We are secretly somewhat satisfied that Steve and Barry's has declared bankruptcy. Not that we wish anyone any harm per say, but the idea that super cheap clothing endorsed by celebrities might not triumph over real design makes us feel better about the world.

Topshop seems to be missing the point of its existence. In August, the retailer will launch a premium denim area at its Oxford Circus flagship in London.

Capturing the newest hot fashion customer, Chinese Yuppies, is on every fashion retailers wish list. This is likely why Hong Kong Fashion Week was so big this year!

Fashion radio? Now as much as we love Jefferson Hack we aren't sure what good listening to him is going to do fashion being a visual medium and all.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave Giorgio Armani the Légion d'Honneur in Paris on Thursday.

Women's Wear Daily has an impressive interview with Oscar De La Renta and the house's CEO Alex Bolen. Topics on the table included the "state of de la Renta's $100 million wholesale business and their desire to be considered on par with world-famous European houses, the difficulties with licensed partners and where they see the company headed over the next several years." The biggest revelation? Oscar and Alex see no reason the house will ever be for sale.

Art and fashion! Art and fashion. Go together like horse and carriage. Hermés is at the Tate, Richard Price has bags with Louis Vuitton!

Also fashion photography is getting more respect as an art form with an exhibit at Photographer's Gallery in London.

Even the Australians are getting into the kicking counterfeiting butt thing.

Jane Sheperdson, former Topshop mogul, has begun designing for British retail chain Whistles. Sheperdson is attempting to re-imagine the Whistles aesthetic as 'classic', prompting comparisons of her work to See by Chloe and 3.1 Phillip LIm (two designers very popular among twenty-somethings). Her first collection, for Fall 08, will hit stores in September.

Gucci is poised to launch a new mens fragrance come September. Gucci by Gucci Pour Homme will become the first men's fragrance developed from scratch by Frida Giannini.

Diane Von Furstenburg, showed her Resort collection in Florence recently and took the concept of packing-light to it's farthest extreme. Inspired by a 'petite valise' she offered up flirty sun dresses and crisp trenches and all of the swimsuits and scarves to go with them. Prints consisted of flags and keys and stripes and other looks had the red, white, and blue motif we love so much for our mid-season getaways.

Another Urban Outffiters collaboration has been announced. This one with high end costume jewelry designer Lulu Frost. The line will be called Secret Garden and be comprised of five pieces, three necklaces and two earrings, that are loaded up with charms the designer is known for (except these aren't salvaged numbers from the sinage at the Plaza Hotel).

Adidas is taking Wal-Mart to court over those darn stripes. The sporting goods company recently filed a lawsuit against Payless for the same reason and received the largest sum ever awarded for trademark infringement (an estimated 305 million). It seems Adidas, the second largest sporting goods retailer in the world, is not hesitating to take Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, to battle. The two companies have had this discussion before, in 1995 and 2002, and in both cases Wal-Mart was asked to remove items from it's stock that were confusingly similar to those of Adidas. This time, Adidas is taking names.

Let's not forget that Miami Swim Week begins next month, after all, sportswear (as Resort has proven) has as much significance in this country as denim. So, Deisel will kick off the week of shows, and other cross-pollinating brands, like Australia's Zimmerman, will serve as a reminder of why a Mercedes-Benz sponsored swim week is necessary in the first place.

The black issue of Vogue Italia comes out next week and Cathy Horyn has leaked a glimpse at the contents with images and quotes from the participants. Hopefully this issue will stir up some dialogue, and poise the Spring shows to serve as an example of its impact.

The third installment of Summer Camp, a series of short videos by Bruce Webber for W Magazine, has surfaced on YouTube. There are models, there are school buses, there is Miami and, most notably, the best vintage store we've ever been to in our lives that we thought only our Moms knew about.

The Manhattan Jil Sander store is open today and if you're curious about its interior architecture, there are a few details of note. Namely, a wall of rotating mirrors. Hey, it's downtown New York! We don't have room for epicenters and whatnot.

Juicy Couture for Men is changing its name to Dirty English. To which we say, there's a men's line? No, really. Apparently this name is thought to capture the 'edginess' that the men's line has come to represent. We're not sure about edginess but we're pretty sure Dirty English is curiously (and appropriately) similar to Ugly American.

Topshop has been slated as the sponsor of all of the McCarren Park Pool events this summer. Staffers will be outfitted in Topshop's current offerings and 'style consultants' will be scouting the grounds and snapping photos of hipsters. This will probably double as style section of Topshop's U.S. ecommerce venture and research material for the next delivery of ripoffs.