Simon Fuller

>> Roland Mouret has bought his trademark back from his former investors and is readying his first flagship in London's Mayfair for February or March. Mouret split from his backers Sharai and Andre Meyers in October 2005 over strategic differences — the Meyerses have owned 100 percent of the Roland Mouret name since. He then formed a 50-50 venture, 19RM, with British impresario Simon Fuller in September 2006, showing under the name RM by Roland Mouret. Mouret bought his name back from the Meyerses for an undisclosed sum.

“It took time — but I am really happy. And I am so proud that I continued working — even without my name,” Mouret said. "When Simon and I started together, we made a plan. I wanted to get my name back in a natural way, and I didn’t want to get into any legal battles. Simon has allowed me to develop a business while ensuring I always had enough space and resources to follow my intuition and establish the company.”

So what's in the pipeline? »

>> Two months ago, Simon Fuller, the founder of 19 Entertainment, which owns controlling stakes in Storm Models, Victoria Beckham Collection, and RM by Roland Mouret, announced that he was leaving the company to start a new company pursuing film and other entertainment projects. He is currently retained as a consultant at 19 Entertainment.

For the past year or so, rumors have surrounded Fuller.  Last June, it was announced he was teaming with Topshop's Sir Phillip Green for a global entertainment company; soon after, word came that Kate Moss might somehow be involved. Then, in November, Fuller was rumored to be pairing with Victoria Beckham for a New York-based modeling agency, which Beckham then denied.

But yesterday came news that 19 Entertainment's owner CKX (Fuller sold to CKX in 2005) is discussing the sale of 19 Entertainment to One Equity Partners, the private equity arm of JPMorgan Chase.  Without Fuller and with a potential new owner, there's no confirmation on what the buyout might mean for Storm Models, Victoria Beckham Collection, and RM by Roland Mouret.

• Steven Spielberg is producing a film version of the children's novel War Horse — Cinema Blend
• The Beautiful Life will debut three unaired episodes on YouTube — Vulture
• The USA network is turning '90s movie The Freshman into a TV series — TV Squad
• Emmy Rossum joins the cast of Showtime's Shameless — MovieWeb
• The guys behind Two and a Half Men are developing another CBS comedy titled Mike and Molly — The Wrap
• Thor adds Rene Russo to its cast roster — Cinematical
• Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante has quit the band — Rock and Roll Daily
• Yet another track from Vampire Weekend's Contra, yay! — Stereogum
• Cool ways to make your home feel like Sherlock Holmes's — CasaSugar
• Bryan Singer returns to the X-Men franchise with X-Men: First Class — HitFix
• Simon Fuller is creating a new reality web series that will air episodes on Hulu — Inside TV
• Kid Cudi drops out of Lady Gaga's tour — Billboard
• You must check out this awesome movie quote site — GeekSugar

>> Beckham Denies Modeling Agency Plans with Fuller, But Some Aren't Convinced —Earlier this week, British tabloid the Daily Mail was convinced that Victoria Beckham might be involved in Simon Fuller's New York modeling agency plans, but today, her spokesperson says otherwise: "There is absolutely no truth in the story regarding Victoria Beckham and Simon Fuller opening a modelling agency in New York. Victoria is concentrating all her efforts on her fashion line and her family." Deny she may, but some from the London side say that ideas are indeed being batted around between Fuller and Beckham, and model television of some kind is involved . . . he is creator of the Idol franchise, after all. [Vogue UK, The Imagist]

Victoria Beckam dismisses rumors she will open the U.S. branch of Storm Models with manager (and financial backer of her fashion line) Simon Fuller.

As her spokesperson told Vogue.com UK this morning, "There is absolutely no truth in the story regarding Victoria Beckham and Simon Fuller opening a modelling agency in New York. Victoria is concentrating all her efforts on her fashion line and her family." [Vogue.com UK]

>> Here's a rumor on a rumor: Victoria Beckham is said to be working through another deal with Simon Fuller — this time to set up a modeling agency in New York.  Fuller already backs her Victoria Beckham collection and, as of August owns a majority stake in Storm modeling agency in London — which represents the likes of Kate Moss and Jourdan Dunn.

Word went around a couple of weeks ago that Fuller was shopping the New York modeling agency market for "opportunities." As for Beckham's supposed involvement, her spokesman didn't deny the news, only "play[ed] down the plans," according to the Daily Mail — but it sounds now like Fuller may be setting up a new agency as New York counterpart to Storm.  A source told the Daily Mail:

"Simon knows that Victoria is very savvy when it comes to fashion. Simon’s first foray into fashion was to team up Roland Mouret and Victoria, which was a huge success. Victoria is a key asset to Simon and he wants her to take on a major role."

*image: wenn.com

>> Simon Fuller Now Shopping for a New York Modeling Agency? —Simon Fuller has continously been creeping into the fashion industry since he began backing Roland Mouret in 2006. Since, he has worked with Victoria Beckham to launch her industry-acclaimed eponymous collection, partnered with Claudia Schiffer to represent her name, image, and brand rights, and just a couple of months ago he took a majority stake in London's Storm agency, home to the likes of Kate Moss and Jourdan Dunn.  Now, word is going around that Fuller is "scanning the New York [modeling agency] market for 'opportunities'" — a New York counterpart to his latest London acquisition?  As The Imagist points out, "that would represent a whole new ideal of management that could pose huge challenges for some established players in the trade." [TI]

>> Any hope that Sir Phillip Green and Simon Cowell may have had for Kate Moss to act as a judge on one of their shows in development may have just gone down the tubes: Simon Fuller, creator of American Idol, which helped Cowell rise to fame, just took a majority stake of 51 percent in Moss's model agency, Storm.

Fuller has been in talks with Storm's founders, Sarah Doukas and her brother Simon Chambers, for the past year and aims to “help create new joint entertainment platforms for its talent, as well as developing the Storm brand in new and exciting directions.”  Doukas hopes the partnership "will provide Storm with the opportunity to work competitively, creatively and on an international level," and Fuller elaborated that the deal will allow them to “push the boundaries, blur the lines and redefine what a model agency should be in this fast moving world, where fashion is playing an increasingly important role in setting and reflecting cultures and tastes.” 

So who will Kate go with? »