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

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]

Remember a couple weeks back when Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi said he planned to pitch a tent in New Jersey during his upcoming trip to New York for the opening session of the UN General Assembly? But then a series of protests (and an intervention by Gov. Corzine) forced him to change his plans? It now looks like he's made other arrangements. More

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.

• Polo Ralph Lauren has been hit with a lawsuit for stamping the word "lifeguard" on clothing without permission. Another company is claiming it trademarked the word years ago. [NYP]
• As expected, Escada filed for bankruptcy protection in a German court today. [Bloomberg]
• Is Bravo renewing The Fashion Show for a second season? That's unclear for the time being. [Cut]
• Tory Burch and Georgina Chapman are making cameos on the next season of Gossip Girl. [WWD]
• Now that visiting a tanning a salon is tantamount to sucking on asbestos or consuming toxic nuclear waste, is "pale the new tan"? [NYT]More

Tory Gets Her Wish | Tory Burch must be in a good mood today. Sally Spanburgh reports that Burch's proposed plan to tear down her house in Southampton—the one she bought from her ex-husband earlier this year for $22.5 million—has been approved. Small sacrifices were involved, however. Town officials gave her the green light after her architect agreed to lower the height of the house he's planning to build in its place by three and a half feet, so it won't block her neighbor's view of the ocean. [SVR, previously]

• The latest ad campaign for Chanel handbags, shot by Karl Lagerfeld himself, features a very Holly Golightly-looking Lily Allen. [Pipeline, Cut]
• A new front-runner has emerged to possibly take over struggling Christian Lacroix. This time it's Italian retail giant Borletti. [WWD, AFP]
• More trouble for American Apparel and its founder Dov Charney? An anonymous store manager reports Charney has been busy firing employees "he deems unattractive." [Gawker]
• Amber Valletta is the latest supermodel to launch a clothing line. [Cut]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

If Tory Burch is feeling the effects of the economic downturn, she certainly isn't showing it. The designer and social fixture is now petitioning Southampton's Architectural Review Board for permission to demolish the Meadow Lane home that she purchased for $22.5 million earlier this year.More

Happy Birthday | Tory Burch turns 43 today. Former governor Mario Cuomo is turning 77. Helen Hunt is 46. Neil Patrick Harris is turning 36. Courteney Cox is 45. Fashion designer Douglas Hannant is turning 47. PR agency chief Richard Edelman turns 55. Socialite Bettina Zilkha is turning 50. Gallerist Marian Goodman is 81. Former Yankee Andy Pettitte is turning 37. Hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam turns 52. Ice Cube is is 40. Leah Remini is turning 39. Porn star Mary Carey is 29. And Project Runway Season 2 winner Chloe Dao turns 37 today.

An army of A-listers showed to last night's 69th annual American Ballet Theatre spring gala (and, if they were lucky, got a glimpse of Michelle Obama dressed in a black Alaia dress and Thakoon jacket). Among those in attendance: Anna Wintour, Carolina and Reinaldo Herrera, Chuck Schumer, Christine and Steve Schwarzman, David and Julia Koch, Caroline Kennedy and Ed Schlossberg, Calvin Klein, Francisco Costa, Ivanka Trump, Caryn and Jeff Zucker, Annette and Matt Lauer, Al Roker and Deborah Roberts, Lorne Michaels, Desiree Rogers, Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy, Renee Zellweger, Sigourney Weaver, Tory Burch, Iman, Grace Hightower, Rachel Roy, Robbie Myers,  Hamish Bowles, Renee Fleming, Lisa Perry, Muffie Potter Aston, Amanda Brooks, Peter and Jamee Gregory, Yvonne Force Villareal, Marina Rust Connor, Marjorie Gubelmann, Nina Griscom and Leonel Piraino, Karen and Richard LeFrak, Blaine Trump, Harry Evans, Hilary Rhoda, Coco Rocha, Mariska Hargitay, Lindsay Price, Kim Raver, Ruben Toledo and Isabel Toledo, Dree Hemingway, Gillian and Sylvester Miniter, and Kelly Ripa and husband Mark Consuelos (left), a former dancer himself. [PMc, Wireimage, Style.com] More

The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center hosted its second annual Spring Ball at the Plaza on Tuesday night. More than 350 people turned out for the NBC Universal-sponsored event, including NBC Universal president Jeff Zucker and his wife Caryn (left), Mort Zuckerman, Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower, Julia and David Koch, Tory Burch and Lyor Cohen, Hilary Geary and Wilbur Ross, Jonathan and Somers White Farkas, Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss, Peter and Jamee Gregory, Ginny and Tiki Barber, Sherman and Chris Meloni, Frank and Kathie Lee Gifford, Hoda Kotb, Peggy Siegal, Natalie Morales, Valesca Guerrand Hermes, Jennifer Creel, Renee Rockefeller, Alexandra Lebenthal and Jay Diamond, Danielle Ganek, Kimberly Kravis, Muffie Potter Aston, Hilary Gumbel, Dr. Harold Varmus, Dennis Basso, Heather Mnuchin, Anne Grauso, Sylvester and Gillian Miniter, Gigi Mortimer, Sara Ayres, Shafi Roepers, Leslie Jones, and LL Cool J. [PMc, Wireimage, NYSD]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

• Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen's wedding party in Costa Rica on Saturday was rather eventful: Two paparazzi photographers claim that members of the couple's security team opened fire on them as they tried to score shots of the festivities. [NYDN, NYP]
• A former nanny who worked for Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower is suing the couple for failing to pay more than $40,000 in unpaid wages. [P6]
• More drama for Lindsay Lohan and Sam Ronson: At the launch of Charlotte Ronson's I Heart Ronson line for JCPenney this weekend, Lohan had to be "restrained from coming in by five security guards." [OK!]
• The people of Malawi can breathe a sigh of relief: Madonna left the country on Sunday and returned to London. [People]More

Proof that Tory Burch's eponymous clothing line has made its decent from Upper East Side chic to middle America bargain bin: It seems she's the designer of choice to Nadya "OctoMom" Suleman, who showed up to a taping of Dr. Phil recently dressed in a $228 TB top and a pair of $195 TB flats. Of course Burch did tell a reporter recently that she wanted to be a "go-to brand for affordable luxury" and a staple of "hugely successful" working moms everywhere. Looks like the mission is well on its way to being accomplished! [TMZ]