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Bedbugs have become the It-bug this season, infesting everything from Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch to Victoria's Secret. Today, the creepy crawlies have got their little suckers pointed directly at the heart of the fashion industry—they've infested the Elle magazine offices in midtown.
Whereas the Hollister, Abercrombie, and VS infestations were fairly contained and avoidable—people just avoided shopping there—what's super-scary about the Elle infestation is the mobility of its fabric contents. Bedbugs love to travel—especially in clothing—and the Elle fashion closet must be packed with hundreds of gorgeous samples just waiting to get trafficked back to showrooms and onto other fashion publications. Will the bedbug plague spread and decimate the fashion industry just in time for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week? Watch this space.
We received a statement from Erin Kaplan, star of MTV's The City and the director of PR at Elle, that detailed what Hachette Filipacchi Media, Elle's parent company, is doing about the situation. (For the record, Erin is one of our favorite people on that show and we hope her part of the office isn't infested.)
Due to some additional concerns regarding our bed bug situation on 44, we are taking the following action steps:· Elle's offices infested with bedbugs [Racked]· We are scheduling an exterminator to return to spray the entire 44th floor ASAP. We are assured by the exterminator company –one of the top in NYC—that this FDA approved process is safe and effective. We are committed to protecting our employees.We appreciate your calm and your patience in what has become a major problem throughout New York City.
· Although we do not have any indication at this time that the bugs are anywhere else in the building, we are arranging for canine inspection of every floor of HFMUS
· We are asking that all employees on the 44th floor work from home until Monday.
· All bedbugs coverage [Racked]