Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

• Agyness Deyn is the new face of Uniqlo. [WWD]
• It seems Zac Posen is producing a scripted television series. And it's all about horses. [NYM]
• Tommy Hilfiger is rumored to be looking for retail space in Union Square; he's checked out the former Circuit City space and the Virgin Megastore, which is closing soon, too. [Real Deal]
• Brooke Shields says she's still stunned by all the Jack McCollough-Kiefer Sutherland media attention. [USAT]
• Leigh Lezark could be Matthew Williamson's new muse. [Fashionista]
• Nanette Lepore opened her second store in New York City today. [NYM]
• Swapping clothes online: now more popular than ever! [WSJ]

• Is Anne Hathaway going to replace Victoria Beckham as Marc Jacobs' latest muse? That's the rumor, at least. [Daily Mail]
• One more rumor: It's said Olivier Theyskens may be taking over at Halston. [Hint]
• It's not all bad news on Madison Avenue: Jil Sander and Nanette Lepore both have stores opening in the next few months. [FWD]
• Lindsay Lohan's latest brand extension? A line of panty hose, naturally. [WWD]
• Barneys is getting a small (but much-needed) infusion of cash. [NYP]
• Filene's Basement is not bankrupt. Not yet, at least. [NYP]
• Jessica Joffe goes topless for Katy Rodriguez. [Pipeline]
• The Cut has the list of every piece of clothing Michelle Obama wore on her trip overseas. And it includes the Alaïa cardigan that she wore twice. [NYM]

Happy Birthday | Chelsea Clinton is celebrating her 29th birthday today. Elizabeth Taylor is turning 77. Josh Groban is 28. Ralph Nader is 75. Joanne Woodward, the Oscar-winning actress and widow of Paul Newman, turns 79. Actor Noah Emmerich is turning 44. Lynyrd Skynyrd's Johnny Van Zant is 50. Rozonda Thomas (or Chilli) from TLC is 38. And the head of the 92nd St. Y, Sol Adler, turns 55. Weekend birthdays—including Olivia Palermo's big day—after the jump. More

♦  Anna Wintour attended the presidential debate last night at Hofstra. In Hempstead. On Long Island. Also: Is it just us, or is her hair getting lighter and lighter? [The Cut]
♦  Next week, five hundred lucky students will attend Teen Vogue's Fashion University, where for three days they'll access the wisdom of Tory Burch, Phillip Lim, Peter Som, Nanette Lepore, Monica Botkier and Cynthia Rowley. [NYDN]
♦  No, the day could not pass without Marc Jacobs being in the news for some reason: He's inked a licensing deal for swimwear, which will launch in spring '09. [WWD]More

♦  As we've heard, the financial crisis isn't stopping the benefit crowd from turning out, and Tuesday night's New Yorkers for Children Annual Fall Gala managed to rake in $1.85 million with the help of Mariska Hargitay, Julianne Moore, Juliana Margulies, Christine and Steve Schwarzman, Andrew Saffir and Daniel Benedict, Campion Platt, Lauren Remington Platt, Annelise Peterson, Adam Lippes, Patti LaBelle, Annie Churchill, Oscar de la Renta, Moises de la Renta, Julie Macklowe, Nancy Jarecki, Hope Atherton, Olivia Palermo, Holly Dunlap, Denise Wohl, Frederic Fekkai, John Demsey, Jeff Zucker, Gillian Hearst Simonds, Kelly Killoren Bensimon, Zac Posen, Lola Schnabel, Tory Burch and Lyor Cohen, Robert and Nanette Lepore, Isabel and Ruben Toledo, Olivia Chantecaille, Gillian and Sylvester Miniter, Julia Restoin Roitfeld (pictured), Zani Gugelmann, Peter Davis, Lydia Fenet, Bettina Zilkha, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos, Meredith Melling Burke, Muffie Potter Aston, Jamee Gregory, Heather Mnuchin, Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer, Jamie Tisch, Amanda Cutter Brooks, Marjorie Gubelmann,  Poppy de Villeneuve, Jennifer Creel, Marina Rust Connor, Sylvana Soto-Ward, Jessica Joffe, Taylor Momsen, Blake Lively, Jimmy Fallon, Kevin Liles, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Gayle King, Gilles Mendel, Maggie Betts, Topper and Tinsley Mortimer, Monet Mazur and Alex de Rakoff, Joy Bryant, Kelly Klein, Sylvana Soto-Ward, Horacio Silva, Patrick McMullan, Fabiola Beracasa, and Angel Sanchez. [The Daily, Park Ave Peerage, PMc] More

When money's tight, what makes women spend thousands on clothes? No one knows, but that's certainly no impediment to authoritative-sounding speculation when there are column inches to be filled. So, even though fashion designers plan fabrics and colors many months in advance of their shows, everyone has been eagerly interpreting new collections in light of the economy, mostly claiming that the bright, cheerful designs seen on the runway—like Betsey Johnson's—reflect a desire to detract from the gloom of dire financial prospects. 

• The interior of Nanette Lepore's West Village townhouse is just as fabulous as you'd expect. [Elle Decor via CasaSugar]
• So is Erin Wasson's loft. [The Daily]
• Auction house Philips de Pury is holding a sale entitled Hip Hop's Crown Jewels on October 1st, which will include pieces belonging to Missy Elliot, Tupac Shakur, 50 Cent, Diddy, Pharrell Williams, and the Notorious B.I.G. The most impressive lot? Li'l Jon's diamond necklace, reading "Crunk Ain't Dead," worth $500k. [SassyBella]

• Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss and Charlotte Ronson, who have been friends since their Nightingale-Bamford days, are joining forces to create a swimwear/resort line due to hit stores in February. [WWD]
• Do you ever have moments when you just have to buy a Ralph Lauren outfit and you can't wait to reach a store or the internet? That will never be a problem again now that Polo is launching shopping via cellphone. [Vogue UK]
• American Express Gold, Platinum and Centurion card holders can buy tickets to two Fashion Week shows. Still available: Betsey Johnson/Dennis Basso and Phillip Lim/Carlos Miele. [AE via FabSugar]

1) Donna Karan's annual designer garage sale in support of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund was co-hosted by InStyle and Kelly Ripa on Saturday. Betsey Johnson, Lydia Hearst, Euan Rellie, Lorraine Bracco, Jessica Stam, Katie Lee Joel, Debbie Matenopoulos, Hana Soukupova, Charlotte Ronson, and Nanette Lepore browsed stalls manned by the likes of Rachel Zoe and Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss, raising $3.6 million. [FWD]

2) In the evening Robert Wilson hosted the 15th annual Watermill Benefit, where Lisa Anastos, Anthony Haden Guest, Howard Stern and Beth Ostrosky, Alan Wyse and Kim Catrall, Campion and Tatiana Platt, Roger Waters, Rufus Wainwright, Amanda Hearst, Fabiola Beracasa, Valesca Guerrand Hermès, Douglas Hannant, Debbie Bancroft, Rachel Zoe, Lisa Perry, Debbie Bancroft, Ross Bleckner, Bob Colacello, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Michelle Paige Paterson, Alexandra Stanton, Jamee Gregory, Jessica Joffe,  Jonathan and Somers Farkas, Chris and Cristina Greeven Cuomo, Hope Atherton, Joe Zee, Roberta Myers, Simon de Pury, Kim Heirston and Richard Evans, Lauren Ezersky, Jon Stewart, Lisa de Kooning, Jay McInerney and Anne Hearst participated in auctions for exotic prizes like an Einstein chair and a golden palomino mare. [PMc/FWD] More

• Cathy Horyn of the Times takes a look at the fashion-centric novels of summer and she isn't all that impressed with what she finds. "Has the fashion plot thinned to such a degree that it's just about presenting life as a blue velvet ring box or a giant Birkin bag?" [NYT]
• Nanette Lepore is going to advertise for the first time, and she's hired British photographer Poppy de Villeneuve for the campaign. [WWD]
• Michelle Obama has been in touch with Isabel Toledo (left), who says she'd love the exposure of creating an inaugural outfit, should fate go the Obamas' way. Duh. [The Cut]
• Did you think that Genevieve Jones was just a party-going clothes horse? She's like to remind you that she occasionally designs jewelry, too. [style file]

1) The ACRIA benefit at photographer Steven Klein's Bridgehampton farm, sponsored by Calvin Klein Collection and Vanity Fair, invited guests for "Cocktails at Sunset." A boldface-heavy crowd including Bruce Weber, Jessica Stam, Donna Karan, Daphne Guinness, Rachel Zoe, Elizabeth Saltzman, Francisco Costa, Kelly Bensimon, Padma Lakshmi (above right), Carol Alt, Calvin Klein, Joy Bryant, Karolina Kurkova, Olivia Chantecaille, Mary Alice Stephenson, Anh Duong, Sessa von Richthofen, Zani Gugelmann, Jackie Astier, Lucy Sykes and Euan Rellie, and committee member/host Andrew Saffir (above left) ate mini-burgers and tater tots, and bid on a Steven Klein print of Madonna from W magazine. [FWD/Style.com]

2) At the A.L.S. spin-a-thon in Amagansett on Saturday, Katie Couric, Alec Baldwin, and Matthew Broderick (the latter two in cycling pants and visors) rode stationery bikes in front of a crowd to raise awareness and funds for Lou Gehrig's disease, Alzheimer's and other brain-related diseases. [People]More