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It's official: Marchesa has teamed up with Li & Fung USA to launch a lower-priced diffusion line. Though plans are still in their infancy — and the new line has yet to be named — the brand confirms that the line will include printed and embroidered daywear, as well as accessories. All will be priced from $150 to $750, with a projected launch date of Pre-Fall 2012.

"We have always had a vision for Marchesa to be a lifestyle brand," Designer Georgina Chapman explained. "We have been so specific for such a long time, and the idea to broaden out to a different consumer, and to our same consumer as well." Chapman also added that she was "hoping Marchesa will have something to offer that is very different from what's on the floor at present."
At left, Siri Tollerod models a look from Marchesa Fall 2012.

Newly appointed Dior couturier Raf Simons will grace the cover of i-D magazine's Summer 2012 issue. The cover photo, lensed by Willy Vanderperre, features Simons breaking through a wall of black and white flowers wearing clothing from his eponymous menswear label, styled by Olivier Rizzo. The one cover line of the "Lights, Camera, Action"-themed issue reads, "It's Show Time! Starring Raf Simons." An online teaser for the issue promises a story written by i-D contributor Holly Shackleton. The issue is available for preorder on May 7 and hits newsstands on May 10.

Photo courtesy of i-D magazine.

Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos will head to Florence this Summer to show their work at the 10th edition of the trade show Pitti W.

Lapo Cianchi, chairman of the influential seasonal Pitti trade shows, said his team invited the design duo because they "were looking for a modern approach to feminine elegance that is constant, profound and has the ability to think about itself. We saw this in the evolution of their collections, a knowledgeable process that develops around surprising colors, body-conscious draping and light sculpting. It was also interesting to see how the designers' two distinct spirits come together and reinterpret fashion's classic elements."

Pilotto and De Vos met as students at Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts and started Peter Pilotto together in 2008. In 2009, the two won the British Fashion Council's Emerging Talent Award, and since then its collections have gotten favorable reviews. In the past, Pitti W has selected Diane von Furstenberg, Gareth Pugh, Haider Ackermann, and Proenza Schouler as guest designers.

Pitti W runs in conjunction with its menswear counterpart Pitti Uomo from June 19 to 22.

Photo: A look from Peter Pilotto's Fall 2012 collection.

Amanda Brooks says she'll focus on her writing during her upcoming stay in England.

Brooks broke her blogosphere silence this week for the first time since last February with a post on her site I Love Your Style. In it, she explained that she will be taking a yearlong "creative sabbatical" when she moves with her family to a farmhouse in Oxfordshire, England, this Summer.

"First on my agenda? To get my blog and up and running again," Brooks wrote. "I also have ambitious writing plans for the next year, and you all will be the first to know about them as they unfold."

Since that post went live, Brooks has written one post a day. The most recent one focuses on trench coats designed by Junya Watanabe.

Brooks had been the fashion director of Barneys since February 2011, but she announced she would leave the retailer in March to pursue other opportunities. She released the fashion advice book I Love Your Style in 2009 and launched her blog of the same name in 2010.

Miuccia Prada has reportedly taken control of planning the Costume Institute's upcoming Met Gala — even down to the smallest details.

Prada has been quite vocal on everything from the guest list to what kind of alcohol those guests will drink. Sources told Alexa that when it came time for event planners to choose a beverage sponsor for the event, Prada insisted on an Italian Prosecco brand. She also decided on the location of the afterparty and has created an exclusive list of people who are allowed to wear her designs to the party. Gala cochair Carey Mulligan is said to be among them.

Met Gala veteran Coco Rocha, however, is not. According to Alexa, Rocha is bucking the trend of attending the gala with a designer, and will instead walk the red carpet with her husband James Conran. She plans to wear a vintage Givenchy dress she bought a few months ago. "This is actually the first time I've ever worn something that wasn't fitted by the designer himself," she said. "I did take the vintage Givenchy piece to my friend Zac Posen and to Vogue and they all agreed that it fits perfectly, no need for tailoring!"

Photo: Miuccia Prada and Anna Wintour announcing the Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations exhibit during Fall 2012 Milan Fashion Week.