Proving once again that the fashion industry and France are bastions of racial tolerance and acceptance, the new issue of French Vogue features a photoshoot featuring model Lara Stone in blackface. While we're on the subject of tolerance and acceptance, please note that if you happen to be overweight, Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld (seen here awkwardly clasping the hand of a black man) most assuredly will not tolerate or accept you. In an interview with the German magazine Focus, the 95-pound former fattie (and notorious rabble-rouser) says that women who criticize runway models for being too thin are just jealous fat-asses who sit on the couch all day eating potato chips. Really. Not that these women should get up off the couch and go outside, mind you. "Nobody wants to see a round woman," he says. [Jezebel, NYDN, Telegraph]

[Karl Lagerfeld puts an end to a three-way roll in the hay on the barn-inspired runway for his Chanel presentation in Paris yesterday. Image via Getty]

[Katy Perry and her anonymous fashion gay have some fun with a Karl Lagerfeld printed bag before attending the Yves Saint Laurent show in Paris yesterday. Image via INF]

Bill O'Reilly is celebrating his 60th today; we're counting on you, Keith Olbermann, to make sure O'Reilly's big day is a very special one. Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld is turning 76. Just in time for Fashion Week, model Coco Rocha is turning 21. Movie director (and Madonna ex) Guy Ritchie turns 41. Ryan Phillippe is turning 35. Actor Colin Firth is 49. Golfing legend Arnold Palmer is 80. Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry is 59. The Post's Keith Kelly is 55. And NYC nightlife veteran Tracy Westmoreland celebrates his 53rd birthday today.

[Professional fan waver Karl Lagerfeld checks out the devious handiwork by French pop star Jean Roch in Saint-Tropez; photo via INF]

Not only is Karl Lagerfeld not planning to retire until the day he has to be hauled out of Chanel's offices in a bodybag, he also isn't going to restrain himself from making bitchy comments to reporters. A couple of weeks ago, the Kaiser staged a verbal assault on Heidi Klum and Seal. Today he delivers a milder attack on Audrey Tautou, who stars in Chanel's new TV commercial for Chanel No. 5, but had the audacity to suggest recently that she doesn't actually wear the label from head-to-toe every day. Karl's response? Among other things, he says he wishes he'd recommended Penelope Cruz for the perfume campaign instead. [WWD]

• Not only is Karl Lagerfeld not planning on retiring, he tells Cathy Horyn that he's staying at Chanel until he dies. Also: He says the blogger who started the rumor that he's stepping down "is an idiot." [NYT]
• The Jackson clan all wore Versace to the memorial service today, in case you were wondering. [InStyle]
• Roberto Cavalli is launching a made-to-measure service that will offer handmade dresses at prices starting at $41,000. But only 35 pieces will be produced. Act fast! [WWD]
• There's uncertainty in the world of haute couture these days. Shocker. [NYT]
• W catches up with the Rodarte ladies. [W]
• The super-successful Saks saleswoman who lined her own pockets via fake refunds and store credits was sentenced to three months in prison. [NYP]
• Several ex-employees of Scoop are suing the chain for labor violations. [CNY]
• The Calvin Klein Jeans billboard on Houston is now even less risqué. [BB]

Former John Edwards campaign insider Andrew Young won't STFU. Karl Lagerfeld was told to STFU by Heidi Klum's people. Courtney Love trashed a hotel room. Harry Potter cast members got Swine Flu! Presenting your firework-cinged post July 4th Gossip Roundup!

Chanel, the legendary fashion brand run by Mugatu-esque overlord/enemy to Heidi Klums everywhere, Karl Lagerfeld, is pissed. They let everyone know how much they cringe when you use their name to refer to anything but Chanel. Dare speaketh Chanel?!

It seems Karl Lagerfeld's obnoxious comments about Heidi Klum a couple of months ago didn't communicate the bitchy message he'd intended to send, so now he's going back for another shot. After dismissing Klum as a nobody (which is what he also said back in February), the Chanel designer went after Klum's husband, Seal, too: "I am no dermatologist but I wouldn't want his skin. Mine looks better than his. He is covered in craters." We can't say we've ever thought a little German unity would be a good thing. But, hey, there's a first for everything. [The Sun]

• Here's a sign that people are shopping again (or else Victoria Beckham has gone on another shopping spree): Hermès says it's experiencing such "massive over-demand" for its handbags, it's been forced to set up its own crocodile breeding operation in Australia just to keep up. [Reuters via Cut]
• Esteban Cortazar appears to be parting ways with Emanuel Ungaro. It appears he plans to sue Ungaro, too. [WWD]
• Do you control a major luxury brand? Are you a fan of Chloe Sevigny? If you answered yes to both questions, give her a ring. She's willing to talk. [SF]
• A "couture" tattoo shop has opened in the Flatiron district. [W]
• The DKNY mural at Houston and Broadway is officially gone. [BB]

• Versace CEO Giancarlo di Risio is expected to hand in his resignation tomorrow. He's leaving after reportedly clashing with Donatella Versace "over her lavish lifestyle," not surprisingly. [NYT]
• The second season of The City has started filming inside Elle's offices. [WWD]
• Rosa Cha has launched a line of bathing suits that sell for as much as $3,200 apiece. And you can't even get them wet. But that isn't stopping women from buying them, supposedly. [NYP]
• If that bathing suit sounds appealing, you're probably the sort of person who'd also be interested in buying these $340 Hermès cotton boxer shorts for your husband. [FWD]
• Karl Lagerfeld is hitting the big screen. Or his voice is, at least. He'll be playing a villain in an animated French movie. [Fashionista]

• Rihanna seemed to have a lock on an upcoming Vogue cover. But that was before nude pics of her appeared online and now Anna Wintour won't return her phone calls. At least that's the rumor that is now circulating with the tabloids. [The Insider]
• Pics of the fashion set at Saturday's polo match on Governors Island. [WWD, Vogue UK, Marie Claire]
• Karl Lagerfeld headed to Moscow last week. He wasn't impressed by the food or the men, although he did find Naomi Campbell's beau "quite stunning." [Cut]
• Bid farewell to the giant DKNY billboard on Broadway and Houston. [Racked]

• Kate Moss's latest collection for Topshop hits stores (and the web) tomorrow. [Fashionologie]
• Anna, Oscar, Vera, and Carolina—among others—joined Mayor Bloomberg at City Hall this afternoon to announce Fashion's Night Out, which is scheduled for Sept. 10. [NYM]
• A former assistant to Karl Lagerfeld (and the author of a tell-all about the designer) is making waves once again with his descriptions of life inside the house of the Kaiser. [Fashionologie]
• A chat with French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld. [Guardian]
• Halston's new creative director is Marios Schwab. [Vogue UK]
• Nordstrom be eyeing the Virgin Megastore space in Union Square. [WWD]
• It's Fleet Week! Why not get dressed up for the occasion? [Pipeline]

• More photos, commentary, and criticism from last night's Costume Institute Gala, assuming you're not totally sick of hearing about it by this point. [W, Pipeline, Glamour, NYM, NYT, SF]
• Rumor has it Kate Moss is planning to write her autobiography. We can't wait! [Grazia]
• Narciso Rodriguez, Thakoon Panichgul, and Maria Cornejo —all three of whom happen to have dressed Michelle Obama—have lovely things to say about the first lady's sense of style. [WWD]
• A tour of Jason Wu's apartment. [NYM]
• Eva Mendes and Jamie Dornan will be appearing in the new ad campaigns for Calvin Klein Jeans and Calvin Klein Underwear. [WWD]

• It wouldn't be fashion's biggest night without a bit of drama thrown in to spice things up. Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington are reportedly skipping the Costume Institute gala this evening, possibly because Kate Moss was chosen to co-chair the event; meanwhile, Karl Lagerfeld, Azzedine Alaia, and Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are all staying home, perhaps because Marc Jacobs has "commandeered the event" by buying two tables and dressing Moss, Madonna, and Kerry Washington. [P6]
• The Chelsea Clinton wedding rumors continue: The Boston Globe reports the former first daughter and Marc Mezvinsky may get hitched at Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen's home on Martha's Vineyard in August, which is when the Obamas will be in town, too. [BG, NYDN]
• Kelly Killoren Bensimon says picking on her has become "the new recession vocation." Sounds about right. [R&M]

• Mayor Bloomberg has proposed raising the sales tax by half a percentage point. That's certainly not going to do much to help struggling retailers, now is it? [NYDN]
• With a fresh batch of stores and restaurants closing each day, life on the UES has gotten pretty depressing. [NYT]
• A few weeks ago, Thom Browne denied that his fashion company was in trouble. The fact both his CEO and CFO departed the company today certainly doesn't bode well. [WWD]
• A few notables not expected at the Costume Institute Gala on Monday: Karl Lagerfeld, Carine Roitfeld, Matthew Williamson, and Bernard Arnault. [FWD]

• Rachel Roy has a new line—and it's one even her soon-to-be ex-husband should be able to afford: Roy is introducing a lower-priced collection for Macy's that she's named Rachel-Rachel Roy. [Shophound]
• Besties Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss and Charlotte Ronson are teaming up on a line called Shoshanna Made With Love Charlotte Ronson. [WWD]
• What does Karl Lagerfeld look like the morning? He'll fill you in: "I look like a madman, like something out of a horror movie!" [Fashionologie]
• "Bread-line chic" is all the rage these days. [NYT]

• At long last, Karl Lagerfeld has his very own Ken doll "complete with matching black suit, high white collar, white ponytail, silver leather gloves." The doll-like photo to your left? That's the genuine article. [Racked]
• Either Adele suddenly dropped a ton of weight before her Annie Leibovitz photo shoot or Vogue's art department has been working overtime. [Jezebel]
• French officials are considering a law that would require magazines to disclose the fact they've manipulated a photo. That sound you just heard was Pascal Dangin shudder with disgust. [BI]
• The fashion world has "slowed down and sobered up," but "the recession could turn out to make designers better designers," says Cathy Horyn. [NYT]

• A camera crew followed Rachel Zoe around during Paris Fashion Week, which means the second season of her Bravo reality show is headed your way. [FWD]
• Dov Charney's cash-strapped American Apparel is selling 18 percent of the company to a private equity firm to pay down some of its debt. [BN]
• The hat Aretha Franklin wore to the inauguration in January? More than 5,000 orders have been placed since then. At $179 a pop, no less. [NYT]
• Video of Karl Lagerfeld at Paris Fashion Week. [NYM]
• What's Sofia Coppola up to these days? She's directing perfume ads for Dior, that's what. [NYT/The Moment]
• Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone are on their way to Brazil for a little post-fashion season R&R, in case you're interested. [FWD]
• LA Fashion Week begins tonight! [Racked, Stylefile]