That takes some balls. Zara has taken over the lease of the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street which is 32,000 square feet of prime Manhattan commercial real-estate. The deal only cost the retail chain $400 million. Zara had to take over the lease of the NBA Store which still had a few years left on it. They’re gonna need to sell a whole lot of knockoff designer footwear to recover those benjamins.

Here is a first look at Vivenne Westwood’s new eco-friendly, paganism-inspired Get a Life Palladium Jewelry Collection, with Christina Hendricks as the face of the line.

Christina states, “I love that there are dramatic pieces such as the tiara and the heart necklace as well as more simple pieces such as the acorn earrings. As palladium is a naturally white metal, the pieces really sparkle under the lights and I cannot wait to wear them on the red carpet!”

Vogue Italia cast a bevy of black models in its “Black Allure” spread, which hits newsstands in the glossy’s February issue. Ajak Deng, Chanel Iman, Arlenis Sosa Pena, Jourdan Dunn, Melodie Monrose, Lais Ribeiro, Rose Cordero, Mia Aminata Niaria, Sessilee Lopez, Joan Smalls and Georgie Baddiel all strike a pose in the latest Versace, Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton, Lanvin and Dior.

Editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani blogged on the topic of diversity in modeling last week, writing:
There isn’t a problem and it’s not a problem in fashion either. There is no discrimination. I’ve explained many times this argument in my posts, in December for example when the Washington Post mentioned Vogue and Vogue.it as a publication that cares for black girls, and comparing the great success of Eastern models to the lack of black models in the industry. Prejudice? Absolutely not.
Iman, Naomi, Liya Kebede, Alec Wek and many others are a proof. Lazyness in the research or scouting? This yes. No other reason.
We continue to give it more space in the magazine and website. The truth is that real beauty doesn’t care for skin color or nationality.

POSTED BY: MARIO UNCUT

Boys of Milan & Paris FW2011 from Justin Wu on Vimeo.

Christian Louboutin custom makes anything for you. The shoe designer will be creating a pair of skates exclusively for Johnny Weir. “I love me some red soles,” he said last night at a live Martha Stewart Living Radio broadcast at Sirius. Oh that Johnny B Good.

Christian Louboutin has custom made shoes for celebs before including; Suri, Lady Gaga, and Dita Von Teese.

Bound More Than A Madman Is from cara stricker on Vimeo.

We don’t think we’ve formally introduced you to model of the moment Andrej Pejic…the male model of the moment, that is. With his long blond locks and soft features, the 19-year-old Serbian-turned-Australian is in high demand this season — walking runways for John Galliano and Paul Smith, and shooting ads for Marc Jacobs (one of which was just released; see below) and Jean Paul Gaultier.