Designer Fixing Barbie's .... Cankles?

'There is no controversy,' he declares as he flouts industry standards

(NEWSER) - Designer Marc Jacobs is flouting fashion industry recommendations by sending 14-year-old models down his catwalk. “I do the show the way I think it should be, not the way somebody tells me it should be,” Jacobs told the New York Times after his Manhattan presentation. "There is no controversy." Health initiative guidelines set by the Council of Fashion Designers of America—which includes Jacobs on its board—recommend that runway models be at least 16 years old . The age limit has been touted as a sign of progress in an industry plagued by anorexia. "The industry's hiring of prepubescent-appearing teenage girls as models of adult clothing sets an unrealistic standard; the curves that define the female figure are absent," said council president Diane von Furstenburg. Models who attempt to maintain a child's body into adulthood "run the risk of eating disorders," she warned. More»

And Lana Del Rey has a lot of implants, says fashion designer

(NEWSER) - It's always fun when Karl Lagerfeld opens his mouth , which he did quite a bit during a recent stint as guest editor of Metro . His most buzz-generating quote is about Adele: "The thing at the moment is Adele," he says. "She is a little too fat, but she has a beautiful face and a divine voice." More of his thoughts:

• On Lana Del Rey : "She looks very much like a modern-time singer. In her photos she is beautiful. Is she a construct with all her implants? She's not alone with implants."

Designer slams her eye makeup, for one...

(NEWSER) - Kate Middleton is a style icon, right? Wrong, says fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. The Duchess of Cambridge projects the image of an "ordinary woman," not the "extraordinary woman" she should be, Westwood complains to Britain's Sunday Times Magazine in an interview picked up by Australia's News Network . More»

One big reason: They're made in America

(NEWSER) - Ever wondered how a pair of jeans, even great-looking ones, could possibly cost $300 or more? The Wall Street Journal has the answer—and in large part, it’s because the fancy pants were made in America, writes Christina Binkley. If a pair of $300 True Religion jeans had been made in China, they’d cost you more like $40, says that company’s head. Plus, expensive “premium jeans” require input from a range of people, from seamstresses to button makers to wholesalers. More»

But only if it's obvious you're wearing a designer logo

(NEWSER) - It's true: Wearing designer fashion will very likely improve your life. But not because the clothes are so attractive, oh no: It's the label that matters. A new study shows that designer logos bring benefits including more cooperation, job recommendations, and even money from others. In one experiment, when presented with pictures of a man wearing a polo shirt, volunteers rated him as having higher status and more wealth when the shirt had a designer logo than when it didn't. In another, volunteers rated a man as more suitable for a job—and recommended a higher salary—when he was sporting a designer logo. More»