Remnants

• Amazon buys Zappos, gives press the boot (Gawker)
• The chambermaid wears Prada (Financial Times)
• Esteban Cortazar leaves Ungaro (BlackBook)
• Launch My Line features familiar faces (Los Angeles Times)
• The newest celebrity fashion statement: bald is beautiful (All The Rage)
• Lily Allen launches jewelry line (People)
• The Obama Effect: Chicago turns “Milan of the Midwest” (AP)
• Conde Nast assistants pitted against one another (Gawker)

Debate Over Potential Copyright Legislation Rages On

From Reuters:

A proposed new law that would extend copyright protection to clothing has designers in an uproar and threatens to widen a rift in the American fashion industry.

For Maria Cornejo, whose Zero + Maria Cornejo label is a favorite of First Lady Michelle Obama, the Design Piracy Prohibition Act (DPPA) would protect her work for three years from knock-offs.

It would also put the United States on par with Europe and Japan where fashion has strong copyright protection.

Like other independent designers in America, where labels and logos are protected by trademark but clothing designs aren’t, Cornejo says her work has been copied.

But Isabel Toledo, creator of Michelle Obama’s inauguration outfit, fears the DPPA could widen the rift between the fashion and apparel industries - and leave consumers with fewer options.

The DPPA, which is pending in the U.S. Senate, aims to protect independent designers from companies that copy their work. If would require U.S. designers to register their designs for a fee in exchange for limited copyright protection.

The two most prominent U.S. fashion associations have come down on opposite sides of the bill, creating a split in the industry.

The fashion industry’s ambiguity over DPPA is for good reason; while few designers would willingly have their work knocked off, there can sometimes be a “fast and loose” quality to the industry that doesn’t always lend itself to the organization nor the liquid assets necessary to file all the copyright paperwork and sue violators if necessary.

There is also a staggering amount of grey area when it comes to establishing whether or not one design is overly reminiscent of another. Sure, the Louis Vuittons hanging around in Chinatown are clearly not the originals, but designers, like so many other artists, are frequently influenced by the work of their contemporaries. Legislating the nuances of apparel design seems an impossible feat.

Remnants

• Sarah Palin: a fashion retrospective (Huffington Post)
• Uncertain future for haute couture (NY Times)
• Agyness Deyn is like, totally bored with fashion (Gawker)
• Retailers do more with less (WWD)
• Urban Outfitters ethics survey is unintentionally hilarious (Jezebel)
• Design houses go back to basics (NY Times)
• Dolce & Gabbana publicist the ex-girlfriend from hell? (Gawker)
• Spinoff chains struggle in bad economy (Washington Post)

Remnants

• Jean-Paul Gaultier says economic crisis should inspire haute couture (Reuters)
• Is J. Crew capitalizing on the Obama girls? (MSNBC)
• Ashley Olsen to trade acting for fashion? (Star)
• Burani Fashion Group to license Giambattista Valli’s designs (Wall Street Journal)
• Karl Lagerfeld is unimpressed with Audrey Tatou (WWD)
• More Marion Cotillard Dior ads (People)
• Rachel Zoe wants to tell you how to live (BravoFan)
• Is Christian Lacroix now a misfit in the couture business? (Wall Street Journal)

Remnants

• Manorexics beware: men’s skinny jeans aren’t going anywhere fast (Wall Street Journal)
• Kanye West rumored to intern at Gap (InStyle UK)
• Christy Turlington the new face of YSL (Telegraph)
• Madonna’s haute couture stage costumes (People)
• Patricia Field talks life and SATC (The Daily Mirror)
• Eco-friendly fashion gaining traction in Argentina (CNN)
• Reading between the lines of Jenny Sanford’s wardrobe (Washington Post)
• Typecasting: the skinny glutton (Jezebel)

Remnants

• Herve Leger’s cutout dress makes the rounds (Dlisted)
• The all-American look…from Japan (NY Times)
• A look at Bruno’s style (Baltimore Sun)
• First Lady fashion in the UK (Daily Press)
• Nicole Richie talks House of Harlow (People)
• Lily Cole beats the model stereotype by acing first year at Cambridge (Daily Mail)
• France to study burqa wear (Huffington Post)
• NYC fashion puts on a brave face (NY Times)

Remnants

• Rodarte and Michelle Obama the big winners at the CFDA Awards (Associated Press)
• Why can’t Gisele sell magazines? (Gawker)
• Katy Perry sues Australian fashion designer Katie Perry (MTV)
• Chuck Bass turns GQ fashion model (People)
• Geek chic: the return of the digital watch (Guardian)
• In a crumbling economy, what will become of Resort collections? (New York Times)
• Isabel Toledo reflects on success (Wall Street Journal)
• Somewhere there’s a joke to be made: Narciso Rodriguez to design Claire Danes’ wedding dress (People)