Yves Saint Laurent's Art Collection Up For Auction

PARIS (Reuters) - The private art collection of French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge has been put up for auction and will be sold in February 2009, auction house Christie's said on Wednesday.

Saint Laurent, one of the leading figures in 20th century French fashion, died in Paris in June at the age of 71.

Contacted by Reuters, Christie's, which will organize the auction in partnership with auction house Pierre Berge and Associates, said it would announce the items to be sold at the end of September.

The auction house declined to estimate how much the collection was likely to fetch until those items had been identified, but experts have put the figure between 300 and 500 million euros, ($472 million-$787 million).

Sources close to Christie's said the figure was "not wrong."

French daily Le Figaro said the collection features several hundred pieces including Renaissance jewelry, paintings by masters such as Picasso and Matisse, and manuscripts of the works of French authors Gustave Flaubert and Andre Gide.

Berge, who had amassed the collection with Saint Laurent over a period of almost 40 years, told Le Figaro he "couldn't carry out the sale until after his (Saint Laurent's) death," adding that "the page has turned."

Antique dealer Alexis Kugel, who told Le Figaro his relation with the collectors was the closest a dealer could have with his clients, said: "For Yves Saint Laurent art was a vital need, indispensable for his inspiration, like water to survive. It soothed his depressive character."

Abaete Fall 2008 Runway

Laura Poretzky's strength is in making ever more understated, chic clothes that are long on commercial appeal. There is something to be said for ably translating trends into simple, well-priced looks. Check out some of her Fall 2008 Runway Show pics below...

*SING*WITH*YOUR*HEART*

N.Y. Authorities Raid Alleged Sweatshop

NEW YORK — An investigation conducted by the New York State Department of Labor has uncovered significant labor violations at a factory manufacturing garments for Macy’s, Gap, Banana Republic, Express, Victoria's Secret, Limited and Coldwater Creek.

Jin Shun Inc., a garment contractor operating out of Long Island City, in the borough of Queens, is alleged to have underpaid more than 100 mostly immigrant workers by nearly $3 million in minimum and overtime wages since 2005.

The investigation found that prior to 2005, Jin Shun Inc. operated under the name Venture 47 and allegedly withheld nearly $2.5 million in minimum and overtime wages.

Officials raided two factories this morning and tagged more than 10,000 garments with a label stating the garments were unlawfully manufactured.

Jin Shun contracted with a Manhattan-based manufacturer called Urban Apparel that has already paid $60,000 in underpayments to have the tags removed on the items tagged this morning.

The DOL’s Apparel Industry & Fair Wages Task Force found factory workers worked 12-hour days, often six or seven days a week. Employees were paid on a piece-rate basis and were instructed to fill out two time cards — one for Monday through Wednesday and a second card for theremainder of the week — ensuring that no more than 40 hours of work would show on any card. According to the timecards and the factory's production, workers were completing an entire item of clothing in less than a minute. Investigators even found a question-and-answer sheet meant to coach workers on how to respond to labor investigators without raising suspicions.

By Ross Tucker
For complete coverage, see Thursday’s WWD.

Are You In Or Are You Out?

EVERYTHING YOU CAN IMAGINE IS REAL

-PABLO PICASSO

Harmony, Health, Peace

In praying for another, know that your silent inner knowing of wholeness, beauty, and perfection can change the negative patterns of the others subconscious mind and bring about wonderful results.

U.S. Identifies $80M in Illegal China Transshipments

WASHINGTON – Trade officials said today they had identified more than 1,000 cargo containers of illegally transshipped apparel from China valued at $80 million that entered the U.S. in 2006 and 2007.

The goods, shipped from China but declared to be from 11 other countries, will be charged to China’s quotas. Ten apparel categories will be affected, including cotton knit shirts and cotton trousers. The shipments contained more than four million dozens of apparel from over 900 individual importations, according to trade officials.

Transshipments are defined as goods made in one country, but labeled as having originated in another country, usually with the intention of sidestepping quotas and tariffs.

The announcement was made by U.S. Customs & Border Protection, the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, a group chaired by the Commerce Department, and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Alessandro Dell'Acqua Fall 08 Runway

MILAN Fall 2008 Fashion Week -

***YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK ALL DAY***

Our Decision Of Who We Are

The more that you talk about a person as a social construction, or as a confluence of forces, or as fragmented or marginalized, what you do is you open up a whole new world of excuses. And when Sartre talks about responsibility, he's not talking about something abstract. He's not talking about the kind of self or soul that theologians would argue about. It's something very concrete, like you and me talking, making decisions, doing things and taking the consequences. It might be true that there are six billion people in the world and counting; nevertheless, what you do makes a difference. It makes a difference first of all in material terms, it makes a difference to other people, and it sets an example. In short, I think the message here is that we should never simply write ourselves off and see ourselves as the victim of various forces. It's always our decision who we are.

Who Says Money Doesn't Go With You?

Diamond Geezer...
Perhaps taking his cue from luxury retailers, Damien Hirst swapped dead sharks for precious stones, encrusting a life-size cast of a human skull in 8,601 diamonds. When the blinged-out head sold for a reported $122 million to an anonymous investment group, the British artist's genius for the grand gesture was confirmed (he later told Paradis magazine that his business manager felt they should have asked for twice as much). Hirst himself is said to be one of the investors, but there's no word on whether Kimora Lee Simmons is involved.

The Story Of Life

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people will be (possibly your roommate, neighbor, co-worker, long lost friend, lover, or even a complete stranger), but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way. And sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.

*Everything happens for a reason*

Nothing happens by chance or by means of good luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless. The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience help to create who you are and who you become. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones. If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious when you open your heart. If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.

*Make every day count*

Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head high because you have every right to. Tell yourself you're a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you. You can make of your life anything you wish. Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets. Most importantly, if you love someone, tell him or her, for you never know what tomorrow may have in store. Learn a lesson in life every day you live.

That's the story of life...

LIV TYLER IS HAUTE

Tyler made black and white fresh again in a polka-dot Givenchy dress and Roger Vivier sandals. The actress attended the design house's haute couture fashion show during Paris Fashion Week.

Ummhumm...Ignorance

“The greatest ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about”

Momma's Words of Advice

AS YOU THINK, YOU TRAVEL

AND AS YOU LOVE YOU ATTRACT.

YOU ARE TODAY WHERE YOUR THOUGHTS HAVE BROUGHT YOU

YOU WILL BE TOMORROW WHERE YOUR THOUGHTS TAKE YOU.

YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THE RESULT OF YOUR THOUGHTS

BUT YOU CAN ENDURE AND LEARN...

YOU WILL REALIZE THE VISION (NOT THE IDLE WISH) OF YOUR HEART

BE IT BASE OR BEAUTIFUL...

FOR YOU WILL ALWAYS GRAVITATE

TOWARDS THAT WHICH YOU SECRETLY, MOST LOVE.

WHATEVER YOUR PRESENT ENVIRONMENT MAY BE,

YOU WILL FALL, REMAIN OR RISE

WITH YOUR THOUGHTS, YOUR VISION, YOUR IDEAL.

YOU WILL BECOME AS SMALL AS YOUR CONTROLLING DESIRE;

AS GREAT AS YOUR DOMINANT ASPIRATION.