Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Isaac Does Dessert | Isaac Mizrahi will making his debut on QVC next month where he'll be selling everything from t-shirts to berets to... tartan-decorated cheesecakes? Oh, yes, a version of the cake from Junior's in Brooklyn and featuring a "Mizrahi-mandated chocolate cookie crust," will be on sale, too. [WWD]

Happy Birthday | It's a big day for Jewish fashion designers from the outer boroughs, clearly: Brooklyn native Isaac Mizrahi turns 48 today; meanwhile, the Bronx's very own Ralph Lauren is turning 70. Others celebrating today: Usher is turning 31. Yankees manager Joe Girardi turns 45. Actor Roger Moore is 82. Marc Jacobs' longtime business partner, Robert Duffy, is turning 55. Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks is 35. Czech model Daniela Pestova is 39. Sports radio host Jim Rome is turning 45. Writer Katha Pollitt turns 60. Wrestler/actress Stacy Keibler is 30. And Madonna's daughter, Lourdes Leon, who looks like she's turning 21, is actually turning 13 today.

Because the fashion industry really, really wants you start shopping again, it's pulling out all the stops for Fashion's Night Out, the hyped-up retail pep rally scheduled for September 10. The latest PR offensive: A TV commercial featuring Sarah Jessica Parker, Anna Wintour, Diane von Furstenberg, Donna Karan, Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Isaac Mizrahi, Diddy, Tory Burch, Lazaro Hernandez, Ashley Olsen, and a whole bunch of others—all jam-packed into a spot that's less than a minute long. If you watch the commercial—and you can do so above—make sure you're paying attention at the 0:30 mark. It's not every day that you get to see Anna Wintour come off as a giddy schoolgirl.

New York's epic article about Annie Leibovitz in this week's issue is well worth a read, particularly since it sheds a little light on how it is one of the world's highest-paid photographers now finds herself on the brink of financial ruin. (If the only person you'll allow to repair your air-conditioner has to travel to NYC from Vermont to do the work, that's probably not a good sign.) Leibovitz's financial fate will likely be sealed in September when the $24 million loan she secured from Art Capital Group last year is due. Interestingly, though, Leibovitz appears to be hinting that the terms of the loan— which required her to put up the rights to her photos and real estate holdings as collateral—only became apparent to her after the Times reported on Art Capital Group back in February. Friends of the photographer suggest that Leibovitz had no idea she was giving up so much when she took out the loan; they also seem to be shifting some of the blame to Ken Starr, the financial adviser who took the photographer on as a client in 2007 and who was also responsible for introducing Leibovitz to Art Capital Group. Pinning the blame on Starr, who boasts an insanely long list of celebrity clients, may be a hard argument to make.More

• QVC has tapped Isaac Mizrahi to host a show that's "part pitch, part reality show." The shopping network will air eight hours of "Isaac Mizrahi Live!" a month beginning in December. [WSJ]
• Rachel Roy is opening a pop-up shop in Soho in September. [NL]
• Tory Burch has sold a stake in her company to a Mexico City-based private equity firm. [NYT]
• Marc Jacobs' latest collection of t-shirts take a stand on gay marriage. "I pay my taxes, I want my RIGHTS!" is stamped on the front. [Cut]More

• How did a fish-and-chips waitress named Laura Hollins transform herself into supermodel Agyness Deyn? Cintra Wilson reports. [NYT]
• Crisis averted! The $5,950 alligator clutch that some people thought Michelle Obama was carrying in Russia earlier this week was a much more modest $875 leather one. [NYDN]
• Say hello to the 16 contestants who will be making it work (or not) when the new season of Project Runway debuts next month. [People]More

• The Calvin Klein billboard in Soho that has caused a bit of controversy recently has been replaced. Of course, just swapping out the ads could be part of the company's PR strategy to keep people talking about the ad campaign, in which case, well, it worked nicely. [GoaG]
• Rumor has it Anna Wintour has offered a Vogue internship to Prince William's girlfriend, Kate Middleton. [Grazia]
• Rumor also has it Emma Watson is designing a teen line. [Fashionista]
• Olivia Palermo plans to model now: She's signed with Wilhelmina. [P6]
• Isaac Mizrahi is opening a store on the Upper East Side in August. [WWD]More

• Gwyneth Paltrow is planning to give up her contract with Estée Lauder so she can focus on her website Goop.com, per the ever-reliable Daily Mail. More troubling: The paper says her plan is to "become an Oprah Winfrey-like lifestyle guru." [DM]
• Michelle Obama returned to NYC today. She attended the reopening of a wing at the Met (where she wore a coat by Isaac Mizrahi coat and sat next to Ralph Lauren, Iman, and Anna Wintour). Then it was over to opening night at the American Ballet Theater. [WWD, NYT]
• An excerpt from Lauren Conrad's debut novel has been posted online, in case you feel up to tackling some heavy literature. [Teen Vogue]
• Valentino, diplomat of fashion: "I saw the pictures of the Metropolitan gala evening last week and I never saw something more ugly." [Guardian]
• Speaking of Valentino, Time Out's current issue tests out self-tanners. [TONY]More

Several reviews of Bravo's Project Runway ripoff, The Fashion Show, pointed out that the challenges seemed to be considerably more difficult that the ones asked of contestants on Runway. There's no doubt about that! On the next episode of the Isaac Mizrahi-hosted series, aspiring designers have to put together an outfit for Tinsley Mortimer—on a budget of $40. A preview of the episode—featuring a stilted performance by the Tinz herself—is above.

• Are Americans finally shopping again? Maybe. Retail sales were up slightly in April. [NYT]
• Gucci has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Guess? Inc. [BN]
• Alessandra Stanley's Times review of Bravo's Project Runway-ripoff, The Fashion Show, featuring Isaac Mizrahi, Kelly Rowland and Fern Mallis, wasn't especially favorable. [NYT]
• Agy Deyn is now pitching bottled water. [Sun]
• Leigh Lezark is the new face of Mango. [Nylon]
• Michelle Obama wore Michael Kors—not Alaïa—to the Time gala the other night. [FWD]
• If you've ever wished you could meet Adriana Lima dressed up as "a modern-day Cleopatra," you'll get your chance this Saturday. [NYM] More

Unless you've been sequestered at a religious retreat/padded cell/otherwise media-free zone for the past month, you'll know that The Fashion Show, Bravo's knockoff of Lifetime-bound Project Runway, is debuting next week. And like a replacement child born after the tragic loss of its sibling, Bravo's new baby will struggle to escape comparisons to its beloved predecessor, especially since it's been molded so faithfully in the other's image. More

• The Costume Institute Gala is a mere five days away. Fashion Week Daily has a roundup of who's going, who isn't, and what everyone will not be eating. (Chicken, in case you were wondering.) [FWD]
• The Observer on Alexandra Kotur, the "Viscountess of Vogue."  [NYO]
• It seems some women are so addicted to the discount designer site Gilt Groupe that they're practically going bankrupt buying stuff they really don't want or need. [TDB]
• It's official: Madonna is attached to Louis Vuitton's new ad campaign. [Grazia]
• Isaac Mizrahi rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. The market has been having a surprisingly solid week so far. Could the two be connected? We'll say yes, if it's okay with you. [Facebook, WWD] More

Chanel hosted a dinner to celebrate the Tribeca Film Festival at Odeon last night, where the guests included Adrien Brody, Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower, Craig Hatkoff and Jane Rosenthal (with daughter Juliana), Moby, Debra Messing, Fabiola Beracasa, Julia Restoin Roitfeld, Mary-Kate Olsen, Diane Kruger, Celerie Kemble, Kerry Washington, Viola Davis, Matthew Modine, Angela Lindvall, Heidi Mount, Poppy Delevigne, Alexis Bledel, Danielle Steele (with daughters Victoria and Vanessa Traina), Dree Hemingway, Drena De Niro and Carlos Rodriguez, Henry Cavill, Melissa Leo, Molly Shannon, and Grace, Mamie, and Louisa Gummer. [PMc, Wireimage, Getty, FWD] More

Graydon Carter, Robert De Niro, and Ron Perelman hosted a Vanity Fair-sponsored dinner at the State Supreme Court House last night to celebrate the opening of the Tribeca Film Festival. They were joined by Carter and De Niro's wives (Anna Scott Carter and Grace Hightower) and Tribeca Film Fest co-founders Craig Hatkoff and Jane Rosenthal, as well as a long list of guests, including Bono and Ali Hewson, Kanye West,  Diane von Furstenberg, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Tory Burch and Lyor Cohen, André Leon Talley, Fran Lebowitz, Spike Lee ... (continued)More

• Mayor Bloomberg has pronounced it "Sparkle Week" in NYC as part of an effort to give a boost to the jewelry industry. They sure could use the help: Retailers in the Diamond District report that sales have dropped by more than 50 percent over the past year. [NYM, Crain's]
• Jil Sander's new Madison Avenue store has opened its doors. [Racked]
• Lauren Hutton was injured while surfing a couple of weeks ago, but she's still hoping to make it to the Costume Institute ball. [NYM]
• Is Chloe Sevigny single-handedly trying to bring back the sandals-and-socks look, or was the combo of sun and booze at Coachella to blame? [Frisky, JJ] More