>> 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.