Lisa Mayock - Fashionista

Lisa Mayock

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Struggling Label Vena Cava Gets a New Investor, Plans Expansion

Good news for Vena Cava fans: The struggling label has found a lifeline. After reports surfaced last winter that the label had lost a key investor and was laying off employees, things were looking pretty grim. WWD was reporting that the financial state of the company was "drastic" (whatever that means). Today Vena Cava announced their partnership with LF USA, the US subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Li & Fung Limited. Designers Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai "will continue to oversee the creative vision for the brand," a press release reads, "while LF USA will contribute its extensive global resources and deep retail relationships to support the growth of the brand." So what does this deal mean for Vena Cava, LF USA, and for us as shoppers?

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Report: Vena Cava At Risk of Going Under

Vena Cava, the label designed by indie fashion darlings Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock, might shutter, a source tells us. Though the label garnered a cult following among a certain set of Brooklyn girls since its debut in 2004, the loss of a major investor has reportedly put the label at risk of going under. This probably also explains why Vena Cava didn't put on a spring runway show this September as they have in seasons past. According to a source close to the situation, the label moved out of their Soho headquarters this week and laid off a lot of staff. Vena Cava hasn't shuttered yet--they've moved their offices home--and we hear a deal with TJ Maxx is still in the works. Still, things seem grim, which is sad news to hear about a label we've always been fond of.

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Fashion News Roundup: Angelina Jolie Lands $10M Louis Vuitton Campaign, Jessica Simpson Works (Not That) Hard for Her Money, and Someone Put Nipples on a Shoe

Angelina Jolie Will Reportedly Rake in $10 Million as the New Face of Louis Vuitton: The print-only campaign will be shot by Annie Liebovitz and is scheduled to launch this summer. {E!} Jessica Simpson Discusses Her Grueling Work Hours: In an interview with US Weekly, Simpson notes how hard she works for her fashion empire, stating: “I'm in the workroom in [L.A.'s] Westwood a few times a week from 11 to 7 at night.” {US Weekly} GOOP Gives You Organic Skincare: We were totally going to do this roundup for Earth Day, but of course Gwyneth did it much better. Check out her comprehensive list of organic skincare brands. {GOOP} Kate Middleton and Princess Di Love(d) the Same Handbag: Vogue Italy figured out that Kate has been carrying around Tod’s D-bag, which was named for Lady Di. Coincidence? We think not. {Vogue Italia}

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Vena Cava to Collaborate With Uniqlo

Vena Cava's Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock announced Wednesday at Fashion Group International's panel on entrepreneurship that they will be collaborating with Uniqlo. It's a juicy little tidbit of news that we nearly missed because the designers mentioned it so offhandedly (luckily Fashion etc., didn't and reminded us). Collaborating with brands is nothing new for Vena Cava. They've partnered in the past with Gap, Aqua for Bloomingdale's and Converse. The Gap collab was a struggle, Sophie said, because "Vena Cava is not a khaki brand", and she and Lisa are "pretty far from preppy." The design duo went on to weigh out the pros and cons of doing collaborations--one the one hand, lower-priced collaborations with big brands are a great way to reach the mass market and a new audience, and bottom line, make money, but they would never want work on a collaboration that wasn't true to their brand.

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A Vision in Khaki

We've been anxiously awaiting the new CFDA Design Edition khakis at the GAP. Not as much as the white shirts, but still we're excited. Even better, we