Karl Lagerfeld quashes any Chanel departure rumors once and for all. “I will die here,” he told the Times before his Couture show last night, which is as unequivocal as it gets. [NYT]

Lindsay Lohan is having a bad day. Her self-tanning products are a knockoff (allegedly), and her refusal of a role in The Hangover could be the end of her career. So much for that golden glow. [People]

Images are lacking, but details on Jil Sander’s collection for Uniqlo are surfacing. Called +J, the line looks like it will adhere to a minimalist aesthetic, which is to say, “Duh.” [WWD]—Alison Baenen

Photo: Monica Feudi / Gorunway.com

The apocalyptic storm that hit just as Rag & Bone’s party to celebrate its Intermix launch began was no impediment for the crowd that packed the Ace Hotel’s sofa-strewn lobby. “I’m so surprised,” said the label’s taller designing half, Marcus Wainwright. “I thought it would be just me and David [Neville] with the people who work here.” The event’s hostess, Jessica Stam, it turns out, is now more than just a friend of the house. “We’ve been designing some clothes together,” said Neville. Stam, however, corrected the statement a hair. “It’s more of a collaboration, really,” she said. At any rate, the newest designing model might just be called on to fill in when Neville takes his paternity leave after wife Gucci Westman has their second baby, due in two weeks. (Though, according to Wainwright, company policy only allows a single week off.) The trio stayed mum on the details of the Stam & Bone pieces, which will make their debut for Spring 2010. “Everyone’s here hoping we’d get to see a little bit,” said Lauren Santo Domingo, who showed off her hand-painted Christian Cota dress and new Chanel bucket bag. “Stam’s got great style. Everyone loves to see what she’s wearing.”—Meenal Mistry

Photo: Clint Spaulding / Patrick McMullan

Hungry Russian models now have a place to go for some Slavic home cooking, just like Babushka used to make: Mari Vanna. The Gramercy Park eatery, which opens officially on Wednesday after a soft launch in June, even looks like Grandma’s place, what with the peeling wallpaper, dusty bookshelves, and shabby-chic chandeliers courtesy of the decorator Vera Raririniva. Extending the metaphor, special friends of the restaurant receive a key that works not only here in New York but also at the restaurant’s St. Petersburg and Moscow outposts. We hear that Dasha Zhukova (wonder if a Pop launch party is in the works?), her billionaire boyfriend Roman Abramovich, and Naomi Campbell’s main squeeze, Vladislav Doronin, all have one. If you’re not a Russian oligarch, you can ring the bell. There’s a late-night menu and takeaway is also available—it comes packed in the string bags that Russians were known to carry in their pockets before they traded up to Chanels and Vuittons. More information at www.marivannanyc.com.—Laird Borrelli-Persson

Photo: Courtesy of Mari Vanna

First off, I don’t like biopics. So when I went to see an advanced screening of Coco Avant Chanel yesterday (the movie opens in New York and L.A. on September 25), the film already had three strikes against it—the aforementioned dislike of biopics; a firm belief that when movie people tackle fashion, nine times out of ten they get it all wrong; and Karl Lagerfeld’s recent diss on Audrey Tautou, who plays the late, great Coco. For all that, I liked the movie. Filmmaker Anne Fontaine has made a fine film about a young woman discovering her passions, personal and professional, and if you work hard to get away from the mythos of Chanel and treat Coco Avant as a conventional love story, then you, dear reader, will probably like this movie, too. Particularly likable: the conceit that Arthur Capel, the English gent who bedded Chanel and then funded her business, fell for her initially because of her amazing sense of personal style. Here’s to that! And this neat bit of dramaturgy—I expect the truth was rather more complicated—is of a piece with the film’s real respect for the art and craft of fashion. There’s a great sequence at the shore, for example, where we watch inspiration dawn on Coco’s face as she sees fishermen dragging in their nets, and in the next scene, she’s wearing one of their boat-neck, sailor-striped tops. And beyond that, Coco Avant Chanel gives fashion its due as a form of expression, a medium for speaking one’s mind about the layout of the world at present. This is welcome. The problem with Fontaine’s movie, however, is that whenever you take the blinders off and recall that the Coco on-screen is a version of the woman who launched what is arguably the single most important brand in the history of fashion, you can’t help but feel like the woman at its center is a bit small. At no point do you feel yourself in the presence of a radical imagination. And there’s something disappointing about the way the film treats Chanel, the brand, as a secondary love affair—the thing Gabrielle Chanel settled for creating once her grand romance with Capel ended. Maybe that’s how it was; I don’t know. I do know that Coco Avant Chanel has inspired me to get out my credit card: If anyone knows where I can find a pair of white silk, navy-trimmed men’s pajamas like the pair Tautou wears in the film, please let me know.—Maya Singer

Photo: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

On Wednesday night, Chanel fans were treated to the Los Angeles premiere of Anne Fontaine’s film, Coco Avant Chanel, starring Audrey Tautou. The screening, at the Pacific Design Center’s Silver Screen Theater, was followed by an elegant soiree at Chanel’s nearby Robertson Boulevard boutique, where guests sipped Champagne and nibbled on mini chicken potpies and mac ‘n’ cheese, but mostly eyed the fall merchandise. “The first time I heard about Chanel, I was 20,” said Fontaine. “I had a sort of boyfriend then and he was the ghostwriter of her book, so when it was proposed to me to do a movie, it was like I had known her for a long time.” The film follows Chanel’s life as a headstrong orphan in the country through her foray into fashion in Paris. “Chanel was an amazing woman, and it’s great to discover a piece of her mystery,” added Tautou. “I’m proud to bring a French touch to big Hollywood.”

Coco Avant Chanel opens in limited release on September 25.—Victoria Namkung

Photo: Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images

Christos Garkinos: Hello.
Caller from Denver: Hey Christos, I went through my closet and found 30 Chanel bags. Do you think people in New York will want those?
Garkinos: Um, yes.
Caller: Well, I will just FedEx them over to you in the Big Apple. Oh, should I take the original price tags off?
Garkinos: Um, no.<br/Garkinos: [In his head] I die.

And this is how DecadesTwo owner Christos Garkinos makes it possible for those whacked by economy, both buyers and sellers, to maintain appearances. Starting today, Garkinos and his vast cache of consigned treasures return to New York for a four-day pop-up shop at Kiki de Montparnasse, their second so far. There are some changes from the couture-heavy sale back in May, namely the addition of ready-to-wear and more accessories. I visited yesterday and clocked a giant rack of Chanel dresses and jackets and lots of better-than-sample-sale prices: a Balenciaga L.B.D. for less than $500, a Prada fur coat from Fall 2007 for $300, and this insane pile of Chanel bags pictured above.

Who exactly parts with this luxe merch in the first place? Viewers of The Rachel Zoe Project may remember Garkinos’ cameo from a recent episode, so that’s one. Other consigning culprits include Selma Blair, Julianne Moore, and Courtney Love. If you’re going for one-of-a-kind, there’s the gray tulle Versace gown worn by Christina Ricci at the Oscars. The pop-up pops down on Sunday, but there’s a chance it may be a more permanent fixture. Garkinos says that the last sale grossed more in four days than he did his first year in business on Melrose.—Laurie Trott

DecadesTwo Pop-Up at Kiki de Montparnasse, 79 Greene St., October 1-4.

Vintage hounds and the fashion fluent know Gripoix as one of the old-school specialists that has serviced couture houses for decades. Particularly famous for its collaborations with Chanel, it’s been the ne plus ultra of pate de verre (poured glass) jewelry since 1869. The company was acquired in 2006 by vintage jewelry collector Marie-Pierre Keslassy, whose current aim is to turn Gripoix into a name that stands on its own and has recognition beyond insider circles.

To that end, Keslassy created five entirely new collections, all with different themes. Fans of Chanel’s iconic cross necklaces, sautoirs, and cuffs will instantly spot a family resemblance in the Mythic Parisienne and French Riviera categories. Meanwhile, pieces such as hair combs and toe rings in the Byzantine, Glamour, and Rock ‘n’ Roll ranges are thoroughly modern creations. Nevertheless, all the pieces are still made in Gripoix’s historic ateliers on the Rue Oberkampf. “There is such richness and beauty in the archives,” says Keslassy. “There’s no end to the inspiration to be found there.” She adds, “This project is like bringing Grandma’s armoires back to life.” Well, that is, if you had a very chic mémère. From armoire to boudoir, a rice powder scent and candles will soon join the new lineup. For the time being, Gripoix has found a home in Paris at Colette, which currently has a massive stock of pieces. Its first boutique, however, will be in London at 108 Mount Street, scheduled to open on October 26.—Tina Isaac

Photo: Courtesy of Gripoix

Some of your opinions have differed, but we’ve generally been pretty impressed with Rihanna’s Parisian ensembles so far this week. Sure, she likes trendy clothes from avant-garde designers, but she tones it down by wearing lots of black. That move isn’t brain surgery, but you’d be surprised. And in the inevitable battle of Fashion Versus Wearer that ensues when a celebrity borrows clothes from designers to wear to their shows, Riri more often than not comes out on top. That’s why we’ll forgive her strange misstep at Chanel this morning, when the pop star wore an ill-fitting bustier and skirt with a ridiculously heavy-looking tangle of chains, all topped off by a CC-emblazoned quilted muff-bag. Thoughts on the subject?

Photos: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

The Kaiser has spoken, and evidenced from yesterday’s Chanel show, the word is clogs. While I myself love them, they can be a bit awkward to actually walk in and somewhat “Hey guys, wait up!” when it comes to cruising quickly on your feet through city streets. But really, what’s going on here? What was once reserved for surgeons in the O.R. and argumentative vegans has just been elevated to a new level. Is this Crocs crossover? Well, never mind, either way. If it’s good enough for Karl, bring it on. I mean, even the brides in that show were rocking a towering wooden platform. And remember that fringed and tasseled version last month at Alexander Wang? If you need to get your clog on now, check out this space-age winterized version from No. 6, a logo-laden stiletto from Gucci, or a braided style from the usual suspect, Frye. What do you think? Are you ready to bring back the clog?—Laurie Trott

Photo: Gianni Pucci/Go Runway.com

Who made our Top Ten list for Spring? Designers with a point of view: Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga, who went back to his haute street roots. Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, who made fashion fun again, and sent out some fabulously crafty clothes in the process. Celine’s Phoebe Philo, for her fearless new brand of contemporary minimalism. And even though they didn’t quite crack our top ten, there are plenty more who deserve shout-outs this season: Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta’s Tomas Maier, the young Londoner Christopher Kane, and the even younger Londoner Mary Katrantzou. We could go on, but what would be the point of a Top Ten list if we did that? To see who made our cut, check out our editors’ picks.

[The Top Ten Collections, Style.com]

Photo: Luca Cannonieri/GoRunway.com