Rent the Runway's first sample sale is going on today. Designer dresses and accessories at rock-bottom prices! Like this Preen Lacy Tie Back Dress. Choose from over 100 styles that have been "retired" from the rental inventory and are now available for purchase. You'll find designers such as Proenza Schouler, Matthew Williamson, Halston Heritage, and many others at up to 65% off retail.

English fashion designer Matthew Williamson has announced that he'll be launching bridalwear next year. This is indeed an interesting deviation from the norm, as the designer notoriously uses color and patterns to create his remarkable dresses. And wedding dresses are often, well, white.

Karl Lagerfeld, the be-gloved genius behind the Chanel cotton ball, is designing an island. Somehow, this feels inevitable. "The legendary Chanel designer has teamed up with prestigious Miami-based architecture firm Oppenheim and the KOR hotel group to create the manmade island situated 20 km off the coast of Dubai," reports Vogue UK. The island, dubbed the world's first-ever "fashion island," will house not only luxury boutiques, but three highest-end hotels and 150 villas, and should be up and running by 2014. (For some mind-blowing renderings, check out this slideshow.) If you're looking to set your sights on a cheaper, more immediate fashion project not located in the UAE, look no further than Matthew Williamson, the British designer synonymous with vibrant palettes and graphic prints.

Known for an unabashed and daring embrace of vivid hues, Matthew Williamson’s designs epitomize the confidence and color of warm-weather wardrobes. It’s fitting, then, that Belvedere took up with the Manchester-born designer to celebrate the summer launch of Pink Grapefruit vodka as part of their Maceration line. For the collaboration, Williamson, 38, fashioned a limited-edition caftan inspired by the vodka purveyor’s uninhibited spirit. “It made me think of vacations and jet-set holiday travel, during which I imagine you’d drink that stuff,” he says. “The caftan is a perfect garment because of its shape. It looks good on everybody and takes you from lounging by the pool to an evening of dinner, drinks and dancing.”

Fashion's literary fetish is anything but waning these days. While street-style bloggers have released a slew of tomes in recent months (The Sartorialist, The Selby and the Facehunter included), so have the likes of unemployed sartorial icon Olivier Theyskens and former employees of both Miuccia Prada and Karl Lagerfeld. Now comes news that Anna Sui, Jil Sander and the Sex and the City engine will release their own publications in upcoming months. Notoriously shy Sui is about to go "very public about her 20-year career," says Women's Wear Daily. Come fall, Chronicle Books will release a retrospective that will "recount her working with practically every supermodel around, dressing rock sirens and bohemian chicks and giving the baby-doll dress a lease on life." Although Sui herself can't be credited for actually penning anything more than the book's forward; contributors Jack White (hubby to longtime Sui muse Karen Elson), the Costume Institute's Andrew Bolton and photog Steven Meisel take care of the rest.

British designer Matthew Williamson, beloved by Vogue and H&M (with whom he did a diffusion line last fall) alike, is about to be a very busy man. Not only is the designer adding men's wear, which will debut in February to be sold exclusively at Harrods in addition to Williamson's namesake boutiques; he's venturing out digitally speaking as well with the launch of a brand spanking new e-commerce site. The latter will include "every piece from the most recent collection available for the public to buy online," says Elle UK, granting access to Williamson's vibrant, pattern-heavy creations to consumers around the globe. The move makes sense, seeing as Williamson's designs themselves are more often than not inspired by his worldwide travels, as he recently told the Telegraph.

Don't get your tropical lightweight wool panties in a bunch -- Zegna's not the latest fashion monolith to fall prostrate to the crumbling economy. In the wake of the needle-wielding couturiers at Christian Lacroix tearfully forfeiting their craft 'cause they're running out of money, Zegna's ciao'ing out of New York Fashion Week and returning home to Milan, where they'll show the hipper Z Zegna line at the sartorial epicenter's Pitti Uomo men's fashion week alongside big brother brand, Ermenegildo Zegna.

● Bird (Williamsburg) - Third Brooklyn outpost is sprawling, chic, and definitely not for the starving artist. ● Matthew Williamson (Meatpacking District) - Mr. Williamson's first New York foray brings color to the western fringes. ● Zero + Maria Cornejo (NoHo) - Nolitist no more; fancy, light-filled new digs for Chilean sophisticate. ● QSW Mercer (Soho) - Boutique within Quicksilver with free bubbly.

This spring, iconic styles from past collections meet with radiant colors from current runway looks to form a limited edition womenswear collection designed elusively by Matthew Williamson for H&M. Set to debut on April 23, approximately 200 H&M store locations worldwide will offer his radiant and colorful collection filled with "eclectic" prints inspired by the "savvy world traveler". The Matthew Williamson Spring 09 collection for H&M will offer key pieces such as dresses, tops, and jump suits.

Fresh off the heels of an especially successful launch of Comme des Garçons for H&M, the Swedish mega-retailer is announcing yet another designer collaboration. This time around, it’s with British designer Matthew Williamson. The collection is sure to be a distinct divergence from the CdG line currently in stores, as Williamson is not afraid of floral and in-you-face prints, vibrant color palettes, and flirty, feminine frocks. In other words: His fashion is far from the avant-garde, often monochromatic aesthetic of Rei Kawakubo.