>> Taylor Jacobson, one of Rachel Zoe's co-stars on The Rachel Zoe Project (and real-life employees), has been itching to go out on her own for both seasons of the show now, and it sounds like she finally did.  DKNY's PR just Tweeted at Taylor: "OMGGGG @TaylorJacobsonn I just got your email.. BEST of luck!!! Cannot believe you are leaving but I know you will rock on your own too!"

Fashionista got ahold of the email Taylor sent out to contacts:

After four amazing years at Rachel Zoe Corporation, I’m saddened and exhilarated at the same time to announce my departure. After much thought and consideration, I have decided to take the challenging leap to go off and style on my own.

And Taylor herself just Tweeted: "Today is an end of an era and a beginning of a new professional chapter. Looking forward to what the future brings...!!!"

>> Rachel Zoe has never been known to be anything but busy: her new lifestyle newsletter, The Zoe Report, launches tomorrow, and she's still finishing up filming for the second season of The Rachel Zoe Project, which premieres Aug. 24 at 10 PM on Bravo.  

The trailer for the upcoming season has just hit the web, full of her catchphrases, footage from Paris (only New York was highlighted last season), Rachel riding on a Segway, and featuring cameos by Diane von Furstenberg, Karl Lagerfeld, Giambattista Valli, Liv Tyler, and Lorenzo Martone.  

And for those who've noticed Zoe's tendency to wear loose dresses and voluminous clothes on the red carpet, it's because when she tries to wear something more form-fitting — like a sequined flapper-style dress in the trailer — her husband and assistant both tell her she can't because of all the bad press about how thin she is.

The video! »

>> Rachel Zoe Finishes Filming This Week, Is Launching Newsletter —Rachel Zoe is back in Los Angeles after three weeks in New York, and she finishes filming season two of The Rachel Zoe Project — which premieres Aug. 25 on Bravo — this week.  Never one to take time off, she announced a new website and an upcoming lifestyle newsletter, "The Zoe Report," last night. [BlackBook]

>> INSIDER WIRE — Rachel Zoe is finishing up shooting season two of her docudrama The Rachel Zoe Project, and though she won't give any details away about what's in the upcoming season — only promising that "it is going to be an amazing season" — we do finally have a premiere date: August 25. [EW]

>> Anne Hathaway has been tied to Valentino Garavani recently — she sat next to him at the New York premiere of Valentino: The Last Emperor, where he spilled red wine all over her white dress, and last week she presented him with a Rodeo Drive Walk of Style Award. 

While Valentino is not using a celebrity for its upcoming Fall 2009 campaign, it sounds like Anne might have a chance with another designer.  Apparently, she's recently become close to Marc Jacobs — likely through Rachel Zoe, who dresses Anne and is close to Marc — and he promised to dress her for high-profile events. According to one of her friends, "Marc and Anne have forged a fast but very intense friendship and they’re going to start doing public appearances together soon. Anne hasn’t signed up to do any advertising yet but . . . if it works well, Anne would be happy to model for some of Marc’s campaigns."

Maybe one of those upcoming public appearances they're doing together is the Costume Institute Gala in a month?  Because although Marc is known for choosing quirky and unexpected faces for his campaigns, Anne doesn't really seem the right face for his neon, '80s-centric Fall 2009 collection.
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>> INSIDER WIRE —Rather than culminating in the Oscars like it did last season, it appears that The Rachel Zoe Project will include Paris Fashion Week for its second season: a producer and camera crew were following her around, filming at a number of shows, including Louis Vuitton. [FWD]

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>> INSIDER WIRE —This week, Giorgio Armani, "the wealthiest fashion designer on the planet," is blogging while in New York for a store opening — it's like a window into his mind. He has plenty to say on Americans: "Americans overcook their pasta. Always. And there’s too much sauce. Too much of everything! Please, try to control yourselves," and  "I’ve noticed that Americans never block out the light properly in bedrooms. In Europe we like to close ourselves off in the dark."  He also taped an interview for The Rachel Zoe Project: "[Rachel] was wearing a feather coat (nice, but not mine) and very high pin needle heels. I went up on my tiptoes to see if I could be taller." [The Moment, The Moment]

>> INSIDER WIRE —It's pretty safe to say that camera crews will be following Rachel Zoe around during Fashion Week — the cameras were rolling Thursday night at the Beverly Hills salon opening she hosted, capturing her huggy reunion with scorned former client Nicole Richie, and are sure to be filming her preparations for the Oscars Feb. 22 for the second season of The Rachel Zoe Project, as well. [WWD]

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>> INSIDER WIRE —Although Rachel Zoe's docureality show The Rachel Zoe Project only garnered 688,000 viewers during its first season (compared to Stylista's 1.97 million viewers per week), it instead cultivated a cult following — and that seems to be good enough for Bravo.  The network decided to pick a second season of the show, set to air in mid-2009.  Production hasn't started yet, but come Fashion Week, there's sure to be a camera crew following Zoe around. [LA Times]
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