Recently some unflattering and downright vicious words from Leon Verres to Anna Wintour have been making rounds in the blogosphere. Verres†brand, named after himself, created T-shirts that say “F*ck Vogue, F*ck Anna, F*ck You.” {Fashionista} Leon Verres also released a press statement with the following passage:

“Anna Wintour and her Vogue have been taken the fashionistas for fools for many years. She presents perfectly styled Hollywood stars in luxurious outfits and declares that to be the new trend. Besides that I do not know anyone with common sense who considers such extravagantly styled fashion-zombies attractive, with its costly produced pseudo trends the Vogue only attends on an elitist minority of the fashion world, which is out of touch with reality and dieing out. To sum it up. The American Vogue has become obsolete as style authority long ago!”

Fashionista is right to point out that, while some of his rant is at least partially true, Anna has been an overall positive force in the fashion industry. To be sure, Anna does use her position to declare trends, but why shouldnâ€t someone who has worked her way to the top of fashion be able to influence what people wear? Perhaps Vogue isn’t exactly inclusive for the average consumer, but the magazine is still respected as the standard for mass market fashion magazines.

Plenty of people in fashion will jump to Annaâ€s defense, so letâ€s address a few way bigger problems with Verres†press release and vulgar T-shirts.

The first is the compromising position Verres may be placing himself in by insulting Anna. She is, as Verres says himself, a very powerful figure in the industry and a man with a fashion brand bearing his name does not do well to piss off the editor in chief of all fashion. Not to mention, while Verres has tried to used the t-shirt as a statement of support for fashion bloggers, most fashion bloggers still have a good deal of respect for the Vogue editrix. {Stylelite}

Problem 2 is the “F*ck You” on the T-shirt. Verres and whoever wears these T-shirts are entitled to their opinions about Anna and Vogue, but is it really necessary to walk around offending every single person you see? As much as we love fashion blogs and the people behind them, Danny Roberts’ blogger t-shirts for Forever 21 {The Skinny} were a much classier way to make a statement – and frankly, much more attractive.

Finally, the most annoying and unsettling part of this all is Verres†grammar. That press release is a mess: “Anna Wintour and her Vogue have been taken the fashionistas for fools”? A comma, rather than a period, after “…fashion-zombies attractive” to separate two full sentences? Really Verres? He seems so passionate, angry and determined to wage a war against Anna and Vogue, but obviously a proofreader was unable or unwilling to join the crusade. While Vogue’s audience may not be buying the magazine for the articles, bad grammar is a surefire way to guarantee no one will take you seriously.

Condé Nast closed the doors on Gourmet last October, but President of Consumer Marketing for Condé Nast Robert Sauerberg said the brand was never completely shut down.

“By focusing on a new way to meet consumer needs, tap into our deep branding, and approach our content differently, we came up with a product that re-imagines Gourmet and revalues engagement,” CEO Chuck Townsend said. “We are extremely pleased with the magazine apps we have developed as part of our R&D efforts, however Gourmet Live is profoundly different. We approached this like a tech company, utilizing the rich assets of a media company, keeping Condé Nast at the forefront of content innovation.”

He said Gourmet Live aims to attract a younger, Web-savvy audience in addition to previous readers of Gourmet magazine.

Gourmet Live adds a twist to the future of magazines. Previously, it was commonly agreed upon that the future of magazines was on the Internet, but individual apps are a relatively new development.

What is most interesting is Townsendâ€s statement that a technological approach was taken. He also said Gourmet Live is “not a magazine and itâ€s not a digital version of a magazine.” What is it then? If other magazines choose to follow the same path, will the word magazine and/or our current idea of what that is become obsolete in the future? We also worry about the quality of the content for such apps if technology is considered foremost in development, though the bright side is the potential for struggling publications to find new footing in the digital realm.

Memorial director Uwe Neumarker explains that permission to use the location is granted “only to projects which are related to the memorial, the Holocaust or some aspect of commemoration” — guidelines which the fashion shoot failed to comply with.

EasyJet is currently reviewing its contract with Ink Publishing, the company responsible for the editorial.  Although we’re sure neither EasyJet nor Ink intended to offend, it reminds us how important it is to stay aware of how our actions may possibly affect others.

Read the full story {The Huffington Post}

Falcon is, and (in her own words) always will be “the biggest girl in the room” — and in the fashion world, that’s a tough pill to swallow.  But rather than (a) completely withdrawing from fashion and hiding out in sweats and flip flops, or (b) completely withdrawing from fashion and lashing out at the fashion world in a fit of bitter fury, Falcon decides to take the more constructive route by encouraging women to dress well for themselves.

Instead of essentially ignoring the existence of women like herself, Falcon says, there should be emphasis on reminding them that fashion is just as relevant to them as it is to the size 2-4-6’s.  Beauty knows no bounds when it comes to size, and attempting to ignore a chunk of society just because it doesn’t conform to a certain set of numbers is missing out on a huge opportunity to truly understand what it is to be human and beautiful.

Read more {Marie Claire}
Read more {STL Today}

Sound a little too niche? A look at the behind-the-scenes video on their Facebook fan page reveals a far more democratic essence: to celebrate beauty, fashion and style in all their incarnations. It is about having fun, channeling a sense of play and humor all the way: a throwback to the eternal fashion ethos of self-expression and exploration . It is a refreshing, necessary antidote to an increasingly commerce-driven, corporate landscape. And the cover? The 80’s camp classic Body Double by Brian De Palma is practically winking at us.

Read the full story {Bryanboy}

In order to rebrand itself as a viable shopping source, today eBay will be unveiling The Inside Source, an online fashion and lifestyle magazine which will present current fashion and pop culture trends, in turn directing customers to certain items and vendors that fit within those trends.

The idea seems like a smart move for eBay, as it will certainly give the site a more polished, stylish update — but we wonder how The Inside Source will be marketed in order to bring in people who normally wouldn’t shop on eBay.

Read the full story {Bits Blog via NY Times}