NEW YORK — Inside the Fashion Week tents at Bryant Park, the shows are packed, the music is loud, and the models are as blase as ever.
But talk is of more than which colors or silhouettes to wear come next winter, it’s about which fashions men and women will be willing to spend money on.
“The clothes are a little more realistic and practical,” said Stefanie Bebesi, buyer for Andrisen Morton Women’s store in Denver. She’s looking for items with less beading and fur trim, embellishments that add cost to a dress or coat. “Women want something that looks special, but the price can’t be special,” she said.
Designer Tracy Reese, who showed her line Monday, agrees. “On one hand, these things should be useful and have a long life, and on the other, we want to offer something that she can’t resist. We’re trying to balance that out. The biggest thing is to keep a lid on prices.”
One way she’s doing that is offering more fabrics that bridge the seasons. “It’s the way we live today,” Reese said. “Women want to get more wear out of an item and be able to wear it year- round, avoiding the hassle of flipping your closet.”
She showed herringbone wool coats over floral dresses, and mannish pinstriped trousers topped with floral tie- neck blouses. She said she was inspired by post-impressionist portraiture, particularly the works of Edouard Vuillard and Vincent Van Gogh.
Michelle Smith, who will show her Milly collection on Wednesday, said she’s using a darker palette of chocolate brown, black and charcoal in keeping with a more subdued mood, but she’s adding accents of color like gold, blue and pink.
“It’s a really challenging season to design in with the economy and the way people are shopping,” said Smith, whose line is sold in such stores as Neiman Marcus. “So many stores are marking things 70 percent off that they’ve trained customers to wait to shop. I haven’t bought many things at full price, either.”
As a consequence, “the designs have to be special, but not so out there that it seems like a frivolous purchase. We have to strike a fine balance between something that’s beautiful and special, and wearable and versatile.”
Smith said she’ll show wool jersey dresses with charmeuse trim that can go from the office to a cocktail party or dinner.
She’s also adding splashes of color, like a pink lining or trim to give “a little flash of optimism.
“I don’t want to be doom and gloom,” Smith said. “It’s important to dress in a way that makes you feel beautiful.”
The high cost of staging a show here — a big runway event can easily top $200,000 by the time a designer rents the space, hires models, makeup artists and hairstylists — has forced many veterans and new designers to present their lines in smaller, less-expensive venues like their showrooms and stores.
Betsey Johnson used an informal walk-through of her Seventh Avenue headquarters to show her collection. She sent potholders and recipe-card style invitations, asking guests to see “Betsey Crocker’s recipes for dressing” and is donating money to Women In Need.
Adrienne Vittadini’s presentation was in a photography gallery. With Yo-Yo Ma on the soundtrack and outfits styled on mannequins, the mood was serene. Creative director Kristina Salminen said she wanted to create “an aura of calm” where people could inspect the clothes up close, touch and feel the knit fabrics and see the tailoring and details.
On Sunday, designers Mara Hoffman, Sergio Davila and Nicholas Kunz teamed up to show in the same hour-long time slot.
Marc Jacobs, whose show is high on the list of must-sees for fashion followers, reportedly cut his guest list to 700 from 2,000.
“This isn’t the time to spend the money to entertain the entire world,” Robert Duffy, president of the company, told Women’s Wear Daily.
Flying in the face of the economic downturn, Oscar de la Renta is staging not one but two shows in a building on Park Avenue. A couple of designers are debuting their lines at the recently renovated Plaza Hotel. And stalwarts like Carolina Herrera, who showed a rich collection on Monday, are still ponying up for the big tent.
All the alternate venues are making for more trekking than usual from Midtown and the Garment District to far-flung art galleries in Chelsea and Soho.
For those who are willing to pay to play, American Express and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week are offering a Diane Von Furstenberg show at 9 p.m. Wednesday that will feature her spring collection “with a touch of coming fall.” Though invited guests at most Fashion Week events typically pay nothing, tickets are $150 each.
In all, there will be about 200 shows held by the time Fashion Week wraps up on Friday.
Suzanne S. Brown: 303-954-1697 or sbrown@denverpost.com
