>> Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld Prepares Art Party for Second Consecutive New York Fashion Week —For the second season in a row, Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld is curating an art exhibit with a New York Fashion Week launch party. Last season, Louis Vuitton sponsored his look at the works of three photographers — including PC Valmorbida — and this season, he's teaming up with PC's brother, Australian billionaire heir and art dealer Andy Valmorbida, plus Giorgio Armani for “Richard Hambleton — New York,” focusing on the work of the last living member of the East Village Art Movement and contemporary of Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat. [WWD]

>> Irina Lazareanu Cast as Lead in Spike Lee Romantic Comedy —Irina Lazareanu, who hasn't done too much in the way of modeling recently, has been focusing on acting instead — especially after this newest development: Spike Lee approached her for his new romantic comedy.  She flew to New York this week for her screen test and has subsequently landed the lead role in the film. [Grazia]

Marc Jacobs' new muse: Miss Piggy.

Jean Paul Gaultier stepping down at Hermes.

Style.com to become Vogue.com?

Models seeking movie roles.

Sweatpants get a chic makeover.

>> Jean Paul Gaultier is said to be resigning from his role as creative director of Hermes, reports Fashion Week Daily, with his Spring 2010 collection, to be shown in October, his last under the label.

A Hermes spokesperson did not return requests for comment, and no reason for the resignation was suggested. Gaultier has been with Hermes since 2003, when he took over after Martin Margiela's resignation as creative director; under his direction, the brand has flourished, on the runway as well as on the sales floor.  In July, the company reported an uptick of 12 percent in second quarter sales — especially notable in this year's tough market.

Also worth note: Gaultier's own label is tied to Hermes — the brand invested $23 million in June 1999 for a 35 percent stake in Jean Paul Gaultier, and then-CEO Jean-Lous Dumas was quoted saying the acquisition was "a love match rather than a business arrangement . . . I believe that Gaultier has the capacity to be what Hermès has become."

>> Marc Jacobs To Marry This Weekend, May Be Cutting Spring 2010 Guest List Even More than Last Season —Marc Jacobs's wedding is supposedly happening this weekend — and despite the fact that the ceremony will only be attended by him and Lorenzo Martone,  an after-party is in the works.  Marc is also bringing back his Fashion Week after-party for Spring 2010 after cancelling it last season, with Lady Gaga as the guest of honor; as for his fashion show's guest list, which he cut from 2,000 to 900 last season, he told The Cut: "We’re definitely not going to be doing our huge show. But I don’t know if it’s going to be the same as last time, or smaller." [Page Six, The Cut]

>> Last year, there was a huge push for more diversity in fashion, culminating in the publication of Vogue Italia's all-black July 2008 issue.  Unfortunately, attention on that issue has waned this year, even though there is still much work to be done; now, the issue du jour seems to be what has become a common practice among fashion magazines: heavy retouching.

Katie Grand, who while at POP was a huge proponent of the "super glossy" look, has since reigned in her reliance on Photoshop.  Of her first issue of LOVE, which came out in February, Katie told Interview, "It's not so retouched.  I just wanted to take pictures of iconic people without redrawing them." And she's continuing the tradition for her second issue, out Sept. 1 — she had Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott (whose aesthetic generally lends itself to a good bit of retouching) photograph cover girl Coco Sumner as she walked in off the street, no hair or makeup.  The Times UK wrote of that decision: "She is shrewdly tapping into the new spirit of the times — heavily airbrushed celebrities seem gauche and embarrassing during a recession."

David Bailey: "It’s f*cking ridiculous" »

>> Fashion Continues to Invade TV on the CW's Gossip Girl, The Beautiful Life —Zac Posen has staked out a position in the series premiere of the CW's model-centric drama The Beautiful Life and Nina Garcia just filmed for the show recently, but they're not the only familiar guest stars that are slated to appear: Matthew Williamson, Erin Fetherston, and Jessica Stam have all been booked and Versace and Calvin Klein are also somehow involved. As for Georgina Chapman and Tory Burch's mysterious Gossip Girl cameos, they begin in the upcoming season's first episode by hooking up with Blake Lively's character Serena, and according to the show's executive producer have to do with Serena's “decision [in terms of college] and what happens to her in the first couple of episodes.” [E! Online, People]