Beauty Marks

SKIN
• Gisele Bündchen will launch an ecofriendly line of skin-care products next week named Sejaa Pure Skincare. The products contain all-natural ingredients, and the packaging is made from recycled paper.
• Spring Spa Week is April 12 to April 18, when 800 spas across the country will offer discount treatments. The full list of participating spas, organized by city, is available now online, and you can begin booking appointments today.

HAIR
• Former Spice Girl Mel B shaved her head halfway. Do you like her new look?

PLASTIC SURGERY
• A new book about Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt by Jenny Paul claims that the actress had a nose job and laser eye surgery when she was younger. But, the lips? Those, the author says, are real.

MAKEUP
• Sephora will launch several exclusive products this spring: Mineral Flowers perfume and Plants & Co. skin care will only be available in Europe to start, while two palettes by Edun (the company owned by Bono's wife, Ali Hewson) will launch in May in the U.S.
• Adam Lambert upped the ante on his guyliner look by dabbing glitter all over his face and hair for a performance in Tokyo over the weekend.

NAILS
• Essie will launch its resort collection in May, which will include four new ocean-inspired colors like Turquoise & Caicos (aqua), Lapis of Luxury (ocean blue), Playa Del Platinum (sandy gray), and Splash of Grenadine (magenta).

FRAGRANCE
• Esprit will launch a new duo of fragrances for men and women named Imagine.

Loose Threads

• A|X Armani Exchange hired Taylor Jacobson to be a visual consultant and fashion expert for the opening of the company's new concept store on Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles.

• Bulgari suffered a net loss of $65.4 million in 2009, compared to a profit of $82.9 million in 2008.

• Yves Carcelle, chairman and chief executive officer of Louis Vuitton, is proud of his Facebook status: "If you look at Facebook for instance, we are the luxury brand that has the biggest number of friends by far. Close to a million people in the world have declared themselves friends of Louis Vuitton. We use Twitter. We are actually working very strongly on revamping completely the platform of our Web site so in the next few months the Web site will become even more interesting and interactive. We think that it’s a brand new area that opens to luxury and it’s like any new technology. It can be poorly done or it can be a fantastic way of developing a whole universe around who you are."

• A documentary about Vidal Sassoon's journey from a London orphanage to hairstyling superstardom will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 23.

• The location that used to be the Emanuel Ungaro store on Madison Avenue is rumored to become a Michael Kors store.

• Nun-inspired outfits are a trend for fall.

• Miss J. Alexander on celebrity designers: "I know some of these people. I've worked with them. My biggest problem is if you're going to hire a celebrity to design a line and if they don't know what they are doing, then they need to hire the right person to sketch and oversee the line. It's an insult to the fashion industry for people who have studied this craft, researched it, traveled the world looking for inspiration compared to someone who just pulls something out of their closet and changes the color." On doing his own fashion line: "I may do something. It's what I wanted to do growing up. I think I'd design for teenage girls. Pieces that look high couture and not like old ladies or prostutarts."

Madonna to Launch Lourdes-Inspired Juniors’ Line at Macy’s

Madonna just signed a giant fashion deal that will enable her to have hands in multiple existing brands as well as start new ones. Along with her manager, Guy Oseary, she forms MG Icon with brand-management firm Iconix, which owns labels like Candie's and Rampage along with stakes in other labels, such as Ed Hardy. Madonna and Guy (the "G" in "MG Icon," which surprisingly doesn't stand for "Material Girl Icon") will own a 50 percent stake in the company while Iconix owns the other half.

This new deal should enable Madonna, whose control-freak tendencies are said to have gotten in the way of fashion and beauty deals in the past, to finally get a fragrance off the ground. She could also endorse labels like Danskin and always-scary Jersey Shore favorite Ed Hardy. But this doesn't just mean she'll wear the stuff: Control freak that she is, "she'd probably be involved in design, photo shoots, everything," says the CEO of Iconix.
But before she can straddle "the Situation" in a music video (Jesus who?), she's rolling out a juniors' lifestyle collection for Macy's, inspired by her 13-year-old daughter Lourdes. The line will start with apparel, footwear, handbags, and jewelry ranging in price from $12 to $40 and will hit stores in time for back-to-school.

Lourdes is heavily involved in the line, and goes to design meetings with Macy's executives, such as chief merchandising officer Jeff Gennette. "Lourdes has an incredible sense of style," he told WWD. No details on what the line will actually look like have been provided. But we're imagining something along the lines of a cross between Rampage, Ed Hardy, Topshop, and Madonna's signature bustiers:

Loose Threads

• American Eagle Outfitters finally decided to shut down its Martin + Osa division by this summer.

• J.Crew posted a $40.4 million profit in the fourth quarter ending on January 30.

• Burberry is suing the company that owns T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods for allegedly selling counterfeit goods and for trademark infringement.

• Christian Siriano's limited-edition talon heels for Payless, which models wore in his spring 2010 show, are now available online only for $79.99 a pair.

• Cheap Monday signed Ann-Sofie Back as creative director in 2009. Her first full collection will drop for spring 2011, but she designed capsule collections for spring and fall 2010. The spring stuff is already available.

• Liberty of London's 300-item Target line launches Sunday.

• Converse and Blondie are reportedly collaborating on sneakers.

Critics Clash Over Dior’s Equestrian Conceit, Critique YSL’s ‘Sexless’ Looks

The latest reviews are in from Paris, yielding both high praise and snarky critiques. The critics were evenly divided on Dior's gauzy gowns and equestrian get-ups, grappling with their originality and wearability. They adored Celine's precise, complete collection, deeming it beautiful in its simplicity. And they grappled with YSL's unintentionally nunlike show, with its all-black capes and schoolmarm feel.

Christian Dior
The critics were divided on the success of Dior's equestrian-inspired fall collection. Some, like Godfrey Deeny of Fashion Wire Daily, loved it. He called it "a brilliant exposition of racy romanticism at its best," and a reminder that Paris is where one can "truly witness design imagination, remarkable finish and production élan." WWD agreed, declaring it "fun, fetishistic and Galliano in top form." Suzy Menkes thought it was one of Galliano's best Dior collections: "sophisticated, sensual and subtle." But others were unimpressed by the equestrian theme, which felt tired and overdone. "A half-dozen different romance novelists could have conceived a juicier plot," huffed Cathy Horyn of the Times. She called the show uninspired, adding that "we've seen most of these clothes before." Style.com echoed her critiques, noting that the abundance of georgette dresses "tipped it at times too far in the direction of the things Galliano does in his own collection." And others doubted the wearability of the clothes in the real world. "Had we walked onto the set of a Victoriana horror film?" asked British Vogue. "[T]he Dior woman lives — and dresses for — a fairytale." While the former may have been meant as a compliment, The Wall Street Journal was less kind. Though it allowed that the "extraordinary" workmanship was obvious, "it’s not as clear who else can wear the clothes that Dior showed today ... We don’t drape ourselves across couches in our powder rooms, and we don’t ride horses in leather coats and silk dresses." In the end, "this amounts to a collection aimed largely at advertising," it concluded.

Celine
The critics heaped praise on Phoebe Philo's black-and-white, stripped-down collection. "Precise" was the adjective of choice for many. "We got a lesson in chic understatement," assessed Godfrey Deeny of Fashion Wire Daily, touting Celine's "remarkable ride through the recession." British Vogue found the collection "even more desirable" than last season, asserting that the "lack of distraction" put due emphasis on the graphic shapes and clean lines; WWD agreed that "with everything unfettered, there was nothing to distract from Philo’s clear vision." Many lauded the wide range of the collection. "At a stroke, it carried the wholeness, simplicity, and confidence of a definitive look, perfectly judged and attainable," gushed Style.com. Cathy Horyn of the Times was the lone dissenter, suggesting that the clothes "may just be a little too severe" and that the collection as a whole (while terrific in parts) "didn’t feel satisfyingly her." But in the end, most proclaimed the show a stark success. "This was 21st-century fashion for a woman, by a woman, with all the confident modernity and emotional understanding that implies," concluded Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune.

Yves St. Laurent
YSL's restrained, severe show puzzled the critics. Though many detected a religious tone in the nunlike habit hats and black capes, designer Stefano Pilati insisted that he meant no such allusion. (The assertion led Style.com to remark that "this collection was sometimes tricky to fathom.") "His designs projected the strictness of a schoolmarm," noted Cathy Horyn of the Times, adding, "[Y]ou expected Sister Mary Margaret to come swooping down the runway and rap you on the knuckles with a ruler." Though it called the show "daring" and "luxurious," British Vogue agreed: "[F]or the most part this show had sexuality thoroughly suppressed ... These were scary headmistresses whose sense of humour was well disguised." Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune called it "mesmerizing ... chic and sleek," but she didn't profess to enjoy herself. "[T]here was something disconcerting about this sobriety sorority, so resolutely dressed in black and with even a bared arm covered with a long glove." Deeny agreed with the sentiment. "While elegant and frequently striking, the collection did seem a big step for YSL, as the founder was arguably more known for his seductive clothing," he concluded. The Wall Street Journal praised Pilati for taking risks, but noted that the uneven hemlines were "eyecatching but not particularly flattering." Like the others, WWD felt he took the grave effect too far, calling it "dated and sexless," and "a nun's story minus Audrey Hepburn." "[T]here’s a line between modest and monastic, which Pilati crossed all too literally," it decided.

Atelier Cologne

Some of the coolest products launch at Bergdorf Goodman, so it was fitting for new perfume line Atelier Cologne to debut their counter in the already jam-packed beauty department last week. Sylvie Ganter (formerly of Hermès Parfums and Fresh) wanted to create a line of meticulously crafted, extremely concentrated unisex colognes that told a story. The end results are five intense scents that made me tingle.

Here are five reasons why I love them:
1. Orange Sanguine is an amazing blend of blood orange, jasmine, and tonka beans.
2. The scents truly last all day, but manage to not overpower.
3. Unlike some brands that spend most of their budget on a fancy bottle, most of the money went toward what matters most — the juice.
4. The cost is justified by the hefty 200 milliliter bottle.
5. Sylvie Ganter has been toying with the idea of the line for about a decade, and the incredible amount of thought and time translates to the fragrances.

Homeless-"Chic"

A homeless man in China has developed an Internet following of thousands who admire his "good looks" and "bohemian dress sense," the Independent reports. The man lives in Ningbo, and is referred to on the net as "Beggar Prince," "Handsome Vagabond," and, most commonly, "Brother Sharp." One commenter wrote in response to a picture comparing him to a look from the latest Dolce & Gabbana show:

"Look at him wrinkle his brow ... nothing needs to be said ... sexy ... "

And another:
"He doesn't really look like a beggar, more like a vagabond. The quality of this person's tops are all not bad, a down jacket, cotton jacket, even a leather jacket inside, and though they're a bit dirty, they're all in good condition, not the kind that beggars find from the trash."

After Erin Wasson and the Sartorialist praised homeless style, someone like Brother Sharp becoming an Internet fashion sensation was probably only a matter of time. And it's still beyond awkward, not to mention disturbing:

Brother Sharp is said to appear mentally disturbed when approached on the street.

Some say he's a college graduate who lost his mind after his girlfriend left him. Apparently some bloggers who tried to help him wrote that he'd cry out without speaking when approached. If they like the homeless look so much, Ke$ha would probably love the attention.

Loose Threads

• Aquascutum's womenswear designer, Michael Herz, and menswear designer Graeme Fidler both resigned from the label. They are moving on to focus on other projects and will be replaced in the future.

• Coach is suing Kmart for illegal counterfeiting, claiming that Kmart used its four-C pattern on luggage.

• Look at Julius Gerhardt on the cover of Japanese Men's Vogue! And the white garbage he's wearing!

• The custom Armani dress Lady Gaga wore to the Grammys is now on display at the Fifth Avenue Armani store.

• Taking inspiration from Chanel's barnyard runway, London's Selfridges constructed a barn within the store to showcase the new Chanel collection.

• The topless Eva Mendes campaign, also starring Jamie Dornan, is back on the Calvin Klein billboard on Houston Street in Soho.

Milan Fashion Week Review NYT Style

Does Cathy Horyn ever have a good time at Milan Fashion Week? In September she said the best part of the spring shows was leaving on the train with her very own bottle of Tuscan red. Yet another season just passed in Milan, and again, the clothes left her with a lot to drink off. The Times fashion critic writes:

The fall shows here, now that they’re over, were a lot like an alcohol-free version of “The Lost Weekend,” the 1945 Ray Milland film. What would that be like? An eternity of bad clothes crammed into four days with editors raging like shut-ins about the lack of fun (“Help, I need a drink!”) and the blogger Bryanboy announcing on Twitter that he had scored a free fur jacket from Dolce & Gabbana.

Not only is she fed up with the clothes and front-row bloggers, she seems irked by the industry's attempt to globally expand by way of hotels.

Although Italy continues to pump out beautiful leather goods and well-made clothes, like the dashing coats at MaxMara, which topped anything in Milan with their authority, it seems in many ways a country of reduced expectations. You hear a lot of people here, including designers, refer to “a TV culture,” as if the bright bimbo tackiness on the tube has leached into Italy’s creative soil.

But what if it has? Big houses like Giorgio Armani can’t expect to reach around the globe, putting down hotels with little GA soaps and towels, without more thrust than yesterday’s understated pantsuit. “Times change and change brings with it a new concept of chic,” read the notes for Mr. Armani’s show. That meant coats in a slouchy patchwork of black and white fur, day skirts in swirly charmeuse with square-shoulder pinstriped jackets, and colors like coral red and Tibetan orange. “TV-bright,” as Saul Bellow would put it? You bet.

She's right — it is annoying to think about a Giorgio Armani hotel. But only because imagining the people who decide they need to sleep in a Giorgio Armani bed, and eat Giorgio Armani continental breakfast, and clean their ears with Giorgio Armani Q-tips — and other parts with Giorgio Armani toilet paper — makes the brain hurt a thousand times worse than a night out at this city's "elite" scary nightlife cave of sleaze, Provocateur. But maybe Italy isn't just lacking, well, a certain sensibility — maybe it's also lacking Tom Ford:

Six years after Tom Ford bowed out at Gucci, a glass of Scotch in hand, Italian fashion hasn’t recovered its magic and energy yet.

Is she not afraid that, before Tom Ford delivers the promised, highly anticipated womenswear line, he'll decide he wants to build a Tom Ford hotel? He made a movie. He could just as easily decide to dabble in real-estate development.

Loose Threads

• Tommy Hilfiger's main owner, Apax Partners, is reportedly shopping the label. It may go public or be sold to another private-equity firm.

• A second shipment of +J stock is expected to arrive at Uniqlo on Thursday. Uniqlo also announced collaborative lines with Japanese designers zechia, Han Ahn Soon, suzuki takayuki, G.V.G.V., mintdesigns, mother, and fur fur.

• A recent fire at a clothing factory in Bangladesh killed 21 people and injured 50. At the time of the fire, the company was working through the night to fulfill orders for H&M. A British charity had previously warned the factory about fire concerns.

• LIFE magazine photographed 15-year-old Miu Miu face Lindsey Wixson as she worked at New York Fashion Week.

• The Project Runway video game comes out today.

• Starting this fall, Macy's will be the exclusive department-store vendor of Kenneth Cole's Reaction line.

• LVMH filed a trademark-infringement lawsuit against Hyundai Motor Co., accusing it of using a Vuitton-like monogram in its commercials that aired during the Super Bowl.

• Dan Abrams's style site, Styleite.com, will launch on March 15.

• Model Natalia Vodianova, who opened and closed Alexander Wang's fall 2010 runway show, wore boots from the line for a television appearance recently.

• The AKOO billboard in Newark, New Jersey, will be taken down. The date is unspecified.

ALT a "Twit"?

Last week, Vogue's André Leon Talley and Grace Coddington said any Facebook or Twitter accounts under their names were "fraudulent" and "bogus." They then explained that they avoid such crap social networking because they represent Vogue, and Vogue is all about quality, and anything that can be done in seconds is the opposite of quality. However, according to Diane Von Furstenberg's Twitter, that talk inspired Talley, a sometime blogger himself, to join Twitter and see what this newfangled Internet medium is all about. Today he's got a feel-good vibe going: "Love yourself today. Give a smile to your fellow man. Love you, then you can love others," he tweets, as though he's never ridden a subway.

The best thing about this news might be that the fake ALT with almost 1,300 followers who once tweeted, "@Gracecoddington grace honey sorry i went out for a quick tea with Vera im on my way now," looks quite silly — and will undoubtedly look more so when everyone un-follows him to make room for the real ALT.