>> Is book curating the new way for designers to bide time between jobs? First Olivier Theyskens, whose work is due out next month, and and now Luella Bartley, who lost her investor and manufacturer in November, is working on a book.

Tentatively titled Luella's Guide to English Style, the book was originally supposed to be published last Fall, but was put on hold after Bartley's time commitments prevented deadlines from being made. Now, with her label in the balance and thus more time on her hands, Luella has taken up the project again and hopes to publish the work in September 2010, in time for Spring 2011 London Fashion Week.

According to her publishers, Fourth Estate: "Unfortunately she couldn't deliver on time before but now we've decided on September. She's doing all the writing herself. It's a style guide."  The content will be divided between English street style and British style icons. "It's not going to be just a book about fashion. It's a work of social anthropology."

If his pre-fall showing is any indication of what's to come, Riccardo Tisci is headed towards a less-is-more attitude in 2010. "It's much more clean," Tisci said of the pre-fall collection. "I'm going back to Givenchy's roots, looking at late-sixties, early-seventies French style." This new focus translates into menswear-inspired sharp lines (in tailored blazers, overcoats, and leather shorts) balanced with more romantic, soft details such as feathers, fox fur and lace. On the accessory front, Givenchy's popular Nightingale bag will be available as the chicest carry-on roller bag ever seen come fall.

>> Yohji Yamamoto Pulls Out of NYC? —After showing a notably more wearable and sellable Spring 2010 collection, Yohji Yamamoto filed for bankruptcy in October.  The company was subsequently rescued by Japanese private equity fund Integral Corp., which committed to financing the house's restructuring. At the time, Yohji vowed to "continue to show Japanese fashion on the level of the world stage," but for now, it seems that Yohji is gone from the retail scene in Manhattan.  Both Yamamoto boutiques have been papered over and locked up. [Racked]

UPDATE: Yamamoto's store in Antwerp and the new flagship on Rue Cambon in Paris have also reportedly been shuttered. [Racked]

Simon Spurr discusses his special brand of tailored elegance and important lessons learned by working for Hedi, Calvin, and Ralph with Interview's Derek Blasberg.

Sarah Jessica Parker is rumored to be working with Halston.

Scary collaboration alert: Ugg and Jimmy Choo.

Vogue.com UK's best dressed men list includes Johnny Depp Jamie Hince, David Beckham, and Henry Holland.

Gilt Groupe goes V.I.P with Gilt Noir, accessible to the top .01 percent of customers who spent at least $10,00 on the site last year. Members include Gwyneth Paltrow.

Judy and Jane Aldridge designed a trench coat for Gryphon without ever meeting founder, Aimee Cho.

First images of Emma Watson's collection for U.K. brand People Tree feature wardrobe basics made with organic, fair trade cotton.

Tony Blair could help LVMH's forays into new markets such as India.

Source: Simon Spurr

Fiscal responsibility might have been the impetus for Angela Missoni's decision to feature photographs of a real-life family dinner as the house's spring advertising campaign, but the outcome looks anything but low budget. We love seeing the whole Missoni-clad clan gathered around the dinner table and lounging on a zigzag print sofa. Photographed by Juergen Teller at the family home in Sumirago, Italy, the images feature three generations of Missonis and will break in February fashion titles this month.

Source: Juergen Teller for Missoni

>> Was Lindsay Lohan at Ungaro just the beginning?  As Marios Schwab is preparing to show his first collection at Halston next month, rumors are bubbling up that Sarah Jessica Parker may be brought on in a consulting role at the house, which is owned by Harvey Weinstein's The Weinstein Company.

Originally, it was rumored back in September that Parker was in talks to be the face of Halston — since, the Sex and the City sequel promotional poster has come out, with Parker wearing none other than Halston.  But now, titles like design director or creative director are reportedly being thrown around for Parker — so where does that leave Marios?

UPDATE: WWD reports: "sources said that [Parker] will likely focus on the secondary Heritage collection, which recently launched. The arrangement even could include an equity stake or some other executive role, although that could not be confirmed." [WWD]

Today's photographs over at our favorite creative-people-in-their-interesting-spaces website, The Selby, feature stylist Kate Young and music label director Keith Abrahamsson in their home in New York's Chelsea neighborhood. Images include Kate's victorian jewelry collection and her satisfyingly (at least to us) messy closet, Keith's endless albums, and baby Stellan's stuffed bunny and airplane mobile. For the complete story from The Selby (including Q&A with the couple) click here. And, don't forget to pre-order Selby's first, 256-page book of photographs at Amazon.

Source: Todd Selby/The Selby

>> First Look: Lindsay Wixson for Miu Miu Spring 2010 —Miucca Prada broke the pattern last season, casting a bevy of models for the Fall 2009 Miu MIu campaign after seasons and seasons of stars and starlets.  For Spring 2010, she stuck with models again, albeit just one — the polarizing, beestung-lipped Lindsey Wixson, who closed the Miu Miu show and was captured for the campaign in London last month. [TFS]

>> Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair may soon have some say in the world's largest luxury group — LVMH.  Although LVMH had no comment on the matter, the Telegraph UK reports a source close to Blair has confirmed that he is in the final stage of negotiation a position with the company. Blair and LVMH head Bernard Arnault are said to be close friends; Arnault has hosted Blair and his children numerous times at his various homes. Blair is expected to start consulting later this year:

Mr. Blair won’t be joining the board but he will be acting in an advisory role, working very closely with Mr Arnault. In particular, his job is likely to involve attracting new clients.

If the deal goes through, Blair would likely be paid a six-figure sum for his part-time role.