In the years since Cristóbal Balenciaga launched his eponymous fashion label on Avenue George V in Paris during the summer of 1937, his maison de mode has outfitted more than a few recognizable dames. And, as an in-depth New Yorker profile from last year pointed out, Balenciaga, the company, has long depended on the celebrity of its more powerful, repeat patrons, which have included: the de Rothchilds, Paul Mellon, the Duke of Windsor, Prince Rainier, Countess Mona Bismark and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

So it was probably with no small effort that the label chose its newest public “face”—the Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Connelly.  read more »

Yawn. What? Right. Here's the gossip round-up for Nov. 23, 2008, Thanksgiving Friday and possibly the slowest news day ever.

An eight-months-pregnant Nicole Richie and her friend, the society disc jockeyess Samantha Ronson, volunteered at a Hollywood soup kitchen yesterday.  read more »

It didn’t take Aaron Eckhart, a guest at last night’s The Moth event in Union Square, long to place his most memorable New York moment.

Ten years ago, when Mr. Eckhart, now 39, was a “struggling New York actor,” he was out for an evening stroll in the midst of the winter holiday season. “Snow on the street, lights in the trees of Gramercy Park—beautiful, the night, gorgeous, holding hands with my then-girlfriend,” he said, pausing to look at his now-girlfriend, a tall dirty-blonde with chiseled features. “You’ll have to excuse me,” he told her sheepishly, wearing a leather jacket over a blue sweater and denim shirt. Looking back at the Daily Transom, he went on, “A car comes around a corner, honks his horn at another car, I said, ‘Shut up!’ and he said, ‘Fuck you!’ and then drove off into the night. And that’s when I realized that I was in New York City!”

As for his view of Halloween here, a more city-wise Mr. Eckhart simply views it as “a normal day in New York City,” he offered with a chuckle. “I like when people dress up as boxes of things, like Milk Duds. I always think that’s a clever disguise, because I just like being boxes of things. I’ve never done it myself, but I admire those who have the guts to do it. It takes courage.”

He just finished shooting Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, the newest installment in the Batman franchise, in which he plays Gotham’s district attorney Harvey Dent alongside fellow actors Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Gary Oldman. Next up: Traveling—a romantic comedy co-starring Jennifer Aniston.

What is that strange aroma that’s been wafting over our fine city of late? That unmistakable stench of sweet no-foam Coffee Bean lattes, pungently fresh Birkin-bag calfskin and sour paparazzi exhaust can mean only one thing: the sudden invasion of Hollywood celebrities!

It seems Jennifer Aniston is just the latest of a long list of Tinseltown stars who, bearing the considerable weight of both actual and personal baggage, wants to put down roots in New York. In the most recent issue of Harper’s Bazaar, Ms. Aniston explains that she may soon join the ranks of—gasp!—the Jolie-Pitt clan, Lindsay Lohan, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Natalie Portman and other camera-ready L.A. transplants, who have all seemingly settled down on the fair banks of the Hudson.

Celebrity Diaspora: Jennifer Aniston Wants in on NYC, Too! [Daily Intelligencer]