As October comes to an end, there’s still lots going on in the fight against breast cancer. Designers such as Betsey Johnson, Donna Karan, Tory Burch, Prabal Gurung, Tracy Reese, Milly, Rachel Roy, Rebecca Taylor and Jill Stuart, have all teamed up with Sharpie to contribute to the fund-raising efforts. (We love our colorful Sharpies and use them every day for graphics so it’s great to see the company getting so involved with fashion this year!)

The designers have created one-of-a-kind designs using Sharpie markers, including a t-shirt customized by Betsey Johnson, who is a breast cancer survivor. All items are being auctioned off on eBay and benefit City of Hope, a leading cancer research and treatment center.

Bidding for the designer sketches and t-shirts ends on Monday, November 2nd at 1pm (PST), so get on over there and bid!

Want to bid? Visit www.sharpieuncapped.com and help support Breast Cancer Awareness. And if you get out-bid you can always buy Sharpie Pink Ribbon markers and highlighters!

Our guesses were off, neither Wang nor Proenza are forging ahead with ad campaigns in these tough economic times - but Raf Simons is.

His first ever ad, following the likes of Zac Posen, Rodarte and Derek Lam, will debut in magazines this fall and showcase his eponymous menswear line.

He’ll also be opening two more stores and working on a furniture collection with the Belgian firm that previously collaborated with Ann Demeulemeester. Simons pretty much answers our earlier ad question saying that, “It’s another way to communicate with your audience. Fashion shows can only do so much.”

In other ad news - remember that epic OP for Wal-mart campaign from last year? Well they’ve done it again with a cast of 90210 meets reality stars at a Good Charlotte concert and added Solange Knowles to the bunch.

After sitting front row at shows from Gareth Pugh to Tracy Reese this past year, we kind of expected more.

To: Tips@Fashionista.com

From: Girl@Anewmode.com

A fun tip: I was at Tracy Reese yesterday and a few minutes before the show started Andre Leon Tally was being escorted from the backstage area. But by that time, all the front row seats were filled in, and even though the PR people assured him they had a seat reserved, he refused to take it saying he didn’t want to kick anyone out of their seat and make a whole big thing about it.

They begged and pleaded with him (“No Andre, it isn’t anyone else’s seat, it’s YOUR seat, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let us take you there!”). However, he absolutely refused to budge and insisted on watching the show from standing. They tried convincing him for another few minutes and he was like “Just start your show because I’m not moving anywhere.”

Then they implored: Do you need anything? Water? Coffee? Anything? But he was like “NO I’m fine!” Anyway, they eventually gave up and Andre watched the show with the commoners in the standing section. So who knows, maybe standing room will be the new front row!

And on that note, we saw Julie Gilhart and Meredith Melling-Burke in the standing section of Behnaz today, too. It was for an easier exit, but anyway.

Stiletto liberals rejoice:

Barack Obama is getting his own Fashion Line.

Starting next month, about a dozen items - mostly totes and tees - will be on sale at Obama.com and they’ll be different from those MoveOn sweats in one crucial way:

They’ve been sketched out by Diane Von Furstenberg, Derek Lam, and other CFDA members, including Tracy Reese, whose Obama scoop neck can be seen at left. The clothes will also have a launch party at Charles Nolan’s studio on September 9 - during New York Fashion Week.

Robin Givhan reveals the whole project in the Washington Post, noting “the risk, of course, is being perceived as highbrow or shallow. Obama’s opponents have derisively dismissed him as an elitist and a celebrity. And it was the fashion industry that spawned the celebri-monster known as Paris Hilton. Having Seventh Avenue on his roster of supporters would not seem conducive to a Dockers-man image.”

We’re not completely sure that fashion did spawn Paris Hilton - unless Page Six is considered a direct arm of the style industry - but she’s got a point. She’s also got a guarantee from Tracy Reese that she will sport the Obama tee at some point this Fashion Week, and that’s a really big deal.

Note that this isn’t the only fashion initiative tied to Democrats this season - Anna Wintour famously hosted a Calvin Klein dinner for Michelle Obama last month, and the Senator’s wife was also the inspiration for the September cover of Harper’s Bazaar, which starred Tyra Banks.

Come August, NYLON Guys also gets into the mix - they’ve donated their entire back cover to Obama’s campaign, a first for a national fashion title.

Meanwhile, McCain has the devout support of Hills star and designer, Heidi Montag.

This Thursday, BET is taking on the subject we’ve all been talking, thinking, and writing about for a while. In a half hour special, Fashion Blackout, they’ll bring together pretty much everyone you’d think (including Naomi, Andre Leon Talley, Constance White, and Tracy Reese) to sound off on the topic of Black presence, or lack thereof, in fashion.

Not to get too heavy, but as a Black woman working in fashion (or trying to), it’s really disheartening to see “No Ethnic Girls” on calls for models, or many other forms of blatant discrimination in the industry I love so dearly. I agree wholeheartedly with BET when they say it’s “one of fashion’s biggest faux-pas.”

It’s great to see this topic coming into the spotlight in a big way, so here’s to more open discussion on the topic - preferably longer than 30 minutes - plus, we need more time to hear Chanel speak (and we’re crossing our fingers that she does in fact speak).

If you’re bored or just curious, you can also take the Fashion Blackout quiz or just wait and watch the special when it airs this Thursday at 8:30pm.

— JAZZI McGILBERT

You’re at Tracy Reese

Smile!

—PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEREMY KOST

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