Visionaire Bridges the Gap

“We love the idea of treating the T-shirts like a canvas,” explained Visionaire‘s Cecilia Dean from the boardroom of the publication’s downtown headquarters. “So you would have the signature at the bottom and it will explain, ‘This is an artwork by Yoko Ono for Visionaire 63Forever.’” The shirts Dean is describing are the first five in a series of forty-five collectible tees that Visionaire has produced with Gap. The wares include a graphic, shining silver block with the tagline “Grow love with me” scrawled by Yoko Ono at the bottom; a Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari vision of Linda Evangelista as a religious icon; a stoic, standing panther photographed by Sølve Sundsbø; a chemical-etched skull by Craig McDean; and, unsurprisingly given the star’s continuous relationship with the brand, a rather eye-catching portrait of Lady Gaga by Inez & Vinoodh, which debuts exclusively above. Each image is printed in silver on the Gap’s classic, comfortably casual black tees, and they’re translated from originals from the all-metal, meant-to-last-forever Visionaire 63 tome, which debuted earlier this year.

Beaufille Breaks Through

Fashion currently boasts several talented sister acts (The Row, Rodarte, and Dannijo, for example), and Toronto-based Chloé and Parris Gordon are the latest sibling design duo making waves. After going by Chloé comme Parris for several seasons, the Gordons decided to relaunch their jewelry and ready-to-wear label as Beaufille, which means “handsome girl” in English. “We found ourselves in business pretty quickly after our graduate collection from design school (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, in Halifax) was immediately picked up. Over the past few years, we’ve grown and changed—we got an outside investor and are looking at our business more internationally—so we wanted to take our names out of the brand and operate under and alias,” they told Style.com. “We’ve always designed for the effortlessly chic tomboy, and Beaufille combines the contrasting masculine/feminine, hard/soft elements that define our aesthetic.” The twosome divides the creative work evenly, with Chloé concentrating on clothing and Parris overseeing jewelry and accessories, and their standout items often combine both disciplines. The Spring ’14 lineup, which was reportedly inspired by the Renaissance and mob wives (specifically, Michelle Pfeiffer’s character in Scarface), featured silky tanks, skinny trousers, and inky brocade looks decorated with delicate chains, metal clasps, and other hardware details that tie in with the new range of semiprecious bijoux. Artist-slash-model Langley Fox (who turned up on the Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton runways this season) posed for the accompanying look book, which debuts here on Style.com. The Gordons said they “have admired Langley for a long time, mostly for her art, and loved collaborating with someone who shares an artistic point of view.”

Time to Take the Leap

Ah, the L.B.D. — so simple, so sensible, so ... snoozy. This holiday season, may we suggest the L.B.J.?

The little black jumpsuit is as easy as a dress: Throw it on and you’re out the door. Wear it to work with a blazer and, come evening, pile on baubles or add a knockout belt for instant party-worthy attire.

Jumpsuits are everywhere. It seems as if every designer has at least one to offer. Not so long ago, e-tailers were largely perplexed as to where to put the couple of random jumpsuits they bought — with dresses? with pants? — but now they’re listed in drop-down menus. Shopbop currently has 189 options, 87 of them black.

For Alexander Wang, a SoHo Housewarming Party

On Tuesday night, Alexander Wang, the new designer for Balenciaga, arrived for the opening of its SoHo store at 148 Mercer Street. It was heavy on the Italian green marble and limestone.

“I wanted it to convey a sense of timelessness and history,” Mr. Wang said.

Guests admiring the vast and imposing space, which served as an architectural backdrop to Mr. Wang’s first collection for Balenciaga, seemed to think he succeeded. One compared the 4,120-square-foot space to a bank vault. Another called it “superluxury, like being in Paris.”

Eddie Borgo Brings the Bling to Basel

“There’s this sort of mad dash to go from one event to the other,” said Eddie Borgo of Art Basel in Miami Beach. “But that’s not really my style.” What is his beat, however, is splitting his time between the art scene and the street—a testament to his high/low sensibility that’s sure to translate to his Basel capsule collection for The Webster. The range, which debuts exclusively here, will launch on December 4—Basel, day one, naturally.

Hunger Games Strike Net-a-Porter

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens on Friday night, and with it, more tie-ins than arrows in Katniss Everdeen’s quiver. There’s makeup from Cover Girl, nail polish from China Glaze, even subs from Subway—may the sandwiches be ever in your flavor! But the alliance that’s captured our attention around here is the one between the film’s costume designer, Trish Summerville, and Net-a-Porter. On Thursday, the Web site will begin selling Capitol Couture, a sixteen-piece ready-to-wear collection, plus accessories and jewelry, designed by Summerville. In the mix are a leather jacket and pants inspired by Cinna (a.k.a. Lenny Kravitz); an emerald green dress modeled after one worn by Johanna, the tribute from the Lumber District (played by Jena Malone); logo tees; and, of course, versions of Katniss’ chariot and mockingjay dresses. This isn’t Summerville’s first retail partnership; as the costume designer on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo she created a tie-in collection for the fast-fashion chain H&M. But, as she puts it, the Net-a-Porter partnership “breaks new ground” in terms of quality and price point. The jacquard-trimmed twill jumpsuit here ($415) is a subtle riff on the uniforms worn in the Quarter Quell. For those of you who haven’t read the books, that’s the 75th annual Hunger Games competition around which most of the action in the second part of the trilogy takes place. Summerville is currently at work on Gone Girl with Dragon Tattoo director David Fincher. The bad news for fans of Gillian Flynn’s page-turner? “It’s a completely contemporary film,” says the costume designer. “I don’t see a ready-to-wear collection coming out of it.”

Here Comes Trouble: Taylor Swift to Sing for Victoria’s Secret

Sorry, Beliebers, it would seem that the pop star is too busy planning bike heists to make a repeat appearance at this year’s Victoria’s Secret fashion show. Taylor Swift, it was confirmed today, will take the stage during tomorrow’s runway romp alongside Fall Out Boy, A Great Big World, and Neon Jungle. The announcement dispels earlier rumors that One Direction would perform—and we’re not terribly surprised that the band isn’t on the docket. A lingerie show is no place for a quintet of impressionable young boys (or, apparently, Swift’s ex-boyfriends).

Skeeve McQueen! Upper East Side fashion store boss called me ‘burrito face,’ Latina's bias suit claims

A TOP BRITISH fashion house was hit with its second discrimination lawsuit this year after a Hispanic saleswoman said she was forced to endure ethnic and personal slurs for a decade.

Moselle Blanco, a former saleswoman at Alexander McQueen’s flagship store in Manhattan, accuses her bosses of calling her names like “burrito face” and “Goya princess,” and turning a deaf ear to her complaints, in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Blanco says one sales manager in particular, Max Cantey, singled her out, spreading vicious rumors about her over her decade-long career at the designer store, according to court papers filed Wednesday in State Supreme Court.

CHALK of the Town

Over six years ago, former Hollywood stylist and Kitson buyer Christina Minasian launched the contemporary label Pencey (famously named after Holden Caufield’s fictional private school in The Catcher in the Rye). It has become known for its trend-driven staples with a preppy yet rebellious twist, as well as recent capsule collaborations with It girls like Mia Moretti and Jessica Hart. While Minasian will continue to take a playful approach at Pencey, this season, the designer debuts CHALK—a new line with a decidedly more refined and timeless look. “The name reflects its clean aesthetic. I wanted to do something that focused on style more than trend, and create classic pieces that will last in your wardrobe at an affordable price point, ” Minasian said at a preview this week. “The CHALK customer still aims to stand out and express her identity, but she doesn’t want to look like she works at Urban Outfitters or hangs out on St. Mark’s Place.” Highlights from the Spring ’14 collection (which debuts here on Style.com) include slouchily tailored suiting separates, a flirty cap sleeve shift, a cool bomber jacket whipped up from white lace re-embroidered with leather, and a poplin shirtdress backed in herringbone-patterned silk. That crisp number, in particular, felt polished and of-the-moment.

CHALK’s Spring collection ($75-$385) will be sold on Shopbop.com and at Madison boutique in Los Angeles.

Fendi’s Getting Shady for Spring ’15

While the rest of us are still mulling over the Spring ’14 collections, which debuted on runways only weeks ago, Fendi is already looking ahead to Spring ’15. Sure, it may seem a little early to start thinking about what we’ll be wearing more than a year from now, but the house has a good reason for the jump-start. Today, Fendi announced that it will release a Spring ’15 capsule collection with eyewear designer Thierry Lasry (left), who’s best known for his hypersleek, sexy shades. The partnership marks Lasry’s first collaboration with a luxury fashion house. Between this, its buggy bags, and Spring ’14′s Delfina Delettrez-designed jewelry (remember those furry little ear cuffs?), we’d say Fendi is seriously upping its cool factor.

Gigi Burris’ Head Games

Though scads of new designers enter the ready-to-wear arena every year, it’s rare to come across a promising young milliner, which places Gigi Burris in a creative class of her own. After launching her namesake line in 2009, the New York-based hat maker quickly developed a following (and an impressive list of editorial credits) for her statement-making chapeaux that combine old-world techniques with contemporary finishes. Burris’ latest Spring lineup was inspired by “decayed art deco and the former glory of Miami Beach,” she told Style.com at a preview this week. Those ideas were most evident in pieces like a sculpted buckram sun hat trimmed with ostrich feathers as well as hand-painted turkey plume fascinators and chantilly lace turbans. On the more modern end of the spectrum, she showed edgy, asymmetric leather visors that resembled bird beaks and petite straw bibi featuring clean metallic hardware and the stripped-down spine of a feather. “I try to keep it from seeming too English or mature. My customers aren’t fussy old ladies or Alexander Wang girls, but the look is still downtown,” she said.

Gigi Burris is carried by select retailers including Collete, Kirna Zabete, and the Webster, and sold online at Moda Operandi. For more information, visit gigiburris.com.

Helena Christensen Designs With Women In Mind

Being a bona fide supermodel, Helena Christensen knows a thing or two about looking good in lingerie. Perhaps that’s why, in 2012, classic European negligee brand Triumph tapped the icon to design a collection just for the company. Today, Christensen and Triumph debut their fourth outing together and, thanks to the latter’s concurrent launch of U.S. e-commerce, the collaboration will now, for the first time, be available Stateside.