>> Although earlier reports suggested that the 2009 Costume Institute Gala might be an ode to Marc Jacobs, now sources are saying it will explore the concept of the fashion muse. 

A spokeswoman for the Costume Institute declined comment when asked about details, but can you imagine an exhibit on everyone from Talitha Getty and Denise Poiret to Sofia Coppola and Lady Amanda Harlech?  Definitely a worthy subject.

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Designer Yves Saint Laurent passed away this Sunday at the age of 71. More coverage will obviously follow on Coutorture but we figured it should be in the round up. Reuters, CNN, The Guardian, The BBC, The International Herald Tribune, and the AP report.

Bergdorf Goodman Men unveiled their largest shop in shop in their retail history with a 1,600 Tom Ford boutique.

British denim line Lee Cooper is turning one hundred.

Proenza Schouler and Vicini SpA home of Giuseppe Zanotti are teaming up for a larger Proenza Schouler shoe offering and WWD finally has a photo to show off! Proenza Schouler shoes will retail for an average of $685, with pieces beginning in the $300s up to $3,000.

Fashion sucks in Washington D.C. Well, at least the respective Ann and Annes (Taylor and Klein) still battle it out there.
Just buy one great dress. Really! OK and lots of accessories to go with it to make it special.

Elie Tahari is launching a costume jewelry line.The Elie Tahari Empire Collection will be available in smoke, diamond and ruby hues. It will be sold at Elie Tahari's six boutiques in the U.S., as well as at Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. The pieces will retail at around $400.

>> It has already been well-reported that Sarah Jessica Parker wore the same Nina Ricci dress to the New York Sex and the City premiere last week as Vogue contributing editor and socialite Lauren Santo Domingo wore to the Costume Insitute Gala on May 5. 

More interesting, however, is the story behing the mix-up — as Cathy Horyn reports, both Nina Ricci designer Olivier Theyskens and Mario Grauso, the president of the fashion division at Puig, which owns Nina Ricci, assured SJP that the gown had not been worn in anything but magazine shoots.  When she came to find out that wasn't the case, she felt deceived:

In the big picture, this is not important, but there is a relationship between the entertainment industry and fashion . . . my affection for the dress hasn’t changed, but what they did was so short-sighted. It’s just unethical and disappointing that they would allow the dress to be worn again.

Parker says she mentioned to Olivier during the fitting that she was surprised the dress hadn't already been worn:

He didn’t say, ‘Well, actually I just escorted Lauren down the red carpet at the Met.’  I just wish it had been handled differently and they had been straight about it.

When Cathy asked Grauso for a response, he of course said, "I’m upset that she’s upset.”  But then he went on to fumble for excuses — he clearly knew that Lauren had worn the dress to an event before, because he said he had no reason to mention Santo Domingo:

'Is Lauren a celebrity?  It depends on how you look at it.' He said he and Theyskens mainly thought of her as a friend. He then asked—somewhat incredulously, I thought—“Does everybody look at Style.com?'

A bad move on Nina Ricci's part, especially when they were just becoming red carpet gold.  I wonder what Anna Wintour, who so strongly favors Olivier, thinks about it?

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>> Legendary couturier Yves Saint Laurent passed away Sunday evening at his home following a long battle with brain cancer, joined in his final moments by his longtime business partner Pierre Berge and muse Betty Catroux. 

Although it is well-known that he has been in ill health for a while now — he had been bedridden recently and was admitted to a Paris hospital last week in a coma — the death still comes as a shock, especially because it marks the end of a generation that made Paris the fashion capital of the world. 

Thank you, M. Saint Laurent, for all of your contributions, including Le Smoking, the trapeze dress, and safari jackets, and rest in peace.

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