HAT MAKER FRENEL MORRIS OF Still Life NYC MAKES HATS FOR MARC JACOBS:

We hear that Frenel Morris, who makes hats and owns Still Life NYC, is doing very well.

His updated fedoras—branded Still Life NYC and sold at his L.E.S. shop—have attracted some big-name collaborators and commissions, including the latest for Marc Jacobs.

The Panamanian straw hats, in muted summer shades, share the brands' aesthetics but are more subdued than Still Life's own creations: no feathers or paisley bands here. $225, available at Marc Jacobs boutiques, marcjacobs.com

Owner Frenel Morris has been crafting men’s headwear ($75–$300) for more than four years. He scours the city for artful ribbon and feathers to finish his toppers, resulting in classic touches on unique hat shapes (custom hats are $50 more).

This hat maker also sells Kanye-style colorful vintage sunglasses and a small selection of men’s clothing - 77 Orchard St between Grand and Broome Street (212) 575-9704, stilllifenyc.com.

Super Duper Designer Christian Lacroix is Facing Bankruptcy:

I don’t know about you, but Lacroix is one of the most talented designers on the planet. The problem is that the price tags hanging from his material matter are akin to what one would pay for a car. Perhaps I was not the only person who couldn’t afford to shell out $2,500 for a tunic top.

So, I thought I would keep the design world in check and report who is and who isn’t. Lacroix is probably not going away – genius is usually static and tends to float above the waves of life. So that is good.

I wonder if Lacroix would like a hat license. He has a great name and is very creative and probably needs some cash right now. Just an idea here.

This is what the media had to say about it:

Christian Lacroix SNC filed for protection from its creditors with the commercial court of Paris, as the fashion house desperately seeks to avoid bankruptcy. By filing a voluntary petition with the Tribunal de Commerce de Paris Lacroix is effectively entering into the French equivalent of Chapter 11, and avoid paying creditors (and who doesn’t want to do that?)

The Company intends to maintain its business operations throughout the proceedings. Founded as a haute couture house in 1987, Lacroix became a darling of the international fashion media – winning a Time magazine cover - with his brilliantly evocative fashion and brightly hued clothes, influenced by his native Arles and Provencal sense of off-beat color.

Lacroix’s original backer was Bernard Arnault, but Arnault sold off the couturier’s company to the Lebanese American Falic brothers in 2005. In house argued that a Falic financed restructuring plan was “dramatically hindered by the current and ongoing world financial and economic crisis which severely hit the luxury sector.”

Also eating into the bottom line was the opening of two stores in the United States, one in Las Vegas and a flagship store in New York on 57th street. It has been an open secret in Paris that the Falics have been actively seeking to sell the house for the past year.

The famously courteous Lacroix, 58, who is under contract until the end of 2010, has managed to build a separate career as an independent design consultant – creating costumes for a series of operas, developing the interiors of the TGV high-speed train and designing boutique hotels.