>> Erin Fetherston was hired as guest designer and creative consultant at Juicy Couture in April, three months after the label's co-founders and co-designers Gela Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy gave up their day-to-day responsibilities to launch their own label next year. Fetherston will design for Juicy Couture until the end of 2011, and has already shown a Holiday 2010 collection, which included "bugle-beaded blazers, sateen-trimmed jackets and beribboned draped skirts to bustier dresses," WWD writes.

While she's only contracted to design the Holiday and Fall 2011 Juicy Couture collections, Fetherston definitely has some legwork to do for the brand. When Fetherston was brought in earlier this year, retailers had been complaining about Juicy Couture's fit and quality, and said the line needed to be reinvigorated.

A number of retailers have started dropping the line »

>> J.Mendel Scores Investment to Fuel Expansion —Until now,  J.Mendel has been a independent, family-run business, but Gilles Mendel, the fifth generation designer for the brand, has just lined up an undisclosed, significant investment by Los Angeles equity firm The Gores Group. As part of the deal, Mendel, who describes his new role as “a substantial shareholder,” will remain the CEO and chief designer of the brand, and the investment will allow J.Mendel to continue expansion from its original iteration as a French fur house. In addition to the label's current offering of fur, evening gowns, and cocktail dresses, Mendel is considering categories like fur accessories, luxury outerwear, knitwear, suits, tops, daytime dresses, knitwear, as well as leather accessories, eyewear, and footwear. [WWD]

>> Rodarte Kitted Natalie Portman Out for the Black Swan Red Carpet —It's no secret that Natalie Portman is a Rodarte fan — she attended the Mulleavy's most recent fashion show, has worn the label on the red carpet in the past, and now on-screen as well for Black Swan. All that considered, plus the fact that Laura and Kate Mulleavy created 40 costumes for the film, makes it no surprise that Portman chose to wear Rodarte for the film's world premiere in Venice today. The Mulleavys created a scarlet Swarovski-encrusted tulle gown specifically for the occasion, demonstrating their abilities to create red carpet-friendly gowns if the occasion requires. [Style File]

>> Brian Atwood has just inked a deal with Jones Apparel Group to create a new contemporary clothing and accessories line, B Brian Atwood, set to launch for Fall 2011. The footwear guru — who was reportedly asked to leave his role as creative director for Bally earlier this year — describes his upcoming clothing line (and ready-to-wear for his high-end Brian Atwood line, possibly premiering in around a year) as, “a little more sexed up than you would see at Bally.”

B Brian Atwood footwear will roll out first in Fall 2011 — with prices ranging from $200 to $500 — and a focus more on flats and mid-heel heights instead of the sky-high heels that typically populate Atwood's signature line. Jewelry and handbags will launch the year after, with clothing and sunglasses coming in the following seasons after that.

Atwood says B Brian Atwood is not a diffusion line »

>> Watch Anna Wintour and Marc Jacobs on Jimmy Fallon Tonight —Anna Wintour generally works with CBS — the upcoming Fashion's Night Out special and her 60 Minutes profile last year are both on the network — but she'll be on a different network tonight in the name of Fashion's Night Out. She and Marc Jacobs are both appearing as guests on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight, Wednesday, at 11.35 pm EST, where they'll discuss FNO and hopefully a few other topics, too. [@MarcJacobsInt]

>> The Emmys Awards, which happened this past Sunday, are "the first awards show after the summer blackout," as one publicist points out, "[so] it's a good opportunity for designers." And yet, Cathy Horyn notes, the recent show "was not a risk-taking red carpet or a particularly fashionable one." (See this year's red carpet looks here.) She continued: "Giorgio Armani and Oscar de la Renta were among the big names represented on the Emmys red carpet tonight, but where were Valentino, Dior and Chanel, to name three labels that actresses typically blurt out?"

WWD executive editor Bridget Foley added: "Most of the women given airtime looked — fill in your adjective: lovely, pretty, accessible. There was so much mass appeal in play that the event presented no more glamorously than your last black-tie wedding. Which is to say the women were attractive — good bodies in nice dresses, quietly festive hair and makeup — but nothing special. Surely anyone who longs for a little fantasy with her celebrity dress-up viewing went to bed unsatisfied, at least in the fashion sense."

So why the lack of fashion's fashion? »

>> Felipe Oliveira Baptista Named New Creative Director at Lacoste —Felipe Oliveira Baptista is succeeding Christophe Lemaire (leaving to take over from Jean Paul Gaultier at Hermes) as Lacoste's artistic director. Though Oliveira Baptista starts at Lacoste today, his first collection for the brand won't debut until September 2011 during New York Fashion Week. He already has a direction in mind, however: “I will associate the main values and DNA of the brand with a more transversal women’s wardrobe, something which appeals to a younger woman and which is feminine and unique. I also plan to do extensive research in fabrics and experiment with colors in order to create an effortlessly chic aesthetic.” [WWD]

>> Paco Rabanne Edging Its Way Into a Comeback? –After shuttering its clothing line in 2006 after a failed revival attempt under Patrick Robinson, Paco Rabanne might once again be gearing up for a fashion comeback. The brand, which has been holding ship with a fragrance line, is set to present a collection of handbags during the coming fashion weeks. A clothing line, too, could be in the near future — it has been in the pipeline since Paco Rabanne's current vice president, Vincent Thilloy, was hired in January 2009 to manage the brand's fragrance, fashion, and accessories businesses. Thilloy says he thought it was a good time for the brand to expand its offerings, as its fragrance business is taking off exponentially: "I’m thinking about a new business model for the fashion." [WWD]