Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Happy Birthday | Andre Leon Talley, Vogue's inimitable editor-at-large, turns 60 today. Actor Tim Robbins is turning 51. John Mayer is 32. Angela Lansbury is 84. Sports commentator Tim McCarver turns 68. JetBlue founder David Neeleman is turning 50. David Zucker, the man who directed Airplane! and The Naked Gun, is 62. Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller is 45. Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers is turning 47. Bob Weir from the Grateful Dead turns 62. Mega-art collector Donald Jonas is 80. And Suzanne Somers turns 63 today. Below: A list of people celebrating their birthdays this weekend.More

NYC's Homeless Will Never Forget Dash Snow | It's been a few weeks since downtown artist Dash Snow died of a heroin overdose. But photographer Ryan McGinley is now speaking out about the death of his close friend. In the new issue of Vice, he recounts some of the great times they shared over the years, like "sniffing coke off toilet seats [and] doing bumps off each other's fists" in "the bathroom of every bar below 14th Street." Oh, and how Snow and one of his other friends would get wasted and have fun at the expense of homeless people: More

♦  For his spring campaigns, Marc Jacobs is eschewing celeb-muses like Meg White and Posh Spice: He's cast Israeli model Raquel Zimmerman for his Collection ads, British model Daisy Lowe for Marc by Marc, and Ryan McGinley for men's. [WWD]
♦  Are you a pregnant Project Runway fan? Then march (or waddle) over to the West Village tomorrow to meet Christian Siriano when he unveils his maternity line, Fierce Mamas. [The Cut]
♦  Plans for a Barneys store in the meatpacking district are definitely underway. The most likely location is on West 13th Street. [The Daily]More

♦  Present at Bette Midler's Hulaween benefit gala for the New York Restoration project: Suze Orman (dressed as big pile of money, left), André Leon Talley, Gloria Estefan, Gloria Gaynor, Donna Karan, Kathy Griffin, Michael Kors, Pink, Jimmy Buffett, John McEnroe and Patty Smyth, Ray Kelly, and Cindy Adams. [PMc, Wireimage, NYO] More

♦  J. Crew is absolutely delighted Michelle Obama mentioned the brand on The Tonight Show last night. It's already the basis of an online ad campaign. [Jezebel, Politico]
♦  The Olsens celebrated the launch of their book at Barneys last night, after which MK celebrated into the night at Bungalow 8 and Lit. Today the duo signed books at Barnes & Noble, where they were greeted by PETA protesters in masks. [style file, OK!]
♦  Rachel Roy is just like you and me: She relishes going to vintage stores in small towns because "they aren't picked over by designers like New York is." As for whose style she most admires? Lauren Santo Domingo's. [FabSugar]
♦  You may have balked at Tom Ford's $9,240 otter fur boots, but you'll feel silly on the beach at St. Barts this winter without his $475 tanning goggles! [style file]More

Happy Birthday | Wyclef Jean has been busy stumping for Obama as of late, but perhaps he'll find time to take a short break today to celebrate his 36th birthday. Others who may (or may not) indulge in cake today: Socialite Debbie Bancroft is 54. Artist Ryan McGinley is 31. Chicago director Rob Marshall is 48. Legendary newsman Jimmy Breslin is 79. New Yorker staff writer and author Ariel Levy is 34. Film critic Richard Roeper turns 49. Eminem celebrates his 36th. Ziggy Marley, the son of Bob Marley, is 40. And Kirna Zabête co-owner Beth Buccini is 37. Weekend birthdays after the jump. More

♦  Last night Jessica Stam hosted an impossibly chic soiree in Paris, which was attended by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Emma Watson, Leigh Lezark, Lauren Santo Domingo, Kate Bosworth, Lazaro Hernandez, Tinsley Mortimer, Alexander Wang, and Ryan McGinley. [stylefile]
♦  Stylista has released a preview, and the most interesting details are: They've cast a fat girl for dramatic tension, and Anne Slowey, for all her Ice Queen imperiousness, can't walk in her four inch heels. Oh, and it looks like Joe Zee's going to be a big bitch to the contestants. [Jezebel]
♦  What does the fashion world think of Sarah Palin's outfit choices? It's a chorus of "no comment," except for Simon Doonan, who offers some advice: "Nothing she wears will cause anyone to budge, so she might as well enjoy her clothes and go for a little flamboyance. I'm seeing a little Jackie Rogers, a little vintage Mackie." [WWD] More

♦  At Betsey Johnson, the front row—Kelly Osbourne, Perry Farrell, Miss J Alexander, Bow Wow, Ugly Betty's Mark Indelicato, Jason Lewis, Mickey Boardman, Lynn Yaeger, and Patrick McMullan—sat at little tables festooned with frosted cupcakes and lollipops for a Peter Pan-themed show in which Liam McMullan played a pirate "throwing gold coins at the audience and pinching the models' exposed bottoms as they walked by." Betsey did her customary finale cartwheel, showed off her granddaughter (left), and went off on vacation with her boyfriend (an Italian decades her junior, of course). [NYO, The Cut, Fashion Wire Daily]

♦  Everyone's favorite Fashion Week mishap, the runway tumble, happened at Rodarte: Abby Lee fell off her extremely high heels, although a tired-looking Agyness managed to stay upright. Not that the show, which unveiled clothes even more unique and directional than we've come to expect from the Mulleavy sisters, needed the extra publicity: The presence of Anna Wintour, Bee Shaffer, André Leon Tally, Diane von Furstenberg, Michael Roberts, Simon Doonan, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Kim Gordon, and Miranda July sealed the label's white-hot reputation. [style file, Reuters, Wireimage] More

• Michelle Obama wowed fashionistas with the print Thakoon dress she wore last night. [LAT, WWD]
  
• Even for look books, print is going out of fashion: A short film starring Julia Restoin Roitfeld, Karen Elson, and Sarah Sophie Flicker will promote LA designer Melissa Coker's label Wren. [style file]
• Wilhelmina Models, known to viewers of VH1 as the trainwreck featured on The Agency, has been bought out and will become a public company. [Forbes]

• The Obama campaign is marshalling the full power of the fashion industry to get ahead: A long list of designers—definitely including Derek Lam, Isaac Mizrahi, Tracy Reese, and Diane von Furstenberg and possibly including Beyoncé, Russell Simmons, and Vera Wang—will be creating official merchandise like totes and t-shirts. [WaPo]
• With T magazine's handy crib sheet, you need never again display ignorance of different countries' Vogue editors! [NYT]
• Converse for John Varvatos's fall campaign features Daisy Lowe shot by Ryan McGinley in now-closed Florent. [WWD]

• The Gap is continuing its practice of using of-the-moment fashion figures in ads: The fall campaign includes Julia Restoin Roitfeld, Georgina Chapman, and Ryan McGinley alongside actual mannequins like Chanel Iman and Lily Donaldson. [Fashionologie]
• Ralph Lauren came out on top of WWD's list of the highest-paid fashion retailers. He took home $34.2 million this past fiscal year, which was no doubt happy news to the ex-Polo employees suing the company for gouging them on pay. [WWD]
• Were you planning to stock up on satin frocks and pantsuits at Gianfranco Ferre this weekend? Too late: The Madison Avenue flagship just closed. [WWD]