>> Fashion Figures Are in Full Vacation Mode —Everyone's trying to get their vacation in before Fashion Week's craziness takes over September and October: Stefano Pilati is currently relaxing by the pool of his ivy-covered summer place in Saint-Tropez, and Vogue has a whole slew of details on where models are vacationing, among them Coco Rocha, who is volunteering in Costa Rica for the entire month of August; Sasha Pivovarova, who is going to the Dominican Republic with her husband; and Caroline Trentini, who is already visiting family in Brazil. [Purple Diary, Vogue Daily]

>> Amanda Laine Seems to Have Disappeared from Modeldom? —Just recently, 15 year old Norwegian Lea Groesland was named winner of V Magazine's V A Model Search contest — she's since completed one of her first shoots ever with Hasse Nielsen for the magazine.  More pressing today, however, is the supposed "disappearance" of the original V A Model winner Amanda Laine, who helped pave the way for future winners to find industry success; she hasn't had much work pop up lately, and now she's been taken off both her agency Supreme's website and Models.com's Top 50 list. [MDC, Fashin]   

>> Vogue staffers purportedly aren't allowed to wear flats to the office — although that might be changing now that Anna Wintour wears them to events — but she's standing firm in her stance against reality TV.  

In The Teen Vogue Handbook: An Insider's Guide to Careers in Fashion, out Oct. 5, advice on how to get into the industry from the likes of Marc Jacobs, Bruce Weber, and Patrick Demarchelier is featured; as for Anna's "words of wisdom":

"Don't go too fast. Because of reality television, everyone imagines they can just be a fashion designer, photographer, or model. That's not the way things go. Learn your craft."

 She also doesn't want people going into fashion because it's the cool thing to do: 

“Do your homework, go online, visit every museum, and intern. You just need to have a love for what you’re doing. It’s not about thinking that it’s the cool thing; it’s about really believing in it.”

Karl Lagerfeld seems to advise against the industry »

>> Annie Leibovitz's Financial Troubles Continue —After loaning Annie Leibovitz — who has lucrative contracts with Louis Vuitton, Vogue, and Vanity Fair — $24 million against her three Greenwich Village townhouses, her home in upstate New York, and the rights to all “copyrights ... photographic negatives ... contract rights” existing or to be created in the future, Art Capital Group is now suing her for breach of contract.  The lawsuit seeks to compel her to grant access to her homes and to meet with parties who are interested in buying her works so that she can repay the loan; so far, she has refused on both accounts. [Reuters, Jezebel]

>> Hussein Chalayan admits that he's a "designer's designer," which is probably why he told WWD he's "weirded out by" models-turned-designers. This isn't anything new — in February of last year, he informed the Independent UK that he found Kate Moss designing "kind of insulting . . . because it's like saying — and I don't mean this personally — 'I can sell more clothes off my name, off my brand, than you can, even though you're a better designer.' "  

He seems to have lightened his feelings on Kate specifically, and now says he views her Topshop line as credible, but he's still not totally convinced: “I don’t think it represented her, and I didn’t think she worked hard enough. I even told her to her face.” Her response, as he recalls, was: "‘Oh, I’m just trying to do a light thing; I’m not trying to do anything serious.' But I said, ‘That’s not the point.’”

Don't call him "avant-garde" »

>> Rochas Going Back to Runway for Spring 2010 —After Rochas's first collection since reopening — for Fall 2009 under the hand of Marco Zanini — was so well-received, owner Gibo has decided to bring the label back to the runway. The Fall 2009 collection was presented as an installation at an art gallery in the Marais, and for Spring 2009 — reflecting a huge vote of confidence for the label and Zanini — Rochas will effectively kick off Paris Fashion Week at Musée de l'Homme. [FWD]

>> Jessica Stam Is Collaborating with Rag & Bone for Spring 2010 —Although they remained mum on details, at Rag & Bone's Intermix launch party last night, designer David Neville revealed that he and Marcus Wainwright have been "designing some clothes together" with Jessica Stam.  The pieces, which will make their debut for Spring 2010, are "more of a collaboration, really," according to Stam. In the past, the label has collaborated with Maryna Linchuk on a leather jacket for their Fall 2009 collection. [Style File, Vogue Daily]