Rough Trade found in Top Shop

Here's an interesting approach to the drop in sales of physical music - Rough Trade is going to take space inside some branches of Top Shop to sell CDs and such:

Stephen Godfroy, director of Rough Trade Retail Group, said, of the decision:

“[it] supports Rough Trade’s belief that the CD format is as popular as ever [and] that it is largely the poor high street retail of CDs that is to blame for declining sales on this format."

Well, perhaps - although something that people would head three or four doors down the street to buy which now has to be taken to them in order to persuade them to buy isn't quite saying "as popular as ever" to me. If once you would swim oceans for your passion, and now only cuddle because they're there, I'd say you might actually be cooling in your ardour.

Let's hope I'm just wrong and overly cynical.

Gordon in the morning: Model models

The leading story in the showbusy world this morning, according to the online version of Bizarre, is that, erm, Kate Moss has done some modeling.

Yes, since you ask, that is what she does for a living and not, you'd consider, so much of a surprise. Saskia Quirke is given the task of trying to make 'person does job for which they're paid' into something noteworthy:

SMOULDERING KATE MOSS is back to being super-glam again — after some rough words about her recent appearances.

Super-glam, huh? Who is she modeling? Versace? Gucci?

She wore outfits, including a £130 see-through top, that she designed for Topshop.

Oh. Superglam in a Top Shop sense, then.

Still, at least you can see her nipples in one picture, eh, Saskia?

And there’s no doubt which image is breast.

Breast - do you get it? Do you? It's quite subtle.

Oddly, though, while in this piece, Bizarre is pointing and yelling "look, you can see her tits and everything", Gordon suddenly comes over all coy when talking about Dizzee Rascal and hios ways of saving money:

He tells me: “I’m quite an outgoing person, but I much prefer staying in, playing PlayStation and getting... ”

Er, let’s just say at this point he explained that he likes getting intimate with da ladies.

Do you mean fucking, Gordon? Given that you run photo after photo of women showing their nix and nips, why do you suddenly get all shy when you have to actually talk about sex?

Isn't there a name for someone who is sneakily obsessed with breasts and butts, but turns bright red and can't look you in the eye when talk about people actually having sex?

Oh, yeah: it's "pubescent", isn't it?

It's not entirely clear why Dizzee is sharing his money saving tips with us in the first place, but it does give Gordon's Photoshop Intern the chance to lazily stick Rascal's head on The Sun's Captain Crunch character. That's the retread of the News Of The World's Captain Cash, bemusingly named after the Sou'westered breakfast cereal hero. Although, to be honest, I'm not sure very many women would be thrilled to know you're staying in having sex with them because you're too cheap to spring for a trip to the pictures.

Being praised by Gordon Smart has gone to Liam's head

Knowing that Gordon Smart is thinking about how well his jeans fits has obviously turned Liam Gallagher's head more than a little:

“I don't hate them. I don't wish they had accidents. I think their fans are boring and ugly and they don't look like they're having a good time,” he added.

Liam, of course, is the very model of an engaged and engaging modern sort:

"I play The Beatles, The (Rolling) Stones, The Kinks, Neil Young, the (Sex) Pistols. Maybe a bit of The (Stone) Roses. Don't like modern bands. Topman music, innit?"

So, pretty much everything released in the last 20 years is totally without value or interest to Liam. Everything. Someone in Oasis is damning everything as sounding like the sort of music played in the sort of shop where Oasis fans buy their clothes.

The curious Top Shop question

Beth Ditto was a guest in last night's Friday Night With Jonathan Ross. There was much of the "you ate a squirrel" type of stuff (indeed, that's the official clip on YouTube) and what is presumably the first mention of Ladyfest on prime-time BBC1.

But there was one very odd exchange.

Ross asked Ditto if she'd consider designing a fashion range for Top Shop - specifically Top Shop - to which Ditto replied "yes, but...", stipulating that they'd have to make ranges large enough to fit her.

Obviously, Ditto knows that she's told the press more than once that she's turned Top Shop down and, presumably, while Ross' research team were digging up the squirrel story, they'd have come across this.

And even if they hadn't, wouldn't it be slightly strange for Ross to have plucked Top Shop out of all the high street brands from thin air?

And even if he had, why did Beth not mention that she'd already turned them down?

It's all somewhat curious.

This just in: Lily Allen won't wear Moss

Well, that's a total shock: New Look designer Lily Allen says she won't be wearing Top Shop designer Kate Moss' clothes.

Tomorrow: "I'm not tempted by a Big Mac", reveals Burger King.

Lily Allen: The responsible face of fashion

Because Lily Allen can't nip out for a coffee without telling everyone how much better she is than everyone else, she's turning her shabby New Look 'clothing range' into a war of blahs with Kate Moss:

"I like what New Look are doing and I like what they are about.

"They have responsible role models like me and Drew Barrymore and they're very conscious of having positive body images and promoting positive women.

"Unlike Kate Moss and that fucking billionaire who's thrown a load of money at her so we get to see what her wardrobe is like. It's madness."

We suspect that's Philip Green who's feeling Allen's tongue there. But are New Look really "promoting positive women"? Why, then, do their sizes stop at 14, forcing anyone larger to buy from a really stunted (and, frankly, hideous) "different" range? In what way is that different from Top Shop's policy?

Someone from Lily's team tries to make this sound less like sour grapes at landing a much smaller deal with a less prominent store, and more like some sort of battle:

"Lily can't stand the way Kate Moss is put on a pedestal and held up as this amazing role model. Here's a woman who was caught taking cocaine, is going out with a crackhead junkie and is still feted as the queen of cool. At least Lily is straight talking and honest about who she is.

"She's also totally against size zero models, she wants to promote healthy body images. She wants to say to young girls, 'Be happy the way you are and don't try to be like these scrawny girls.'"

Hmmm. Another celeb collection at New Look - the one modelled by Drew Barrymore, in fact - is Gold by Giles Deacon. While it's great that Giles chose a slightly less thin model for his High Street store, this on the left is one of his London Fashion Week creations. Hardly looks like she enjoys a good meal, does she? Doubtless Lily will soon be piping up on New Look giving large sums to designers like Giles who use painfully thin models. Or perhaps not.