Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Fashionistas Are All Foodies at Heart | Why did the Council of Fashion Designers of America just publish a cookbook? Because "food and fashion both start with an 'f,'" explains Diane von Furstenberg, adding that "all designers love to cook," which may very well be true but fails to explain why these designers haven't been sharing their creations with the stick-thin models that appear in their fashion shows up until now. More

This could be because Condé Nast is determined to prepare its most overindulged employees for the exceedingly tough times ahead—or it could just have something to do with the fact Vogue's November issue has an environmental theme—but Hamish Bowles, the fashion mag's European editor-at-large, was asked to head to survival school "in deepest southern Utah" as part of an article in the new issue. More

Gaultier For Target | Jean Paul Gaultier is the latest big-name fashion designer to sign on to do a collection for Target. You can look forward to buying pointy-bra tops and corsets along with kitchen appliances and kids' toys—all at one super-convenient location—beginning next March. [Cut]

The Olsens Conquer the World, Volume 27 | If you're anything like us, you stay up late at night and ask yourself that age-old question: Now that the Olsen twins have outfitted us with clothing, shoes, and jewelry (not to mention quality TV programming), when will they finally take the next step and begin designing overpriced sunglasses? That day will soon be here, ladies and gentlemen. A line of Olsen-approved, "vintage-inspired" eyewear will hit stores this spring and will run $325-$390. Let's just hope the glasses are a huge hit. Because bringing them to you hasn't been easy—and may have even required the poor things to take work home with them: "Designing eyewear was definitely more complicated than we thought," reports Mary-Kate. [NYDN]

Proving once again that the fashion industry and France are bastions of racial tolerance and acceptance, the new issue of French Vogue features a photoshoot featuring model Lara Stone in blackface. While we're on the subject of tolerance and acceptance, please note that if you happen to be overweight, Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld (seen here awkwardly clasping the hand of a black man) most assuredly will not tolerate or accept you. In an interview with the German magazine Focus, the 95-pound former fattie (and notorious rabble-rouser) says that women who criticize runway models for being too thin are just jealous fat-asses who sit on the couch all day eating potato chips. Really. Not that these women should get up off the couch and go outside, mind you. "Nobody wants to see a round woman," he says. [Jezebel, NYDN, Telegraph]

Fall Fashion For the Obsessive-Compulsive | Who says you can't protect yourself from swine flu and look stylish at the same time? A Japanese company is now selling a suit that supposedly protects its wearers from coming down with the illness, since the fabric is coated with titanium dioxide, a substance that kills off viruses. The $580 item doesn't cover your nose and mouth, though, so if you decide to make the journey, you may want to pick up an equally fashionable mask while you're there. [The Cut]

The big round of cost cuts and layoffs at Condé Nast isn't just being felt at 4 Times Square. The gloominess has also made its way to Paris Fashion Week. Instead of spending their days observing the action on the runway, some Condé editors have been forced to remain in their hotel rooms to take part in a "dizzying" number of "budget-related conference calls and team meetings," reports The Daily. This could be why Vogue editor Anna Wintour hasn't "been spotted since Dior on Friday." Budget cuts could also explain why poor Anna has been forced to make do with a single snakeskin coat at Fashion Week in London, Milan and Paris. [FWD]

Michelle Obama has been beloved by the fashion community since the early days of the 2008 campaign, as you're probably well aware. But she's now in danger of losing a fan in Tim Gunn. It seems the First Lady made the disastrous decision to wear a pair of crocs a few weeks ago and the Project Runway host isn't having any of it. On the Bonnie Hunt Show yesterday, Gunn started off by saying he was prepared to give Michelle the benefit of the doubt just this once. "I'm trying to look at this positively," he says. "I'm trying to think she was doing a footwear experiment. And she's decided to put them aside."More

Reality TV stars artfully bare their souls on camera and in the tabloids, and even better, they do it all without a script. But a TV show is only the first step to building a brand, and now countless pseudo-celebs are milking their 15 minutes and peddling products that you couldn't possibly live without. (Or so they say!) We compiled the most promising items from the brightest minds in faux-showbiz. With these ladies' designs in your style arsenal, your look will never be the same.More

Tory Burch, Real Estate Mogul? | Designer Tory Burch received approval last month to tear down her $22.5 million home in Southampton so she could replace it with something more to her liking. But is she also involved in the purchase of the $45 million estate owned by the late Howard Gittis? RealLI seems to think so, although it admits the "details are sketchy," and the Post reported yesterday that the buyer was "unidentified, recession-proof financier." Then again, Burch's fashion business seems to be enduring the recession just fine and it's always possible she decided to start up a hedge fund on the side, so maybe they're all right. [RealLI via Curbed]

Moammar Khadafy may be completely crazy. And he may be one of the world's worst dictators as far as Washington is concerned. But just because you're a vicious dictator and an international pariah doesn't mean you can't be stylish, too. (And, really: If everyone is going to despise you no matter what, you might as well feel good about yourself when you look in the mirror, right?) Fortunately, we're here to help. Since Khadafy is spending the week in New York—the fashion capital of the universe—it seemed like an opportune time to give the Libyan leader a few style pointers. At last night's reception to celebrate the opening of the Spider Silk exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, reporter Douglas Marshall took celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch aside to get a few tips on how Khadafy could reinvent himself. And because Moammar has always been known to love the ladies—he's protected at all times by a contingent of attractive, female bodyguards, for example—we asked one of the most beautiful women around, actress Heather Graham, to weigh in as well. Some honest advice to Moammar is below.More

Annie Leibovitz Lines Up a New Gig | Photographer Annie Leibovitz may be making an effort to dig her way out of the epic financial mess that nearly left her bankrupt earlier this month. Along five other "personalities," she's been tapped by Louis Vuitton to design a monogrammed canvas backpack for the company. It's actually part of a charity project that will benefit the Red Cross, so it's entirely possible she won't earn a dime from her contribution. Then again, as Grazia notes, here's hoping her work earns her a commission of some sort! [Grazia]

The Season of Pink Shirts Has Passed | One good thing about summer ending and fall beginning, according to the blog EVGrieve: If you're not too into guys wearing pink shirts (or draping pink sweaters over their shoulders, as the mayor is wont to do now and then), you can look forward to seeing a lot less of that on the streets of the city from now on. At least not until next May. [EVGrieve]

• Tom Ford is expanding. (Or hoping to, at least.) The designer is reportedly looking to raise $50 million in financing to expand into womenswear. [Reuters]
• Rents along Fifth Avenue have been falling, of course. But the situation appears to be particularly bleak at the empty shopping mall (or "retail collection") at the Plaza Hotel. [Bloomberg, NYP]
• The downside of diffusion: According to a new survey, consumers say luxury products are too accessible these days and have become a commodity. [WWD]More

• London Fashion Week kicked into high gear over the weekend. Given LFW is celebrating its 25th anniversary and a handful of designers who have been absent in recent years have returned, it's shaping up to be London's biggest year yet. Further proof of LFW's resurgence: Vogue editrix Anna Wintour (seen here fumbling with her BlackBerry) is attending the shows following a two-year hiatus. [Telegraph, LAT, NYT, Guardian]
• While many top NY-based fashion editors are turning up to the shows in London, many mags are saving cash by divvying up editors between the shows in London, Milan, and Paris. Or by making them stay at cheaper hotels. [WWD]
• More highlights and reviews from LFW's first few days. [NYT, NYT, Pipeline] More