The Shophound

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK FALL 2012: Finally, Glitter On The Runway With Naeem Khan, Monique Lhuillier, Christian Siriano & J. Mendel

This Fashion Week was the first one since The Shophound has been covering it that we saw more shows outside and away from the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week tents than inside them. Despite their obvious upgrade and expansion from Bryant Park, more and more important designers simply don't want to be there anymore. Possibly this is because of the increasing rental costs of the tents or because some are turned off by the sponsor-heavy atmosphere, but for whatever reason, the tents are now failing in their original mission to centralize New York's most important runway shows. In fact, despite the bloated overall schedule of 280 or so shows, MBFW had not a single show booked for yesterday, the final day of Fashion Week, so they closed down early. What that means for IMG which now owns the enterprise remains to be seen, but these days, exclusive niche eveningwear designers remain among the few highlights that the tents can still reliably offer. The kind of high-glam drama they require for their runways is still well served by the big tents as opposed to low-ceilinged rooms and raw spaces elsewhere, and their clientele appreciates the ease and efficiency with which they can get in and out of the shows. Unfortunately, the overbooked, larger Fashion Week schedule (a MESS) sadly made The Shophound miss Reem Acra, who is having a hot red carpet moment right now, so our apologies go to her, but we still saw enough gowns to keep our eyes dazzled until next season. As we have said before, sometimes it nice to just sit back and watch at all the pretty dresses going by.

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Chief among the dazzlers is NAEEM KHAN (above) whose profile continues to rise after experiencing the Midas-like patronage of the First Lady, and while his front row featured some of the weeks usual suspects like Padma Lakshmi and Kristin Chenoweth he managed to produce one of the week's actual major stars for his show. Freakin' Matt Damon caused a photographer frenzy when he and his wife unexpectedly appeared in their seats just before the show began. It was especially surprising, since last season, Damon's purported appearance at a show was the subject of a hoax that caused chaos in the tents, and here he was, unassumingly live and in person. Naturally, he was right across the runway from The Shophound, and we can report that he behaved himself beautifully while watching what is reported to be his first fashion show. Next time, he'll know to dress better. As for the clothes, they were as glittery and alluring as ever, with Khan showing a virtuoso touch with stunningly complicated embroideries and beading. Click the thumbnails for some highlights.

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MONIQUE LHUILLIER managed to score "Vampire Diaries" star Nina Dobrev for her front row, along with supermodel spawn and newly enthusiastic showgoer Peter Brant II. With Academy Awards on the horizon, there's always the feeling that some of these gowns might wind up on the red carpet sooner rather than later, and Lhuillier played up a graphic black, red and white theme that seemed tailor made for TV. Thee were no nominees in attendance that we knew of, but you can be sure that their stylists we watching closely.

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As the subject of a recent New York Times profile, CHRISTIAN SIRIANO was suddenly a hotter ticket this week. He also joined the ranks of designers who have abandoned the tents opting instead for Chelsea's Eyebeam Studios. As a result we endured, most of his audience had to wait outside on a cold sidewalk to be seated, but once inside, The Shophound managed to slip into a second row seat not far from Dobrev once again along with Gabourey Sidibe, making a rare Fashion Week appearance, Mena Suvari, and returning front-row champ, Leigh Lezark who lent her own peculiar sort of credibility to the proceedings. Siriano's new stylist Danielle Nachmani has tempered the reality star's penchant for over-the-top glamor, and his collection looked more modern and wearable than the last time we had been to one of his shows, but his best pieces were still the most extravagant ones, so we don't expect to see him go totally minimalist on us. Click below for a look at the newly cleaned-up Siriano

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Yesterday at J.MENDEL, we repeated the feat of finding an excellent seat after a tedious wait, when none had actually been assigned to us, and found ourselves across the runway from a dewy Kelly Osbourne a few seats away from the sunshaded Olsen twins. We realized, while watching the show, that having gone to fewer show this season, this was one of the few to feature full-on production with a custom set and a top flight cast of models like Arizona Muse, Lindsey Wixson, Ginta Lapina, Alana Zimmer, Tanya Dziahileva and the week's breakout star Kati Nescher opening and closing. High production does make a difference (innovative furs and flashes of gold lamé don't hurt either), and this was one of our most satisfying shows of the week. Click below for a closer look.

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NEW YORK FASHION WEEK FALL 2012: A Pack Of Presentations With GANT by Michael Bastian, Rachel Roy, Fotini & Alice + Olivia's Ice Cream Treat

At the corner of Tenth Avenue and 36th Street, Exit Art is convenient to exactly nothing, and yet every Fashion Week, someone lures The Shophound over there for one thing or another. This time, Michael Bastian used it for both of his shows. A few days ago, we gushed about his main runway presentation, and yesterday, we were back again to see his increasingly popular collection for GANT shown in a static presentation (pictured above). For him, we are happy to go out of our way.

The designer made good use of the snow machine that added atmosphere to the set of his runway show, repurposing it in the center of the reconfigured space, creating a snowglobe effect and sprinkling his models with fake flakes. This collection, called "The Lucky Ones", was a nostalgic look back at his college years in Boston during the '80s, and his friends who were all lucky to find each other. It's a charming backstory that happens to mesh perfectly with Gant's preppy, Northeastern heritage. Rather than making his models stand at attention like sentries, Bastian lets them move and mug for the cameras if they feel like it, and there's always one who can't help dancing on his platform to the music. The designer himself greeted guests and gave interviews looking, after two Fashion Week events under his name, like he just finished his last final exam. It's always a fun show, and there's a tons of stuff to want for next Fall especially if, like us, you can never get enough tweed jackets, striped shirts and slim cargo pants. Plus he serves cocktails, so there's no losing there. Click below to see the whole collection.

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It's true that not every designer should be putting on a runway show, particularly smaller, up and coming ones, but even some well established players prefer a more informal presentation. RACHEL ROY could easily fill a Lincoln Center tent at this point, but, apparently, prefers a low key event. Still, she had showgoers waiting on the sidewalk to get into her presentation at Alice Tully Hall, and letting people take a lingering look at the models does allow a better appreciation of her architectural, color blocked collection. It was among her most refined, and, as a plus, the venue allowed passersby to peer inside and get a little taste of Fashion Week for themselves.

For all the exodus from the Lincoln Center tents, showing there still has its advantages as designer FOTINI discovered when guests spilled out of the Naeem Khan show and passed by her modest presentation suddenly filling up the Box tent. Although we wouldn't want to be an eveningwear designer showing immediately after Khan's glittery tour de force (more on that later), Fotini had something Khan didn't, and that was a table piled with tasty macarons! There's no underestimating the power of a surprise afternoon snack, and we only ate, like, a dozen or so...

The last time we went to an ALICE + OLIVIA presentation, it was across the street from Bryant Park in designer Stacey Bendet's own shop, so it was a cramped but festive affair. In the years since, her label has grown, and so has her presentation style which took us to Chelsea late on Monday afternoon. She proved that she knows how to throw a party, and while guests had to wait outside on West 22nd street while an industrial elevator ferried them up to the show, once inside there were two full bars, tons of food and free Magnum ice cream bars for all. Clothes? Oh yeah, they were they were cute and lively, on models smartly lined up along the walls to make room for the party. There was even a special "red carpet" section where celebrity after celebrity was trotted out for photographers. Johnny Weir, ex-Real Housewife Kelly Bensimon and Kristin Chenoweth anong others all made their appearances while the models (below) patiently vamped yards away, hoping for a little attention to come their way. It's tough to compete with free ice cream.

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK FALL 2012: We Follow Kellan Lutz Around featuring Loden Dager, Simon Spurr & Master Showman Michael Bastian

Yes, folks, that guy in the picture to the left is The Shophound's new best friend, silver screen vampire and erstwhile Calvin Klein Underwear model Kellan Lutz —and by "new best friend" we mean movie star who kindly agreed to pose for a picture for us while waiting for the LODEN DAGER show to start on Saturday. We got to hang out with him on Sunday at SIMON SPURR, so we are practically like family now —and by "hang out", we mean exist in the same large, crowded room at the same time.

The folks at Loden Dager once again staged their show at the Hudson Hotel's subterranean Good Units nightclub, a comfortable walking distance form the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week tents. It is a perfect space for a small show, the kind where a triple runway configuration puts 75% of the seats in the front row. Of course, The Shophound would have gotten much better pictures of the show had we remained standing at the end of the runway, but greedy bastard that we are, we had to grab an empty seat anyway. The allure of the front row is not lost on us, even if we should know better. Loden Dager was also thoughtful enough to email out the run of show to attendees in advance, saving a lot of wasted paper. Their signature, colorful mix of classics mixed with innovative materials looked perfectly on-target for next Fall. Click on the thumbnails for some of our favorite looks.

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A year ago, we arrived a little bit late to Simon Spurr's show only to find ourself shut out from a fully packed venue. Not to repeat the same mistake, especially remembering the check-in debacle we had already experienced once this season at Milk Studios, we arrived extra early on Sunday evening to claim our seat, and entertained ourself by watching the room again fill to capacity. Our friend Kellan was joined in an impressive celebrity row by Spurr devoté Joe Jonas, Bravo's Andy Cohen and "The Walking Dead"'s Norman Reedus along with stylist Brad Goreski who we half count because, like the Top Model judges J. Alexander and Nigel Barker, he acts as both a celebrity guest and working fashion industry person and is seen all over the place. Spurr's collection took a turn towards stricter, classic tailoring with unexpected sleek twists like shiny leather panels and a blown-up, wavy houndstooth pattern that made a winter suit recall the patterned sidewalks of Ipanema beach in Rio. It was worth coming early to see, and though our own photos didn't come out too well though the crowd, the designer sent us a complete set of runway shots almost immediately after the show. Click below for our favorites.

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We also tried to get there early for MICHAEL BASTIAN's main collection show yesterday at Exit Art, and found ourselves waiting in line behind Broadway and "30 Rock" star Cheyenne Jackson for the venue to be opened. There are definitely worse places to have to wait (How this person did not get cast as Superman is beyond us). This was the first time we had scored an invitation to his runway show (Thanks again, Eugenia!) which is one of the most popular men's shows in New York. Like his colleague Spurr, Bastian hosted pretty much anyone who is anyone in menswear. While we knew from his Gant presentations, that Bastian has a knack for creating an atmosphere, we were still bowled over his dazzling runway showmanship. We knew we would love the clothes, a unique mix of sport and luxe that he has made his own with rich fabrics and an exclusive collaboration with Stubbs & Wooton for a burgeoning line of colorful slippers and loafers. He titled the collection "The Extra Man", and included in the program nores a reprint of a small 1974 New York Times item called "The Most-Wanted List", which detailed the city's most popular "extra men" according to the prominent society hostesses of the day. The list included names like Bill Blass, Charles Addams, Mario Buatta, Donald Brooks, Norman Mailer and the legendary "walker" Jerry Zipkin. Bastian offered no other commentary, so in terms of inspiration, you can make of that list whatever you will based on what you may or may no know about each person. What surprised and delighted us the most was the evocative set which gave the illusion of a snowy wooded park that the impeccably cast team of models wandered through before hitting the long u-shaped runway. A jazzy mix of music, crystal chandeliers and a custom scent from Aedes de Venustas wafting through the air completed the ambiance so well that we barely wanted to leave once the show was finished.

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK FALL 2012: There Is No Gift Bag TONIGHT!

It's around this time of Fashion Week that The Shophound likes to reveal the coveted contents of the big gift bags that are distributed to registered press at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. This bag, full of swag from sponsors, has been an expected part of Fashion Week since back at the beginning of the 7th on Sixth tents in Bryant Park, but when The Shophound stuck our head into the press trailer this morning to pick up a gift bag voucher, a polite but weary eyed staffer looked at us sympathetically and said, "Oh, we're not doing those anymore".

So, that's over.

Of course, it's worth noting that over the past few years, the Press bag has gotten smaller, and less bountiful, and the swag has become even less useful and interesting to us, but still, we have an inflated sense of entitlement, and we want our bag of free s#!t. Perhaps its just a part of the diminishing relevance of MBFW in the general scheme of Fashion Week. The way things are going, we wouldn't be surprised if, in a few seasons, we wind up going through an entire fashion week without actually having to go to the tents at all.

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK FALL 2012: Nautica Goes Nautical + Theophilus London Livens Up Rebecca Minkoff

Nautica lived up to its tradition of being one of Fashion Week's most crowded presentations, and if you are wondering why this moderate department store staple draws such a crowd, have a look at the handsome gentlemen pictured above. This time, the brand took over Ed's Chowder House in the Empire Hotel and lined up 30 top male models for the crowds to gaze upon, which they did while enthusiastically sipping wine. 2:30 in the afternoon isn't too early for that on a Friday, is it? In a twist that seems both glaringly obvious and ironically clever, NAUTICA designer Chris Cox took inspiration from "the iconic watermen of the American northeast coast: Sailmakers, Dockhands, Admirals and Coastal Prepsters". So, yes, Nautica served up a novel nautical theme for Fall. Call it "back to their roots", if you will, it still made for some appealing pieces including Brian Shimansky's winter-white blazer and Joost Van Der Hulst's black leather shearling toggle coat. Whether we will see these items on the racks at Macy's this Fall remains to be seen, but the show looked smart and up to date. Though we photographed everything everything exhaustively, the crowds didn't make it easy, but the folks at Nautica have provided us with a complete lookbook, so click the thumbnails below for some of the best looks.

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The excessive sprawl of Fashion Week has made for plenty of hard choices due to double and triple booking. It's annoying, and, honesly we only get invited to a fraction of the shows being held. Yesterday, The Shophound had to choose REBECCA MINKOFF over Yigal Azrouël mainly because after getting out of the crush of Nautica's presentation, there was not enough time to get all the way down to 14th Street in time for Yigal, and Rebecca was happening a few steps away at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week tents. Call it the lesser of two hassles. At least, in the big Theatre tent, "Priority Standing" can reliably be interpreted as "you are saved from the indignity of Standing Room, so just pick any reasonable open seat except for the first couple of rows unless someone asks you to move." It works, and nobody gets hurt.

Ms. Minkoff has shown she has just as canny an eye for marketing as she does for product development, so she managed to get singer Theophilus London (above) to open and close her show in a live performance that immediately added excitement to her peppy sportswear collection. The clothes, her fourth apparel season, were bright and appealing like the insanely popular handbags and accessories that support her expansion into other categories, and more sophisticated items like a black shearling t-shirt (at right) showed potential for a broader focus as her line evolves.

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK FALL 2012: Will Monika Chiang Be The New Tory Burch? + Duckie Brown Has Big News

Chris Burch is being buzzed about today with rumors that his ex-wife Tory Burch is considering suing the entrepreneur over similarities between her own lines and the newly opened super-popular C.Wonder store concept, but his attentions were focused elsewhere yesterday morning as he presented another one of his nascent businesses, designer MONIKA CHIANG's latest collection. The Shophound made our way up to the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse at Lincoln Center Plaza to find a stylish but highly commercial lifestyle collection from the designer including shoes and accessories with a prominent initial-based logo that find Ms. Chiang poised for what is clearly planned to be a similar sort of success. Luckily, this designer has a different, more urbane point of view than the ex Mrs. Burch, so there should be no intellectual property issues here, but there are still ballet flats to be had —although these are decorated with spiky studs, a trend that is fast moving from daring to gratuitous. Along with the models posed around a circular platform, blogger/model Hanneli Mustaparta and second-generation glamour girl Elettra Wiedemann were led about the room in Chiang outfits to add extra frisson. The collection wasn't earthshattering, but looked like money in the bank, which should fulfill Mr. Burch's goals well. Click on the thumbnails below for a few highlights.

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Daniel Silver and Steven Cox of DUCKIE BROWN always draw a faithfully enthusiastic crowd even as they toil away as a relatively small, independent label. Lately, they have become almost more noted as shoe designers with their hugely successful collaboration with Florsheim, and yesterday morning the news broke that the duo would become the designers for a new Perry Ellis men's collection line that would be aimed at more upscale retailers. You wouldn't be blamed for imagining that the pair's Fall collection titled "Super Duckie" for their own label (which will continue) was something of an audition for the job, as it incorporated the kind of oatmeal tweeds and murky tartans that the late Mr. Ellis himself made into his own distinctive signatures. They were mixed with the kind of plays on proportion and materials that have made Cox and Silver favorites of the menswear crowd, and the hearty applause for the designers could be interpreted as congratulations not only for a great collection, but also for a prize opportunity that has been a long time coming.

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK FALL 2012: DEGEN Pulls It Together, Ralph Rucci Gets Double Canceled And Other Notes

New York Fashion Week as a large scale event continues to defy logic as its unwieldy schedule of hundreds of shows sprawls all over the calendar. While it officially starts today, more and more designers are jumping the gun and showing a day earlier. Oddly, fewer and fewer are showing on the actual final day, perhaps in efforts to avoid being steamrolled by Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein's set of double shows. It's starting to look like nothing short of an iron fisted general will be needed to get the schedule down to a manageable scale.

Yesterday's highlight was to be the U.S. premiere of the documentary "A Quiet American: Ralph Rucci & Paris", but last minute technical problems scuttled the screening, and guests were turned away from the venue as apologetic PR people tried to call and email them with cancellation notices. Sadly, they didn't catch us in time. Ralph Rucci canceled his Lincoln Center show this season in favor of private showroom appointments —something he has occasionally done in the past. This event was to be something of a consolation for The Shophound, so unfortunately, pending some rescheduling, we may have to have a Rucci-free Fashion Week, which is kind of sad.

We did manage to make it to the West Village for a quick look at Lindsay Degen's first full ready-to-wear collection. We almost forgot how last season the designer showed her witty knitwear line at a "secret" location that turned out to be a crowded townhouse, and the whole presentation turned out to be a little more clever than it needed to be. Thankfully, Degen turned to a more conventional format and easy to find location to show her wares this time, which should not be interpreted as boring by any means. The collection was titled "Ask Tell" celebrating the repeal of the military "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy in a way that was not totally clear, but well intentioned. The designer's lively knits are now complemented by some showpieces like tushy-baring leggings and tops with elaborate bosom designs which should attract attention. While the clothes were often provocative, we had to sympathize with the model (pictured above on the far left) whose outfit consisted of a pair of panties and a couple of rosettes which sprouted from her nipples. Modesty issues aside, it must have been cold to stand around like that for a full hour in February.

RUNWAY RESURGENCE: John Bartlett Is Returning To Fashion Week

A few months ago, The Shophound and a lot of other folks were disappointed to discover that John Bartlett had shuttered his much admired West Village boutique. As anyone who is familiar with his history knows, however, this particular designer is not to be counted out after a setback. While he has continued producing exclusive collections for Bon-Ton stores as well as a range of a range of casual items available through his website featuring his late beloved mascot, Tiny Tim the three-legged dog, we were fairly certain that he still had big things in mind for his own label. After a two year absence from the runways, Bartlett will present a new collection next month during Fashion Week under the sponsorship of automaker Lexus.

Since his last runway show, designer's personal ethos has evolved as he has sworn off using leather and other animal products in his collections and stepped up his work promoting pet rescue and animal protection. This collection will be sustainable and eco-friendly, as the designer tells The Fashion Informer, "...I looked to nature and developed a fantasy of guys living off the grid in some kind of 'future-rustic' universe." Bartlett promises organic shapes in plant-based organic cottons and recycled microfiber ultra suedes as well as upcycled/repurposed wool. With a little time out of the spotlight, we we feel confident that he has stocked up tons of good ideas, so we can't wait to see what he has cooked up for next Fall.

Fall 2012 Preview: John Bartlett (The Fashion Informer)
Previously: 
Closing Notices: John Bartlett Departs (8.30.2011)

FASHION WEEK FOLLOW UP: A Video Tour Of Michael Bastian's Tropical-Themed Gant Collection

You may be deeply involved in trying to keep up with the Spring Collections in Milan, but the tireless PR department at Gant has just sent us their latest video featuring the presentation of Michael Bastian's Hawaiian-inspired Spring 2012 Collection for the label that was staged a couple of weeks ago at The Park in Chelsea. It was the diametric opposite of his Swedish Winter Fall collection, and one of our most enjoyable moments of the week. It serves to demonstrate how an expertly executed presentation can sometimes be a far superior way to show a collection compared to a runway show. In the middle of a hectic Fashion Week, it made The Shophound smile, which is not so easy these days as we are extremely jaded and picky.

Look below for the video, and be sure to click over Bastian's Sunshine Days blog which chronicles his inspirations and all the activity around putting the collection together.

Previously:
Michael Bastian For Gant Presents A Surf Lodge On 10^th Avenue

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK SPRING 2012 Wrapping It Up With Naeem Khan

Yesterday, The Shophound went to one single runway show to finish Fashion Week. We are always happy to receive our invitation to Naeem Khan because it's just fun. You can count on glamour and drama and lots of sparkly things on gowns. Who doesn't like that? For some reason, Mischa Barton appeared out of nowhere (and by nowhere we mean oblivion) just before the show began to claim her front row seat, but because the mirrored runway was strictly roped off to keep it spotless, most of the photographers couldn't position themselves to get a decent picture. Ces't la vie, papparazzi. Apparently, she was there as part of stylist June Ambrose's reality show that was also filming, but really, none of this distracted from the cavalcade of gleaming gowns coming down the runway. WWD said the show lacked a cohesive theme or anything to tie the dresses together, and to that we say: Who cares? These dresses don't need to be tied together. Each one is almost more than enough on its own, and we mean that in a good way. We can certainly appreciate and admire artful minimalism, but when it comes time to host an award show or a State Dinner, a little more is called for, and that's where Khan comes in. His show has become a thoroughly satisfying way for us to say goodbye to another Fashion Week.

As always, it was not humanly possible to attend all of the shows we were scheduled for, so our apologies go out to the designers we missed. We hope to make it next time, and we are quite certain that someone else happily enjoyed the view from our seat.