Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Gunn Under the Gun | Some people freak out when a bloodthirsty cameraman from TMZ approaches them, sticks a camera in their face, and fires off a round of zany questions. Tim Gunn handled himself with typical aplomb when a paparazzo picked up his trail at LAX yesterday. More

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

• Michael Jackson was laid to rest yesterday evening, exactly ten weeks after his death. Gladys Knight performed; Al Sharpton delivered a sermon; Lisa Marie Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, Chris Tucker, Macaulay Culkin and Mila Kunis put in appearances; and the Jackson siblings color-coordinated their outfits, per usual. [NYDN, People]
• Nike has wisely decided to put on hold the line of sneakers it had been planning to introduce in partnership with DJ AM. [TMZ]
• Pervy photographer Terry Richardson is settling down. He's reportedly getting ready to tie the knot with scenester Jen Brill. [TrendLand]
• Is French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy planning to appear in Woody Allen's next movie? "Nothing is signed yet," says her publicist. [WWD]More

• Not to be outdone by Gwyneth Paltrow and her GOOP newsletter, Rachel Zoe is launching a lifestyle e-newsletter of her own tomorrow. [RachelZoe.com]
• Is Kanye West designing a line for the Gap? That's the rumor. [Cut]
• Thom Browne has had a rough time recently, but it looks like that may be all behind him. Japan's Cross Company has taken a stake in his company and plans to help him expand. [Style.com]
• It looks like the fashion set will be dividing its time between the tents in Bryant Park and Milk Studios this coming Fashion Week. [Fashionologie, FWD]
• Gisele Bundchen is lending her voice to a new children's cartoon. She'll play Gigi, "a supermodel by day, environmental superhero by night." [Elle]
• Ready for retailers to start Christmas promotions? No? Too bad! [WSJ]
• Related: Retailers have gone discount-crazy, as you may have noticed. [NYT] More

Happy Birthday | Project Runway host and all-around fashion guru Tim Gunn turns 56 today. Fashion designer Cynthia Rowley is turning 51. Publishing heiress Anne Hearst is 54. ABC News president David Westin is turning 57. Artist Jenny Holzer is 59. Choreographer Paul Taylor turns 79. IBM chairman Sam Palmisano is turning 58. Hotel owner Sam Chang turns 49. Patti Scialfa, the singer, songwriter, and wife of Bruce Springsteen, is 56. Filmmaker Ken Burns is turning 56, too. Actor Josh Radnor turns 35. Stephen Dorff is 36. And Tony Sirico, who played Paulie Gualtieri on HBO's the Sopranos, celebrates his 67th birthday today.

• Don't feel too bad if you're staying in the city for the long weekend. Take advantage of the big Memorial Day sales instead. [NYDN]
• Burberry's new Madison Avenue HQ opens on May 28; the building's sign will get switched on then, too. [Hint]
• Today in C-list celebrity fashion news: Alyssa Milano has debuted a baseball-inspired collection; and Heidi Montag is releasing a line of bikinis. [SW, SW] More

It's commencement season, which means a long list of celebrities and TV personalities will be heading to college campuses over the next few weeks to impart their wisdom on the future of America. But sharing useful advice with graduating seniors currently in a state of panic over the the bleak job market isn't easy when you're a celebrity earning millions a year, a fact made clear when Oprah appeared at Duke last weekend and told the crowd how happy she is now that she owns a private jet. Fortunately, other TV personalities have more appropriate speeches in store.More

• Jack McCollough's orange Oakleys couldn't cover up the scratch left behind by Kiefer Sutherland's headbutt the other night, although thankfully the Proenza Schouler co-founder wasn't seriously injuried in the incident. McCollough's rep said today he was the victim of a "vicious, violent, unprovoked assault." And the NYPD seems to agree. Sutherland is expected to be charged with assault tomorrow. [People, NYP]
• You may have thought Azzedine Alaïa was having a lousy week what with the plot by Anna Wintour to snub him at the Costume Institute gala. But he appears to be rebounding nicely. Michelle Obama wore a lovely Alaïa number to the Time magazine party last night. [FWD]
• Speaking of the gala, it raised $2 million less than last year. [WWD]
• Derek Lam's first boutique opens tonight. [Style.com]More

Celebrity stylist Harry Josh and nightlife kingpin Nur Khan hosted "Spring Fling" at the Gramercy Park Hotel on Saturday night. A bevy of celebs and social scenesters turned up for the fête, including Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone, Naomi Campbell, Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady, Kate Hudson and mom Goldie Hawn, Ed Norton, Ashley Olsen, Spike Lee, Winona Ryder, Liv Tyler, Phillip Lim, Narciso Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, Karolina Kurkova, Georgina Chapman, Rachel Zoe and Rodger Berman, Kate Bosworth and James Rousseau, Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr, Josh Hartnett, Daria Werbowy, Lily Donaldson, Molly Sims, Hamish Bowles, January Jones, Richie Akiva, Peter Som, Richard Chai, Christian Siriano, Cherry Jones, Jason Sudeikis, Guy Oseary, Lake Bell, Brian Atwood, Zoe Kravitz, and Quincy Jones. [PMc, VF, FWD] More

• Gwyneth Paltrow's latest goal? To get Mario Batali to lose weight, apparently. She's supposedly already given him a free membership to the gym she's opening with Tracy Anderson, since he's "the only fat friend she has, and wants him to change." [P6]
• Poor Jennifer Aniston has been "holed up" in her room at the Greenwich Hotel since arriving in New York a few weeks ago, supposedly because she's terrified of "bumping into Angie" on the street. [L&S]
• Michael Phelps and Miss California, Carrie Prejean. are apparently dating, or at least that's what Prejean's grandmother is saying. [NYDN]
• In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Lindsay Lohan says she's "still in love" with Sam Ronson, and that their breakup "came out of nowhere." She's also lost a lot of weight, which you've probably already noticed. [OK!, People, NYDN]
• Tim Gunn says he hasn't been on a date in 26 years, but that he's okay with it because he's "very happy being alone." [NYDN]More

Gunn of "Project Runway" buys $1.5M unit [Real Deal]
Upper West Side Grabs a Gunn (Tim, That Is!) [Curbed]

As fans of fashion/ritualized flagellation celebrate the imminent return of Project Runway, we are reminded that the show is the very definition of a double-edged sword: Yes, it glorifies that black-hearted baby machine Heidi Klum, but it's also enabled the lovely Tim Gunn to impart his civilizing insight not only to his contestants, but to us all. For example, as he tells the Miami Herald, "there are three key aspects to being fashionable: silhouette, proportion and fit." Words to live by! More

Tyra Banks, Suze Orman, Keith Olbermann, and Phil Donahue were among the honorees at the 20th annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Marriott Marquis on Saturday night. A few of the people on hand for the occasion: Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan (left), Chris Noth, Clay Aiken, T.R. Knight, Tim Gunn, Christian Siriano, Cherry Jones, Robert Verdi, Heather Matarazzo and Carolyn Murphy, Vanessa Williams, Michael Urie, Ana Ortiz, Junior Vasquez,  Jay Manuel, Hanna Storm, Brad Rowe, Jenny Shimizu, Stockard Channing, Judith Light, S. Epatha Merkerson, State Sen. Eric Schneiderman, and Hedda Lettuce. [PMc, Wireimage, Advocate, Access Hollywood]More

• Guess John Mayer didn't buy Jennifer Aniston an engagement ring after all. It's now rumored Mayer ended the relationship right around the time Aniston got back from her world promotional tour for Marley & Me. [E!, Us]
• Tim Gunn supposedly has a "secret crush" on Anderson Cooper. He says he's been trying to set up a lunch date with the CNN anchor for more than a year now, but it hasn't happened. Yet! [OK!]
• Mandy Moore and Ryan Adams got married on Tuesday in Savannah. [Us]
• Breaking! Katie Holmes has long hair again! [DM]More

A recap of the last few days in benefits and parties—including the Frick Collection's Young Fellows Ball, above—is after the jump.More