As fashion brands continue to reshuffle, Gucci Group veteran James McArthur is taking over as CEO of Anya Hindmarch. Hindmarch herself is stepping down from the position, and will serve as chairman and creative director of the brand. At Gucci, McArthur was instrumental in acquiring Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, and Stella McCartney. In his new position, the executive will be responsible for developing the Hindmarch brand and positioning on the global stage. [WWD]
Congrats to a tFS favorite, BagSnob, for their just-launched handbag collaboration with DKNY. In concert with the DKNY design team, the site developed and designed a tightly-edited collection of their “5 Essentials”: The Tote, The Travel, The Treasure, The Trendy, and The Clutch. The bags are priced from $265 (for The Clutch) to $565 (for The Travel). The BagSnob ladies have furnished each item with thoughtful, functional details: The Travel comes with a mirror in the outside compartment, “so you can primp before de-boarding,” and The Tote comes with insets for both an iPad and a MacBook. My personal favorite is the well-structured bag, The Treasure, with a bright yellow croc flap, and red handle and strap. See the pictures below. [BagSnob]
Because TV news anchors are going the way of print, our most beloved anchor people are stitching together some other career plans. Brian Williams, for one, has been stepping outside his comfort zone as a frequent, and beloved, cameo guest on 30 Rock. Now CNN’s Anderson Cooper is following in Williams’ footsteps with his own extracurricular gig: in a bit of inspired casting, the silver-haired fox is going to host this year’s CFDA awards on June 6. Cooper knows how to handle himself in a crisis (in a roomful of fashion people, crises are inevitable) and, as the son of Gloria Vanderbilt, has spent enough of his life air-kissing fashion people to get the in-jokes. Also: I’ve seen him biking around the city, and I can confirm that he’s got a great butt. [The Cut]
Britney Spears is very determined to be “back” and made her way onto the cover of this month’s Harper’s Bazaar. Wearing white, the pop star looks shiny and happy on the magazine’s cover, which makes me realize that unless the former Mickey Mouse Club star is shaving her head, making bad marriages, or pattering around gas station bathrooms shoeless, she’s really, really boring. In the accompanying interview, she insists that she’s “pretty normal…just like everybody else.” Sure, because we all have mega-hit pop-songs and swarms of paparazzi following us around. You’re nuts, and very different than everybody else: own it, and then we’ll let you come back. [Harper’s Bazaar]
