Alber ElbazPhoto: Getty Images
• A Russian restaurant entrepreneur reportedly bought Versace’s eighteenth-century villa on Italy’s Lake Como for about $55 million. George Clooney has a villa down the lake so, you know, it’s worth it. [WWD]
• Alber Elbaz is working on a line of jeans for Acne. They’ll cost as much as Lanvin ready-to-wear, so start saving. [Fashion Week Daily]
• French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld made Time’s “100 Most Influential People” list. [WWD]
• Naomi Campbell is helping Nelson Mandela plan his 90th-birthday party. Queen and Robbie Williams may perform. Sounds special. [British Vogue]
• If someone gives you a rose in Grand Central station next week, take it because it might win you a $5,000 three-stone necklace. It’s part of the “A Diamond Is Forever Campaign.” Flyers are so last season. [WWD]
Cover mock-up
• Jourdan Dunn on the cover of Italian Vogue’s first all-black issue? Hm, speculation continues… [FabSugar]
• Sportswear labels whose customers are belt-tightening middle-income moms are trying to boost business with “grassroots” efforts. For example, Liz Claiborne is having Tim Gunn host fashion shows in malls across the country. Have fun, Tim! [WWD]
• Barneys New York chairman Howard Scool on Diane Von Furstenberg at a recent Parsons benefit: “She is sexy as hell, intelligent as hell, and she’s an icon of our industry.” Furstenberg on Scool: “He is a muscle in the industry, and if you touch his sleeve he has muscles, too.” Later they were caught playing seven minutes in heaven in the handicap bathroom. [WWD]
• If Michael Kors were a superhero, he wouldn’t wear royal blue since it doesn’t look well on blondes, but rather a cape — something “zorro” like. We totally see him in all black with a mask taking a swift sword to all the bad outfits on Project Runway. [NYDN]
• Gwyneth Paltrow has broken her toes 30 times but still wears seven-inch heels. She probably wants her legs to look their best in all those crotch-skimming skirts. [Mirror]
• Bruce Willis’s girlfriend, 29-year-old model Emma Heming, is the new face of La Senza lingerie. [Daily Mail]
• The “Olsens law” of sunglasses says that the skinnier the woman, the bigger her sunglasses will be. Shades are also good for situations where you want to avoid eye contact, like riding trains. [Times]
