The Daily Front Row

Following in the footsteps of Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin, Nicholas Kirkwood has ventured into outfitting the soles of men. We first caught wind of the plans for the new menswear line back in October, when Kirkwood broke the news to us about the future launch.

Those who have anxiously been awaiting Deborah Needleman’s debut issue for T: The New York Times Style Magazine, due out in February, might be a bit surprised by her cover choice. The Daily hears that 79-year-old socialite and sister to Jackie O., Lee Radziwill, will make the premiere cover of Needleman’s version of T. What’s more, we hear that another upcoming cover is slated to feature 82-year-old socialite and philanthropist, Deeda Blair. When we reached out to The New York Times, they declined to comment. This would be quite the departure from Sally Singer’s ultra-hip covers featuring the likes of Esperanza Spalding, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lana Del Rey. However, with an average age for readership at age 54 and an average household income of $160,784 for print, Needleman may be looking to target a new (albeit much older) audience. Here come the ladies who lunch. Betsy Bloomingdale, call your publicist!

Sonia Rykiel: “Our new artistic director, Geraldo da Conceicao, is working on his debut Fall 2013 collection for March, so this is a transitional collection made by the in-house studio,” said Lola Rykiel at the Sonia Rykiel Pre-Fall presentation at Milk on Monday. “The idea is to have a timeless, essential wardrobe of a Rykiel.” Mission accomplie. The interim collection was stocked with the brand’s DNA from top to bottom: coquettish dresses, boyish ankle-baring trousers, and knitwear for days. A slouchy, rust-colored sweater, for example, hit a high note when paired with a swingy mini. Ditto for that charming striped sweater coat. Also on the menu this season? Fur, fur, and more fur, s’il vous plaît! Choose between ribbed, striped, knitted, punched; the list goes on. The bottom line? If it ain’t broke…

Lacoste has a new chief executive officer on board: José Luis Duran is set to succeed Christophe Chenut, helming the croc-festooned brand. In November, Lacoste was acquired by Maus Frères SA, a Swiss retail group which counts brands like Gant, Aigle, and Manor department stores among its roster of properties. Last month, Lacoste’s board convened to appoint Duran to his exec post, as well as Didier Maus’ new title of board president. After four years in the CEO capacity, Chenut is parting ways with Lacoste, but will maintain the CEO title at Lacoste’s global apparel licensee, Devanlay SA. Duran joined Devanlay in August 2011. Prior to his involvement with the Lacoste klatch, Duran was at hybrid supermarket retailer Carrefour, where he was CEO and chairman of the management board.

(NEW YORK) Venezuelan Authorities Dismiss Missoni Kidnapping Speculation [ Vogue UK]
The search continues for the Missoni boss

Thomas Pink Confirms New CFO [Fashion United UK]
Thomas Pink has confirmed the appointment of Andrew Merriman as its new chief financial officer

Penelope Cruz Smoulders For Loewe [Telegraph UK]
The first installment of Penelope Cruz’s ambassadorship for Loewe has been revealed

Norma Kamali on the Part Fashion Plays in Objectifying Women–And What You Can Do to Stop It [Fashionista]
Kamali discusses the “Stop Objectification” campaign

Katie Holmes & Bobbi Brown Team Up — And It’s Gorgeous [Refinery29]
Bobbi Brown enlists a fresh face

It’s another extreme close-up cover for Cara Delevingne whose mug appears on Love’s latest edition. The busy model is featured in the mag’s “The Clean Issue” (huh?) out on February 4th. We’ll avoid any punny comments about how we love the cover. (But we do!)

The next crop of FGI Rising Star Award finalists has been revealed; did your favorite burgeoning talents make the cut? In the women’s ready-to-wear realm, candidates include Rolando Santana, Nellie Partow, Honor’s Giovanna Randall, and Loris Diran. For the blokes, honorees in the menswear category include Andrew Charles’ Andy Hilfiger, Tim Coppens, and Todd Snyder; accouterment designers include Phoebe and Annette Stephens of Anndra Neen, Cornelia Guest, and Freda Salvador designers Cristina Palomo-Nelson and Megan Papay, while the retail category includes the brains behind Fivestory, Birchbox, Moda Operandi, and Shen Beauty. Other categories include fine jewelry, fragrance corporate, fragrance entrepreneur, and home-interior design.

Another one for the T masthead! Life post-Elle for former style director Kate Lanphear has been a guessing game over the past few months—from a purported stab at the EIC seat at WSJ. to involvement in a new mag venture entitled Editorialist—but it’s the T talk that’s proven to be true. Lanphear will take the title of style director with her to T, following speculation back in mid-November that the street style and front row fixture would be joining the mag as part of recently-appointed editor-in-chief Deborah Needleman’s fresh team at T. The folks at T confirmed Lanphear’s new gig to The Daily this afternoon, before which the move got Twitter-vetted earlier today when T retweeted the news to its 1.78 million followers. How will the Grey Lady’s chicest turf look once Lanphear lands at her new job? Stay tuned…

A radiant Heidi Klum covers the February issue of Marie Claire on newsstands January 15th. Klum is kind enough to offer some sex advice to their readers: “Some people are more experimental in bed and others are more boring,” she explains. “If you are wild and crazy, bring it on so the other person is well aware that you have little devil horns that come out every once in a while.

Dame Helen Mirren continues to prove that you can be sexy at any age (She must read Bazaar!) in a red Escada gown over the weekend. The Queen was at the Palm Springs International Film Festival where she picked up the “International Film Star” award and showed her appreciation for the honor by thanking the crowd in different languages. Ain’t nothing like a Dame.