Zac Posen lost his shit because Harper's Bazaar wanted him to stand next to Sesame Street's The Count in a fashion shoot. It was the only way he could get into the magazine "as a non-advertiser," EIC Glenda Bailey said.

In case anyone needed confirmation that was how things really worked, now we have it: A talented young designer can't get into what was once one of the most prestigious fashion magazines for free unless he wants to play Muppet dress up. The anecdote in Eric Wilson's NYT Styles profile portrays Posen as hot-headed, but in defense of his craft—but overall, the piece is far from flattering. It portrays the 29-year-old designer as having gotten way too successful way too young (though Wilson's phrasing is truly unfortunate: "He was the designer wunderkind who went too far, too fast, his sequins falling to the floor like the feathers of Icarus"), and argues that Posen has been too much obsessed with being in the limelight than focusing on his collection. Well, the recession has been a time for all of us to retrench. Maybe his spirit animal was telling him not to launch those fragrance and denim lines.