.” Fair enough, the paparazzi can be vicious, but before you start feeling too sad for her, she added. “
I go occasionally to friends’ shows to support them — or if I’m getting paid, if you want to be honest.” Celebrities can make up to $100,000 dollars to sit in a front row. Fashion shows last, on average, about 15 minutes. The average salary in Canada is $46,000 a year. Just saying. [The Cut]

Read more on the next page… 

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    Photo courtesy of Denis Desro.

H&M has announced that “fashion maniac” Anna Dello Russo will create a special collection of accessories for the brand. In other ADR news, the eccentric editor-at-large revealed in an interview with the Financial Times that she once had to move houses to accommodate her 4,000 pairs of shoes. “When I moved…I had 4,000 pairs of shoes. I had to buy a bigger home to store all the clothes, because I need closets, not kitchens. I’m super tidy so every item is cataloged, stored in garment bags, with tissue paper, perfumed, and on hangers that are the same,” Question: if that’s how many shoes she had 10 years ago, what’s the footwear count now?  [Financial Times]

Speaking of fashionable eccentrics, Linda Evangelista has asked for a record-breaking amount of child support from PPR’s chief executive (and Salma Hayek’s partner) Francois-Henri Pinault. The supe, who was once famously quoted as saying top models don’t “wake up for less that $10,000 a day,” has asked for $46,000 a month for her 5-year old son. “When I work, it can be a 16-hour day,” Evangelista told a judge in family court. “On days when I do not work, I am working on my image. I have to hit the gym. I have beauty appointments. I have to work toward my next job, and maintaining my image, just like an athlete.” So…yeah. There’s that. But before you start feeling too sorry for Pinault, just remember: He’s heir to an 11.5 billion dollar fortune and owns Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci. I’m inclined to think he can cough up the cash. [NY Daily News]

All 19 international editions of Vogue have pledged to use only healthy models in the pages of their magazine. “We will not knowingly work with models under the age of 16 who appear to have an eating disorder,” they said in a press release. They also vowed to create a healthier backstage working environment, and say they are going to “encourage designers to consider the consequences of unrealistically small sample sizes of their clothing.” What do you think of Vogue’s new manifesto? [Fashionista]

Cameron Diaz recently told Jay Leno that she cried after a miscommunication resulted in her hair getting cut super-short by a friend. “It was one of those moments, I couldn’t…I just started bursting into tears. I felt so vulnerable. For a woman to all of a sudden have no hair, oh my God! …[My friend] felt really bad. I felt really bad. She started crying. I started crying.” I think all of us can relate to the trauma of a bad haircut—there are certain photos of me floating around from elementary school that should be burned—but luckily for Cameron, she could go bald and still be a knockout. [The Tonight Show]

Paco Rabanne announced today that the house has cut ties with artistic director Manish Arora. The atelier, which launched a women’s ready-to-wear line last year, says it was a mutual agreement. Does anyone else feel like this designer’s musical chairs situation is like a real-life Project Runway? Every time I read about another dismissal, I think about the show’s depressingly true tagline: “In fashion, one day you’re in, and the next day you’re out…”  [Channel News Asia]

Photo courtesy of Leda & St. Jacques.

Sad news, fashion fans: Betsey Johnson has filed for bankruptcy. Forbes is reporting that the filing will likely result in the loss of 350 jobs, and the closure of Johnson’s 63 stores. This has been a really sad month for the style industry—first Fashion Television gets canceled, now poor Betsey’s closing up shop? Are we in fashion bizarro world? Will we be seeing paparazzi shots of Anna Wintour in sweatpants soon? [Forbes]

Alistair Carr is out as the creative director of Pringle of Scotland after just over a year in the position. Apparently it was a “mutual decision” and Carr will still direct the brand’s fall campaign. I was lucky enough to score an invite to the Pringle show during London Fashion Week last season, and thought the collection was beautiful. It also got great reviews from all the major fashion critics. So…who’s got the dirt on why Carr decided to leave? Anyone? Bueller? [Vogue UK]

Coco Rocha is blogging mad, y’all. The supe is furious at ELLE Brasil for photoshopping their cover to make her look nearly nude under a dress. “[I] recently discovered that the body suit was Photoshopped out to give the impression that I am showing much more skin than I actually was or am comfortable with,” she wrote on her personal website Wednesday. “This was specifically against my expressed verbal and written direction.” Not cool, ELLE Brasil. [Oh So Coco]

Now, let’s catch up with former Rachel Zoe Project assistants Taylor Jacobson and Brad Goreski. Recently, each deposed stylist was asked (separately) whether they’d patched things up with Zoe. “No,” says Jacobson. How ’bout you, Brad? “I am not trying anymore. I’m over it.” Okay, good to know. Moving on… [Fashionista, NBC ]

Now, a moment with Simon Doonan. “There’s a horrible epidemic of man boobs, and I keep telling—people are clutching their man boobs now, I can see it!” Doonan told Conan O’Brien while promoting his new book Gay Men Don’t Get Fat. “Man boobs are like hyenas, and mosquitos, and red ants, and sharks. They don’t need to exist. They’re horrible. So I’m on a one-man campaign to rid the world of man boobs. A lot of straight dudes, they don’t care, they’re, like, farting and watching TV.” [Huffington Post]

And finally, because it’s Friday, here’s an adorable video of a cat enjoying an electric neck massage. Awwww. [Jezebel]

Every Friday we round up the best style stories and fashion gossip on the web. Let’s get to it!

There’s been a major shake-up in the world of America’s Next Top Model: After 18 seasons, Tyra Banks has axed stars Jay Manuel, Nigel Barker and Miss Jay. Things aren’t looking good for the reality series: Not only are ratings way down, but rumours continue to swirl that appearing on a cycle is bad for contestants’ careers. Plus, ANTM’s fashion lexicon—pot ledom, smize, fiercely real, booty tooch—is painfully grating. Do you think it’s time for America’s Next Top Model to be put out of its misery? [Page Six]

Sad news for Toronto fashion fans: The Toronto Standard reports that the Fashion Collective—a creative production and management group that represents emerging Canadian design talent—have disbanded. The Collective was responsible for putting Juma, Chloé Comme Parris and Label on the runway, not to mention bringing Rad Hourani back to Canada. [Toronto Standard]

Betsey Johnson has landed a new gig: reality TV star! She’s set to appear in Betsey + Lulu, which will follow her day-to-day life in Manhattan. Johnson is famously eccentric: last year, her assistant Stephanie Wagenman dished to Daily Front Row that the designer drinks champagne out of coffee mugs, doesn’t know how to make a cell phone call, and calls her office “Pink Tank Think Tank.” We think it will make for compelling TV. [Racked]

Speaking of must-see TV: Karl Lagerfeld has been booked to give live commentary on French TV during Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee celebration. We can’t wait. Does anyone remember when he said the royal wedding was full of “short skirts on fat legs” and “ugly hats?” [Fashionista]

Donatella Versace is a fan of the Dowager Countess. “If I am on my own, I might watch some TV,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “…Recently I watched The Help, The Ides of March, and Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy. I’m also a big fan of Downton Abbey.” How amazing would it be to watch Downton with Donatella? [Harper's Bazaar]

photo courtesy of Bang

Happy day off! The sun is shining, the flowers are in bloom, and you can sleep in until noon for three days straight if you feel like it. Unfortunately, there’s never anything to read on the Internet over long weekends. But don’t worry, cause we’ve got you covered: Here’s our round up of the top stories and gossip in fashion world this week.

File this under hilarious April Fools Day pranks. On April 1st, Fashionista reported that Kanye West was in final negotiations to take over at Dior. In other news, I motion for the whole fashion community to take a break from speculating on Dior rumours until someone has been formally announced. I’m all Dior’d out.
[Fashionista]

Speaking of Kanye, he’s dropped a new single called “Theraflu” that addresses his foray into the fashion world.  “Dinner with Anna Wintour, ran with Anja Rubik/  I told you it was more than the music.” Then, later, “We flying with the parakeet, floatin’ with no parachute, $6,000 pair of shoes, we made it to the Paris news!” Am I the only one that thinks that Kanye has the soul of a poet? [Perez Hilton]

Here are words I never thought I’d type: Tom Ford is opening an outlet store. It has a tentative opening date of July 15th  at the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in Central Valley New York. You probably still won’t be able to afford anything, though.
[Lucky Mag]

Karl Lagerfeld’s been in the news a lot this week. First it was revealed that he had sent a pile of Chanel handbags to Adele to apologize for the whole “fat” fiasco. Then, the May cover of French Architectural Digest, which the Kaiser guest-edited, was revealed. According to WWD, Lagerfeld admitted he used to write about decorating for different French glossies under the pseudonym Magnus Dancourt. Magnus is his middle name, and Dancourt, because “it’s very French.”
[WWD]

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