Met Ball Attendees: The MET Ball is just around the corner, and with that comes announcements of the event’s famous guests. True to MET Ball form, the evening’s most illustrious stars have been paired with designer dates. The New York Times’s Eric Wilson reports that Jennifer Lawrence and Marion Cotillard will come with Dior, Alexander Wang is “said to be” creating a custom Balenciaga design for Julianne Moore, Joseph Altuzarra is going with Allison Williams, the Fanning sisters with Rodarte, and Gwyneth Paltrow with Valentino, among others. [NYT]
The New Senior Photos: The Wall Street Journal reports that the age of mediocre high school senior portraits is over. The longstanding tradition is instead being replaced with pricey, professional photoshoots that enlist the help of professional hair and makeup artists. When sharing the resulting images on social media, young students attest that they receive more ‘likes’ than they would have with a typical photo. “It’s just so reassuring,” one student said of the shoot’s results. The story also includes a stunning ‘Before and After’ interactive, showing how the students transform with the help of makeup and lighting. [WSJ]
Westwood for Virgin Atlantic: Original ‘punk’ designer and Julian Assange acolyte Vivienne Westwood is now designing uniforms for Virgin Atlantic. The garments, which will fully launch on 7,500 staff members next year, include classic Westwood touches—like the female flight attendant’s red skirtsuit ensemble, featuring the designer’s signature nipped waist. All of the uniforms are made of sustainable materials. [WWD]
JC Penney’s Apology Ad: By now its well known that JC Penney is in a total state of damage control. The retailer, which fired its CEO and other executive staff members last month, has issued a new social media campaign urging customers to come back to the store. Under former CEO Ron Johnson -- who worked to reenergize the store with an innovative small shops concept -- sales fell nearly 25 percent. In a move to lure back old customers, the new campaign reads: “Come back to J.C. Penney—we hear you. No we’d love to see you.” More blatantly, a graphic on the retailer’s Facebook page says: "Come back to see us.” Similar ads will begin broadcasting on television this week. [NYDN]