>> Rodarte's Spring 2010 collection is scheduled to debut in about 35 minutes, and already clues to what we'll be seeing are popping up from backstage.  The hair is wrapped with netted wool (below), and the clothes are apparently the same texture, reports Grazia.  Fashionista says the theme is "organic Native American" — the invites were made of sand — and the models are all tattooed.

To keep the clothes a secret, the models all have to wear full black capes if they want to go outside, and as rumored, they're shooting a Rodarte film. Signs are everywhere backstage reading "by entering these premises you agree to be filmed for the Rodarte film."

The full play-by-play »

>> Jason Wu, Daisy Lowe Collaborate on Jewelry with Swarovski —Every season, Swarovski sponsors a handful of shows, and they're currently exhibiting some of the crystal-encrusted designs by Rodarte, Jason Wu, Julian Louie, threeASFOUR, Jeremy Laing, and Costello Tagliapietra at the New York store on 499 Broadway. This season, Wu is unveiling his jewelry for Atelier Swarovski (peek at left), based on the "concept of sculpting with everyday objects, so I'm using fabric and crystals and making sculptures in that spirit."  And Daisy Lowe is also working on a 4-piece line (a necklace, bracelet, ring, and a set of earrings), which comes out in January: "They're kind of magical in a dark romantic way. I've incorporated black and white, star and moon crystals and multiple strands of chains." [Style.com, W Editor's Blog]

>> New York Fashion Week is a little more than a week away, and the tidbits are flowing freely — a compilation of the highlights from the past few days:

Launches

• Marchesa is launching its first accessories — 28 clutches and evening bags (above); They will retail $995 to $5,000 and are made to coordinate with the mainline dresses. [WWD]

Peter Som is making his way back, Ruffian goes Picasso »

>> Olivier Theyskens still hasn't found a landing pad, design-wise, but in the meantime, he has a book in the pipeline.  In January, Assouline is publishing the 186-page Olivier Theyskens: The Other Side of the Picture, based on a collaboration between the designer and photographer Julien Claessens, who captured the backstage scene for 10-plus years.

Film buffs Rodarte, meanwhile, just signed with LA-based talent agency William Morris Endeavor Entertainment.  WWD suggests that "a movie of their own could be in the cards," but for now, the official line is that William Morris plans to “advise the label on opportunities in publishing and film and identify potential strategic partnerships and sponsorships.”

>> The first issue of POP under Dasha Zhukova's guiding hand hits newsstands tomorrow at $8, with two international newsstand covers, each with a 50/50 split run, of Style Rookie's Tavi, plus a 500-copy limited-edition hardback cover by Ed Ruscha (below, left), and a limited subscriber's cover of Cicciolina for the Baltic States (below, right).

“The new Pop launches at an exciting turning point in fashion, where the possibilities and potential for creativity are almost overwhelming,” Zhukova told WWD. “The new era is more fluid than ever before; one where teenage girls in Chicago, fashion editors in Paris, street photographers from Berlin and bloggers everywhere . . . redefine the fashion landscape.”

Fake Karl, Jen Brill, and Mark Borthwick are all involved »

UPDATE: The cover has been removed.

>> The first POP cover under Dasha Zhukova for Fall/Winter 2009, featuring 13-year-old blogger Tavi from Style Rookie in artwork by Damien Hirst, is said to be the image at right.  Hirst's participation marks Dasha's push to make the magazine reach further than just the fashion world as it had primarily in the past; her goal when first appointed editor in February was to "provide a broader point of view focusing also on art, contemporary culture and the globalisation of all things pop-related."

We've had a blurry peak at one of the magazine's editorials inside; the cover also boasts a contribution by Juergen Teller, a M/M Paris "bookzine," a 25-year tribute to Naomi Campbell, and "a stem-cell research celebration by Rodarte."  If Tavi is indeed on the cover, it's worth noting that a couple of weeks ago, a preview from LOVE's upcoming issue circulated featuring Tavi — ironic that her first two major magazine appearances happen to be in Katie Grand's former magazine (POP), and her current magazine (LOVE).

On a more personal front: last month, Dasha Zhukova's relationship with billionaire Roman Abramovich was said to be over, and now she's being surrounded by pregnancy rumors.

>> Kate and Laura Mulleavy are the latest emerging designers to collaborate with Target for its Go International initiative.  The 55 piece Rodarte for Target collection hits stores and target.com right in the middle of the holiday season on Dec. 20, staying through Feb. 6.  

The brand is known for its ethereal, handmade pieces, not a commercial aesthetic, but a Target spokesman claims that the collection stays true to the Rodarte spirit: 

“What you’ll notice is an amazing eye for detail. It’s very feminine, yet very modern. The collection incorporates a rich mix of patterns and fabrications and everything from sequins and bows to faux fur. The key with Rodarte is layering.”

The range in prices of the collection run from $9.99 for knee-highs to $79.99 for a leopard print jacket. Also included are “a variety of great holiday dresses,” according to the Target spokesman. “There are stand-alone pieces and pieces that can be worn together to create an ensemble by layering different patterns, textures and prints.”

>> Laura and Kate Mulleavy produce about 100 special-order Rodarte dresses a year and spent weeks perfecting the dyeing technique for their early "blood" dresses, ensuring that the red wouldn't leach into the white, but as for their own clothes, they don't aim to personify their brand: When they talked to the Times UK, Laura was wearing a striped shirt she though could be Russian, but it, like all her others, came from a flea market.

The designers have a well-documented film fetish, and spent a year watching horror movies, sometimes four a day, from the Japanese films that inspired their Fall 2008 collection to Hitchcock's oeuvre, fast-forwarding when it got boring. “Everyone in fashion loves Tippi Hedren wearing that green suit in The Birds," says Kate. “But we love the suit after she has been pecked.”

Their entry in fashion was fortuitous »