FAUX PUNK?: Malcolm McLaren is worried that fake clothes could be circulating under the Seditionaries label he designed with Vivienne Westwood in the Seventies. The punk impresario alleged that a certain Simon Easton, believed to be based in the United Kingdom, has managed to sell a significant amount of fake Seditionaries designs to unwitting clients, including the likes of artist Damien Hirst, auction houses and museums. “I would never have thought 30 years ago when I was making this stuff on my kitchen table that someone would want to copy it like a Goya or a Van Gogh,” said McLaren. He said some 80,000 pounds, or $158,400, of the alleged fakes were sold by Easton to Hirst. He claimed Easton also was operating through eBay, but that the online auctioneer has since canceled Easton’s account due to complaints. Meanwhile, McLaren also alleged that Easton has written a book, to be published by Rizzoli, about McLaren’s work with Westwood that is full of fakes. In a strange twist to the tale, however, McLaren wrote an essay to be included in the book after Easton solicited his participation. “I did it without thinking,” said McLaren. “I get hundreds of requests and I agreed to this one without seeing the book, which he said was supposed to be a self-published thing. I’ve been duped, too.” Easton could not be reached for comment.
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MAINE ATTRACTION: Rogues Gallery’s Alex Carleton turned Portland, Maine, into an unlikely fashion port of call with his cult T-shirt and men’s collection in 2002. And he’s been building more buzz of late. On the heels of Rogues Gallery’s first freestanding store, which opened in January in Portland, Carleton launched an e-commerce site (roguesgallery.com) last month and is dipping his toes into women’s wear. A few teaser pieces are available in the Portland shop and online, but female fans of the hip nor’easter line will have to wait for fall 2009, when Carleton plans to roll out the full women’s collection, for the head-to-toe Rogues look.
VIVE LA FRANCE: Bulgari just can’t get enough of the Ville Lumière. On Sept. 30, the high-end Roman jeweler will inaugurate its fourth shop in Paris on Avenue George V, and its largest in France, with a cocktail party. After the ribbon cutting, guests will be able to check out Bulgari’s new spring 2009 accessories collection and admire a string of one-of-a-kind pieces from the “haute joaillerie” collection.
FOLLOWING THE SUN: Robert Redford is expected for a poetry reading at the sixth edition of the Tuscan Sun Festival in Cortona, Tuscany, on Aug. 8. The festival, running Aug. 2 to 12, was created by Barrett Wissman, president of IMG Artists; cellist Nina Kotova, and Frances Mayes, author of the best-selling “Under the Tuscan Sun,” based on her life experiences in Cortona. Redford is slated to read poetry by Robert Frost, among other favorites. A performance by the Bolshoi Ballet, and music by Natasha Paremski, Joshua Bell and José Cura are some of the top draws to the festival — in addition to art exhibitions, movie screenings, wine and olive oil tastings and cooking lessons.
ROCK OF AGES: Marking 12 years in the business, Parisian jeweler Marie-Hélène de Taillac is to stage a retrospective at the Phillips de Pury headquarters in New York this fall. Known for her candy-colored Jaipur gems, around 80 pieces will be exhibited at the event, slated to run Oct. 7 to 25, with new designs sprinkled into the mix. All of the pieces will be available to buy.
HENRI EXPANDS: Henri Bendel will branch out with three new stores this fall, and also is remodeling its outpost at Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio. Limited Brands, which owns the name, is being quiet about the rollout — a spokeswoman confirmed three new stores were on the way, but said it was too early to discuss specifics. Info on the new locations was slipped into a chart at the end of a 26-page investor packet posted on Limited’s Web site, along with first-quarter results, which were released in May. The new doors will be much smaller than the New York flagship. Together, all three of them will have just 6,000 square feet of selling space. The store in Easton Town Center is expanding to 3,000 square feet and will carry accessories, home fragrance and personal care products.