• Tom Ford is expanding. (Or hoping to, at least.) The designer is reportedly looking to raise $50 million in financing to expand into womenswear. [Reuters]
• Rents along Fifth Avenue have been falling, of course. But the situation appears to be particularly bleak at the empty shopping mall (or "retail collection")…
• London Fashion Week kicked into high gear over the weekend. Given LFW is celebrating its 25th anniversary and a handful of designers who have been absent in recent years have returned, it's shaping up to be London's biggest year yet. Further proof of LFW's resurgence: Vogue editrix Anna Wintour (seen here fumbling…
• Cintra Wilson is not impressed with the NYC's very first JCPenney: "Why would this perennially square department store bother to reanimate itself in Manhattan—in the sleekest, scariest fashion city in America—during a hair-raising economic downturn, without taking the opportunity to vigorously rebrand itself?"…
• Here's a sign that people are shopping again (or else Victoria Beckham has gone on another shopping spree): Hermès says it's experiencing such "massive over-demand" for its handbags, it's been forced to set up its own crocodile breeding operation in Australia just to keep up. [Reuters via Cut]
• Esteban Cortazar…
• No one seems to know why, but a model at the Jill Sander show in Milan appeared on the runway with tears streaming down her cheeks. A new trend? An allergic reaction of some sort? A reaction to the stress and anxiety hanging over the industry? You decide. [WSJ]
• Reviews and recaps of the recent runway shows in…
• A preview of what's planned for Milan Fashion Week. [Vogue UK]
• Roberto Cavalli isn't the only designer in Milan grappling with the gloomy economy: The parent of Gianfranco Ferré is now bankrupt, and some Italian designers are hoping for a government bailout. [NYT, NYM, Telegraph]
• You won't find too many…
• Diane von Furstenberg had a really lovely Oscar weekend, thanks so much for asking. [DVF]
• Rachel Zoe is denying that clients Cameron Diaz and Debra Messing have abandoned her. "Styling is still her number one priority," a "source" says. [SW]
• Layoffs: Neiman Marcus is cutting 450, Valentino is downsizing its NY…
• Winners and losers at the Oscars, including the boring (Angelina), controversial (Tilda), and just plain bad (Beyoncé). [NYT, Telegraph, W, FWD]
• It wasn't the Oscars, but Michelle Obama sparkled last night in a sequined number for the National Governor's Association dinner. [NYM]
• A roundup of 15 top looks from…
• Ralph Lauren closed out Fashion Week with a predictably opulent show. Anna Wintour turned up with Morley Safer in tow since 60 Minutes is filming a segment on the Vogue editrix. Blake Lively, however, did not appear all that interested in the conversation. [NYT, WWD, FWD, Racked]
• David Lauren appeared at Ralph's…
