Some local friends, a few celebrity models, new directions for a classic brand and a cartwheel-turning designer made for some interesting diversions during Fashion Week:
I’ll take Manhattan
A group of Denverites got an insider’s view of the industry when they spent the week in New York. Oil and gas executive Jack Overstreet was the winning bidder last fall on a Children’s Hospital gala package of tickets to the shows. His $40,000 bid got him, his fiancé, Darci Huston, and two partners and their wives invitations to see such primo presentations as Michael Kors and Zang Toi and private receptions with accessories companies Mary Norton, Nancy Gonzalez and Judith Leiber.
When not toiling in the fashion tents, they shopped, ate everywhere from Jack’s Pizza to Chanterelle and were squired around in a limousine before returning to Denver via private jet at the end of the week. Andrisen Morton arranged for the fashion show access.
“The people-watching was as good as it gets,” Overstreet said. “People were more dressed down than I thought. I expected them all to look like Elton John and David Bowie, but other than the people on the front row, it was more about what was on the runway than in the audience.”
Huston says she was more interested in the clothes and hairstyles than the scene or the music. “I’m the type that pores over magazine layouts.
“I loved every show were saw. My taste is more feminine, so I loved Badgley Mischka, Monique Lhuillier and Zang Toi.”
The shows also confirmed one of Huston’s current fashion fixations: “I’m very into the metallic trend.”
The trip fed her fashionista ways, too. “With the shows as inspiration, we’d dash off to do some shopping. I want a short skirt, but I couldn’t find one,” she said. “I did do some damage in the shoe department at Bergdorf’s, though!”
Would they do it again? Overstreet says yes, he’d take Darci and 10-year- old daughter Madison. “I could see doing a show in Paris or Milan.”
Pack your Vuitton luggage, ladies!
It’s a small world
The Child Magazine fashion show might seem an unlikely spot for stargazing, but that’s what it was. From Hilary Duff to 50 Cent, it was a happy fest of rappers and celebrities with their own clothing lines. On the runway wearing a Shoshanna jumper was Denver native and actress AnnaSophia Robb, above, whose latest role is in “Bridge to Terabithia,” as well as Lindsay Lohan’s younger siblings, Ali and Cody, wearing outfits by Tibi and Gap Kids. The show also starred Sean “Diddy” Combs’ kid, Justin, wearing Sean John and the daughters of Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons, Ming Lee and Aoki Lee, strutting in mom’s Baby Phat outfits. Then there was Marquise, the son of rapper Curtis Jackson, a.k.a. 50 Cent, wearing G Unit.
Sniffing out success
With a new fragrance getting ready to hit Coach stores and plans for its Legacy line of handbags to be showcased in their own boutiques next fall, executive creative director Reed Krakoff opened his Upper East Side home for a cocktail party to talk about his new ventures.
“We’re not looking to create another brand, but an extension,” he said, noting that accessories play a bigger role in a woman’s wardrobe today than they used to. “We do a lot of research – women want to add to their collection. They can spend $300 on a pair of pants, or $300 on a bag.”
Krakoff said he didn’t want to launch a scent until the label had evolved into a lifestyle brand. A blend of florals, the fragrance features mandarin and guava, honey, orange and mimosa. He said his wife, Delphine, was his inspiration. “I wanted it to smell rich, yet young and playful. It can be worn for day or night.” To be sold exclusively at Coach stores beginning in March, the solid will be $40, purse spray, $42, and a 1.7-ounce bottle, $68.
My Grandma rocks
Betsey Johnson’s 1-year-old granddaughter, Layla, was surely among the youngest fashionistas to hit the runways in Bryant Park. Emerging from behind the backdrop of giant cafe curtains at the end of the show, Johnson walked little Layla onto the catwalk, the child grinning from ear to ear. Granny then handed Layla over to daughter Lulu before executing her signature cartwheel.
Some people are forever young; Johnson figured it out a long time ago.
– Suzanne S. Brown
