>> Last night at the 92nd Street Y in New York, Ashley Olsen, the Washington Post's Robin Givhan, and Isaac Mizrahi gathered to chat with Glamour's Cindi Leive about the "Future of Fashion."  Ashley, dressed in a long dress — a production sample from The Row — told Glamour backstage: "I'm actually not very comfortable with public speaking, and that was something I told myself I'd work on — getting out more and doing some public speaking."

Her "number one teammate," sister Mary-Kate, and boyfriend Justin Bartha were in the audience to cheer her on as she doled out tidbits like The Row's clients are an average age of 50, she thinks girls with small budgets who want to be fashionable should shop vintage, and she loves her Toms shoes: "So comfortable." Isaac Mizrahi helped keep the tone light — at one point, he took of his shoes to show off his toes, painted a "day-glo pumpkin" color, but the panel did delve into some heavy topics.

The highlights »

>> CFDA Publishes American Fashion Cookbook Full of Designer's Recipes —Food and fashion don't always go hand in hand, but the CFDA is trying to change that this month with the release of American Fashion Cookbook, a compilation of recipes, illustrations, and food-related quotes from over 100 American designers. No word on what foodies like Jason Wu or Peter Som contributed, but Derek Lam went with Yellowtail Crudo, Isaac Mizrahi submitted Mushroom Truffle Spaghetti, and Diane von Furstenberg, who says she's "never been a great cook," added a recipe for Saturday Night Chicken. Publisher Assouline has a preview of the first 30 or so pages. [Stylecaster, Amazon]

>> New York Fashion Week is still over a month away, but Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week just released its official calendar today and the Fashion Calendar — which shows all of the shows not included in the Bryant Park festivities — has appeared online, so we can get an idea of what will be going down in that crazy time period between Sept. 9 and Sept. 17.

Despite the industry's economic doldrums, a few designers are adding an extra show for Spring 2010 — Ralph Lauren is upgrading from two showings to three in his usual morning-of-the-last-day spot; Phillip Lim is following in close friend Richard Chai's footsteps, doing a two separate shows this season, one for men's and one for women's, rather than combining them like he usually does; and Thom Browne, who chose to show his Fall 2009 collection in Florence instead of at New York Fashion Week, is back on the schedule with not one but two shows.

Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld is hosting an event again »

>> 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 »

>> After pulling double-duty last New York Fashion Week as both runway walker and interviewer for E! Canada, her one-hour special, "Coco Rocha Fashion Attack in NYC," premiered in Canada on June 15.  Last night, she hosted a screening for friends — including her best friend Behati Prinsloo — who missed out the first time at the Bryant Park Hotel, and finally, some clips have surfaced that can be watched in the US, including interviews with Anna Wintour and Andre Leon Talley talking about a cape he bought at a bullfighters' outfitters in Madrid.  At the screening, she said of the experience: “In the end of it all, I was so excited to be done with it. But when everyone went home I was like, more!”

The clips! »