When they’re not cat fighting in reruns, the women of The Real Housewives of New York City are pretty busy: Ramona Singer has her own label of pinot grigio, and Bethenny Frankel created an empire out of her cookbooks and Skinny Girl drinks. But Jill Zarin (who appeared on the show from Seasons 1 through 4) has done something pretty different: she’s designed a line of shapewear.

Since leaving the Bravo show in 2011, Zarin has introduced her own version of Spanx, called Skweez Couture, which has recently grown its distribution to include the one of the Eastern region’s largest clothing chains, Bon-Ton Stores. Forbes recently named it one of the top five emerging shapewear brands, poising her to take on Spanx’s billionaire founder, Sara Blakely.

Lena Dunham Not a VS Model Fan: Lena Dunham would never want the body of a Victoria’s Secret Angel. “I don’t think I’d like it very much,” she told Playboy of maybe having one of the brand's famed bodacious bodies. “There would be all kinds of weird challenges to deal with that I don’t have to deal with now. I don’t want to go through life wondering if people are talking to me because I have a big rack. Not being the babest person in the world creates a nice barrier.” [Vogue UK]

A label called "House of Gushungo" produces t-shirts, umbrellas, berets, and other sportswear featuring the leader’s "R G Mugabe" signature. It also manufactures a "1924" line—signifying the year of Mugabe’s birth, with products that were released in time for the president’s 89th birthday celebrations last month. The brand, a subsidiary of the Yedu Nesu company, was created “to propel [Mugabe’s] identity, to maintain his legacy,” Yedu Nesu's chief executive Justin Matenda told BBC. But now, House of Gushungo is receiving flack from all sides of Zimbabwe’s political sphere.

Kate Moss Reads 50 Shades of Grey: Kate Moss made a hilarious appearance on BBC Radio to help raise money for Comic Relief, a major UK charity that supports many initiatives in the developing world and receives massive annual support from the English fashion industry. Moss promised listeners that she’ read a passage from 50 Shades of Grey out loud, should the radio show raise £200,000 in donations. When they exceeded that goal, she read a lengthy portion of the book, aided by romantic background music. Watch above to see the hilarious stunt. [ELLE UK]

The nominations are in for the 2013 CFDA Awards—the fashion industry's own version of the Oscars, which will take place on June 3 in New York. This year's list includes designers that are both established and up and coming, but unfortunately, it isn't filled with surprises. Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang, and Proenza Schouler's Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez have been nominated for Womenswear Designer of the Year (all have won in previous years). The International Award goes to Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci; the Media Award to Style.com's Tim Blanks; and the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award to Vera Wang. See the complete list of nominees below: 

Womenswear designer of the year:

Michelle Obama’s much-anticipated Vogue cover was released Thursday, featuring the first lady in a blue Reed Krakoff dress as was previously reported. The image, shot by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz and styled by Vogue fashion director Tonne Goodman, marks Obama’s second main stage Vogue appearance. She last fronted the magazine in March 2009. 

Leibovitz’s cover imagery is part of a miniature portfolio that appears inside the magazine. It’s there the FLOTUS poses with President Barack Obama in the same Krakoff design, giving her husband a warm embrace in a stately White House room. Another image features the First Lady in a pensive pose, wearing a black Michael Kors sweater and ball skirt. The shoot’s entire wardrobe was reportedly pulled from Obama’s own closet.

CPAC kicks off on Thursday, with hundreds of conservatives flooding Washington D.C.’s Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center for the occasion. But, according to one CPAC ticketholder, the matter of what to wear to CPAC has troubled many a first-time attendee. It’s an issue that 31-year-old conservative blogger and digital media professional Adrienne Royer struggled with at her initial conference. So in an effort to help 2013’s newbies dress for success, Royer created an infographic titled ‘What to Wear at CPAC,” and uploaded it on to her Pinterest page. 

Though completely unaffiliated with CPAC’s official organizing committee, Royer still felt that the conference’s college-aged attendees needed some fashion schooling. “I remember thinking that the college girls [at the conference] who were only a couple of years younger than me didn’t know how to dress professionally,” she told The Daily Beast when reached by phone on Wednesday.

FLOTUS to wear Reed Krakoff in Vogue: It seems that the rumor of Michelle Obama’s Vogue cover has come true. Washington Post contributor Robin Givhan told the paper’s The Reliable Source blog that Annie Leibovitz shot Obama in a Reed Krakoff ensemble for the issue—the same label that designed Obama’s inauguration-day boots. The issue will reportedly hit newsstands next week. [WP]

Michelle Williams’s Cover Controversy: Girl next door Michelle Williams has sparked controversy with the release of her cover for AnOther magazine. The image features the blonde pixie-cut actress styled in stereotypical Native American garb, wearing long black hair extensions tied into two Pocahontas braids, with feathers tacked in. Feminist site Jezebel has described the look as ‘redface’. The outrage follows a similar controversy from November, when Victoria’s Secret dressed Karlie Kloss in Native American-inspired lingerie for their annual fashion show. The look was edited out of the show’s national broadcast. [Jezebel]

Anna Wintour’s long been considered a multi-talented, one-woman show. Now, her employer Condé Nast has added to her duties as editor of Vogue and editorial director of Teen Vogue with a new role: artistic director of the entire publishing house.

Wintour has helmed Vogue for the last 25 years. Now 63 years old, she’ll assume some of the duties of Condé Nast’s S.I. Newhouse Jr, who last year at 85 began quietly rolling back his duties as editorial manager of his family-owned business, says the New York Times. The paper speculates that Wintour’s new role will “be to look for new talent and reinforce aesthetics,” and will have her taking on “broader creative duties throughout the company.” But Wintour herself felt it too soon to narrowly define her new duties.

When most people suffer from a serious hip ailment, they ring their insurance provider to request a standard-issue wheelchair or pair of crutches. But not Lady Gaga. The pop star, who recently received surgery for an inflammatory joint infection in her hip called synovitis (which forced her to cancel the remainder of her Born This Way tour), commissioned a 24-karat-gold-plated wheelchair to wheel around in style. 

Her stylist contacted jewelry designer Ken Borochov, of the label Mordekai, to design the chair with only a week's notice. “It was a huge undertaking,” Borochov told The Daily Beast of Gaga’s commission. He created the chair using manufacturers around the country, finishing the gold and tufted leather masterpiece (complete with a removable canopy) only on Sunday evening. “It was made all over the United States. My assistant had to run around everywhere,” Borochov explained. “I make all of my things here in the US.” In fact 1.5 ounces of gold were plated onto the chair “in Dallas at a customizing car factory that does hot rods and stuff. I wanted [the wheelchair] to look like a throne.” (In fact, the designer's publicist says, the wheelchair was gold-plated in Dallas but actually assembled in Madison, Wisconsin, at Regal Roadsters.)

Taylor Swift Magazines Tank: It seems like Taylor Swift’s gold does not carry over to the magazine industry. The singer covered nearly every major fashion magazine in the past year, including Vogue, Glamour, Elle, in addition to more general titles Cosmopolitan and Vanity Fair. But her covers reortedly bombed at newsstands (both print and digital) -- and she was outsold by lesser stars including Lauren Conrad and Zooey Deschanel. [WWD]

Tom Ford Changes Diapers: Tom Ford sat down with Andre Leon Talley in London before his label’s runway debut. In their interview, Ford admits to changing his new baby Jack’s diapers, saying that he did not have a child so someone else could do the dirty work. When Talley inquires when Ford’s fans can expect his next film (his debut production A Single Man came out in 2009) Ford responds, “My production this year was Jack Ford.” [Vogue]