>> ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL —Introducing the first image from Lanvin's Fall 2008 ad campaign, with Liya Kebede and Raquel Zimmermann caught mid-motion on a dark city street, just as The New Yorker described it.  Hard to believe this was shot by Steven Meisel at Smashbox Studios in LA, eh? [TFS]

>> Along with the annual International Best-Dressed List, the September 2008 Vanity Fair features a spread dubbed "America's New Fashion Guard," featuring up-and-coming designers, including a few designing duos like Laura and Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte, Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock of Vena Cava. 

Marchesa was also spotlighted, but as Chic Report so astutely pointed out, only one half of the brand's designing duo is pictured: Georgina Chapman, with no Keren Craig in sight.

Interesting, in light of the rumors back in May suggesting that Keren was being phased out as a co-designer; the photographic evidence here definitely lends credence to that possibility.  Or maybe, as Chic Report suggested, Keren was just on her honeymoon when the picture was taken.
*image: source

»When it comes to good causes, Karl Lagerfeld supports himself [Fashionista]

»Jil Sander may be for sale again; Would Kanye West cough up for ownership? [WWD, FWD]

»Brian Reyes was well-repped at The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 premiere last night [Chic Report]

»Nick Knight joins Naomi Campbell in taking a stand [The Cut]

»Julia Restoin-Roitfeld met boyfriend Magnus Berger at Fabien Baron's Baron & Baron, where he still works [FWD]

»Project Runway's Austin Scarlett: Like a poor man's Yves Saint Laurent [FabSugar]

»A preview of Sasha Pivovarova in Fashion Rocks [The Cut]

>> THE MODELIZER —Not only is Erin Wasson Alexander Wang's runway stylist, she's now rumored to be appearing on a television show called The Stylist.  The MTV show, which is supposed to debut in November, features celebrity stylists auditioning eight assistant stylists on real photo shoots, with the winner getting a contract with Rachel Zoe's old agency.  [Fashion Inc., Fashionista]

*image: source

>> INSIDER WIRE —Still no word on the rampant Marc Jacobs-Lorenzo Martone marriage rumor. One source says they were married in a civil solidarity pact on Sunday, while another says there was no marriage.  [Page Six, Perez Hilton]

>> There's no question about it: Magazines are hurting in these economic times.  The first, unofficial magazine circulation numbers are out for the first half of the year, and Anna Wintour could be in trouble.

Vogue and Teen Vogue (which is Anna's pet project) are both losing circulation by double-digit percentages (15.1% and 15.7%, respectively), beat only by Oprah's magazine O at 16.4%.  Amy Gross, O's former editor-in-chief, supposedly voluntarily stepped down from her position in April, but these numbers suggest that perhaps the move was less than voluntary. 

So is Anna Wintour's job on the line?  The previous editor, Grace Mirabella, was ousted unexpectedly — the magazine was in good form at the time — at 58 after seventeen years in the saddle. And before Grace, Diana Vreeland was at the helm for eight years, replaced at 68.  Anna, at 58, just passed the twenty-year milestone as Vogue's editor-in-chief, causing many to speculate that she's in the sweet spot for dismissal. 

A recent New York Times profile of Conde Nast chairman Si Newhouse referred to Vogue as one of the "jewels in the Newhouse crown," and also mentioned that Si dislikes confrontation so much, a number of dismissed editors have said their first indication of trouble came when they were fired, which explains Grace Mirabella's abrupt discharge. 

Vogue is one of Conde Nast's most profitable magazines, and Si is known for his "willingness to absorb years of losses on magazines he considers promising," sometimes choosing personal interest over the financial numbers, but will this apply to Vogue?  It will, for sure, be interesting to see.
*image: source