>> Jessica White, 26, who has been featured in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition consistently since 2003, walked in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, and recently been linked to Sean Penn, was arrested early Saturday morning outside Avenue in New York after being charged with assault — for striking another woman in the face and pulling her hair. According to witnesses, the dispute was over a taxi. Reps for White's agency IMG deferred comment to her lawyer, who said, "The police report doesn't sound like Jessica, and she must have been provoked." [People, NY Post]

>> At a screening of her documentary Picture Me last night, model Sara Ziff, who is a senior at Columbia University, shed a little light on her next project: she's looking into forming a professional organization for models, because as independent contractors as they are now, models have few workers' rights. “I’ve been talking with my adviser at school about how best to start something, whether it may be a labor union like SAG [is] for actors or a nonprofit organization," she explained. "That’s what I’m going to do after I graduate. I want to see it happen and to do it full force.” [Style File]

>> After yesterday's announcement that Olivier Theyskens is joining Theory as artistic director, today brings a little more insight. Theyskens, who will head up a team of 25 people, says that Theory has promised him total creative freedom. He added that despite his high fashion background, he feels capable of designing anything from a glass to a cellphone: “I feel completely in tune with this new orientation.”

Andrew Rosen, founder and co-CEO of Theory, says that since Theyskens starting working with the brand on his Theyskens' Theory capsule collection back in May, the idea of expanding the designer's role had been on his mind: “Working with Olivier on the initial concept for Theyskens’ Theory, I can’t say that I wasn’t thinking about this all along. This was a natural progression. In some ways, it may seem radical, but for Olivier and me, it was not radical at all. He has been involved in the culture of the company for the past six months.”

Theory has sales of over $500 million globally, and Rosen hopes that Theyskens, whose name is recognizable in fashion circles worldwide, will help build the brand's global profile. “I feel that Olivier’s creativity and energy is what we need for our global expansion,” he said. “The world evolves; people’s tastes evolve; and the way of life evolves. Fashion has to evolve too. This is a natural evolution. Companies cannot get stuck in one place. The culture of the company won’t change, but the energy and creativity will change because there is a new force involved. Even though the Theory business is very strong, I felt it was important to step up the game. I saw a great opportunity to infuse Theory not only creatively but also energetically with someone like Olivier.”

Theyskens will be responsible for building out everything from accessories to menswear, the latter which he hasn't done in the past. “I can’t wait,” Theyskens told WWD. “I haven’t designed men’s wear yet, but it’s been on my mind. I feel very comfortable doing men’s wear.” As for designing for the Theory brand at large, Theyskens notes: “It’s much bigger and slightly different, more an expression of a designer line, while the Theyskens' Theory was quite personal."

Theyskens just secured an apartment in New York's West Village, and though he will continue to spend time in Paris, he says of Manhattan living: “Everybody says there is such a good energy here and I agree.” Like Paris, he's also not leaving designer clothes behind; Theyskens said he is open to creating one-of-a-kind pieces for special occasions, but for now, he is interested in exploring more democratic fashion.

>> When Brian Atwood announced last month that he is rolling out a contemporary line, B Brian Atwood, next season, he also hinted that ready-to-wear for his high-end Brian Atwood line could premiere as early as next year. In a new interview with WWD, Atwood reveals that he's also eyeing handbags, men's shoes, jewelry and sunglasses for his signature collection:

"Ready-to-wear is very high on the list. I'm all about the glamour and the sexy part of dressing women. It would have some gorgeous dresses and maybe a fur and great leather jackets, things that women wear and love to be dressed in. And I would like to get into handbags, jewelry and sunglasses. If it fits and makes sense to the brand, then we should be open to doing it . . . I've even played around with doing a men's collection, but men aren't like women, so it's a little more complicated, but so much fun. If I get really excited about something, I want to do it . . . I'd want to [launch new categories] with the core collection first, so [if we're going to do additional categories with B Brian Atwood within three years], we have got to move on this."

Atwood, who started out at Versace and then designed for Bally until last year, also mentioned that he doesn't plan to design for another fashion house again: "No. It's now about building [Brian Atwood]."

>> Just as Whitney Port announced today that The City is kaput, another former MTV star — who also happens to be Tommy Hilfiger's daughter — revealed that she's getting into the design business. Hilfiger, who has styled Nary Manivong's collection for the past two seasons, is teaming up with the designer to create a brand-new line, Nahm. “It’s all shirtdresses of different fabrics, lengths and cuts,” said Hilfiger, who plans to introduce the line for Fall 2011 and manufacture it entirely in New York. [WWD]

>> Over the weekend, Teen Vogue held its annual Fashion University in New York for budding fashion industry followers, and Anna Wintour gave a seminar in which she was surprisingly frank. A few highlights, relayed from the Twitterverse:

When previewing the cover of the "Vogue's Best Dressed" bookazine, which is out in November and features Blake Lively in a gold dress, she shed some light on why Vogue cover subjects tend to repeat: "We pick girls we can go back to. It was hard to ignore Blake when she came on the scene . . . I told Tonne [Goodman, Vogue fashion director] to 'Vogue her.' We did her hair, gave her glamorous clothes . . ."

On the controversial Lebron James and Gisele Bundchen April 2008 Vogue cover: "It got me in a lot of trouble. Uh, that was an interesting experience."

On working with Andre Leon Talley: "[He] used to write me color-coded letters. If they were blue, he was depressed. If they were gold, I was golden"

On casting models: "Gisele Bundchen, along with Kate Moss, is a phenomenon. I wish models knew they have to have a personality."

On turning down jobs: "I was offered the editorship at British Vogue. But London felt small-time."

And, on losing jobs: "I worked for American Harper's Bazaar . . . they fired me. I recommend that you all get fired, it's a great learning experience."

>> Chanel travels every year to show its Pre-Fall metiers d'arts collection: last year, it was held in Shanghai, and previously, the collection has been themed to the tastes of Moscow, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Monte Carlo, and London (and shown in those locales, with the exception of the Moscow collection, which was shown in Paris in late 2008, at the height of the economic crisis). But the collection, which was originally established to showcase the skills of the house's couture ateliers, will instead be shown on Dec. 7 at the house's Rue Cambon couture salons, taking it back to where it started in 2002. [WWD]