Kim Kardashian and boyfriend Kanye West hung at the Dom Perignon party at the Wall at the W Hotel Dec. 6.
Kanye West — performer, fashion designer, Kim K’s baby daddy, — and now, possibly this year’s Met Gala performer? As Life & Style reports, the outspoken rapper has been booked to perform at the Costume Institute Gala on May 6. The news doesn’t come as too much of a shocker as West is a kilt-wearing fan and follower of Givenchy-designer Riccardo Tisci, who happens to be the Gala co-chair. Whether or not Yeezy will be able to bring an Anna Wintour-imposed banned individual as a date (hint: his currently pregnant girlfriend) is still up in the air. [Refinery29]
To be hired by U.S. President Barack Obama, and now by Anna Wintour, speaks volume about Hildy Kuryk‘s ability to represent important figures, whether in politics or fashion. On Wednesday, Vogue announced that former Democratic National Committee financial director would become its new director of communications, a job that includes acting as Wintour’s personal spokesperson. Kuryk served as a finance consultant for Obama’s first campaign and later secured a position at the DNC where she was promoted from the organization’s deputy finance director to finance director from 2011 to 2012. “The pressures of national politics is junior varsity compared to the pressures of working in the fashion world,” Robert Zimmerman, Democratic National Committeeman told The Daily Beast. “She is talented and handled the incredibly complex and difficult task of national politics with great distinction, specificity and diplomacy — all traits that will make her a great spokesperson.” Kuryk officially began at Vogue last week, replacing her predecessor Megan Salt, who departed to a similar position at Amazon Fashion. [The Daily Beast]
Former model Kylie Bisutti, who was once a face of Victoria’s Secret, is glad she’s no longer an Angel. Bisutti quit the fashion industry for religious reasons in February 2012. “I was being paid to strip down and pose provocatively to titillate men. It wasn’t about modeling clothes anymore; I felt like a piece of meat …” says Bisutti. The former Angel is working on a Christian clothing line and releasing a book on May 14 titled I’m No Angel: From Victoria’s Secret Model to Role Model. She currently lives in Montana with her husband and volunteers for her local church. [Vogue UK]
PHOTOS: Victoria’s Secret Lingerie 2012 Fashion Show
“I’m sure that, if Gianni Versace were alive, he would have been a huge fan of hers,” Donatella Versace who explained that if her brother were still around, he would have enjoyed Lady Gaga‘s company. In the March issue of Italian fashion magazine Amica, the Italian fashion designer opened up about Lady Gaga, who she met two years ago when the pop star decided to wear vintage Versace dresses in the “The Edge of Glory” music video. “I’m very proud to say that Lady Gaga is a friend of mine,” wrote Versace. “She was determined; she already knew what she wanted: to go straight to the heart of the maison and show those clothes to a new generation, to all her fashion-lover fans.” [WWD]
An eight-story garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed on Wednesday, killing at least 70 workers and injuring hundreds more. The news comes only five months after a deadly fire in a similar building caused 112 deaths. Cracks in the facility were already developing on Tuesday, but workers told local media that managers required them to continue working. Bangladesh is the second-largest exporter of garments in the world, making billions of dollars worth of clothes for European and American labels including Walmart, H&M, Gap and more. However, the low minimum wage at $37 a month comes at a high price. New York Times explains, “Industry proponents say the garment industry has been an essential engine for the Bangladeshi economy, lifting millions of people, particularly women, out of abject poverty, even with such low wages. […] But critics have blamed the Bangladesh government, factory owners and global brands for doing too little to protect workers with safe working conditions or to pay them a livable wage.” [Gawker]
