Jane Mayle To Design At Chloe?

The rumors floating around are that Jane Mayle is on the short list to take the head design post at Chloe, which has been casting about for a new leader since Phoebe Philo resigned to spend more time with her family. Mayle, whose quirkily elegant eponymous line has fans like Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead (one of my own personal style heroines), would be a perfect fit, with a keen vintage-inspired aesthetic and talent for recasting the old as newly inspiring. But reading this article makes me wonder if it's really true - or even if I want it to be true. I can remember Mayle's work going as far back as the Phare days, when I would wander into their shop and Mayle was a warm and welcoming presence, dressed in perfectly cut trousers and a nonchalantly elegant top. It was a rite of passage at the time for the New York girl to scrimp and save to buy that sort of perfectly womanly blouse you could find at Phare (and I still have mine.) While there's a strong sense of sophistication that would translate well to Chloe, I like Mayle's independence and obvious intelligence. It would be a shame for New York to lose her!

The Most Influential People In Fashion (According to New York Magazine)

Have any of you checked out New York Magazine's The Influentials List, particularly the listing for fashion? Naturally the list is very New York-centric, and the usual suspects are on it: Anna Wintour, Julie Gilhart of Barneys, Marc Jacobs and many, many more. (We were stoked to see Kim France, editor-in-chief of Lucky, on the list, as we are always psyched to see Sassy ladies done good.) There's an emphasis on the media and capitalism of fashion, as fits the magazine, but I realized what struck me as odd and slightly deficient is not really having one stylist on it. Their names may occasionally be in the fine print of a fashion editorial instead of front-and-center on mastheads, but there's no less huge in fashion, whether they be as liaisons to celebrities or picking up and transmitting street trends in their magazine work. In a postmodernity with increasing consumer choice and an almost bewildering set of visual aesthetics to cherrypick from, stylists are key in how fashion lives in the everyday. After all, the other editor who I can think of who could arguably wield as much influence as Anna Wintour - the fearsomely chic Carine Roitfeld, editor of Vogue Paris - was a stylist.

Topshop Eyes New York for Flagship

It's the top story in today's WWD: Topshop is currently feeling out plans to open a flagship store here in New York, opening possibly as soon as next spring. I can pretty much already hear all the "aiieeeyyyyeeeeesss!!!!" and can see the crowds at the door on opening day if this were to actually happen; anyone who follows fashion is familiar with the fast-fashion chain, famed for its trendy designs and quick turnover. Topshop is taking its time and carefully planning its expansion, but sites are already being looked at (and rejected) all over Manhattan. And if you can't wait that long, apparently Topshop's website will be fully international by the middle of June. Okay ladies, now you can freak out.