Is this how the world ends—not with a bang but with a Wintour?

The fashion brand Valentino has apologized this weekend after sending out a promotional email that leveraged the occasion of Philip Seymour Hoffman's funeral to flog their wares, celebrity funerals being universally regarded in the business as the Super Bowl of death branding synergy.

Credit where it's due: Barry Diller knows how to vacation. The IAC boss is tightfisted at headquarters, but his holidays are plenty decadent. There's the corporate jet; the giant boat; tropical beaches; and a set of young blonde twins.

[Fashion designer Valentino drags a Daphne Guinness to the DVD Launch party for the documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor at The Standard in New York last night. Image via Getty]

From George Wayne's chat with Michael Kors in the new issue of Vanity Fair:

• Another celebrity clothing line bites the dust: Jennifer Lopez's Sweetface is going on "hiatus" after this season. It's the third Lopez label to disappear in recent years, although in the case of Sweetface, there's always a chance it could return, so at least J.Lo has a glimmer of hope to hold on to. [WWD, Cut]
•…

• Gwyneth Paltrow is planning to give up her contract with Estée Lauder so she can focus on her website Goop.com, per the ever-reliable Daily Mail. More troubling: The paper says her plan is to "become an Oprah Winfrey-like lifestyle guru." [DM]
• Michelle Obama returned to NYC today. She attended the reopening of a…

• Barneys is trimming staff: The company cut 76 jobs today. [Crains]
• Topshop's signage is here! And a whole bunch of people will be on hand for the big opening on April 1, naturally. [Racked, NYP]
• Sign o' the times: The old New York sign in Midtown has been replaced by one for Burberry. [Racked]
• The Valentino…

• Not such good news for Kanye West: He was charged with misdemeanor battery, grand theft and vandalism yesterday in connection with the fight he had with a bunch of photographers at LAX back in September. He could face up to 2 1/2 years in jail if convicted, although that's highly unlikely. And since they're not…

• The premiere of the new Valentino documentary last night attracted the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Claire Danes, Madonna, and Anne Hathaway, although the big topic of discussion was the designer's collection of pugs—Milton, Monty, Maude, Margot, Maggie, and Molly. [WWD, BB, SW]
• So, like, what's the deal with…

• It's been a busy few days for Valentino. He's taped appearances for Oprah and Martha Stewart; Valentino: The Last Emperor, the new documentary about him, debuts in NYC tomorrow; and it's rumored that despite his very public retirement in early 2008, he remains in charge of his eponymous fashion house. […

• Is Madonna's relationship with Jesus Luz purely platonic? The two are "quite close and cuddly, but not exactly romantic," and Jesus was spotted at a Kabbalah service "playing around more with Rocco than paying attention to Madonna," which can't be a good sign. [E!]
• Did marrying Tom Cruise ruin Katie Holmes'…

• 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…

• Valentino didn't lose money in a giant Ponzi scheme. He did, however, just lose $39 million to the government of Italy. [NYM]
• Neiman Marcus is laying off 375 staffers. [WWD]
• That giant Forever 21 in Times Square? It's actually going to be a Century 21. [Reuters]
• Disney and Sephora have lots in common. [NYT]
…

• Gisele is engaged. [People]
• Fur is back. Jean Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld and Giorgio Armani are among the designers leading the rebellion. [Ind.]
• Despite the recession (and a gazillion lawsuits), American Apparel is one of the few retailers seeing record profits. [WWD]
• Sass & Bide has dropped out of New…

Good news for Italian fashion mogul Valentino! Although London's Evening Standard reported yesterday that the golden-hued designer had been a victim of Bernie Madoff's $50 billion Ponzi scheme, Valentino's reps have denied the account to WWD: "A spokeswoman for Valentino said Wednesday that neither the designer nor…

• It wasn't just overly tanned Jews in Palm Beach who were ripped off by Bernie Madoff. London's Evening Standard says Italian fashion designer Valentino may have been a victim as well. [ES]
• Ten days before his arrest, Bernie Madoff convinced elderly Palm Beach entrepreneur and philanthropist Carl Shapiro into…

[Actress Sarah Jessica Parker with fashion designer Valentino at opening night for the New York City Ballet; image via Getty]

Not even the presence of high-profile collectors like Steve Martin, Valentino, and billionaire Eli Broad (who dropped $8 million on works by Ed Ruscha, Jeff Koons, Robert Rauschenberg, and Donald Judd) could save last night's Sotheby's contemporary art sale from being a big disappointment. Twenty paintings,…

♦ Earning millions as a top international model is apparently getting old for 22-year-old Jessica Stam: She's getting her pilot's license. "Being above everything gives you a natural high," she says. [WWD]
♦ How did Alessandra Facchinetti learn she was getting ousted as Valentino's head designer? She read about it…