So many collaborations, so little time. Last night in New York, Versace launched its Versus Versace J.W. Anderson capsule collection, for which the British designer mixed 90′s-infused androgyny (Body Glove brights, cropped and slashed black knitwear) with house signatures (gold lion heads, safety pins). Those not in the market for pricey unisex clubwear should mark their calendars for the ides of September, when Target will unveil its one-off line with Phillip Lim. The designer, who describes his aesthetic as “something between classic and that sense of madness,” set out to create something “cool and chic, but still very accessible.” For the range of women’s and men’s apparel and accessories, he kept the focus on autumnally appropriate neutral tones and prints in materials such as jersey, French terry, and leather. Prices for the approximately 100 items in the 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target collection will range from $19.99, for a travel pouch, to $299.99, for a leather moto jacket.

If we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it a thousand times: “I could tell you this Big Design News, but then I’d have to kill you.” Now you can give us the scoop and skip the messy murder plot, thanks to our “Anonymous Tips” box, which the Mediabistro tech wizards have placed at the top right of this page. Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Type in your news—design happenings, gossip, movements of the Revolving Door, a designer’s hidden talent, or any newsy, design-y morsel—and click “send.” We’ll get the news, you’ll retain your air of mystery.

The Trusteeship Council Chamber at the United Nations, originally designed by Danish architect Finn Juhl in 1952, reopened last month after a three-year renovation.

“We all moan about the United Nations, but there was no supranational body, no international forum [in 1914],” says Harold Evans in this week’s New York Times Book Review Podcast, discussing the DIY state of diplomacy at the dawn of the First World War. “You were reliant on these errant telegrams, these errant messages, these ambassadors in their frock coats carrying these ambiguous messages. Oh, crikey! What a thing worth studying.” The frock coat-free body has just had an update of its own, with the reopening of the Trusteeship Council Chamber at the UN headquarters in New York. Originally designed by Finn Juhl in 1952, the chamber has undergone a multi-million-dollar renovation–a collaborative effort by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Danish Ministry of Culture, Realdania, and the UN.

The floor and wall panels have been restored, but this was basically a gut reno: new ventilation, piping, wiring, and carpeting as well as a fresh floor that recreates the original, including the sunken section in the middle of the horseshoe configuration. And then there’s the furniture: a modified version of Juhl’s FJ51 chair is joined by pieces designed by Kasper Salto and Thomas Sigsgaard. The Copenhagen-based designer-architect duo won a 2011 design competition for new tables for the delegates and a new table and chairs for the secretariat. “Our motto has been letting the furniture add to the existing room by having them consist of as few elements and parts as possible,” say Salto and Sigsgaard, who were on hand last month for the opening ceremony. “Respecting the room and the consequent use of wood in the room.” Their Council chair (pictured) is an elegant two-part shell of molded Reholz 3D veneer in oak, upholstered in light-colored leather. Juhl’s Chieftain chair was a primary inspiration.
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There’s more to the Met this spring than PUNK. Writer Nancy Lazarus headed up to the roof.

(Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art)

And how many rains must fall before the stains are washed clean? This question, posed by Pakistani poet Salima Hashmi, is at the heart of Imran Quereshi‘s latest work, created for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s roof garden. “This is an open space, and there will be lots of rain, so we’ll see what happens,” noted the artist.

During a rooftop museum press conference on Monday morning, the brisk weather cooperated, with partly sunny skies. But the theme of global violence and regeneration still casts a dark cloud over Qureshi’s artwork, on view through November 3.

Born in Hyderabad and now based in Lahore, Qureshi said he worked with the color red more as a political statement than to depict blood, but that changed in 2010, after a suicide bombing in his neighborhood. “When I saw TV images after the bombing, the area had transformed into a bloody landscape within seconds. I was thinking, how could a landscape full of life change so quickly? For me, this altered the meaning and symbolism of the color red.”

The artist specializes not only in expansive installations but also in miniature paintings in the style of the Mughal court. He said he’s fascinated by the New York City skyline, and for him the rooftop perspective reminds him of landscapes and miniature paintings.

Assistant curator Ian Alteveer said it took Qureshi about ten days, including breaks, to create his roof garden work. The artist used high-grade acrylic, rich in pigment and waterproof, so it did withstand the monsoon-like rains of the past weekend.
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If you don’t live in the New York TV market, you may know her from the cable clip show “The Soup” as the woman who puts up with co-anchor Greg Kelly‘s antics.

Rosanna Scotto, morning anchor for New York’s FOX owned station WNYW, sat down with the mediabistroTV crew to talk about how the antics of world-famous director Woody Allen are what lead to her first big break.

For more videos, check out our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

The Pantone licensing machine is chugging along nicely, even if Emerald and Tangerine Tango make for rather tough sells when it comes to cosmetics (Sephora remains undaunted). The latest focus for the company’s rainbow tour is the home. JCPenney is rolling out a Pantone Universe line of bed and bath items, from Peach Parfait sheet sets and Purple Magic pillows to Blue Aster shower curtains and Macaw Green toothbrush holders, that arrives in stores next month. That gives you a few weeks to colormatch your walls with Pantone paint. The new collection, a partnership with Valspar, offers color lovers a selection of 100 “on-trend hues” that runs the gamut from classic neutrals to eye-searing brights. The colors are available exclusively at Lowe’s for approximately $30 per gallon.

This week, the Environmental Defense Fund is hiring a designer, while Hanley Wood needs an art director. NCARB is seeking a graphic designer/videographer, and Advocate Media is on the hunt for a magazine/web designer. Get the scoop on these openings and more below, and find additional just-posted gigs on Mediabistro.

• Designer Environmental Defense Fund (New York, NY)
• Art Director Hanley Wood (Washington, DC)
• Graphic Designer/Videographer NCARB (Washington, DC)
• Magazine/Web Designer Advocate Media (Dallas, TX)
• Presentation Designer Refinery29 (New York, NY)

Find more great design jobs on the UnBeige job board. Looking to hire? Tap into our network of talented UnBeige pros and post a risk-free job listing. For real-time openings and employment news, follow @MBJobPost.

Acclaimed illustrator Christoph Niemann (Abstract City, I LEGO N.Y.) gets interactive with Petting Zoo, a new app (for iPhones, iPads and now Android devices) that puts a high-tech twist on hand-drawn animation. Users of all ages can swipe and tap their way through the interactive picture book of 21 unconventional animals, from breakdancing dogs to elastic-limbed rabbits. Says Niemann of each creature in his animated menagerie, “You can slowly approach it, touch it, and it will do something unpredictable, but most likely something fun and adorable.”

Got an app we should know about? Drop us a line at unbeige [at] mediabistro.com

“The words graphic designer, architect, or industrial designer stick in my throat, giving me a sense of limitation, of specialization within the specialty, of a relationship to society and form itself that is unsatisfactory and incomplete. This inadequate set of terms to describe an active life reveals only partially the still undefined nature of the designer.”

-Alvin Lustig (1915-55) in The Designer Says: Quotes, Quips, and Words of Wisdom, compiled and edited by Sara Bader, new this month from Princeton Architectural Press

Toymaker Brinca Dada is best known for its stunning modernist dollhouses and “BiModal” building blocks–curvy, asymmetric wooden shapes that we’ve previously suggested deploying in games of Masochist Jenga. Now the promoters of beautiful fun are in the critical final days of a fundraising campaign for a line of thoughtfully designed wooden toys that teach kids simple principles of science. Meet the Stunt Brothers, adorable daredevils that perform classic stunts (human cannonball, anyone?) and tool around in retro vehicles. Help them get out of prototype purgatory and into production by backing the project on Kickstarter. Register your pledge of $1 or more by Friday to help Brinca Dada meet its fundraising goal.

Got an in-the-works project to tell us about? Write today: unbeige [at] mediabistro.com