>> A month after the Spring 2010 shows finished, plans are already under way for the upcoming seasons.  Estee Lauder group president John Demsey confirmed that MAC will continue to sponsor an alternative New York Fashion Week venue at Milk Studios for the next two years, Fashion's Night Out is in the works again for next Fall — some retailers are even pushing to make the September 9 date sales tax-free.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, which will have its last hurrah at Bryant Park in February for the Fall 2010 season, is moving to Lincoln Center starting in September 2010.  Today, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who resigned from Vogue back in June, ostensibly to spend more time with her family, has joined Lincoln Center as director, fashion week. Winston Wolkoff was director of special events at Vogue and was widely credited with building the Costume Institute Gala into the event it is today; she starts in her new position Jan. 1.

>> Designer Updates: No Spring 2010 Generra Womenswear for Swaim Hutson, Libertine Splits —Recently-named Generra creative director Swaim Hutson only worked on the brand's menswear for Spring 2010 (left); his womenswear comes next February for Fall 2010.  And Libertine co-founders Johnson Hartig and Cindy Greene have split after returning to New York Fashion Week last season; Hartig plans to continue the label: “I’ll just be doing the vintage pieces that we started with eight years ago, not the newer productions we have been doing for the past three years.” [Style.com Twitter, WWD]

>> Giambattista Valli Is Looking to Grow Past Cocktail and Evening Dresses —Giambattista Valli just signed a new licensing deal — starting with Fall 2010 production — and he already has big plans: “The collection is going to grow. I want to be known for all the parts of the wardrobe, not just the cocktail and evening dresses.”  He also mentioned bags and accessories as a very real possibility, and aims to grow his presence in New York by making more visits stateside and establishing offices in the city.  When prodded about showing at New York Fashion Week, he wouldn't commit, letting slip only: "Never say never." [Style File]

>> Marios Schwab is moving to New York to take over at Halston.  His impending appointment as creative director was suggested back in March, but now it's official.  He starts July 1, and his first collection for the label will be for the Fall 2010 season next February.  He plans to continue designing his eponymous label.  

In fact, it was the Spring 2009 designs for his own label that caught the attention of Halston execs. “He used a lot of jersey in the collection in a very modern way,” Halston CEO Bonnie Takhar said. “The silhouettes were also very fluid, and we thought they had a very modern Halston interpretation.”

As for Marios, he's already got big ideas for the brand:

While Halston’s DNA is crucial to its future success, I very much wish to move the brand forward and make it relevant for today.  Simple, effortless pieces realized via modern [fabrics] and technology will play a large role in how I will redefine the brand. The clothes will echo the heritage but with a very distinctive, modern feel that is completely new and completely now.