IS THE VILLAGE VOICE CRAZY!?????? THEY FIRED LYNN YAEGER!

new york - okay, so chances are the name lynn yaeger means precious little to you. but if you are a hard core fashion nerd  who lives not so much for the clothing, but for the words written about the clothing (like i am) then you will recognize her as one of the BEST writers in the industry at the moment. after spending about 30+ years as a reporter/writer/columnist for the new york city paper, yaeger has been let go by the voice, along with another legendary writer, jazz critic natt hentoff who is 83 years old. such a tacky, and unimaginative move by the voice. management will regret this soon enough, if they don't already. as fashionista.com intimated though, yaeger, who writes for vogue and other fashion 'zines will bounce back beautifully.

CHANEL TO CUT 200 JOBS

paris - wow, i guess there's no label left behind in this economic down-turn. my all time favorite house (for accessories only, balenciaga and ysl are my pick for clothing) is also feeling the heat. according to media reports from paris, chanel is laying off 200 employees between their Verneuil-en-Halatte and historic rue Cambon location. apparently long term staff will not be affected and the shaft is going mainly to short term and interim workers. either way, it's still tough. at least they waited till after christmas, unlike some other companies.

 

photo: a classic pic, of the classic coco, with the classic 2.5 bag. sigh! sourche: frillr.com

DAVID CHU IS SAYING BYE TO TUMI FOR 2009

worldwide - after spending two years as creative director of tumi, designer david chu is leaving. he was brought on to transform the luxury fashion brand into a "larger more fashionable player" in the upscale accessories market. the jury is still out, as far as i'm concerned, on whether he made a dent in that goal. either way, he won't be hurting professionally. chu, who founded nautica,  already has three menswear labels under his belt. 

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY BLAYNISTAS!!!

dear you,

 

guess what!? may of 2009 will mark four years for the blayreport. i pride myself on knowing most of my readers, or at least being connected to them whether you are colleagues of mine in the fashion/media industry, mates from london, classmates/tutor at saint martins, or dear friends from africa.i want to thank you from the bottom of my chanel loving heart for reading my lil 'ol blog every single day. i know it's not always the greatest - but it's always earnest and done with a love for news, fashion, and you.  i'm commmited to making 2009 the strongest year for the blay report and plan to debut a new look, our first event, and some reader giveaways. to accomplish any of this, i'll definitely need your continued readership and support. so keep checking in, keep commenting, and keep writing me at blog@zandileblay.com. i heart you like a shark gray chanel 2.5 quilted purse. xo, zb

photo: i'm def not partying tonite, but thought it would be appropriate to post my fave party pic of the year. that's me falling down and laughing about it at paper magazine's annual nightlife award party!

I KNEW SOMETHING WASN'T RIGHT!!! THANKS TO JOHN HARO FOR POINTING OUT

new york, new york - so i gagged last night when while reading my favorite blogs i came accross a schedule for next season's shows! i thought it was a tad early, but still posted the dates and schedule. i was right - it was a little too early for that - and dead wrong at the same time (i should've done more research before posting!) after john haro's comment on the post below, i looked up the dates on the official mercedes benz fashion week site and he's right! the dates are from february 13th through friday february 20th!!!! no schedules have been posted either. see the link here.

I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS ALREADY AVAILABLE...NEW YORK FASHION WEEK FALL 2009 SCHEDULE

new york - but then again, why am i surprised? its just about 30 days to d-day, right? here's a 'lil schedule to whet your appetite!

Friday, February 1

9.00am Nautica
10.00am Heart Truth's Red Dress Collection 2008
11.00am Perry Ellis
12.00pm Yigal Azrouel
1.00pm Duckie Brown
2.00pm Brian Reyes
3.00pm Bcbg Max Azria
4.00pm Yeohlee
6.00pm Nicole Miller

7.00pm Erin Fetherston
9.00pm Venexiana

Saturday, February 2

10.00am Lacoste
11.00am Academy Of Art (University Graduates)
1.00pm Abaeté
2.00pm Atil Kutoglu
3.00pm Alexandre Herchcovitch
4.00pm Z Zegna
6.00pm Ashleigh Verrier
7.00pm Sass & Bide
8.00pm Rock & Republic
9.00pm Akiko Ogawa

Sunday, February 3

10.00am Lela Rose
11.00am Herve Leger by Max Azria
1.00pm DKNY, 711 Greenwich Street
2.00pm Twinkle
3.00pm Tracy Reese
4.00pm Diane Von Furstenberg
5.00pm Y-3
6.00pm Angel Sanchez
7.00pm Tuleh
8.00pm Miss Sixty
9.00pm Terexov

Monday, February 4

9.00am Peter Som
10.00am Carolina Herrera
11.00am R. Scott French
12.00pm Jill Stuart
2.00pm Betsey Johnson
3.00pm Luca Luca
4.00pm Pamella Roland
6.00pm Max Azria
7.00pm Ports 1961
8.00pm Proenza Schouler, Park Avenue Armory
9.00pm Iodice

Tuesday, February 5

9.00am Tibi
10.00am Badgley Mischka
11.00am Monique Lhuillier
1.00pm Cynthia Steffe
2.00pm Dennis Basso
3.00pm Diesel
6.00pm Joanna Mastroianni
7.00pm Vivienne Tam

Wednesday, February 6

9.00am Malan Breton
10.00am Nanette Lepore
11.00am Michael Kors
12.00pm Milly by Michelle Smith
1.00pm Carlos Miele
3.00pm Anna Sui
4.00pm Richard Chai
5.00pm 3.1 Phillip Lim
7.00pm Temperley London

Thursday, February 7

9.00am Rebecca Taylor
10.00am Vera Wang
11.00am Naeem Khan
1.00pm Naoki Takizawa
2.00pm Bill Blass
3.00pm Reem Acra
4.00pm Calvin Klein, 205 W 39th St
6.00pm Chris Han
6.00pm Tommy Hilfiger
7.00pm Custo Barcelona
8.00pm Zac Posen
9.00pm Jayson Brundson

Friday, February 8

9.00am Project Runway
10.00am Ralph Lauren
11.00am Ralph Lauren
12.00pm Tadashi Shoji
1.00pm Carmen Marc Valvo
2.00pm Willow
3.00pm Donna Karan Collection, 711 Greenwich
5.00pm Zang Toi
6.00pm Sean John
8.00pm Marc Jacobs, Lexington St. Armory

PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF YOU ALREADY KNEW THIS: ROLAND MOURET IS DOING MENSWEAR AND SO IS GARETH PUGH

worldwide - wowza! men of the world, rejoice! it looks like roland mouret and gareth pugh, both legendary for their womenswear collections, are jumping into the mens category. it was announced over a month ago  ( i know i'm soo late!) that mouret is currently working on a mens line to debut in january during mens fashion week. now it looks like gareth pugh is in on the act as well. plans have already been made for him to close paris fashion week with his show at the palaise de tokyo. despite the fact that loads of labels (think valentino, fendi, marni) have cancelled their mens show, pugh is moving full throttle. that must be thanks to what must be a nice injection of cash from designer rick owens, who owns a 49% stake in the gareth pugh brand. loving it!

 

photo: gareth pugh on the left, source: fashionista.com

CHRISTINA AGUILERA TO SIGN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR DESIGNING DEAL WITH TOP SHOP

london - gu-uurrllll, i know i had the same reaction when i processed the headline above. so word on the street is my favorite bottle blond christina aguilera may be designing a line for top shop. this according to zoe griffin of the u.k's mirror newspaper, there are whispers that sir phillip green, who owns top shop, is quietly courting christina as his new style star.
apparently he loves her style and wants her to create a custom range to be sold along side kate moss's line at top shop. and what's he offering? allegedly four million pounds, which exchanges to something like six million u.s dollars. if this range where to launch - and i'd be very surprised if it did - do you think it would be successful!?


photos: top, christina aguilera, bottom, $ir phillip green, owner of top shop. source: mirror.co.uk