The Artist Formerly Known As Yves Following our recent report on the delayed debut of Dallas’ Yves Saint Laurent boutique in Highland Park Village, a stunning development at the 50-year-old French fashion house was reported this week. According to WWD, new YSL creative director Hedi Slimane, who follows longtime CD Stefano Pilati, will continue his brand-wide makeover with a name change to Saint Laurent Paris. The YSL logo, however, is expected to remain. …And we offer kudos again to the team of this year’s DIFFA Collection Gala for their forward-thinking showcase of Yves’ iconic Le Smoking.       Fashion Star Casting Returns To Big D Hot on the heels of a successful first season, NBC’s Fashion Star will return to Dallas as part of its Season Two casting tour. Inaugural winner Kara Laricks landed some $6 million in collection deals with Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue and H&M. Designers wishing to follow in her footsteps are invited to audition at Macy’s NorthPark Center on Sunday, July 15th. For more information, visit our Event Calendar.       More Shake-Ups at JCP Finally, North Texas-based JCP, a.k.a. JCPenney, made the news again – or still – this week, with the abrupt ousting of company president Michael Francis. CEO Ron Johnson blamed the former Target exec in large part for recent poor-performing marketing efforts and decreased sales and stock value. From a consumer standpoint, the chain’s recent ads and strategies seem to grasp at a clientele that just doesn’t gel with its 100-plus years of brand-building. Here’s hoping, for the sake of so many local and national jobs, they are able to get back on track.     (Photo credits, from top: 1. DIFFADallas.org, 2. NBC.com, 3. JCP via Facebook)