loose threads

Gianni Versace’s Art, Furniture Up for Auction; White House Staffer Hits Fashion Week

• Sotheby’s is auctioning off Gianni Versace’s furniture and artwork, which is expected to fetch $2.86 million. [WWD]

Giorgio Armani on his new Fifth Avenue flagship opening today: “Sophia Loren said grazie to America when she received the Oscar; this is my way of saying merci to the first market to open up to my world.” [WWD]

• Robin Givhan: “Menswear designers often talk about their customers as if they are skittish wild horses, ready to bolt at the slightest hint of anything loud, aggressive or merely unexpected.” [WP]

• White House social secretary Desirée Rogers sat front-row at the Carolina Herrera show (she wore a Herrera gown to the inaugural balls). She also attended Donna Karan and Thakoon’s shows. [WWD]

Vanity Fair may have lightened Freida Pinto’s skin in a new spread. In other Pinto news, she shops at Alexander McQueen and Calvin Klein. [NYP]

Gianni Versace’s Art, Furniture Up for Auction; White House Staffer Hits Fashion Week