>> New York Fashion Week is a little less than two weeks away, and the tidbits are flowing freely — a compilation of the highlights from the past couple of days:

• Juergen Teller is meeting Cathy Horyn for a free, open to the public, discussion about his work at New York's Visual Arts Theater Sept. 12, 7 pm [On the Runway]


• Zac Posen explains his move from the big Tent at Bryant Park to a smaller Altman Building show for 400: “For this collection, an intimacy between model, clothing and audience could only be achieved in a smaller space. I really enjoyed the experience of a more intimate show after Pre-Fall 2009, followed by our successful Resort 2010, which was held at my downtown atelier." [WWD]

Who's Kate Lanphear styling? »

>> Caroline Trentini, Alana Zimmer Do the Chop —Right in time for New York Fashion Week casting, a couple of runway mainstays have altered their look; undoubtedly there are more to come.  Caroline Trentini went for a set of eye-grazing blunt bangs, and although details are unclear, Alana Zimmer apparently "chopped off all her hair." [Models.com, Fashionista]

>>  Andre Leon Talley, self-professed "big proponent of the man-bag" and owner of a custom-made Diane von Furstenberg caftan, is also a big proponent of shopping high and low, he tells Time Out New York: "You cannot live your life in the elitist world of fashion and not step out or you’re disconnected. You have to realize that fashion is not the endgame. I started wearing Uggs two years ago. It’s a cozy shoe. Also, they’re only $98."  In fact, at home, he wears "Juicy Couture shorts, a Ralph Lauren polo shirt and Uggs."  But don't expect him to wear Crocs. "I draw the line at Uggs."

He took up horseback riding and tennis after Anna Wintour prompted him to lose weight, but isn't afraid to split a chocolate creme brulee "just for a taste!"  When Time Out asked him if he though of the Vogue offices as "a mecca of skinniness," he responded:

The Vogue offices are full of what I call very annnnnnnngular women wearing stilettos, and maybe that’s just the consciousness — that people think that they need this look when they work at Vogue. But Grace Coddington does not fit that mold and she’s elegant. Look at Michelle Obama, she’s the most fashionable woman in America. But she’s not a fashion plate.

Golden Girls is "one of the greatest shows ever" »

>> Amber Valletta Doesn't Want to Play the Girl Next Door Any More— Amber Valletta's fashion line with Monrow — of which she says "I didn’t just sign off on [the pieces], I went in and designed them" — comes out in November, but she's also got two movies in the can: Gamer, in which she plays a wife and mother trapped in a virtual-reality social-networking game opposite Gerard Butler, and The Spy Next Door, a family film with Jackie Chan out next year.  She tells V61 — for which Hedi Slimane photographed her — of her acting: "Now I know I don't want to be pigeonholed as the girl-next-door.  There's nothing wrong with the girl-next-door, but I'd like to be the psycho killer and the warrior princess and the sex bomb and do serious material like [David] Mamet or Shakespeare." [Telegraph UK, V]

>> Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen captured the hearts of fashion obsessives through The Row from the first collection — but who could have guessed that they would also win the heart Cathy Horyn, who prides herself on picking apart Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy, another industry favorite?

Horyn blogged about her interview with the Olsens yesterday, and today comes her article, in which Jim Gold, chief executive of Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys fashion director Julie Gilhart both deem The Row "perfect": Gold because The Row "offers the perfect blank . . . so many designers are intent on the next great trend that some of the basics are neglected" and Gilhart because of the timing — more and more women are looking for high-quality, classic pieces.  They probably also like that they never have to put The Row on sale, since the line doesn't go out of style.

The majority of The Row's customers are 35 to 60, Ashley says, adding that the line will break even this year. Annual sales are expected to be 30 percent, and total sales are estimated at $10 million — for comparison's sake, Alexander Wang just told W his business is around $20 million, which W called "small."  The Row is produced entirely in New York, with mostly Italian fabrics, and is designed with a precision concerning proportion — a black blazer, for example, has a high armhole, Horyn writes, "because the Olsens liked the way Paris couture jackets fit, with high armholes and narrow sleeves that make your arms look even skinnier and longer."  Neither of the Olsens are interested in staging a fashion show.

No tank tops for Mary-Kate »

>> Dree Hemingway Said to Be Already Booked for Calvin Klein Spring 2010, Is Featured in Purple's "Naked" Series —After walking solely in Givenchy last season, Dree Hemingway reportedly already has a spot on the Spring 2010 Calvin Klein runway — no world on whether it's an exclusive, but regardless, Calvin Klein is the New York show which generally sets the bar, model casting-wise, for the rest of Fashion Month.  Dree is also the newest participant (in the past, it's been Chloe Sevigny, Angela Lindvall, Shalom Harlow) in the "Purple Naked" series, captured by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin for Purple Fashion #12 — The Imagist has a peek.  And if you're dying to see the result of that Purple shoot by Paola Kudacki with Suvi Koponen and Hanne-Gaby Odiele, Models.com has the final cut (NSFW). [Fashionista, The Imagist (NSFW)]

>> Plans have been in motion to spin Vogue.com off from Style.com for a while now; last month, the move was postponed to next year.  This morning, Vogue.com — which was already redesigned once this year — rolled out a new, white backgrounded layout to cap off the magazine's increased blog content of the past few months — the Vogue Daily blog, for which Anna Wintour approves all images that are published.

Already, there has been talk that Style.com may be folded into Vogue.com — much like it was announced that Men.Style.com would become part of GQ.com and Details.com in October — although it was said then that Style.com would continue to stand alone, and a spokesperson reiterated a week ago that the company's current plans wouldn't affect Style.com.  But only time will tell — Conde Nast is making a move away from its web-only brands to print brand names online.

>> Dasha Zhukova's First POP Issue Has Four Covers —The POP cover that appeared a couple of weeks ago, featuring 13-year-old Style Rookie fashion blogger Tavi done up by Damien Hirst, turns out to be the first of four editions.  Hirst did five different logo treatments for Dasha Zhukova's first issue since taking over at POP; the second cover features Tavi again against a butterfly background, with a glitter and polka-dotted POP logo.  The Moment reports there are "Two split runs of the 13yo blogger Tavi: one by Ed Ruscha; and Cicciolina (for the Baltic states)." [The POP, The Moment Twitter]

Rihanna appears in Vogue Italia's September supplement.

Alexander Wang continues to grow with sunglasses and an expanded T collection.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen — legitimate designers.

Is premium denim on the outs?

Matthew Williamson under the microscope.