>> New York Fashion Week is still over a month away, but Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week just released its official calendar today and the Fashion Calendar — which shows all of the shows not included in the Bryant Park festivities — has appeared online, so we can get an idea of what will be going down in that crazy time period between Sept. 9 and Sept. 17.

Despite the industry's economic doldrums, a few designers are adding an extra show for Spring 2010 — Ralph Lauren is upgrading from two showings to three in his usual morning-of-the-last-day spot; Phillip Lim is following in close friend Richard Chai's footsteps, doing a two separate shows this season, one for men's and one for women's, rather than combining them like he usually does; and Thom Browne, who chose to show his Fall 2009 collection in Florence instead of at New York Fashion Week, is back on the schedule with not one but two shows.

As far as Bryant Park newcomers, Doo.Ri and Isaac Mizrahi join Derek Lam, Tory Burch, and Erin Wasson — who is going from small presentation to using the largest tent space in the span of one season.  After last season's finance-related debacle that resulted in him showing by private appointment only, Peter Som has chosen to do a presentation instead of heading back to the runway.  Carine's son Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld, who curated a photography exhibit last Fashion Week, is back to host another event Tuesday, Sept. 15 from 6-11 pm. And Zac Posen, who usually caps off Fashion Week with the last evening show, has moved to bright and early Monday morning, Sept. 14, at 9 am.

As for overlap with Anna Wintour's pet project, Fashion's Night Out, which is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 10 between 6 and 10 pm, only two designers have dared to schedule the same time slot: Jen Kao at 6 pm and Cesar Galindo at 7 pm.