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Still Recovering From New York Fashion Week: Is It Time For A Change?

Barbie Blackbarbie Now that Olympus Mercedes Benz Fashion Week is literally packing up its tents, we can't help but reflect on how this season was a little less joyful than last. Maybe it was the consistent 20˚ weather, or the annoying mood lighting of the tents, but the whole scene seemed a little tired and the festivity that was there seemed a little forced and inappropriate. While in September there were handsome waiters offering brownies from UPS and beer from Peroni almost every afternoon, this time there were only representatives from sponsor Cingular with odd strap-on trays with sample mobile phones. Chambord offered a coat check, but by Tuesday, they stopped checking press pass holders' coats because they were clogging the 75 hanger rack that was supposed to be reserved for "guests". We didn't see the distinction and were not only insulted but inconvenienced as well. As for the main sponsor, Mercedes Benz, the two cars they insisted on displaying inside the tent were beautiful automobiles, but took up way too much space creating bottlenecks at the show check-ins and making it difficult for TV press who were trying to film inside. The cars were ultimately superfluous to the business at hand. There was also a noticeable drop in swag levels and giveaways, which may not be a bad thing for this overindulged crowd. One day M.A.C sent out two models dressed as Barbie and Black Barbie to publicize their Barbie Loves M.A.C collection and hand out generous packages of makeup, but that was it for major gifting. There was nothing like last season's Havaianas free-for-all. Many shows had empty chairs where one would typically expect to find gift bags, and perhaps the oddest souvenir was the 4 oz. mini-can of Niagra Spray Starch in the bag from Project Runway Alum Malan Breton's show. At least it was clothing related. Of course the open bar that appears later in the afternoon is always popular, though it has the effect of attracting all sorts of people who wouldn't ordinarily be there, and we can't help but wonder why IMG, who owns Fashion Week, is interested in turning the event into a pickup joint for guys who want to meet models. It all turns seedy at the evening shows. There was a consensus that the owner of fashion week had gone way over the bounds of relevance in its zeal for deep pocketed sponsors.

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Fall '07 New York Fashion Week Day 7: J. Mendel

10:00 AM The Promenade • J. MENDEL

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J. Mendel has been gaining recognition lately thanks to some clever red carpet dress placement, but this season Gilles Mendel's runway collection solidified the brand as a couture house as well as a furrier. Though there were relatively few traditional fur coats on the runway, nearly every outfit had a touch of the stuff whether it was done as mink sleeves on a tweed jacket or fox trim at the hem of a dress. Many of the furs were done in combinations of flat textures like broadtail with a fox or sable trim, though a coat combining three different furs may have been too much of a good thing. The label's heritage was cleverly woven throughout the collection, even disguised as a mink fair isle sweater. As usual, eveningwear was where Mendel shined brightest. 1940's Hollywood was the inspiration here, and while this is a well many designers continue to draw from, Mendel wisely chose not to translate it literally. His gowns showed the intricate construction he has become known for with striking asymmetric treatments and restrained beaded detailing, ensuring Mendel's appearance on many more red carpets to come.
Img_1428_1 Img_1433_1 Img_1436_1 Img_1443_2 Img_1461 Img_1468_2 Celebrities: A remarkable bevy of future PETA targets including Celine Dion (!) Natasha Richardson, Piper Perabo, Mary Louise Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Giada De Laurentiis all in Mendel, Christian Louboutin.


Fall '07 New York Fashion Week Day 8: A Moment in Zang Toi's World

6:00 PM The Showroom: ZANG TOI

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One of the first fashion shows The Shophound ever went to was Zang Toi's runway debut. At the time, Zang was one of a group of up and coming designers, and attracted Anna Wintour to his show. In the decade and a half or so since, his point of view hasn't changed very much, and while Wintour has moved on, his happy customers wouldn't have it any other way. His signature is an exuberant femininity with over the top flourishes of fur and flowers. He nodded to the sober mood of the season only by mostly restricting his palette to camel, black and red which still allowed for the inclusion of leopard pattern and a lush rose print. Though his show was entitled "The Iconic Catherine Deneuve" it was hardly a group of cool Saint Laurent inspired classics. Marc Jacobs already went down that road this week. Zang's Deneuve has masses of curls and favors hourglass camel coats with huge fox collars and cuffs. This was Deneuve by way of 1930's Hollywood which, for Zang Toi, was relatively subdued. The show also included his diffusion line, Toi House, which mixed seamlessly with the luxury line. Toi let loose for evening in in typically over the top style with draped satins and velvets encrusted with ruby crystal embroidery and a silk jersey dress with a draped back catching a bouquet of roses. He finished with a few full skirted confections inspired by Victoire de Castellane, the 80's Chanel muse, now precious jewelry designer for Dior. His loyal customers cheered, none louder than the muse of Halston and Stephen Burrows, model Pat Cleveland, whose daughter Anna modeled in the show, adding a touch of her mother's famed theatricality. Dani (formerly Danielle), last season's "America's Next Top Model" winner also walked the runway and, unlike other contestants of that show who have tested the water of Fashion Week, pulled off the show like a pro. As she graciously posed for pictures with fans afterward, it looked like she may be the first ANTM alumna to actually  have a real modeling career.
Zangtoi1 Zangtoi2 Zangtoi3 Zangtoi8 Zangtoi6 Music: vintage French pop, Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot's "Bonnie and Clyde" mixed by Kevin Edwards
Patcleveland_1 Celebrities: Lisa Gastineau, Pat Cleveland. We love Pat now. When we asked for a picture she was friendly and chatty, and so excited to take the picture, it was hard to remember that this was a woman who has been photographed millions of times.


Fall '07 New York Fashion Week Day 8: Costello Tagliapietra's Sinuous Glamor

6:00 PM The Salon • COSTELLO TAGLIAPIETRA

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Two things happened that made Friday particularly worthwhile. One was getting a picture from legendary model Pat Cleveland at Zang Toi (a doll, but more on her later on) and the other was the Costello Tagliapietra show. Last season, they presented a focused collection of skillfully draped dresses and caught the eye of Anna Wintour, Barney's and the CFDA and have been on the rise since. Both of their grandmothers coincidentally worked for Norman Norell, and their elegant heritage shows more and more. This time around, the burly, bearded Brooklyn-based duo broadened their range to include more separates and a few tailored pieces and impressively refined their collection making it one of the most sophisticated of the week, and one of the sexiest. In a season that looked like someone had turned off the color switch, Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra presented only a few black pieces, opting for a mix of dusky solid blues, bricks and earth tones. It wasn't a crayon box, but it was refreshing to see designers who hadn't abandoned color. Their restraint was impressive, rendering obsolete so many dresses we have seen this week with too many extra swoops and swags of drapery. They managed to express more style with a few well placed tucks and gathers than the yards of pleated trims that have paraded in front of retailers and press this week. Just when a dress might seem too simple, the model would turn to reveal a well placed slit or gather that would make the difference between plain and striking. The show was partly sponsored by Solstiss/Bucol, the French couture fabric house, which accounts for some of the richly textured cloqué fabrics used in the new tailored pieces and also set the pair's ambitions squarely at the upper echelons of luxury. If they continue in such an assured direction, those ambitions will be realized  in no time.

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Fall '07 New York Fashion Week Day 7: Kai Kühne Puts on a Show...Just Barely

3:00  4:20 PM The National Arts Club, Gramercy Park • MYSELF by KAI KÜHNE

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We knew things weren't going to go smoothly with Kai Kühne's second show for Myself, his solo collection, when we got the invitation in the mail only a few days before the show and, not only was it a little on the late side, but it had no PR firm associated with it. But, it was at The National Arts Club on Gramercy Park, and since we had to miss Alice Ritter's show there, we thought it was a good chance to see a show in this elegant but cramped setting. Yesterday, Kai, apparently a tanning booth enthusiast, gave a loopy interview to The Daily, the buzz sheet of note during Fashion Week, and while he is certainly entertaining in an eccentric way, he, sadly, is no showman. When we got there, we saw no tables or girls in black with headsets, but were simply directed to the open room lined with unmarked gold chairs. Naturally, we pulled up a nice front row seat like everyone else who had arrived. Well, actually, there was mostly only one row. At about 3:10, Kai appeared so he could demosntrate the the circuitous show route to the models right in front of the waiting guests and photographers. Normally this would be done before anyone was admitted to the room, but this was clearly a relaxed kind of show. By the time 4:00 rolled around, the guests were getting restless, and a few even left. Someone came out to announce "The fashion show will begin!" to which the crowd collectively shouted "When?!" Everyone got into position and..nothing.

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Alex K Goes Shopping: Forgotten Earring Edition

08crit2600We're taking a little break from our bi-annual Fashion Week coverage because it's been so long since Alex Kuczynski has given us much to say. Today in Thursday Styles The Critical Shopper visits that most iconic of stores, Tiffany & Co. It may be one of the most famous stores in the world, aspirational to millions, and yet commonplace to others who see its fame as indicative of a lack of exclusivity. In fact its main floor is one of the great shopping tourist attraction in the city making it impenetrable during weekends and Holiday seasons, a place most New Yorkers would go out of their way to avoid. Tiffany presents a paradox of sorts, selling thousands of engagement rings a year, while savvy shoppers know that larger equal quality diamonds can be had for far better prices in any number of outlets. The premium price is for the little blue box that is essentially worthless, but invaluable to so many. But we aren't going to dissect Tiffany here, this is about Alex, and this week she once again tells a tale of scatterbrained idiocy,

...the best test, I thought, would be to see if an earring I left there for repair in 2002 was still at the store.
So much time had passed that Tiffany’s customer service department has moved to another floor. It had been so long that people I know have met, gotten engaged (with that little blue box), married, had a child and already divorced. It had been so long that I had lost all the paperwork stating my ownership of the earring.
On a Sunday afternoon last month, I sat waiting in the confessional-like carrels of the service department, expecting to be told that the small Schlumberger turquoise earring (a gift) had long been remanded to the bad, anonymous place where all unclaimed repaired earrings go. But after five minutes of gentle tapping at her computer, the attendant summoned me. It had been sent to an outlying warehouse, but they had it.

Here's the question: Who forgets to pick up a Schlumberger earring for five years? If there's anything exclusive and luxurious about Tiffany, it the Jean Schlumberger collection, which warrants its own private salon, set off from the bustle of the rest of the store. It is not jewelry one loses track of, and a fine jeweler doesn't just toss away unclaimed repairs like a dry cleaner that loses your pants. It is unlikely that many people (or any people, really) just forget about precious jewels they have sent for repair, but Alex is not just any person. Don't ever change, baby.

Critical Shopper: A Story in Every Box (NYTimes)

Tiffany & Co. 727 Fifth Avenue, Midtown


Fall '07 New York Fashion Week Day 6: Richard Chai's Refinement

12:00 PM The Salon • RICHARD CHAI

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There's no explaining the sparse attendance at Richard Chai's show. Perhaps everyone wanted lunch after the one-two punch of Peter Som and Michael Kors, but the important retailers (Barney's, Neiman Marcus) and press (Suzy Menkes) were there, and those who weren't missed another chapter in his continuing evolution. Chai said his mood for the season was austere and refined yet optimistic, and while his collection still bears traces that recall his days at Marc Jacobs, he continues to merge easy sportswear with his own artistic, sculptural approach. As usual, the simplest pieces were some of the best, as Chai's love of mixing fabrics can on occasion get the better of him. Standouts included a draped jacket charcoal silk honeycomb with a subtly darker inset and matching slim pants, a sleek taupe leather topper, a vibrant blue cashmere full cut peacoat, a wool and distressed leather coat and an ivory silk satin shift dress with delicate frayed organza trim. Chai continues to be a talent worth watching, so hopefully more people will make time for him come September.Richardchai1 Richardchai3 Richardchai4_1 Richardchai5_1 Richardchai10
Music:
Michel Gaubert's rock mix, which has become ubiquitous.


Fall '07 New York Fashion Week Day 5: Doo.Ri's Evolution

5:00 PM The Promenade • DOO.RI

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The finale of a fashion show is usually a parade of the models in their last outfits and serves as a chance for an overview of the collection and also an applause signal for the audience. Doo.Ri's finale did not veer from this format, but her collection took on added strength when viewed in this fashion as designer Doo Ri Chung's pieces came together, each presenting a different variation of her remarkable draping talents. It's been quite a year for Doo.Ri as she has received the CFDA award for new talent among other honors and continued to build her business. She has managed to continue to base her collection around the draped jersey dress whaile adding new elements to her aesthetic each season. She expanded the beading she introduced for spring, and added tweeds, lace overlays and graphic prints to her look for fall, all the while staying true to her signature style. Long leather gloves and sleek wedge shoes gave a harder edge. There are no radical departures here, and yet her technique perfectly integrates the blouson and bell shaped trend seen elsewhere. There are certainly a few experimental pieces here, but it is a continuing pleasure to watch how Doo.Ri evolves season after season.

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Fall '07 New York Fashion Week Day 5: Chaiken Goes Clean, Crisp and Colorful

12:00 PM The Salon: CHAIKEN

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Chaiken's creative director Jeff Mahshie has been busy lately designing costumes for the plays "The Scene" and "The Little Dog Laughed", but it hasn't affected his day job. This season he added an extra dose of chic to the brand's collection. Mahshie has a knack for crystalizing the season's trends, and grown-up tailoring fits right in with Chaiken's usual stock-in-trade, so he added extra details like a sexy row of buttons down the back of a pencil skirt. Handknit trenches and and oversized chalet cashmeres benefited from a streamlining touch, and an fluffy fur vest was a luxurious alternative to nylon and down. For evening, there were inventive takes on the tuxedo with touches of sari silks for extra richness. In case you thought this would be another collection of black and neutrals, the show ended with a quintet of jewel-toned cashmere gowns with full, tiered skirts with laid-back sex appeal, an appealing alternative to an elaborate ball dress. Once again, Chaiken girls will have an abundance of sophisticated sportswear to choose from next fall.
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Celebrities: Cynthia Nixon, Julianna Margulies and Mary Louise Parker


Fall '07 New York Fashion Week Day 5: Michael Vollbracht Sing Sing Sings All the Right Notes at Bill Blass

11:00 AM The Tent • BILL BLASS

Img_1114 Img_1122 Img_1124 Img_1130 Img_1145_1Michael Vollbracht finally let loose with the Bill Blass collection everyone had been waiting for. For seasons he had stuck closely to the Blass archive, replicating the late designer's signatures and producing collections that pleased clients and retailers and stabilized business after a succession of designers, but had the effect of keeping the brand in a holding pattern creatively. Maybe it's the company's new owners, or the red jersey Blass gown that Angelina Jolie wore on her recent Vogue cover, but this season he injected the youthful exuberance that had been missing. He kept the energy level high with Johnny Dynell's remix of Benny Goodman's "Sing, Sing Sing" (it worked better than you might think) and opened the show with blazing color and short hemlines while the models bounced down the runway to all those drumbeats looking relieved to be able to smile. In his chatty program notes Vollbracht paid tribute to the designers of Indiana, Blass, Halston and Norman Norell, and included a Halston-inspired coat as well as several updates of Norell's mermaid sequined dresses proving how well these timeless styles fit into the Blass aesthetic, and since the jersey gowns were such a hit last season, he included more this time around in a sleeker, younger eveningwear section that eschewed last season's overdone ballgowns without stinting on the brand's famed luxury. After a finale that reaffirmed the signature Blass Black dress, Vollbracht took his bows along with his entire creative team to the cheers of a happy crowd, and a newly promising future for the house of Bill Blass.
Music: The aforementioned Benny Goodman. It keeps a show movin'.
Celebrities: Patricia Heaton, The ubiquitous Vanessa Trump
Swag: 10 ml sample of new Bill Blass Perfume