The Fashion Industry Wants a Piece of Olympics Pie

It's the most fashionable Olympics ever! The fashion industry--usually more well known for lack of nutrition than for athleticism--is now angling for a piece of the Beijing Games. Ralph Lauren outfitted the entire U.S. team for both the opening and closing ceremonies; Lucy Liu posed for an "Olympics"-themed spread in Harper's Bazaar in which she boxed, shot arrows, and weight-lifted handbags in evening gowns; on this week's episode of Project Runway, contestants designed outfits for the American team to wear during the opening ceremonies. And today, WWD reported that Armani will "dress" the blond South African swimmer and Charlize Theron dopplegänger Charlene Wittstock, main squeeze of Prince Albert of Monaco, for various Olympic-related events (not including her, you know, actual Olympic events).

Closer to home, pricey downtown über-boutique Opening Ceremony is capitalizing on its suddenly timely moniker. The store announced that it will throw a dance party this evening to coincide with the telecast of its namesake event in Beijing, after which it will stay open the whole weekend, perhaps hoping the sight of our homegrown athletes dominating abroad will incite the consumeristic fervor that has been missing in retail these past few months. On the schedule for the 72-hour shop-a-thon: free ice cream, a Scrabble tournament, and a wee-small-hours ping-pong tournament hosted by jewelry designer Phillip Crangi. No word on whether Chloe Sevigny, whose second line of bleeding-edge clothing for the store was unveiled in March to much confusion, will participate (though we're sure she'd look great holding a paddle).