>> Bee Shaffer Moves on From Theater to Media Assistant —Last thing we heard, Bee Shaffer was interested in doing a theater production and was planning on interning at the Manhattan Theatre Club starting in September.  Seems she's still bent on avoiding fashion, but has switched gears by becoming assistant to College Humor co-founder Ricky Van Veen, who's getting ready to embark on a TV and web-programming company under the guidance of Barry Diller. Which means she hasn't totally escaped fashion, seeing as Diller is husband to Diane von Furstenberg . . . [Guest of a Guest, Gawker]

>> Yesterday afternoon, Alexander Wang — in black hoodie, white t-shirt, jeans, and dirtied-up white sneakers — spent two hours taking pictures and chatting with fans at his Spring 2010 Barneys trunk show in New York.  Wang was Barneys' number one trunk show seller last season, according to his PR director Leslie Rubisch — the sales racked up during that period accounted for fifty percent of Barneys' total Alexander Wang delivery — sold, three months before it even hit the floor. Needless to say, he had some expectations to live up to this time around.  Vogue got the scoop on which three Spring 2010 pieces were the best-sellers yesterday, and we chatted with Alex for further details:

What's your favorite piece from the Spring 2010 collection?

Hmm, that's difficult. [Rubisch leans in: "I'm curious to hear what you're going to say!"] I feel like every day I change my mind. But I always seem to come back to Freja [Beha Erichsen]'s look, she really knows how to bring an outfit to life, which is so important in a model for me.

He does have a favorite shoe »

>> Simon Fuller Now Shopping for a New York Modeling Agency? —Simon Fuller has continously been creeping into the fashion industry since he began backing Roland Mouret in 2006. Since, he has worked with Victoria Beckham to launch her industry-acclaimed eponymous collection, partnered with Claudia Schiffer to represent her name, image, and brand rights, and just a couple of months ago he took a majority stake in London's Storm agency, home to the likes of Kate Moss and Jourdan Dunn.  Now, word is going around that Fuller is "scanning the New York [modeling agency] market for 'opportunities'" — a New York counterpart to his latest London acquisition?  As The Imagist points out, "that would represent a whole new ideal of management that could pose huge challenges for some established players in the trade." [TI]

>> Frida Giannini and James Franco don't seem to have your typical designer-brand face relationship.  As WWD put it: "Celebrities with contractual ties to the fashion world tend to take those connections very seriously — always walking the red carpet flawlessly dressed and speaking perfectly on point. Which is why it’s so refreshing to see James Franco have fun with the hand that feeds him."

The duo was captured dancing together over a year ago, when Franco was first announced as the face of Gucci by Gucci Pour Homme, at the launch party.  They appear together on a Fall 2009 i-D cover, arms around each other, which came out this month. And last Friday, when Franco presented Giannini with Fashion Group International's fashion award, he "made a splash" according to T's Horacio Silva. James recalled: "The last time we [Franco and Giannini] worked together, we ended the day by jumping into a pool with our clothes on!"

The latest signal of their more-lax-than-most business partnership comes courtesy of a video posted yesterday on FunnyorDie.com, in which Franco spoofs his own Gucci by Gucci Pour Homme TV commercial.  No word on whether he obtained permission from the brand before filming, but he mispronounces the label as "Gookie" or "Guckie" all throughout the video.

The spoof video! »

>> Versace Layoffs Coming to Help House Gain Back Profitability —Ever since former Versace CEO Giancarlo di Risio left the brand in June after clashing repeatedly with Donatella Versace, repositioning has been the order.  Versace announced earlier this month that it would close all stores in Japan, and now comes news that the brand will cut 350 jobs worldwide by the middle of next year after forecasting a loss in 2009 and a flat 2010.  The layoffs aim to help the house ensure profitability by 2011. [WWD]

>> Riccardo Tisci, fresh off a stint in Rio de Janeiro over the weekend to support Oi Fashion Rocks with a combination men's, women's, and couture fashion show, arrived fashionably late by half an hour yesterday for a guerrilla appearance at Barneys in New York — his first for a trunk show, which was only announced the afternoon before.  Endearingly adorable in sneakers and with braces, the designer was on hand to see the launch of his new lower-priced (by forty percent) Capsule collection, which focuses on his iconic white shirts and studded pieces, with a few exclusives for Barneys on tap.  We were able to steal a couple of minutes of his time:

You were just in Rio, how was that?

I just got in [to New York] this morning, so I'm a little tired but happy.

You dressed Ciara for her Fashion Rocks Rio performance; she later Twittered, "I'm going to be Givenchy's Muze! So excited!" Do you agree?

Yes, she is a muse. I had never met her before, but it was one of the most amazing moments of my life. We really clicked; I can respect her as an artist and a woman and she respects me as an artist and as a man.  I look forward to working with her again soon.

Would he collaborate with H&M? »

>> Annie Leibovitz Talks Finances —Annie Leibovitz was on scene at the Women's Conference in Long Beach yesterday, chatting with Katie Couric about her financial travails: “I always let other people handle the finances. Those days are over. It was a good lesson. We are pulling ourselves out [of it].”  She is about to photograph Justice Sonia Sotomayor for Vogue, and noted that she won't be retiring anytime soon: “I still have a few more years I have to work.” [WWD]

>> Spring 2010 may be a "safe" campaign season in the making, but not all designers are afraid to change things up. Word is up-and-coming photographer Josh Olins has breached the usually ad-shooting group of Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, Mario Testino, Mario Sorrenti, David Sims, Steven Meisel, and Steven Klein, nabbing the Spring 2010 Giorgio Armani campaign as his own. And it's rumored Juergen Teller won't just be exclusive to Marc Jacobs image-making this season: apparently he's helping Phoebe Philo curate the new Celine image by photographing newcomer Valerija Kelava and Carmen Kass for her first ads for the brand.

As for Stefano Pilati, it sounds like he's sticking to his winning supermodel-Inez and Vinoodh formula, going on six seasons strong. Natalia Vodianova, WWD reports, is said to be next up.

>> Decision on Christian Lacroix Delayed —Christian Lacroix recently said it would be a relief to have a decision on his company's fate, but it seems that luck is still not with him.  The French tribunal which was scheduled to make a decision today on Emirati sheikh al-Naimi's $100 million offer for the brand adjourned hearings, citing the need for an economic recovery plan to be finalized before a decision could be made.  The court will reconvene for another review Nov. 17, and a final decision is expected at a later date. [AFP]

>> Giorgio Armani, who has historically been vague about his plans for a successor on both the creative and management side of his company, hinted earlier today that he is taking precautionary measures. "I'm already organizing staff who will continue my work. Of course I am not eternal, there comes a time when you must hand it over." In the past, he has talked about both selling the company and a bourse listing — no word on whether either is still being considered.

The 75-year-old designer, who is in Moscow for a succession of Armani promotional events — a cocktail party, a Fall 2009 Emporio Armani fashion show, and a Fall 2009 Giorgio Armani presentation — is coming off the recent announcement that he has eased his workload following a hepatitis scare.  But today he was fit enough to joke with reporters about his appearance: "You see how I am, I don't look bad yet, do I?"