Spring 2010 New York Fashion Week Day 1: A Whirlwind With BCBG, Vena Cava, Prabal Gurung, Ports 1961, Spurr and Rosa Chá

Usually, we find our Fashion Week schedule front-loaded with a packed first couple of days and then lightening up as the week progresses, but this time, things are more evenly spaced, so even though we had six shows on Thursday, three of them were presentations which made things infinitely more manageable.
We started off with a big tent show at BCBG MAX AZRIA where we discovered that even with a fairly decent seat, if you are in Anna Wintour's block, her security will block the stairs so we still have no idea what anything looked like below the models thighs. We are also almost always behind the celebrity row, so we have to check later to know that we saw Keri Hilson and Amanda Bynes among others. Also missing: the gift bag (BCBG has usually been known to provide a little snack to nibble), which seems to be attend among the larger designers. Ironically, the smaller ones have sponsors who are happy to give stuff away. As for the show, Creative Director Lubov Azria has moved away from her flowy silhouettes to a more body conscious lineup entirely composed of dresses, that occasionally reminded us of vintage Ungaro in a good way. In a clever move, two of them were made available online immediately after the show.
After a break we headed down to Milk Studios. Their so-called rival fashion week M·A·C & Milk really can't compete with the tents for sheer size, but it has a hip factor that the tents have lost. It's where The Sartorialist's Scott Schuman has installed himself which speaks volumes. We're sorry we missed the dramatic opening of Lisa Mayock and Suphie Buhai's VENA CAVA presentation which featured a performance by The Fiery Furnaces, but the models hung around on the runway for a closer look at the eclectic collection.
A quick jaunt through Chelsea brought us to the Flag Art Foundation where PRABAL GURUNG returned for his second presentation. This time it was a mid-day affair, but the former Bill Blass assistant still packed the gallery with admirers. Gurung, a favorite of The New York Times' Cathy Horyn, is hitting all the right notes by continuing with a classical, sophisticated point of view. In a tough market, you can still build a following if you cut a dress as gracefully as Gurung. He also had the oddest gift bag we have gotten in awhile, containing a red Sharpie, bottle of Fiji water, a Completely Bare gift card and...a 16 oz. container of Oxi-Clean! Frankly, it's more useful to us than a mascara or an eyeshadow. We'll take it.
Back to the tents we went for PORTS 1961, where designer Tia Cibani bucked the trend, moved to a bigger tent, and had no trouble filling it. The collection was titled "Fluere" and was inspired by nature with a clear Asian edge. Models walked up and down each leg of the U-shaped runway to give everyone a good look at Cibani's artfully wrapped and draped collection which transfixed the crowd. In related news, it seems that quite a few models have fearlessly copied show opener Tao Okamoto's neo-Sassoon bob, which served this particular show well.
Had we realized that Simon Spurr's presentation was all the way across town on 10^th Avenue, we might have skipped it, but we're glad we didn't. We have become big fans of Spurr's luxurious pared down classics. This season had a country club vibe as silhouttes have loosened a tad, and were refreshed in soft colors. Get ready for alligator belts and the return of espadrilles. The models were efficiently lined up with Calvin Klein Underwear icon Garrett Neff at the center showing off his famous abs.
Thanks to the crosstown bus, we made it back to the tents in plenty of time for Alexandre Herchcovitch's début as creative director of ROSA CHA. We were interested to see how the designer's famously eccentric sensibility would mesh with Rosa Chá's famously glam image. It was an interesting combination that moved the label to a slightly quirkier, even demure place with retro-underwear details and the designer's signature head schmattes. We missed the sexed-up Bond-babe feeling a bit, but don't worry, the bikini bottoms are still as tiny in the back as ever. We also missed the brand's signature glitzy production as the label shifted to the much smaller Salon Tent, but that is how things are going these days. Of course, the new venue's closer views did offer confirmation that even some of the runways' biggest stars actually have touches of cellulite! Believe it!

Comments

[Matt]

I went with a few female friends to 5 or 6 stores in SoHo and Nolita. Streets and stores were packed, but I saw very few people buying anything. Was it a great marketing idea that translated into heavy foot traffic on a wet weekday night? Yes, but they should have been offering more SALES instead of cheap champagne and steam-table reheated snacks. Some stores were giving out small gifts with larger purchases, but I didn't see any substantial discounts on clothing, at least from what I saw in Bloomingdales, Unis and a handful of other stores.