>> Rumors of slashed budgets and diminished celebrity attendance have already plagued the 2010 Costume Institute Gala for months, but we've finally got some concrete details about the first Met Ball that recently-appointed Vogue director of special events Sylvana Soto-Ward will spearhead.  Themed "American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity," the gala will take place on Monday, May 3, 2010, with Gap's Patrick Robinson and Oprah Winfrey co-hosting alongside Anna Wintour.

The theme is already drawing questions of whether Michelle Obama will make an appearance, but for sure populating the exhibit are roughly 75 outfits, culled based on the idea of "how the American woman initiated style revolutions that mirrored her social, political, and sexual emancipation."  The pieces include designs by Coco Chanel, Jeanne Lanvin, Elsa Schiaparelli, Madeleine Vionnet, Madame Gres, and Paul Poiret and come exclusively from the new Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection; many haven't been on view to the public in over 30 years.

>> Scott "The Sartorialist" Schuman, whose first book came out last week, is about to add another Vogue edition to his resume: Vogue Italia.  Schuman has photographed for Vogue Paris in the past — Carine Roitfeld is a fan — and seems to have won over Franca Sozzani: he recently shot Rachel Rutt for Vogue Italia.

His girlfriend and fellow streetstyle photographer Garance Dore has also been amping up her reach: this Fall, she will have more frequent contributions on Vogue Paris's website and perhaps in the magazine, focusing on the magazine's "Une fille, un style" ("A girl, a style") column, plus "behind-the-scenes coverage of fashion shoots, profiles of stylish women around the world in collaboration with French Vogue editor in chief Carine Roitfeld and other subjects of her choosing."

And last week, Patrick Robinson announced that Garance would be collaborating with Gap on an exhibit in their London pop-up next month, with her sketches (like the one above, left) on T-shirts.

>> Patrick Robinson: Kanye West Not Interning at Gap — Rumors have abounded over the summer that Kanye West — who styled for an upcoming issue of Elle — has been putting in time as an intern at Gap, but this morning, Gap designer Patrick Robinson laughed the notion off: “He’s not my intern! He’s a friend of mine, and he just likes to see what we do. I tell him, if he wants people to take him seriously in fashion, they have to see blood first! They have to see the blood and the sweat, to see that he really wants it — but he definitely has the capability.” [Chic Report]

>> Kanye West Styles for October 2009 Elle —Avid fashion show attendee Kanye West continues to dip his hands into the industry: first it was designing Louis Vuitton kicks, which promptly sold out, then an internship at Gap — which prompted rumors of a line in the works with the retailer — and now, he's styled a shoot for Elle's October 2009 Personal Style issue, creative director Joe Zee confirmed. [FWD]

>> Charles Jourdan to Relaunch; Pierre Hardy's Newest Shoes for Gap —Charles Jourdan, the French shoe brand for whom Guy Bourdin shot iconic ads from 1967 to 1981, is relaunching under designer Alexandra Neel in September; the brand was acquired by Groupe Royer last December and is starting with 45 styles targeted at thirtysomething women, with prices running $185 to $250.  Meanwhile, Pierre Hardy is continuing to contribute to Gap's Design Editions for the fourth year — this time he serves up two suede boots and a sandal, all due in stores in mid-September. [WWD, WWD, Vogue FR]  

>> Gap is still struggling to define itself — and for the first time in seven years, the company is looking at using a different creative agency — it has worked with Laird & Partners since 2002 — for its Holiday 2009 campaign, which could mean an entirely different approach to those simple backgrounded studio shots we've become accustomed to.

But that may not be the only big change on the horizon for the company: Uniqlo's owner, Fast Retailing, which counts French brands Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse tam.tam as well as Theory among its portfolio, may be after the American retailer.  CEO Tadashi Yanai recently said that he wants Fast Retailing to become the world's biggest clothing manufacturer and retailer within the next decade: "To achieve our target, the Asian market is the most important and we have already begun to expand there. In Europe and the US it is not realistic to establish hundreds or thousands of new stores solely via our own efforts, so we want to buy a big chain business."

The Indepedent reports that the "big chain business" Yanai refers to has been speculated to be Gap; in response, Yanai has said Gap is "within the scope" of the brands he might have in mind.

>> IN PRODUCTION —It turns out Alexander Wang isn't the only one doing khaki jackets and chinos for this year's CFDA-Gap collaboration after all: Vena Cava also pitched in a couple of dresses and variations on chinos — Racked got the first looks.  No word (although it's likely) on whether more designers are involved. [Racked]

UPDATE: The Alexander Wang-Gap photos have turned up — including one the motorcycle jacket — as well as pictures of a set of hats, which are likely done by milliner Albertus Swanepoel of Albertus Quartus (Wang was the 2008 CFDA/Vogue Award winner, Vena Cava and Albertus Quartus the runners-up). [Racked]

>> IN PRODUCTION —In past couple of years, Gap has teamed up with CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winners and finalists like Phillip Lim, Band of Outsiders, Threeasfour, Philip Crangi, Rodarte, Doo.Ri, and Thakoon to reinterpret their classic white shirt, but this year, Patrick Robinson says it's all about 2008 winner Alexander Wang: "We have Alexander Wang doing the next CFDA collaboration, like what we did with the white shirts last year, only this year it's with khaki. He did this incredible motorcycle jacket in khaki that's going to be under $100. It's coming out on June 16th, so get ready!" [Teen Vogue]

UPDATE: Apparently the collection also features another khaki jacket, plus some chinos. [Grazia Twitter]
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>> Although she rarely gives interviews — except for, you know, the lengthy one in The September Issue and that profile she's supposedly doing for 60 Minutes (rumor is their cameras were following her again at the amfAR Gala Thursday night), so maybe she's changed her mind — Anna Wintour sat down with Rachel Dodes of The Wall Street Journal right before New York Fashion Week for a quick fashion state-of-the-union-interview.

But before we get started, a sidenote — the coat she wore Thursday (left) looks to be from Peter Som's Fall 2009 capsule collection, so methinks he will be taken care of just fine.  Now, among the interview's highlights:

Now is not the time to look "too Dubai."

I don't think anyone is going to want to look overly flashy, overly glitzy, too Dubai, whatever you want to call it. I just don't think that's the moment. But I do feel an emphasis on quality and longevity and things that really last.

She won't name names, but some designers aren't making clothes that are worth the price tag.

In the [Vogue] Index pages we are looking more rigorously at price and value and asking, 'is something worth that particular price tag?'

A thing that wasn't worth it? Without naming names, we had a little sequined thing that wouldn't come down to here on you [points to chest.] And I said, 'How much is it?' $25,000. I said, 'No. We're not going to photograph that right now.'

What Anna thinks is "fabulous" »

>> Peter Som has had a tough past six months, between the fallout at Bill Blass and the pull out of his eponymous lines' investor.  Two weeks ago, he wasn't even sure if he was going to be able to pull anything together for Fashion Week, but he's succeeded in producing something for Fall 2009 — a capsule collection of 16 looks, which he will be showing at private appointments.

Peter's not alone in his misfortune this season — for various other labels, big and small, Fall 2009 isn't panning out so well either.  Some, like Peter, have had to cancel their runway show in favor of showroom appointments (Sari Gueron) or lookbooks (Francis by Christian Francis Roth, who just tried to stage a comeback last season).  Some are just plain nixing their shows (Benjamin Cho, Hanii Y, Sue Stemp, Rubin Singer).

Poor newcomer Mikhael Kale had to cancel his show because his samples were damaged during shipping; he's remaking the collection for press and buyer appointments in two weeks' time.  Italian knitwear label Malo, designed by Alessandro Dell'Acqua, is totally missing in action, even though it always draws Carine Roitfeld and Franca Sozzani front row.  And Patrick Robinson has postponed Gap's presentation until April.  Here's to hoping the news only gets better from here.
*image: source