KATIE GRAND & CO HAVE THAT LOVE-ING FEELING

london - so i'm guessing my editorial savvy blaynista's know all about love, the new magazine launched by london's super star editrix, katie grand.  grand, who also studied at central saint martins, has a legendary track record in publishing. while a student at csm, she launched dazed and confused magazine. after graduating, she moved on to face magazine, and later launched pop magazine. so it's only right that conde nast tapped her to launch, love, a new fashion mag which i imagine will follow the same luxe/edgy/artsy formula which has been consistent in grand's career.  the lucky londoner's who will serve as the first editorial staff of love have been announced and they are as follows: (p.s as i read the masthead, all i kept thinking was? where are all the junior/assistant editors? almost everyone  is a senior editor)

editor in chief: katie grand

creative director: lee swillingham

creative director: stuart spalding

senior editor: murray healy

fashion director: victoria young

senior fashion editor: tim clifton-green

senior fashion editor-at-large: francesca burns

senior contributing fashion editor: joe mckenna

senior contributing editor: paul flynn

entertainment editor: greg krelenstein for starworks

editorial consultant: mark frith

junior editor: joseph mercier

fashion editor: anders thomsen

fashion editor: phoebe arnold

fashion editor: kimi o'neil

junior fashion editor: michelle simkins

associate publisher: amie martin

special projects: catherine russell

press & publicity: mandi lennard publicity ltd

RUSLANA KORSHUNOVA DEAD: WAS IT SUICIDE?

new york - so it's super early to speculate - and prolly entire inappropriate - but this is exactly what media sources are whispering. russian model ruslana korshunova was found dead this past weekend. according to articles, she plunged to her death from a new york city apartment building. korshunova's name may not sound familiar, but chances are you've seen her in ads for a variety of labels from dkny to christian dior to the cover of vogue.

WE LOST A LEGEND: YVES SAINT LAURENT DEAD AT 71

worlwide - i know i never knew the man...but months of researching his history and collections almost made me feel like i did. saint laurent lived a full and marvelous life and made an impact on the fashion world from the most elite levels onward. he died sunday night at his home. he was 71 years old. his business associate pierre berge (himself a legend) said to french radio, "There are not that many people in the pantheon of fashion. There will be two who will undeniably remain -- one who symbolized the first part of the 20th century, and that's Chanel, and the other one who will symbolize the second part of the 20th century, and that's Yves Saint Laurent." i could not agree more. more deets to come as they emerge. this is truly the end of era.

SHE HAD IT COMING: STONE GETS DROPPED LIKE ITS HOT BY CHRISTIAN DIOR

stone in a dior ad. i loved this one. (nytimes.com)

worldwide - i mean duh! when you make reckless comments like (and i paraphrase) " the earthquake in china was karma." this is what happens. sharon stone - and all celebs out there - you are hot and worth your signing fee, but not hot enough to be a liability. but i am digressing....the news is: sharon stone has been dropped by christian dior as a spokeswoman for the brand. initially, they were only going to cancel the ads running in china, but after a week of heat from chinese media (and no doubt customers) they had to pull the plug entirely.

that was then blaynistas...that was then. (nytimes.com)

the quote that sparked the controversy was this: “I’m not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don’t think anyone should be unkind to anyone else. And then the earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you’re not nice that the bad things happen to you?” stone recently backpedaled in a statement she gave to press via dior. either way, too little too late. that chri$tian dior contract is gone. check out her statement: “Due to my inappropriate words and acts during the interview, I feel deeply sorry and sad about hurting Chinese people. I am willing to take part in the relief work of China’s earthquake, and wholly devote myself to helping affected Chinese people.”

RING THE ALARM: KENNETH COLE STEPPING DOWN FROM KENNETH COLE

kenneth cole, posing with his new ceo, jill granoff for womens wear daily. (wwd.com)

new york - starting may 5th, kenneth cole will no longer be the chief executive of kenneth cole productions, the company he founded. jill granoff , executive of liz claiborne, will step in. as it stands, cole will continue on as chairman and chief creative officer of the company. here's what cole had to say to the press regarding the change: "it is a new era for me and the company. i am confident that havng an executive of jill's stature and abilities to partner with me and o ur strong management team, will allow the company to achieve even greater successes in its next chapter."

MORE UNGARO NEWS: AVON FRAGRANCE DEAL

can we talk about how incredibly fierce andrea jung, ceo of avon, is. she is working that red lipstick and black suit to death. honestly, i am barely looking at reese at this point. (wwd.com)

usa - the house of emanuel ungaro is going hard for 2008. hot on the heels of a haute and well-heeled collection by new designer estaban cortazar (see below) they are now set to announce a new fragrance deal. according to today's womens wear daily, avon and ungaro are close to announcing their collaboration, which would see avon producing a signature fragrance for the french couture label. even more, hollywood starlet reese witherspoon is on board to front the brand in print and television ads. WOW! i can't wait to see this project. kudos to avon too which is building it's high end market. this is not their first time collaborating with high end designers. in the past they have worked with christian lacroix and cynthia rowley.

VALENTINO'S NEW MENSWEAR DESIGNER

my favorite look from valentino's last mens collection. can pozzoni do better? time will tell. (source: mensstyle.com)

london -- ferruccio pozzoni has been named as the new chief designer for valentino's menswear arm. according to wgsn.com, he will work directly under valentino's creative director, allessandra facchinetti. he has a luxury pedigree worthy of his new title. brioni, prada and miu miu are all places he's worked in the past. he is already underway on the next mens collection which will show on january 19th in paris.

PROENZA SCHOULER MOVES ON MARC

lazaro hernandz and jack mccollough, the dynamic duo behind the brand. (thank you to nymag.com for photo)

a sneak peak at the designers secondary line for target which debuts in february. (thanks to thebudgetfashionista.com)

new york -- faster than you can ask "does the media still love marc jacobs?" proenza schouler, the label, has announced that it will be showing it's fall 2008 collection on monday, february 4th at 8pm --- the same day and time marc jacobs was supposed to show. as reported by the blay report last week, jacobs dumped this long held time slot, picking instead, the following friday to show his collection. proenza schouler will show at the park avenue armory for the second year in a row.

HAUTE NEWS FOR VALENTINO LOVERS

models vamp in valentino's trademark red before a show.

valentino, the company and designer, has some interesting news coming. although we are still waiting for more details to emerge, it looks like the company might be sold to private equity investors , as previously reported by womens wear daily. in anticipation of the news trading of the company's stock, Valentino Fashion Group SpA, has been suspended for the day. things that make you hmmmmmm...let's see how this pans out.