Lauren Hutton’s Self-Defense Shoes: In a candid interview with Net-A-Porter’s digital magazine, The Edit, longtime model Lauren Hutton expresses her disdain for “silly shoes” and encourages women to use their footwear as a weapon with a special self-defense shoe test. “I see girls in New York who can’t run in their heels,” she said. “I used to live on the Bowery when it was crack city, and I’d never go out in heels unless I had done The Test: standing on one heel, whipping off the other and holding it up to someone’s head in three seconds.” [The Edit]
Tatler’s Tit List: British society magazine Tatler has come under fire for a controversial spread in its May issue that rates the cleavage of English society swans. The three-page feature, titled “Titler,” includes well-known names like Helen Mirren, Pixie Geldof, and even Princess Eugenie. Feminist protesters have banded together on social media to protest the feature, launching a Facebook page and Twitter account called "No to Titler at Tatler," which states that “characterising respected women’s ‘tits’ is demeaning, degrading and will not be tolerated.’” [The Daily Mail]
Bernard Arnault’s “Unexpected Stake” in Hermès: LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault addressed the controversy surrounding his company’s recently acquired 22.6 stake in Hermès at LVMH’s annual general meeting in Paris. According to WWD, Arnault explained that LVMH happened upon the shares “unexpectedly.” He told the audience: “We had not planned to be shareholders in this firm. We made a financial investment, and that financial investment had an outcome that we had not expected." Both LVMH and Hermès are currently going head to head in court with two separate lawsuits on the matter. Hermès filed a criminal complaint against LVMH last year accusing them of insider training and tampering with stock prices, and LVMH fired back with a suit for “slander, blackmail and unfair competition.” LVMH’s stake in the French luxury brand has increased from a reported 17.1 percent in October 2010, placing it under examination by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (a French stock market regulator). Still, Arnault stressed that LVMH has no intentions of increasing its stake in Hermès and insists that the conglomerate plans to remain a “friendly supporter" of the brand. [WWD]
Vogue's Female "Male Model”: Casey Legler, the first woman to be signed to the male division of Ford Models, has landed a new modeling gig in the May issue of Vogue. The feature, titled “Gender Agenda,” explores how androgyny is changing the fashion industry and motivates trends. [Styleite]
