New York Fashion Week Coverage: Day Six

Click HERE for Day Six Fashion Photo Slideshow
*Photos by Patrick Butler

Wednesday was quite light, as Fashion Week goes. I began the day at Michael Kors and took in 3.1 Phillip Lim and Derek Lam, as well. I was supposed to hit Zero + Maria Cornejo, as well, but unfortunately the traffic and my taxi did not cooperate and I missed making it to the East Village in time for the show, which sucks as she’s one of my favorite NY designers. But even though I only went to three shows, there was still plenty of action to be found.

I’M READY FOR MY CLOSE-UP, MR. DE KORS

Michael Kors channeled the retro cinematic glamour of “Mad Men” and Hitchcock in his really pretty fall ’08 collection (think: floral hourglass cocktail dresses, nubby fur collared coats tossed over a pencil skirt and sweater, boxy grey suits for the guys- worn with fedoras and thick black glasses, no less- and sexy secretary looks galore). Even the accessories- small-ish frame handbags and pointy satin stilettos- conjured the 1960s. But the real Hollywood drama occurred in Kors’ front row, for sitting directly across the aisle from yours truly was Simon Doonan, Roshumba Williams, Angie Harmon, Pharrel Williams, Eva Longoria and Robert Verdi. Also in attendance: Sigourney Weaver, Debra Messing, Ellen Pompeo, Eric Dane, Natasha Richardson, Candace Bushnell and Raquel Welch, whose arrival caused a paparazzi meltdown. Seriously, I thought the photographer’s cameras were going to burst into flames, the air was so hot with excitement. We should all look so good at 67.

A MOMENT WITH AGGY

I went backstage to congratulate Kors and ran smack into model Agyness Deyn (Aggy to her friends), who had just finished changing out of her lady-like “North by Northwest” runway garb and back into her punk rock street clothes. So what did she think of Kors glamazon collection? “It was gorgeous, wasn’t it?” she replied while pulling on her boots. It was. And which NY shows did she most enjoy working so far? “I really like walking in this show,” she said, “because Michael’s like, ‘Smile, be happy, go out and flirt!’ Which I’m really crap at, but I have a go [she pulled a silly sexy-pouty face]. And Michael’s so nice. So that’s great. And he always plays really good music.” Indeed he does. And today’s soundtrack (Queen, Madonna, Amy Winehouse) was no exception.

INVITES OF THE DAY

There were actually two cool invites today. The first was from Y and Kei, who embossed their “Water the Earth” show details on a little square pouch- clear plastic on the back, textured linen on the front- into which had been sewn a single white feather. Phillip Lim, meanwhile, made his Bryant Park debut this afternoon and announced his presentation via a beribboned ivory envelope that opened to reveal a traditional paper invite tucked inside a white hanky monogrammed with the designer’s initials. “The show was titled ‘Silent Volumes’ and it was about, let’s take a step back and just [focus on] images, like the people you pass everyday [and] you take a glance and never speak yet you always remember,” he told me backstage after the show, which he described as “power dressing” from a woman’s point of view (though he showed men’s clothes, too). “I thought about this boy, this girl, even down to the invites. They use the handkerchief and rewash it, you know what I mean? It’s steeped in tradition. I felt like it was a subversive aristocracy.” Weeell, yes, I would have to agree that using a hankie and then throwing it- steeped in tradition and you-know-what- into the wash with the rest of your clothes is a bit subversive, to be sure (especially when you consider that disposable tissues were invented because handkerchiefs are so unsanitary). Cute idea for an invite, but I won’t be using my PL hanky as anything but a pocket square. Or maybe I can start using it to flag down taxis, like the heroine in an old timey movie. (“Oh, livery driver!”)

BFFS FOREVER

Showing in the Promenade at Bryant Park instead of an off-site venue had an unexpected benefit for Phillip Lim, besides being less stressful (“It’s so much easier to show here!” he exclaimed after the show). It also meant that he was able to sneak into his best friend, Richard Chai’s show, which took place an hour before his in the space next door (there are three venue spaces in the IMG tent: the Tent, the Promenade and the Salon). “He would kill me if I wasn’t here, and I don’t want to die an early death,” Lim was overheard telling WWD. Lim even had time to run backstage to congratulate his pal before returning next door to finish prepping his presentation. And Chai, of course, was seated front-row-center at Lim’s show, too. Awww.

LEIGH LEZARK, PART DEUX

I saw MisShapes’ Leigh Lezark again, this time at Lim’s 4pm show, and stopped by to say hi. Naturally, I had to ask the diminutive DJ what brought her to show. “I love Phillip Lim. He always makes clothes that fit so well. Some designers, their clothes are just kind of big. They don’t fit or flow well. But he’s always...every single piece is great. I’ve never worn a bad Phillip Lim piece,” she said. The MisShapes hadn’t done the music for Lim’s show, but I was curious as to what went into the production process when the DJ trio does the soundtrack for runway. “Well, we collaborate with the designer beforehand and we get to see all looks so we know what kind of music would complement the clothes,” she explained. “At Costello Tagliapietra, they already knew exactly what they wanted cause they love Joy Division and stuff like that. So they gave us a list- they even gave us some bands we didn’t know. And then we went back and forth and put it together, gave them a rough playlist and rough edit and they told us what they thought and we reworked it and then: Go!” Interesting. So how long does that process usually take? “A day,” she replied. “It’s not very long. If we have a checklist it’s very, very easy.” She also confided the MisShapes are doing the Cynthia Rowley and Hugo Boss shows in New York and Henry Holland Christopher Kane in London (along with other, TBD stops in Milan and Paris). So how does she recover after Fashion Week? “I sleep!” she laughed.

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME, KIDS

The inspiration for Derek Lam’s fall ’08 collection may have been Isak Dinesen (aka, Baroness Karen von Blixen, the author of “Out of Africa”), but I find it hard to imagine the Swedish native favored mustard yellow eyeshadow and raspberry pink lips, as worn by the models in this show, which played upon the idea of duality and contrasts. Obviously, this was not a literal interpretation of Blixen’s look or life (nor should it be). But while the effect looked super-cool on the runway, I’d advise you to think twice before trying it yourself.

SWAG ALERT

Today’s best swag came from the aforementioned Derek Lam show and was, fittingly, a plastic zip-top bag filled with Kiehl’s products, including Centella Skin-Calming Facial Cleanser, Recovery Skin Salve and Line-Reducing Eye-Brightening Concentrate. Just the thing to remove all traces of, say, mustard yellow eye shadow and raspberry pink lipstick.
02.07.2008