• Katie Holmes can add another feather to her designing cap: creative-directing new uniforms for the Church of Scientology. Holmes and Tom Cruise apparently had creative oversight of the religion's new threads, offering direction to designer Richard Tyler. [Daily Mail]

• For some reason, we literally had no idea that Daphne Guinness — Steven Klein's sometime subject, and a woman who brings exquisite creativity to dress — was Bernard-Henri Lévy's girlfriend. Lévy told her once, "You are no longer a person, you have become a concept." (Too bad he's married to the actress Arielle Dombasle.) [Telegraph]
• Market research company the NPD Group estimates that fully 12% of fashion industry vendors will not survive this recession. An additional 20% will abandon their expansion strategies, and retrench to focus on core markets and products. Sobering news for anyone who loves fashion. [WWD]
• Kate Moss and Scarlett Johansson, shilling for the supermodel's Topshop line and for Mango, respectively, ended up posing in awkward, sprawling positions, wearing grey sweaters and ripped black tights. Irrefutable evidence that when high street stores pick from a season's grab-bag of trends, their choices will inevitably sometimes coincide. [Stylefile]
• YLB, Yasmin Le Bon's line for the British fast-fashion chain Wallis, which targets middle-aged women, is apparently relatively demure — but still, she hopes, fashionable. As for her family, by the end of next month, Le Bon's eldest daughters, Amber and Saffron, will be 20 and 18, respectively. "I'll have two adults. In legal terms only! They can vote, but they can't do a lot else," says the supermodel. "No, they're great girls, they completely entertain us. But if I'd known how much heartache was in store... wow. Wow, wow, wow, wow. It never stops. There's no cut-off point for your children, no matter how grown-up they are. It's a big deal." [ToL]
• Christie Brinkley, on an average Sunday morning: "If it's not raining, I'll go outside with my coffee with my parrot on my shoulder and wander around pinching the petunias. Then I read the newspaper." [NYTimes]
• Tory Burch did a Gossip Girl cameo because "It's a show that's very important in our culture right now." [FWD]
• Dunja Knezevic and Victoria Keon-Cohen, who in 2007 founded the world's first successful models' union in London, are about to set up the industry's first-ever code of conduct to protect models from exploitation. The kinds of behavior they want the code to regulate includes the usual list of complaints about sexual harassment, abuse by hair and makeup artists — the union received one complaint from a male model whose scalp bled because of peroxide — and dangerous practices like models being asked to risk their ankles by jumping on trampolines in high heels. Keon-Cohen and Knezevic both grew up in Australia, but make no mistake the duo's home country has no plans to take up their initiative and institute a similar code: "We are lucky in Australia that we have a small but very professional group of agencies providing a world-class service," said a snippy spokesperson for the Sydney agency Chic. [SMH]
• Meanwhile, in other model-activist news, Gloria Mika, a face of L'Oréal, is campaigning for free and fair elections in her native Gabon. Mika aims to recruit volunteer poll watchers online, and says the response to her website has been extraordinary. The 23-strong field of candidates for president is led by Ali Ben Bongo, the son of the recently deceased Omar Bongo, who ran the nation for 42 years and enriched himself dramatically in the process. [BBC]
• Apparently, three male celebrities wearing mostly gender-neutral items marketed towards women, like scarves, pouch bags, and "boyfriend" jackets, constitutes a trend toward "girlfriend" dressing. We're suspicious of this "trend," but we agree Jamie Hince should probably not wear Kate Moss's denim cutoffs again. [Telegraph]
• Elettra Weidemann, on Anna Wintour: "She's been doing this for so long, surrounded by men. There's absolutely a feminist aspect to her. I think a lot of the attacks against her are misogynist. Men in business are totally cutthroat and nobody says bad things about them for it." [The Cut]
• "A couple of years ago I thought to myself that I wanted to build a whole lifestyle brand and really educate people that anyone can have style. You don't need a lot of money." Rachel Zoe says one thing and means another. [USAToday]
• Europe's largest distributor of band t-shirts, Completely Independent Distribution, may soon have to drop the "independent" from its name: the music label giant EMI is considering a $500,000 bid for the company, as it seeks to diversify its revenue streams now that nobody buys CDs but concerts become increasingly profitable. [FT]
• One person who apparently isn't thrilled about Marc Jacobs' and Lorenzo Martone's rumored secret elopement to Provincetown, Massachussetts, this past weekend: Jacobs' ex, Jason Preston. The party promoter, who was once so devoted to his designer beau that he has his logo tattooed on his forearm, Twittered to Courtney Love on Friday, "I miss u love!!! I feel this is gunna b a VERY bad weekend 4me rumor around town is he's getting married this weekend. : (" [CityFile]
• One way of reaching consumers in emerging markets? Offering purchase by installment plan, as Levi's is doing in India. [FT]
• Sales at Ann Taylor fell 21% in the second quarter, and the company swung to a loss. The company, which this spring admitted its product lines had been dowdy, is hoping that new fall offerings — and a new ad campaign with Cameron Russell — will reel consumers back in. [WSJ]
• Marc Dreier's ponzi scheme defrauded $400 million, mainly from large investment funds, and Dreier was sentenced to 20 years in prison last month. But a number of fashion companies, including Nike, Adidas, Seven For All Mankind, Tommy Hilfiger, Rock & Republic, and Nautica, were also investors, who are now seeking to be repaid some of what Dreier took. [WWD]
• Charlotte Russe, which put itself up for sale in March, will be bought for $380 million by the private-equity firm Advent International Corp. [WSJ]

• "Think of the brightest shades of neon you've ever seen. Sparkles galore. Sequinned aerobics pants with scrunchy socks. Lions and tigers wearing vintage early '90s Cross Colors ensembles." In other words, exactly what you hoped MIA's clothing would look like. [NY Observer]
• Sex addict David Duchovny dropped as the sullen face of Johnston & Murphy. [PDNPulse]
• Model Maggie Rizer is "penning" a memoir, Model Behavior, which apparently hasn't already been used as the title for like ten model memoirs. [Fashionista]
• In the grand tradition of hubristic villains, alleged designer/raper Anand Jon apparently kept a prosecutor-friendly journal "in which he noted some of his encounters with the girls and women, abbreviating the explicit sexual acts." [Breitbart]
• Model Lynn Kohlmann dies at 62. [WWD]

• "Emily" sends the following query to the Ford models message board: "Hi Im Emily I weight 112 pounds and i wanna get to about 90 pounds for my personal benifits" Thank god, there are a ton of girls ready to support her in achieving this goal; their thinspiration follows. [Ford Models]
• Speaking of which! Following New York's example, London Fashion Week abandons the idea of health checks for models. [News.co.au]
• Also following our lead, British dress sizes rise with the obesity rates. Not the models'. [Telegraph]
• Fashion designer Gregory Poe dies at 51. [UPI]
• In addition to having one of the hottest small labels at Fashion Week, Rodarte brains Kate and Laura Mulleavy seem to also have an amazing sibling relationship. Trying to decide whether our liking can overcome our jealousy. [Independent]
• The new Lord&Taylor owners pour in a ton of money and cross their fingers. [Portfolio]
• Bullied down to only four days by New York, the smaller, traditionally more experimental London Fashion Week fights for a foothold. [Breitbart]
• Levi's teams with MTV. Le sigh. [NY Times]
• In case you were wondering, 70s model Marie Helvin is at her sexual peak. [Mirror]
• If you shopped at the Fast Fashion succubus that is Forever21 recently, you may be at risk: they just issued a warning about a security breach. [Breitbart]
• In addition to allegedly striking out with women at various parties, swimmer Ryan Lochte was a major presence at Fashion Week's tents. Quoth the aspiring designer: "I’m really into fashion, and I’m trying to slowly get out of swimming." [Oh No They Didn't]
• As if Sephora wasn't already overwhelming enough, denim co Rock & Republic is debuting a cosmetics line. [LA Times]
• "The traditional apparel for men in Saudi Arabia is a long white garment called a thobe. Recently a number of designers have been transforming the look of the thobe by adding colour — even designing an iPod-friendly iThobe." [Global Voices]
• Yes we're just making it worse: the Agyness Deyn cheat sheet. [Radar]
• Model Erin O'Connor sells her wardrobe for charity. Which would be great if anyone could ft into her clothes. [Guardian]
• Weirdly, luxury goods sell better in English. [NY Times]
• We really think she should rep a PR designer, but Heidi Klum will be wearing Armani to the Emmys. [NY Post]
• In a match made in obscurity heaven, Aeropostale teams up with the band Plain White Tees. [Business Week]
• It just wouldn't be fashion week without an absurd Vigue editor at XXL Andre Leon Talley yarn! "Talley was early for the Stephen Burroughs fashion show on Friday and sitting in the vestibule of the designer's West 38th Street showroom when a man opened a bottle of Piper-Heidsieck champagne and it sprayed all over Talley. The drenched fashionista screamed, "Look what you've done! I've got to wear these clothes all day!" And when the clumsy sprayer tried to towel him off, Talley yelled, "Get your hands off me!"" [P6]

• Is Gossip Girl pretty boy Chace Crawford set to replace McDreamy as the face of Versace? [Perez Hilton]
• Fashion slang seems to have no regard for a word's actual meaning: "Designer Ashleigh Verrier said her favorite fashion word was "diaphanous" — an adjective characterizing fineness of texture. 'As in, 'That dress is so diaphanous!'' she said. 'I like 'Glamit'," said fashion designer Marc Bouwer, who uses the term for a fashion line. 'It is so gorgeous and glamorous. You don't want to use cliched words.'Designer Thuy Diep said 'prune"'was popular within her fashion crew to express disapproval." [Reuters]
• Vogue-interning hockey playing fashionisto Sean Avery on who should play him in the rumored movie about him: "'Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit, man. I dunno I dunno I dunno I dunno I dunno. Fuck. I dunno!...I don't know anything. That's what casting guys are for! Shit. No questions!'" Sounds like that'll be some sparkling dialogue! [Radar]

• This is like telling us the Earth is flat! An "expert in visual perception" claims that vertical stripes are actually unflattering! Prune! [Guardian]
• As if her life was not sufficiently charmed, stunning editrice spawn Julia Restoin-Roitfeld is now art-directing! "Casting fellow model and brother Vladimir as the male lead, Restoin-Roitfeld art-directed the campaign from start to finish. The result is a super-sexy music-inspired campaign that lends Rock & Republic's image rock and roll cool." [Daily Mail]
• Eva Mendes is feeling her banned CK ad: "It’s very rock ’n’ roll; I kind of like it. I want to do more. I want keep pushing the envelope.” [WWD]
• Apparently "pushing the envelope" means working on a home decor line with Macy's. "The line, created with Mendes' boyfriend, film producer George Augusto, will be called "Vida" and will initially feature five bedding styles." [Crains]
• High-street brands making token (read: "almost no") effort to improve the conditions of overseas manufacturing. [Guardian]
• More on the kinda heartbreaking Sears Fashion Week tent. [AdAge]
• Embattled retailer Steve & Barry's now getting sinister emails from a supplier: "When customers 'happily shop' at the chain, 'they are actually buying clothes … soaking of blood and tears of worldwide vendors,' one e-mail read." [NYT via a href="http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/12/supplier-has-harsh-words-for-steve-barrys/>The Post]
• In honor of fashion week, Luca Luca executives will ring in the closing bell of the NASDAQ Stock Market. Brokers will almost certainly not care. [WWD]
• After years of giving it short shrift, Calvin Klein focuses on high-end collections again. [WSJ]
• Teen spending down. [Portfolio]
• Gok Wan (the British Carson Kressley) on his idols: "Sarah Jessica Parker - she has amazing style, and when I saw her and Vivienne Westwood [another one of Gok’s favourites] on the red carpet at the same time, I didn’t know whether to throw up or fart - I was so excited!" Why not do both? [Mirror]
• Albino model Shaun Ross breaks the mold. [NYT]
• Things are looking gloomy for French Connection. Has FCUK had its day? [FT]
• Fashion minions give the Nuclear Wintour a piece of their minds - okay, anonymously. "Painter Geoffrey Raymond hawked his portrait of Wintour, dubbed The Annotated Anna, to Bryant Park and asked fashionistas to write a message to Wintour on the canvas. Comments ranged from 'Scaaary!'‚ to the more flattering 'You look great without the sunglasses"' Raymond plans to sell the painting on eBay, with a starting bid of $3,500." Wait, that's the best they can do? Pass that thing around Jezebel! [The First Post]
• This pleases us: fashionistas waiting on line get into the Target "pop-up bodegas." [WWD]
• Tory Burch seeks outside investors for her boho-country club empire. [WSJ]

• Is there anything Chloe Sevigny can't do? Playing a polygamist's wife, designing a clothing line for Opening Ceremony, acting as style adviser to British ELLE, and now, designing hand-crafted steamer trunks for Samsonite. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Sevigny reportedly laughed loudly and openly at last night's Miss Sixty show. From the front row, no less! [NY Mag]
  
• Several models were burned by faulty lighting used during a shoot for Marc Bouwer last week. Says a rep for Bouwer, "No one knew the lamp was giving off that much heat until the shoot ended. If they had known, they would have stopped right away." [Page Six]
  
• Fashion victim! A Cosmopolitan fashion editor is suing a slew of people, including Diane von Furstenberg, following the 2005 incident in which she was injured by falling lights from the fashion runway. [UPI]

• The manager of an Abercrombie & Fitch store in Virginia Beach was ticketed by police for displaying overly "racy" A&F posters in the store. [UPI]
• Adam Lippes, formerly the designer of AdamPlusEve and now head of his own eponymous collection, is taking on a design collection with Spanish-based chain Mango. The Adam for Mango collection will feature 15 looks each for men and women and will be in stores for the Spring 2009 season. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Carla Bruni: Married to Nicolas Sarkozy while wearing Hermes. [WWD, 1st item]
• "This is worse than the Stones concert in '72!" That would be photographer Mick Rock, on the ill-behaved crowds outside the Rock & Republic show on Saturday night. [WWD, 2nd item]
• People will always need underwear: Hanesbrands' profits rose by 103.9% in the last quarter. [WWD, sub req'd]
• The Prada party taking place Thursday night in New York is sounding more and more like cheap porn: The short film created by Prada, Trembled Blossoms, will be screened and rock band CocoRosie will perform. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Have the designers at ThreeAsFour been reading Jezebel? The theme of their show this past weekend was "The good, the bad, and the beauty." [Fashion Week Daily]
• Heidi Klum and I have similar feelings about Valentine's Day: "If you're only in love once a year, that would be very sad!" [Chic Report]
• Costume designer Patricia Field on the look of the upcoming Sex and the City movie: "One might be dressing older, one might be dressing richer. There's always a blend of old and new because they don't change." [FabSugar]
• Former congressman Harold Ford Jr.'s fiance Emily Threlkeld pays her bills by working in business development for Carolina Herrera. [Washington Post]

(Click on any image in galleries to begin the show)
BCBG:



Nicole Miller:



Erin Fetherston:



Baby Phat:



Abaete:



Alexandre Herchkovitch:



Sass & Bide:



Rock & Republic:



Herve Leger:



DKNY:



Tracy Reese:



Diane Von Furstenberg:



Miss Sixty:

• For its 140th anniversary issue, Harper's Bazaar styles little kids to look like mini-versions of our favorite (and not) fashion designers. And oh my god, is it awesome. (Please note mini-Olivier Theyskens, at left.) This is 10 times better than that Simpsons fashion spread, which was itself pretty freaking inspired, and may force us to reevaluate our position on the whole magazine, which is a lot to handle right now. [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• Last night's "Fashion Rocks" event in London featured: Uma Thurman screaming at Johnny Borrell for smoking during Razorlight's set for Burberry, The Gossip's Beth Ditto throwing her shoes into the audience, Lily Allen being introduced as model Lily Cole, Stella McCartney's models playing musical chairs, and Iggy Pop. Pictures later! [Vogue UK]
  
• Karl Lagerfeld has created a limited edition carrying case for Dom Perignon. It holds 6 bottles. At $140,000 it is the most expensive item in the Harrods Christmas catalog. And to all of this we say: Of course he did; of course it does. [Vogue UK]

• Pervert and D-list designer Anand Jon has been slapped with another lawsuit, by one of the 19 women named in the indictment against him for charges of rape, battery, and committing lewd sexual acts on a child. Natalie Pack says she is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her rape by Jon. We hope he is once again found guilty. [Yahoo]
• Moe's complaints have been heard! The second go-round of Simply Vera Vera Wang for Kohl's clothes will be offered in smaller sizes than the premiere collection. It seems during the debut retailing they expected, er, bigger girls to be buying the Wang garb. Turns out the skinnies like the cheap shit too. [WWD, final item]
• Um, how did we never know before that Nestle (as in makers of the deliciously-heinous chocolate beverage) owns close to 30% of L'Oreal? Yeah, but they're thinking of selling their shares. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Okay, WWD, good move. The headline on their story about Stella McCartney launching an exclusive "green" collection at everyone's favorite Simon Doonan creative-directed department store: "Stella McCartney Comes To Barneys, Naturally." [WWD, sub req'd]
• Rock & Republic CEO Michael Ball is being sued for libel by fashion photographer Markus Klinko. Ugh. [TMZ]
• Check out Hollywould for Target here. [Coutorture]
• i-D magazine has seen a 56% increase in newsstand sales with its November. Why, you might ask? Because it has Kate Moss on its cover with her new bangs. No, seriously. [Sassybella]

• Poseur/artiste Damien Hirst is not only attending the "hotly-anticipated" Prada party during New York Fashion Week, he's designing the giant skull-shaped mirror that will be enhancing the store's decor the night of the party as well. [WWD, 2nd item]
  
• Somewhere there is a decree that Stella McCartney is infallible regarding the rights of animals and the environment and if you commit the heresy of questioning this she will bite. [Vogue UK]
  
• "The collection is many women. She is strong, hard working, sincere, purposeful, intelligent, easygoing, chic, professional, edgy, happy, a mother, a friend, a single woman, a hippie spirit," Rachel Roy on the woman who represents her upcoming Spring/Summer 2008 collection. In other words, anyone with two breasts and a credit card. [The Fashion Informer]

• Kelly Klein is having a baby, something that never happened while the sometime-photographer was married to her now-ex, Calvin Klein. [Page Six]
• "I wanted something memorable and sweet. It started with a drawing of a deer. I changed the "deer" to "dear." You know, something that's dear to you," says Amanda Bynes, on the name of her Steve & Barry's clothing line. Wow, Amanda. We had no idea until you told us that that's what "dear" means. [Houston Chronicle]
• Project Runway! At last! November 14 we will be reunited with Heidi, Tim, Nina, and Michael. [FabSugar]
• OMG. Vintage Reebok. Revived. Go look. Now. [FabSugar]
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
• The CEO of Rock & Republic has been charged with sexual harassment by a former employee. And by "sexual harassment" we mean she has accused him of attempted rape. Just putting that out there. [TMZ]