Buzz

J Brand has been setting its focus on its newly launched sportswear collection, and in doing so, it has made its Fall 2012 ad campaign its most expensive to date to try to generate some buzz. The brand budgeted well over a million dollars to include media buys in magazines like GQ, Vanity Fair, Love, and French Vogue.

The former creative director of Interview magazine, Karl Templer, was hired to art direct and style the campaign, and photographer Craig McDean was brought on to photograph models Suvi Koponen and Shaun DeWet. The ads are meant to project the confidence and subtle sexiness that J Brand wants associated with the company, but forum members didn’t seem all that impressed with them.

“I really like Suvi, but I don't like this ad,” wrote valliaddict. “Her complexion looks very weird contrasted with that background.”

TommyGirl posted, “Happy for my girl, but her skin truly looks BAD and the eye makeup is hideous, too.”

TREVOFASHIONISTO simply stated, “This is bad...”

I’m going to venture a guess that this is not the response J Brand is looking for. Maybe they should have hired a more expensive makeup artist?

Images: www.glossynewsstand.tumblr.com via the Fashion Spot forums.

Nicole Kidman arrived at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of her new film, The Paperboy, wearing a rosy diaphanous gown from Lanvin’s Spring 2012 collection. According to Boomer, “She's getting into that Elizabeth Hurley 'Looks As Hot As She Did Twenty Years Ago!' zone!!” I think he's got a point. Kidman looks incredible and knows how to work an elegant red carpet look.

“Absolutely gorgeous!” Not Plain Jane commented. “I love the color of this Lanvin gown, and Nicole's eyes are beautiful.”

Alicia753 called her a “true goddess.”

Forum members have for the most part been unimpressed by the styles worn at Cannes thus far, but Kidman is a standout.

Image: WENN.com

I'm not saying that Kim Kardashian didn't look great in the same midriff-baring Spring 2012 Emilio Pucci dress Gwyneth Paltrow wore to the 2011 Emmy Awards — she did! The reality star has really stepped up her style ever since she started dating the fashion-conscious Kanye West. Last night at Cannes was no different: Kardashian looked glamorous, sexy, and even tasteful. And it's a treat to see how well the garment works on the two very different women: Kardashian and Paltrow don't just have dissimilar figures, they're also polar opposites in terms of public persona.

Images via WENN

But Paltrow's Emmy look was one of the most talked about red carpet moments of the past year — did Kardashian really not know she was copy-catting? There are millions of other beautiful dresses in the world (even some from the same Pucci collection!) and if you're going to be one of the most-photographed women in the world, you could at least try to wear something less recognizable.

[via AmyGrindhouse]

Following on the heels of Vogue.com's successful livestream of the Met Gala earlier this month, another Conde Nast web property, Style.com, is gearing up to broadcast this year's CFDA Awards.

WWD reports that Style.com staffers will be documenting the June 4 ceremony via social media as it happens, but the broadcast itself won't be available online until the following day. The two-pronged approach seems designed to draw attention to the full spectrum of Style.com's online presence.

The broadcast will combine red carpet entrances (contributing editor Tim Blanks will appear carpet-side on the site's behalf), interviews, and "other exclusives."
I'm guessing that Style.com will mix in plenty of documentary footage from past awards: the website recently got access to the CFDA Awards' archives, and has been running highlights in anticipation of this year's ceremony.

Image via Style.com

Sorry about calling them "spawn." I was just trying to get your attention. "Progeny" seemed staid; "heaven-sent bundles of hope and joy" doesn't really work in a headline. 

Anyway, today we got some news updates concerning the procreative statuses of two of the world's top supermodels, Sasha Pivovarova and Gisele Bundchen.

First order of business: IMG Models posted the photo on the right to their Facebook page. That's Sasha P. holding her newborn infant, just over a week old and already a better smizer than anyone that's ever stepped foot on an America's Next Top Model set. The Moscow-born model chose to name her beam of baby bliss Mia Isis, weirdly. You know how unnatural it seems when a French person says "McDonalds?" It's the same thing with "Isis" in Russian — no rolling-off-the-tongue happening with that name.

Second item: megamodel Gisele Bundchen may or may not be pregnant with her second tender babe. According to the Brazilian magazine Época, the model shared the news with Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci (he dressed her for the Met Gala). On the other hand, her spokesperson refused to comment on the rumors and — more importantly — baby bump aficionados haven't observed any noticeable changes to her figure.

I'm watching developments closely, so stay tuned for updates.

Image via IMG Models Facebook

[via IMG Models Facebook, Daily Mail]

• Kirsten Stewart wears the world's printy-est pants. [FabSugar]
   
• If you like cats and also like eye makeup, the cat eye is an obvious beauty choice. Cameron Diaz concurs. [BellaSugar]
   
• Ryan Gosling isn't ready to move in with Eva Mendes because he's secretly in love with me. [Earsucker]
   
• Want to buy a role in Karl Lagerfeld's film? The only thing stopping you is that there's no way you could afford it. [Fashionologie]
   
• Snooki is having a baby boy and he's going to grow up to be a great person and do great things. [DailyStab]
   
• Based on the trailer, The Great Gatsby will be an over-produced travesty, and I can't wait to see it. [HollywoodDame]

Image via Ian Wilson/WENN.com

Oy vey Lindsey Wixson. If I could give young women all across the world one piece of advice, it would probably be: stop worrying so much about what other people think of you. But if I could give a second piece of advice, it would definitely be: don't make-out in front of Terry Richardson.

Your favorite creeper dropped what he was doing (stalking Lady Gaga across Asia) to photograph the young model making out with a mysterious boy named "Connor" in a park at night. It's fa-fa-fa-FASHION because Wixson's wearing an entire tube's worth of red lipstick, which she edgily smears across her admirer's face. It's pretty gross. If you've ever wondered why they call it "eating face" look no further.

So, who's the lucky so-and-so that gets to make-out with a supermodel? One Mr. Connor Lang has been Tweeting plenty of screenshots showing off video chats with his make-out buddy. The face in the Terry pictures matches the ones in the screenshots, and Wixon's been retweeting some of his posts. 

Tumblr user conostumlyyr has also put up a few photos of the model, eating gelato and looking pretty in Milan. One of the tags on these items reads "Connor Lang photography."

So Connor Lang appears to be an aspiring photographer and maybe even filmmaker living in New York. How does Wixson know him? Like Richardson, I'm a little bit of a creeper: according to Facebook, Lang's family lives in Wichita, Kansas, the model's hometown. Were they high school sweethearts? Each other's boy/girl-next-door? Getting to imagine their shared past makes this photo series, which would otherwise be really disturbing, kind of sweet.

Still, maybe there are better places to make-out than in front of Richardson's camera lens.

[via Terry's Diary]

The Duchess of Cambridge fever truly set in internationally upon the release of the official promotional material reporting her engagement to Prince William. If we cast our minds back, the first thing which we all probably recall is her stunning blue ISSA dress. Remember how so many fans wanted to emulate her style that the dress immediately sold out, and then, even the high street went crazy trying to produce similar inspired pieces for less? Then, at the end of last year, the dress was brought back to the forefront of our fashion consciousness when ISSA recreated five more of the previously discontinued dresses as part of online fashion week. If that wasn’t enough to render the dress as one of the most memorable in history, it’s also featured on the official Kate wax work at the infamous Madame Tussauds in London.

Pippa Middleton: Copy Cat

Bearing all of this in mind, why on earth Pippa Middleton, would you knowingly buy the same style ISSA dress to wear to your friend’s wedding? Admiring your sister’s style and borrowing her clothes is one thing, but actually going out and buying an almost identical version of such an infamous dress, knowing full well that you’re more than likely going to get photographed is, well, perhaps just a little too attention seeking. What will you be wearing next, her wedding dress?

Nevertheless, Pippa did look rather nice in the red version of the dress whilst at the wedding of her friend who she used to go to University with. She teamed it with the almost obligatory English wedding flowery fascinator, a clutch purse, and some black heels. Unfortunately for Pippa though, the outfit was missing that blinging zillion pound engagement rock which Kate cleverly matched to her version of the dress. 

Images: WENN.com, Daniel Deme/WENN.com