NEW YORK — After viewing 30-plus shows in the Bryant Park tents and around Manhattan, here are some tidbits and leftovers from Fashion Week.
Marc Jacobs, Part II: What a difference a season makes. Last fall, fashion’s “it” boy kept influential editors waiting for two hours and was roundly criticized for it. This time he made amends. Not only did Jacobs have a record start to his Friday night show at the New York State Armory — about 20 minutes past the scheduled 7 p.m. — arriving guests were greeted with champagne and candy.
The show “soundtrack” was a live performance from the rock band Sonic Youth (lead singer Kim Gordon wore a silver and black dress), and the takeaway gift was a tote bag and T-shirt featuring a black and white Sonic Youth graphic. The set was an industrial construction of scaffolding behind which a video screen showed images of buildings and smokestacks, or a giant eyeball. Models climbed the stairs after walking the perimeter of the stage and lined up, sideways to the audience, until all 47 of them were assembled.
The clothes were a pale, languid assemblage of cocoon coats, long narrow skirts and pleated pants. Quirky accents like a feathered “mohawk” headdress or puffy headband kept things interesting. The shoes with cone-shaped heels were actually wearable and the ostrich bags covetable.
East side, west side: Shows were spread out all over Manhattan, and while it was a hassle getting to some of them we were treated to such shows and venues as John Varvatos on the 45th floor of 7 World Trade Center, with nighttime views of Battery Park and bridges; Brian Reyes at the Plaza Hotel Grand Ballroom (the rest of the building is still under conversion to private residences); Tommy Hilfiger in the grand promenade of Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center; Tory Burch at Christie’s; and Alice+Olivia at their midtown store, which was transformed into “bedrooms” where models posed in their clothes.
Filling the Gap: The clothes trotted out at Fashion Week tend to have prohibitive price tags, so it was refreshing to visit the Gap presentation to see fun, affordable clothes that people will actually wear. Executive vice president of design Patrick Robinson, who has created lines for Perry Ellis and Anne Klein, says he has worn nothing but Gap since joining the company. His concept is to “revisit the classics and make them super cool.” The men’s and women’s clothes had a neo- grunge attitude. Among the key pieces were slouchy jeans, vests layered over T-shirts and sweaters, faux shearling jackets, wide-leg engineer- striped jeans and long knit scarves. Desert boots will be coming soon, designed by Pierre Hardy.
The key people to Robinson aren’t the 80-90 members of the design team, but the 40,000 sales associates who translate the style message because they show people how to wear the clothes.
Water everywhere: This must be why people think I have a glamorous job. Among the many sponsors of Fashion Week — car companies and shipping firms, airlines and jewelers — the most important is the one that wets their whistles. Evian was the official water purveyor and bottles of the stuff were offered by girls wearing strapless white dresses and holding silver trays, as if they were proffering crystal flutes of Veuve Cliquot instead of mere H2O.
Under the big top: The Bryant Park shows are held in tents, but elaborate lounges are constructed by various sponsors within the space each season, making you feel like you’re in a swanky hotel or restaurant.
Title sponsor Mercedes- Benz feted stars at its Star Lounge, which featured an antler chandelier, red plaid walls and cushy chairs, along with snacks and champagne. And Lycra dispensed “A-D” cups of cappuccino at its “bra- sserie” complete with cushy booths featuring wood paneling and niches with bra-wearing mannequin forms. The lounge also was the setting for a book signing by Cheree Berry, author of “Hoorah for the Bra: A Perky Peek at the History of the Bra” (Stewart, Tabori and Chang).
Head count: While some people were talking about “manorexia” and how the new male model tends to look more like Pete Wentz than Tyson Beckford, we couldn’t stop counting the sheer number of male or female models each show had. A standard New York show requires 18-20, but Donna Karan had 50-plus for her DKNY show, Michael Kors flooded the runway with men and women wearing his 67 outfits, and Jacobs didn’t repeat a single one in his 47 looks.
Backstage: Behind the scenes, an army of hairdressers, makeup artists and nail specialists readied models for their catwalk appearances. At Rebecca Taylor, a typical scene had two stylists wielding blow dryers working on a model while a manicurist painted her fingernails.
MAC, which provided the makeup and artists for dozens of shows, uses the collections as a laboratory. “We test-drive products here and in the European shows,” said Nick Gavrelis, executive director of global product development, before Taylor’s show.
He pulled out a little zip- top bag and shared some of the items getting a test run this season. Among them: a gel foundation called Studio Sculpt that can be layered depending on how much cover is needed: and Dazzle Lash mascara that has a brush with extending coils to completely coat each eyelash. It will be available in October.
