Gawker: Wwd

Faux Charity Fashion's Night Out Only Raised Imaginary Money

Brian Moylan — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:21:23 EDT

Girl, we're still in recovery from Fashion's Night Out. Too bad the charitable arm of Anna Wintour's Make-People-Like-Me Tour 2009 didn't translate into cash for retailers. But nobody cares because the party was that fierce. More »

Barbara Corcoran, Classic New York Broad

The Cajun Boy — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:24:57 EDT

Barbara Corcoran, founder of the Corcoran Group and the Today Show's resident real estate expert person, is sort of a living legend in New York. Everyone knows her name. But do you know the secret to her success? Dick jokes! More »

Women's Wear Daily Horns In On Our Dirty Headlines

Sheila — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:47:23 EST

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"Hey, why should Gawker be the only ones to use inappropriate and suggestive headlines? We can do it, too!" [WWD] More »

Conde Nast Folds DNR

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:24:27 EST

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Conde Nast is folding DNR, the men's fashion trade magazine. It's also shuttering its website, DNRNews.com. The feeble spin is that WWD will pick up the slack by launching "comprehensive, round-the-clock men’s fashion and retail coverage." [#2 of the four ways to kill a magazine, for those keeping track]. Points to the PR department for attempting to create an upside. But it's clear that this is evidence of weakness in the fashion category specifically, and more momentum for the scary Great Magazine Die-off in general. The company hasn't announced how many layoffs will go along with DNR's death, but departing staffers with more details can email us. More »

WWD Staff In Uproar Over Being Made To Write Advertorial Fluff

Hamilton Nolan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:42:05 EDT

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"Fashion Rocks" is Conde Nast's big advertorial extravaganza pegged to Fashion Week, when the magazine company can sell extra ad space to all its fashion advertisers in a fluffy, profile-heavy special supplements. But we hear that the staff of the Conde-owned WWD is currently embroiled in a mini-revolt, after they were ordered to write the copy for the 48-page Fashion Rocks supplement that went out with yesterday's issue. There's no reason an editorial staff should ever be made to write advertorial copy. The most egregious line-crossing of all: a full-page interview in the supplement with Richard Beckman, Conde Nast's own head of marketing. More »

Corrections Of The Week: Stalkers, Affairs And WWD

Maggie — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 17:06:56 EST

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The unfortunate forgot-you-were-dead San Antonio Express-News wasn't the only one screwing up this week. More »

'Portfolio' Snags 'Newsweek' Fashion Guru, MemoPad Gets Confused

Maggie — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:08:16 EST

In yet another example of Portfolio's tossing around their coin, the flagging Conde Nast title has now snagged Dana Thomas, the Paris-based Newsweek fashion correspondent. Thomas is the author of Deluxe, an inside look at the decline of the luxury brand, the bestseller of which we were big fans. We're guessing Thomas herself wasn't a huge fan of the errors in the WWD MemoPad item about her big move today. Her upcoming book tour is headed to Australia, not Argentina, and if luxury execs have complained about the book's inaccuracies, they're only talking to WWD. More »

Fibby 'Interview' Flack Says Editor Sischy Is Quitting After All

Maggie — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:27:37 EST

WWD is reporting that editor Ingrid Sischy is leaving Interview magazine. Funny that, because 14 days ago, when we reported the rumor that Sischy was on her way out, whopper-master and Interview spokeslady Rachna Shah said this to the Observer: "The Gawker item is absolutely not true." WWD got a tetch hissy with us via email. "You guys jumped the gun on that," they wrote. Goodness. WWD's long piece today on Sischy's life and times at Andy Warhol's Interview doesn't mention their original story. To be fair, it's possible that Shah's bosses might have given the flack false information. Not uncommon, but always uncommonly silly. Whoops! The renowned Sischy is leaving the paper after a 23-year tenure, citing partner Sandra Brant's decision to sell her interest in Brant Publications, Interview's parent company. After the jump, Interview's press release on Sischy's departure. At least, that's what we think it is. UPDATE: From a partner at consulting firm HLGroup: "Neither the client nor the publicist involved passed on incorrect information. When the question was asked 14 days ago, Ingrid Sischy was in fact on holiday in South Africa. She had not resigned, nor was her intention at that time to resign." More »

The Harper's Bazaar Pictures Of Hillary Clinton In A Fancy Frock

Maggie — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:50:24 EST

Before Hillary Clinton showed us that she really does wear her heart on her sleeve (and it's a ladylike sleeve!) she backed out of a Vogue photo shoot because she was afraid of looking too feminine. Editor Anna Wintour was irked. But the Democratic candidate is featured in a February issue of Harper's Bazaar, along with six of the other running candidates. She is not, despite earlier reports, wearing a miniskirt and heels. After the jump, see the pictures of Clinton in all her high couture glory. More »

Panty-Clad Anna Wintour!

Choire — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 10:25:15 EST

WWD notes that Stardolls has added a Vogue editor Anna Wintour doll to their digital collection—and Jeff Bercovici at Portfolio notes that she is basically naked. We are going to be Photoshopping outfits on her ALL DAY LONG. (Wintour's doll is much prettier than Perez's!) More »

Reporter Jeff Bercovici, who got his start...

Choire — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 15:41:31 EDT

Reporter Jeff Bercovici, who got his start (as far as we're concerned!) at WWD, is leaving Radar for... wait for it... Portfolio! To BLOG. Enjoy blogging, blogsy! Blog it up! Though he'll stay at Radar as a contributing editor. More »

You've got to hand it to the Post: Buried...

abalk — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 09:23:51 EDT

You've got to hand it to the Post: Buried at the bottom of this item about Marc Jacobs (who, we're told, once was some kind of designer or something?) is this classic disclaimer: "We didn't call Jacobs for comment because the last time we did, his rep leaked the story to WWD." [NYP] More »

'WWD' Stands By Story, Won't Run It Again

abalk — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 10:00:08 EDT

This editor's note concerning a recent Jacob Bernstein profile of Hollywood gossip Nikki Finkke ran in today's Women's Wear Daily. According to Keith Kelly, WWD won't repost the story because "there is a legal question about whether one blanket 'yes you can tape [the conversation]' covered all subsequent follow-up interviews." Our immediate reaction was on what planet? But the planet is California. So we guess it's a cautionary tale for New Yorkers interviewing Californians. Or anyone interviewing Nikki Finke. Update: The whole story is online elsewhere. More »

Us Weekly's Brand Is Truth

Emily Gould — Fri, 04 May 2007 11:00:20 EDT

A two-page spread in this week's Us Weekly calling out other magazines for fabricating stories has their competitors scoffing. "I find it amusing that Us Weekly and [editor in chief] Janice Min thinks they are above all else in the celebrity category of weekly gossip magazines. How can she point fingers when Page Six had to run a retraction from picking up her stories in the last year?" a Star spokesman asked WWD today. "We don't say that we don't make mistakes; that is the nature of any news gathering operation. What we don't do is wholesale fabricate stories to sell magazines," a Wenner spokesman responded. No, never! But fabricating controversy is another story, apparently, as a peek at the 2-page spread in question, headlined "Creative Writing: All The News That's Fake!" reveals. More »

Does Cindy Adams Hate Rupert Murdoch?

Emily Gould — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 10:01:20 EDT

Rosie O'Donnell's raunchy emceeing had the ladies at the N.Y. Women in Communications luncheon hiding under their tables in homophobic, offended shame! Either that, or she had everyone in stitches. It depends whether you ask Richard Johnson or Cindy Adams. The Page Six overlord made sure to mention the "17 sweet-faced high school girls who won scholarships to pursue their dreams of careers in media," whose virgin ears were ostensibly traumatized when Rosie "concluded a rant about Donald Trump by grabbing her crotch and shouting, 'Eat me!'" But his gossiping colleague Cindy had a different take: "In elegant clothes instead of her usual sweatshirt, newly smart-looking Rosie O'Donnell emceed. Hilarious." How to make sense of it all? Well, WWD mentions that "emcee Rosie O'Donnell skewer[ed] Rupert Murdoch, who presented an award to Cindy Adams, and the New York Post at every opportunity." Hot! Cindy Adams is a dangerous dissident trying to take down the Post from within! —Emily More »

Marc Jacobs Back In Rehab

Emily Gould — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 15:48:00 EDT

Designer and tastemaker Marc Jacobs flew directly to a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in Arizona the day after showing his Louis Vuitton collection in Paris, WWD reports. "Marc made the right decision," said Jacobs' longtime business partner Robert Duffy "He'd been sober for seven years. When he relapsed, he wanted to deal with it right away ... Obviously, our prayers are with him." "Great, now the bags are going to be even more expensive," a stylish friend of ours ... um, prayed. More »

Bill Keller Explains His New Passion For Fashion

Emily Gould — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 11:25:42 EST

Okay, so Times executive editor Bill Keller doesn't really fetishize Nicolas Ghesqui re's inventive prints. "I'm a fan of blue jeans and T-shirts," he told WWD yesterday. So what was he doing in the front row at Balenciaga? Something to do with "a new level of editorial marketing amid stiff competition for readers and ad dollars," WWD surmises. Keller addressed Times critic Cathy Horyn's recent banning from Dolce & Gabbana (and her rumored pending ban from Vera Wang): "I always think that's self-defeating when they shut out the journalists." Well put, sir! He'll be wearing a deconstructed feathered corset by the end of the week, we just know it. This is just like his Baghdad tour, only less dangerous! More »

Gillian Hearst-Shaw Is Nepotastic!

Emily Gould — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 10:20:35 EST

What do you do when your sister got all the model-pretty genes and your 'socialite' reality show never got produced? Well, if you're Gillian Hearst-Shaw, you go into the family business. According to WWD, the socialite has been "quietly working" as an editorial assistant at Town & Country's semiannual wedding and quarterly travel magazines—her family has an ownership stake in, natch—since early January. "Not only do I get to learn and work, I also get to learn and work at a family company," Hearst-Shaw cooed to WWD. But will her assistanting duties get in the way of her wedding plans? (Hearst was given a "blindingly huge diamond engagement ring" last weekend in the Berkshires by her lawyer boyfriend Christian Simonds). We hope not! She tells WWD that charges of nepotism just make her want to "work that much harder" to prove that she deserves her job. You go, girl! More »

'Stuff' Lagerfeld Joke Offends Chunkies, Cat People

Emily Gould — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 11:42:55 EST

Newish Stuff editor Dan Bova's first editor's letter is a sendup of Chanel designer/vampire-grampy Karl Lagerfeld. According to WWD, Bova "wrote the editor's letter of his first full issue in the supposed voice of Karl Lagerfeld, focusing mostly on what Bova fabricates is the designer's taste for eating cats." We suppose this is what Dan is getting at when he says that Stuff is making a "concerted effort to go upscale," but we're unconvinced. We're talking about the author of the Karl Lagerfeld Diet here, the man who once said that his "only ambition in life" is to fit into size 28 jeans. You think he'd really be caught dead ingesting a calorie-crammed, full-fat feline? More »

How Is This Socialite Different From All Other Socialites?

Emily Gould — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:40:00 EST

Our feverish excitement about Fash Week has led us to peek into some darker nooks and crannies of the internet than usual; here's a nugget we turned up about socialite Claire Bernard, who mingled with the 'Tinz et al at that One Scottsdale/Vogue Italia party last night.

Meanwhile, One Scottsdale, the latest luxury mega-mall, celebrated Fashion Week far from its Arizona home—like any good tourist—with drinks at Amy Sacco's Bette. Amongst the crowd, co-hosts Tinsley Mortimer and Theodora Richards greeted friends like Annie Churchill and Claire Bernard (taking a night off from doing homework for her MFA at Columbia).

We flipped through the student directory, and sure enough, Claire's on her way to becoming a bona fide Writer with a capital W! We can only hope that she'll heed Cary Tennis's words of wisdom, and not rely on her writing to support her. More »

Get Ready To Look At The Look Book Book

Emily Gould — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 12:50:00 EST

Well, this is the best news we've heard from WWD since . . . well, since the item before it, about how Jessica Joffe was picked to star in new Uniqlo ads because they're all about "interesting, creative people not changed by the media." Annnyway, they also report that New York Magazine's cherished Look Book feature is soon going to be transmuted into a collectible coffee-table book that we can all own! But what will differentiate the Look Book Book from, you know, the Look Book?

A spokeswoman said the book would offer"many of our best-loved 'Look Bookers,' many new faces, plus quite a few never-before-published detail shots of both." Amy Larocca's interviews will be in the mix, as well as stories of what happened to interviewees after they appeared in the magazine.

Finally, we'll learn where Mica de Jesus's family parks their gypsy caravan! More »

David Remnick Thought Dries Van Noten's Parka Dresses Were "Bo-ring!"

Emily Gould — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 10:20:00 EST

Today we learn, via WWD, that New Yorker editor David Remnick has a softer side. It's very soft. One might say it's made of a combination of tulle, peau de soie, and the gently-worn edges of a massive pile of ad dollars: just in time for Paris fashion week, Remnick has "suddenly . . . found a love of fashion." In a move that an "insider" calls "a little odd," he's throwing a massive Nast-funded shindig on Monday to laud the arrival of new fashion editor Susan Morrison. The quotes Remnick gave WWD did seem uncharacteristically bouncy:

It's a meet-and-greet, and I think a lot of those people don't know me at all or the magazine as much as I'd like. It's something I've never done before. I thought it would be a fun and interesting trip to make." He's also going to check out a "bunch of shows" during his Sunday-through-Wednesday jaunt.

Also, of an upcoming New Yorker conference:

It's not an opportunity for ceo X to talk about the ceo's company and give an annual report of their company. Bo-ring!

We're finding the new fashionista David kind of endearing, actually. More »

Olsen Twin Tells: Distinguishing MK From A

Emily Gould — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 18:00:00 EST

We enjoyed Star's cover story on Mary Kate Olsen's reanorexia as much as or possibly more than most people — "HER EATING COACH IS GONE" is a great name for a post-hardcore band, by the way — but we couldn't help but notice that some of the pictures of "Mary Kate" looked suspiciously full-bodied and — how to put this? — differently nosejobbed than the others. Today, WWD confirmed our suspicions: according to their publicist, the twin in at least one of the pictures is indeed Ashley, not Mary Kate. We guess those tricky twins confuse the Star photo department by periodically switching off haircolors, but we rely on other clues to distinguish one from the other. We thought we'd help out the Star photo editors with a handy list of our personal Olsen twin "tells" — subtle clues that reliably determine which platform-booted, layered-looked lady is the rexy twin and which is the relatively healthy-looking fraternal counterpart. More »

Media Bubble: All The Critics Love U In New York

Emily Gould — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 08:30:00 EST

The artist currently known as Prince is "in talks to develop a musically themed magazine." We can't w8 2 read it! [WWD] More »

Media Bubble: The Devil Is Actually Kind of Lame and Boring

Emily Gould — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 08:50:00 EST

Fashion magazine editor in chief documentary fever has risen to such a pitch that there are even cameras following around Marie Claire's Joanna Coles. Where will it end, Life& Style?? [NYT] More »

New Shiloh Pix To Help Cambodia, Uh, Somehow

Emily Gould — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 08:30:00 EST

The contested 'exclusivity' of the new shots of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's "natural-born" offspring (way to give Z and Mad even more issues, Daily News!) doesn't really interest us that much, but in case it interests you, here you have it: Hello! (a UK publication, natch) claimed that it had a World Exclusive, when in fact it only had US rights. People actually has US rights, which is why their ed in chief, Larry Hackett, was holding up the photos on the Today show yesterday. Neither publication really wanted the shots leaked all over the internet, but whatcha gonna do. More »

Today in Obvious: Fabian Basabe is a Liar

Emily Gould — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 11:20:00 EST

More fun at the expense of washed-up former 'It Boy' Fabian Basabe: today, WWD takes a closer look at the website for Fabian's charitable organization, which has the remarkably ambitious (and remarkably vague) goal of "promot[ing] universal cooperation, and advanc[ing] human achievement through support programs in such areas as medicine, education, research and service." That sentence rings a little bit false, sure, but not as false as this sentence in Basabe's bio:

"Fabian, who once was named one of Gotham's most eligible bachelors, is now happily married and focused on his charity work and television career while still contributing as a celebrity features editor to Glamour and Gotham magazine."

Hmmm, really? A celebrity features editor at two major magazines? How does he find the time, in between bouts of posing for pictures with musclebound men and getting all philanthropic? The fishiness of this assertion was confirmed by a Glamour spokeswoman, who told WWD, "A celebrity features editor? No, he is not a celebrity features editor. He wrote one story." More »

Fabian Basabe's Low-Born Origins Revealed

Emily Gould — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 11:50:00 EST

In WWD's Memo Pad today, we found out for sure where old-news closeted homo/socialtard Fabian came from, which had been a source of rampant speculation for people with waaaaay too much time on their hands:

In the past, Basabe has said his father is a telephone mogul from Ecuador. The reality is, his father (also named Fabian) is a Bal Harbour, Fla., hotel owner with two failed restaurants who's been in and out of court in Florida for his apparent inability to pay bills on time . . . In 2001, Basabe Sr. filed for bankruptcy, which his son later said was part of the family's "business strategy." The business strategy must have been tough to implement; Basabe Sr. was still facing new lawsuits in 2004.

Hey there, Socialite Rankles: you can stop knocking yourselves out flipping through the Ecuadorian Social Book. But please, don't stop making bigoted cracks about how "you need to earn at least $20 an hour" to be registered in it — that kind of thing is why we looove you. More »

'WWD': Don't Believe the Hype

abalk2 — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 10:40:27 EDT

Some interesting news from today's WWD: More »

Remainders: Steve Jobs Will Devour This Town

Jessica — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 19:20:54 EDT

• Another Apple Store in Manhattan? Are you fucking kidding us? [Curbed] More »

Si Won't Air-Condition Fairchild Stepkids?

Jesse — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 12:55:23 EDT

This showed up in the inbox last night, and, while we can't quite believe it's true, we're also a touch intrigued: More »

Peter Braunstein Legitimately a Sick Fuck

Jessica — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 10:06:42 EDT

In today's most excruciatingly obvious news, a scan of former WWD staffer Peter Braunstein's brain has revealed that — surprise! — he's mental. Images reveal that Braunstein has frontal lobe deficiencies consistent with schizophrenia, which should help his legal team bolster his insanity defense. So sayeth the expert: More »

How to Unleash Your Inner Bonnie

Jesse — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 10:22:19 EST

Bonnie Fuller's advice tome, (deep breath) The Joys of Much Too Much: Go for the Big Life — The Great Career, The Perfect Guy, and Everything Else You've Ever Wanted (Even If You're Afraid You Don't Have What It Takes), is headed to a bookstore near you this spring, and in today's WWD Jeff Bercovici takes a first look. More »

Breaking: Peter Braunstein Arrested

Jessica — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 17:02:13 EST

The details are scarce, but at least it's official: Tennessee authorities have arrested former Women's Wear Daily reporter and sexual assault suspect Peter Braunstein. About fucking time. More »

Braunstein's Victim Calls Media-Fightin' Lawyer

Jessica — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 10:29:25 EST

While former Women's Wear Daily reporter and "allegedly suspected" sexual predator Peter Braunstein is believed to be traipsing about the wilds of the upper midwest, his victim has been doing her best to go on with her life. The woman, a former W employee who Braunstein is believed to have molested for 12 hours on Halloween, has hired lawyer Lynda Goldman to "to encourage the media to behave in a responsible manner so that this victim isn t victimized further." Ooooh — a personal watchdog. Totes smooth. Says Goldman: More »

Peter Braunstein on a Mission From God

Jessica — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 10:02:50 EST

More details are emerging about former Women's Wear Daily reporter Peter Braunstein's quality time spent in Ohio, where he allegedly fled after being suspected of sexually assaulting a former co-worker. Apparently Braunstein, while posing as a Hollywood location scout, had dinner on November 7 with a Cleveland bar owner: More »

Peter Braunstein Emerges in Land of Cleves

Jessica — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 09:33:58 EST

Finally some news this weekend on former Women's Wear Daily reporter Peter Braunstein, who's been on the run since allegedly sexually assaulting a former co-worker on Halloween. According the several eyewitness accounts, Braunstein fled to Cleveland a few days after the incident, where he posed as a location scout of Nip/Tuck and told others he was a retired Los Angeles cop. Under the aliases Peter Bronson, Peter Brown, and Peter Grant, P-Bra's Cleveland adventure included stays at cheap hotels, smoking pot, blowing rails, and hitting the strip clubs. So unfair how the bad guys have all the fun. More »

Craigslist Predictions for Peter Braunstein's Doppel-Poster

Jessica — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 12:04:15 EST

After three annoyingly creepy Craigslist postings on the whereabouts of sexual assault suspect and former Women's Wear Daily reporter Peter Braunstein (the author of which made a shadowy appearance on Fox News), we find the following to be nothing short of fantastic: More »

Craigslist Predictions for Peter Braunstein, Part III

Jessica — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 14:36:53 EST

Another day, and yet another Craigslist post ruminating on the state of suspected fake fireman and former Women's Wear Daily staffer Peter Braunstein, who has inexplicably been on the loose since Halloween. As before, the author of this item seems suspiciously insightful and inanely detailed — so much so that, of course, we have to wonder if the writer might be uncomfortably close to Braunstein himself. To add to the shudder factor, the author has been emailing Gawker to alert us to his or her new works, presumably so that we draw attention to the screeds by posting them. More »

Peter Braunstien, 'New York' Cover Boy

Jessica — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 08:46:12 EST

It was only a matter of time before New York's resident axe-lady Vanessa Grigoriadis (who, we might add, did not ghostwrite Nicole Richie's book) got on the Peter Braunstein bus — and when she did, by God, she took the wheel and drove that bus straight to Cape fucking Fear. The cover story reveals the disturbing extent to which the alleged fireman/molester and former Women's Wear Daily writer harbored his obsessions but, ultimately, doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. Dude's a sick puppy — here's a gazillion words on the matter. More »