>> Even designers are shopping the closet when it comes to piecing together their latest collection. Fortune's Peter Gumbel writes in his new profile on Francois-Henri Pinault of PPR: "All the brands have been scouring for ways to save cash. Hiring and salaries have been frozen since last September. Bonuses for this year have been halved too. Inventiveness has become the order of the day."

Robert Polet, CEO of PPR's Gucci Group, illustrates with a story of how he found Tomas Maier on the floor of Bottega Veneta's headquarters in New York City with his shoe manager last November, going through a pile of books filled with leather and skin samples.  Fortune relates: "They were checking how much of each material they had in stock, planning to use it up in the next collections. 'I left the room and thought, Wow,' Polet says. 'Finding ways to manage down inventory has almost become a sport.'"

So how does Pinault feel about YSL's losses? »

>> Just a few days after LVMH reported a decline, causing all marketing to be cut save for its top-performing brands, PPR reported a 76 percent decline in first-half profits. Tomas Maier can breathe a sigh of relief: the company's only area of growth was Bottega Veneta, on which PPR has been focusing, which saw an 8.6 percent rise in sales in the second quarter.

At flagship brand Gucci, which accounts for the bulk of Gucci Group's profits, Frida Giannini was credited by PPR chairman Francois-Henri Pinault for bolstering PPR as a whole with sustained demand for her bags in China.

As for any incoming Gucci Group brands . . . »

>> INSIDER WIRE —It's rumored that Harvey Weinstein helps get his wife Georgina Chapman's Marchesa creations on the red carpet, but another Francois-Henri Pinault definitely helps his wife Salma Hayek out with red carpet fare.  For this year's Golden Globes, she says, "Francois was my stylist.  It was Christmas and I was just overwhelmed with so many things to do. He said, 'Let me help you. How can I help?'  And I said, 'Well, I have to pick a dress for the Golden Globes.' So Bottega Veneta sent swatches and sketches, and François worked with the designer Tomas Maier, and he took care of everything." [The Dish Rag]

*image: source

>> Milan is infamous for being one of the hardest markets to break open for models of color, and unfortunately, that still seems to be the case, based on tallying by The Cut.  The worst offenders? Burberry, Giorgio Armani, Missoni, Fendi, Salvatore Ferragamo, who all only used one model of color, while Gianfranco Ferre, Jil Sander, and Prada didn't use any.

Meanwhile, buyers have spoken on their Milanese favorites: Jil Sander, Prada, Marni, Bottega Veneta, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Pucci, Roberto Cavalli, and Gianfranco Ferré — surprisingly, Missoni was not in the mix.

A number of critics and retailers have Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi on their lists as Milan's most promising up-and-coming talent, but their situation at Gianfranco Ferre is currently tenuous — the front row Friday included three government-appointed special administrators, a reminder that owner IT Holding faces bankruptcy proceedings, and could take Ferre, Just Cavalli, John Galliano, and Malo down with it.  Regardless, hopes are high — as Linda Fargo, fashion director of Bergdorf Goodman, put it, "Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi continue to show the promise of world-class design for the future — both in their own line and at Gianfranco Ferré. We hope the dust settles favorably on Ferre as the two designers are hitting the right notes."  

Other highlights on the to-watch list: Christopher Kane at Versus and, for next season, Vionnet, under the care of Prada alum Rodolfo Paglialunga.
*image: source

>> THE MODELIZER —Lily Donaldson seems to have put Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld and those Michael Phelps rumors behind her.  Now the buzz places her hand in the hand of Gabriele Corto Moltedo, 31-year-old handbag designer and son of Bottega Veneta founders Laura and Vittorio Moltedo. [Grazia]

*image: source

»Kate Moss has been dropped entirely from Grazia's best-dressed list, Agyness Deyn fills the No. 1 slot [The Cut]

»Alek Wek's 16-year-old niece Atuai is making a go at modeling [Of the Minute]

»Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are enjoying their vacation, for sure; Katy Perry has been tapped to play the D&G after party in Milan [TMZ, Chic Report]

»Fashion mag assistants augment their low salaries by "stalling to steal" [Style File]

»Alexander Wang loves his Cheap Mondays [Refinery29]

»Naomi Campbell, still vacationing with that billionaire boyfriend of hers [PopSugar UK]

»Diane von Furstenberg: designer, CFDA president, travel writer [Fashionista]

»Simon Doonan adores Tilda Swinton, so does W [Washingtonian, W]

»Barneys Warehouse Sale starts Thursday [Racked]

»Cult fave Mischen is showing for the first time at New York Fashion Week [The Cut]

»Vogue scribe Plum Sykes is developing a comedy for NBC [Variety]

»Bottega Veneta's motto in the '70s was "When Your Own Initials Are Enough" [Vanity Fair]
*image: bauer-griffin online

»Cathy Horyn thought this couture season was "a little weak" [On the Runway]

»Emmanuelle Alt sighting at Givenchy! [FWD]

»Freja Beha Erichsen went to Stockholm Fashion Week rather than couture, Agyness Deyn stayed in New York [Fashionista, PopSugar UK]

»Georgina Stojiljkovic had a little trouble navigating the dress she closed Christian Dior couture in [BryanBoy]

»Morgane Dubled was surprised, and embarrassed, by a birthday cake at the Lacoste party last night [Style File]

»Contrary to previous reports, the July Vogue Italia won't be out until Friday in Italy, next week elsewhere [Fashionista]

»Rag & Bone, in sync: Marcus Wainwright and David Neville had sons just a week apart from one another [The Fashion Informer]

»Another shot of Linda Evangelista for Prada [DNA Models]

»First looks at Iselin Steiro and Natasa Vojnovic for Mulberry, Abbey Lee Kershaw and Agnete Hegelund for Calvin Klein Jeans, Raquel Zimmermann for Fendi, and Kim Noorda for Bottega Veneta [TFS, TFS, DNA Models, DNA Models]

»Christian Lacroix couture video [Telegraph UK]

»Agyness Deyn performed her collaborative single live last night on British TV (with video) [PopSugar UK]

»Anna Wintour has been bestowed with an OBE (Officer of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for services to British journalism and British fashion in the US [WWD]

»Bottega Veneta tops the list of the Luxury Institute's list of designer brands accorded the highest social status by affluent consumers [WWD]

»Devon Aoki shot with Self Service and Yves Saint Laurent at the Chateau Marmont last week [FWD]

»Karen Elson is naming her vintage shop "Venus and Mars" [Style.com]

»Peeks at Dolce & Gabbana, Marchesa, Rag & Bone, Matthew Williamson, and Nina Ricci Resort 2009 collections [WWD, WWD, WWD, WWD, WWD]

»The original supers are rumored to appear in a Fall issue of Vogue Italia [The Cut]

»Hilarious: There's a vintage studded belt that Sarah Jessica Parker wears in numerous scenes in the Sex and the City movie — she apparently loved it so much, she named it Roger, and would always say to Patricia Field, "Pat, get me Roger!" [Nylon]

»Opening Ceremony is going e-commerce by the end of the summer [Coutorture]

»Anna Wintour is attending her first Milan Men's Fashion Week to help celebrate Vogue Italia's 40th anniversary [FWD]

»Naomi Campbell verbally attacked a stylist over legal use of a photograph and elbowed people out of the way at the Murakami gala at MOCA in LA late last year [La Vie en Rose]

»Style.com's Candy Pratts Price wanted to make sure we knew the difference between Yohji pants and yoga pants, and that she's sitting at Anna Wintour's table for the CFDA Awards Monday night.  Also, her full name is Candida Rosa Theresa Pratts Price. [Chic Report]

»Michael Kors' beach home was broken into by a trio of teens [NYP]

»A peek at the Bottega Veneta, Peter Som, and Reyes Resort 2009 collections [WWD, Style.com, WWD]