It has been announced that Donatella Versace has selected British designer J.W. Anderson as the first person ever to work on a capsule collection for the label’s more youthful line, Versus. The decision to restructure the brand into a design laboratory came when Christopher Kane left his position as creative director for the brand. As far as we know the line will include men’s and women’s clothing as well as accessories to be unveiled next Spring, probably March or April, in New York.

We’ll of course keep you posted.

Miss KL is a veritable treasure chest for designer clothes mixed with a fine selection of playful to sophisticated to street gear. Wildfox shirts, House Of Harlow slippers and We Are Handsome swim wear – it’s like a store full of the staples you wish you could fill your wardrobe with.

After quite a bit of research we reduced our choices to a well-arranged selection of 10 picks available now for you to check out on the next page.

After Cathy Horyn’s story yesterday tagging Alexander Wang as the lead candidate to take the helm at Balenciaga, we now have confirmaton via WWD that the 28-year-old Wang has been tapped as the creative director for Balenciaga. He succeeds Nicolas Ghesquière, who is to officially exit the French label today. On the choice, WWD comments:

“The choice of Wang suggests Balenciaga might wish to dial down the elitist, couture-like approach of Ghesquière, and open up to a broader audience with a designer prized for his sportswear approach and youthful energy.”

Wang’s Chinese lineage is significant as well (would he be the first to head a major European label?), and in an interivew with WWD earier in the year he spoke  on the impact of his background:

“In a way, I know there’s an audience that connects with me. How I identify that or what I pinpoint that to, whether it’s because of my background or because I connect with people of my generation in New York or London — that, I don’t know how to explain or quantify.”

Given Ghesquière’s success at reviving Balenciaga and his popularity purely as a designer, Wang as a choice will be questioned and criticized, but having covered him closely over the years he strikes us as the perfect fit–a bright student of fashion, who will understand the importance of paying tribute to Balenciaga’s history with enough creative flair and daring to make it his own. And then, too, the press adore him, and with industry capas Anna Wintour and Diane Von Furstenberg as his fairy godmothers, he is pretty much guaranteed acceptance from the get go.

There are few images that show the beautiful Taylor Swift wearing trousers. Most of the time she appears in dresses, miming the nice girl from next door. The singer who herself says as a rule she never wears trousers illustrates in the January Issue of Harper’s Bazaar that there is nothing unfeminine about it, looking just as gorgeous wearing pants as a dress.

Taylor about the shoot said:

“Personal growth, let’s call it that.”

Check out the full spread on the next page.

Admire the Play by Comme des Garçons nail art design spotted on Meghann Stephenson as a fun design  for the holidays.

Jewellery designer Melody Ehsani today offered up a lookbook for Holiday 2012 that includes necklaces, rings and earrings. On this page Ehsani riffs on one of our favorite pieces from 2012, the ”Queen of the Jungle” necklace with the “Love Me or Leave Me Alone” necklace that mimics the look and feel of an i.d. bracelet. The lookbook was shot by Mike Quain, and nope, that is not the Persian princess herself doing the modeling, the beauty shown here goes by the name Sulem Calderon. All items now available in the ME etail shop.

See more of the lookbook on the next page including the “Best Freaking Friends” rings and “Notorious” chain.

There is no denying that Brooklyn is one of the sexiest boroughs in New York.  Manhattan–especially Downtown–has lost most of its edge and spontaneity but, some parts of Brooklyn  still have that special off-beat mix  of coziness, artistic expression, heritage and multi-culturalism that makes it a favorite of those in the know. Pamela Love recently shared some of her favorite spots in Brooklyn like the Brooklyn Flea on Lafayette with Nylon magazine:

“I spend my summer weekends here. I’ve found so many great pairs of vintage boots and motorcycle jackets. I’m running out of room in my apartment, so I usually only pick up small things, though I did find a great desk there once. The food is really good too.”

Read the complete feature here at Nylon.

Via graffiti artist Insa’s blog, we see he has plans to drop leggings, featuring his signature graphic in black, white and pink. They’ll be available for purchase in the Insaland shop, starting this Friday at 4:30GMT.

A few days before Art Basel Miami opens its doors, Madewell announced the arrival of a limited edition collection of clothing, stationary and accessoires that emerged from a collaoration between the fashion brand and artist Rebeca Raney. Raney’s signature backwards-facing llamas and intricate flora provide the inspiration for the pieces including a luxurious cashmere sweater, llama pendant necklace, silk tee, wooly scarf, hand-painted leather transport tote, and holiday cards. Some of the items will be sold Rebeca’s solo exhibit at Primary Projects during Art Basel and the complete collection is available at Madewell stores and online.

See more from the collection on the next page.

The ad here by British cosmetics company Illmasqua is being described as racist, in that it features a model in blackface, which has been used in performance to create a stereotyped charicature of a black person. The tophat and bowtie further support the typical look of a blackface costume. Despite a barrage of criticism the company as of yesterday continued to defend the ad (though interestingly the blackface side is not longer on its Facebook page), and made the following statement:

We thank and acknowledge your comments regarding the above image. Obviously it was never our intention to cause offence; Illamasqua has always celebrated the right to self-expression and we continually push creative and artistic boundaries, priding ourselves on working with models of many ethnic backgrounds to reinforce this point.

In covering this industry over the years it’s been my observation that people/companies often react defensively to accusations of racist behavior–which is understandable, it’s a very heavy charge to bear, no one wants to be the uncool racist guy or gal. When pointed at they respond with statements like, oh, I don’t see people based on their color or no harm was meant or this is art. But systemic racism is much bigger, more subtle and ultimately more damaging than over the top hate speech. Big picture it’s about supporting and helping to maintain a system of power, aka white supremecy.

You see tribute to the system reflected on runways, in editorials, ads and in disdain for streetwear that gets turned on its head when the same looks are shown on a runway. The vitriolic response to Kanye West’s showing in Paris was in part based in racism. And of course it’s shown in power at the top, who runs the most monied fashion companies and then too, those in charge of the most storied–Europe’s Haute Couture houses.

At this point in history, waving racism away because it wasn’t intended is a feeble excuse, especially for well educated and cultured fashion industry bigwigs, who like to pride themselves for their progressive view points. We all make mistake and stumble, life is a learning process, but in general this industry could do a lot better.