>> Alexander Wang is experiencing quite the winning streak — he was awarded the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund of $200,000 last November, the 2009 CFDA Swarovski Womenswear winner this past June, and now he's taking home the 2009 Swiss Textiles Award, a prize of about $150,000, to go towards international development.  Wang becomes the second American designer in a row to win the Swiss Textiles Award, following after Rodarte, who were the first American winners ever last year.

The jury this year, chaired by Isabel Toledo, apparently had a tough time making a decision — Wang's fellow finalists this year were Peter Pilotto, Erdem, Thakoon, Alexis Mabille, and Ohne Titel, who will each receive a prize of approximately $6,000.

Former winners, Raf Simons, Kate Mulleavy sound off »

>> IN PRODUCTION —After the covetous reception Raf Simons got for his Spring 2009 Jil Sander spear earring collaboration with Damiani, he's expanding into a full range of jewelry and watches with the company.  The jewelry will launch in the Fall, while the watches will come in early 2010. "I am convinced that Jil Sander, even being considered as a brand of pureness, can create a product category such as jewelry,” said Simons said of the decision. [WWD]

>> Rumors have been swirling about the status of Martin Margiela at his Maison since last year, and though chief executive Giovanni Pungetti avowed back in March that Margiela was "still in position," though had reduced his level of involvement to that of a consultant, critical reaction to the Fall 2009 collection which debuted that same month implied that there was no trace of Margiela the designer left.

Margiela arranged a meeting early last year with Raf Simons to discuss the possibility of replacing him, but Raf ultimately decided to stay at Jil Sander. Diesel, which bought a majority stake in the company in 2002, is also rumored to be interviewing candidates for the position — Haider Ackermann has been named as one.

Although a replacement has yet to be named, JC Report's sources confirm that Margiela is no longer a presence at all:

According to our source, Margiela and his Italian sales agent had created a pact very early on that if one left the company then the other would follow. Given Margiela's vocal dissatisfaction with Diesel's marketing approach and commercial distribution, it seems clear that the two are taking joint steps away from each other. As a follow up to this conversation, we were in contact with a designer of one of the numerous Margiela sub-brands, who simply stated: 'He has not been present since last season.'

>> INSIDER WIRE — Raf Simons unsurprisingly finished with one of the top — if not the top — Milan collections for Fall 2009, and Suzy Menkes scored a rare video interview to chat with him about his newest Jil Sander collection.  She points out that until he came to Jil Sander, he was solely a menswear designer, and he comes off as one would expect — very real and down-to-earth; when Suzy asks him, "Do you feel yourself as an artist?" He quickly replies: "No, I'm a fashion designer." [The Moment]

>> THE ZEITGEIST —We've seen legions of "it" bags and "it" shoes, but Raf Simons may have started a new phenomenon — "it" earrings.  The spear-like earrings he created for Jil Sander's Damiani collaboration elicited covetousness as soon as they hit the runway, but now that they're available ($4,500-$10,000, natch), the gushing is back.  Style.com is "now coveting" the pieces, Interview "love[s] the clean lines," and NY Magazine says they "exceeded our every expectation." [Style File, Interview, The Cut]