>> The first official look at how Spring 2010 New York Fashion Week is shaping up will come Friday, when the first edition of the Fashion Calendar ships, but until then, we've got a few hints.

 “There will be a lot more shows than last year," according to The Calendar's Ruth Finley, which means Anna Wintour won't be pleased.  Last season, Anna said that "a lot of people before were having shows that simply shouldn’t have been having them," adding: "It’s much better to see them in the showroom or more of a low-key presentation. It’s more realistic."  It seems like a number of designers didn't heed her advice — Finley says that this upcoming season, "There are a lot of new people [showing] you have never heard of."

And some you have heard of that are returning to the Tents »

>> IN PRODUCTION —Last night, Doo.Ri launched her 12-piece lower-priced secondary line, Under.Ligne, full of her trademark draped jersey with some leather pieces mixed in.  The line has been a year in the making and hits stores in July.  For now, it only comes in gray, black, and white, but she plans on rotating to new colors every season. [Style File, Elle News, Fashionista]

>> Thakoon Panichgul is one of a few designers working on line expansions — Doo-Ri Chung and Jason Wu included — and Thakoon Addition is his product.  The line, which is not diffusion but rather supplementary, focuses on some of the designer's most popular designs and is at the same price point as his runway clothes. As the designer explains it: 

Primarily, I see Thakoon Addition as a place to store ideas. In any given season, I’ve got ideas flying around that don’t fit what I’m planning for the runway, but belong somewhere. Now I don’t have to abandon that stuff. And Thakoon Addition can be a home for recurring pieces as well; looks my customers want from me, consistently.  Now, maybe I’ll have a chance to experiment more, but at heart I like to make wearable clothes. 

The collection, which hits stores May 15, is full of the designer's name-making prints, including florals and leopard, plus dresses and a couple of skirtsuits.
*image: source

>> The CFDA has been busy lately, discussing the possibility of sponsoring sample sales for designers who don't have enough resources to do it on their own, commissioning books — including a fashion-related cookbook, and announcing an upcoming three-year partnership with Mattel.  But Monday night, we'll learn which of the 2008 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund nominees will take home top honors, $200,000, and business advice, who will score one of the two runners-up titles and the $50,000 that comes with them, and who will try again next year.

The first award was given in 2004, with top honors going to Proenza Schouler; since then, Trovata (2005), Doo.Ri (2006), and Rogan (2007) have taken the top prize, and the likes of 3.1 Phillip Lim, Philip Crangi, Rodarte, Thakoon, Derek Lam, and Thom Browne have all been runners-up.  Without doubt, the winner generally has name recognition — and is in favor at Vogue — but tends to not be the biggest name in the group (i.e. Rogan over Phillip Lim last year).

So who will take all? »