Fashion Week Wrap Up



Gag it with a fork, 'cause, like: it's done. Or, at least, it will be done, well done, after tonight's Vivienne Tam show.

Slightly batty designer Donna Karan (okay, really, really batty designer Donna Karan) designed what the Old Gray Lady defines as "futuristic suits, with their cometlike streaks of silver and d�mod� panels of corsetry." Fashionweekdaily called it a "gritty, steely palette." Big machines, we get it. Okay, if you give a batty person cloth and scissors, well they'll design futuristic space agey things.

From a recent (really freaky) interview with La Donna in New York Magazine:

"Nowadays, (Donna) Karan sees fashion as just one link in the greater chain of being. 'All I want to show is that we are one,' says Karan. 'We are all one. I�m a traveler. I�m an explorer. I live nowhere. I live on my mat,' she says, referring to her yoga mat, on which she spends a couple of hours each morning. 'I don�t do either/or. I�m very in the inclusive. I�m very in the dichotomy. In Africa, I get off the plane and the first thing I see are the zebras. I say, �Whoa, black and white.� �

WTF?!

Meanwhile: the preferred clothier of the Fifth Avenue Ladies Who Lunch set, Oscar de le Renta, scored the fashion trifecta of The Olsen Twins and Joan Collins to his shows at the tents, while, less fortunate, according to The Boston Herald:

"Fashion week's most surreal event? Sunday night's show of the Guido collection.

"First, Omarosa of 'The Apprentice' fame stopped by to see the New Jersey shore-inspired designs - bathing suits with gold chains and terrycloth polo shirts - by Marko Kalfa and Carlos Campos.

"Across the runway, Victoria Gotti took a seat to watch son Carmine on the runway. While camera crews filmed for their show, 'Growing Up Gotti,' the curly-headed kid shuffled uncomfortably down the runway with his feet turned out, wearing a silk shirt and jacket. Model material he was not."

The Jersey Shore actually inspired something other than an Environmental Protection Agency investigation? Priceless.

Finally (The Corsair affects a smug, moralistic conservative voice) we are a depraved and decadent society indeed if Carmine Gotti can actually be properly construed a "celebrity" and not, more likely, a "felon-in-training". (Averted Gaze) No disrespect intended.

Speaking of Joisey, the Asbury Park Press (WTF?!) says:

"Worst show: Jeremy Scott's faux gangsta line. From start to finish, this show was a horror on many levels -- a parade of tattooed thugs and thugettes in black bandannas, fake Raider insignia gear, mesh tops and guerilla-style bullet belts made with dollar bills. Scott's presentation was offensive to anyone who has ever had to grapple with the reality of gangs."

And:

"Runner up, worst show: Anna Sui and her 'Little House on the Prairie' collection from Monday. OK, we know ruffles are in, as are tiered skirts. But how many lace-edged calico dresses does one need to look at unless your name is Laura Ingalls or Miss Kitty on 'Gunsmoke'? We did like some of Sui's soldier jackets in dark denim and green khaki. And the fringed frontier looks toward the end were fun and jazzy as well. But for the most part, this collection was a lot of 'Oh, no" at the OK Corral.'"

Meow. But they forgot Tara Subkoff's little stinker at the beginning of fashion week. The Corsair wishes he could forget.

Anyhoo: In other poop behind the tents: Naomi Campbell, who looks positively spectacular, played diva. Jack Nicholson's daughter showed her stuff at the tents.

Michael Kors is a particularly interesting species of fashion designer. Kors, who is desperately courting the Middle American consumer, sounds, in this interview with Fashionweekdaily, like he has a ways to go in getting the right tone for the Dairy Queen set:

"RV: How do you achieve that perfect tan?

"MK: A little real, a little fake, a lot of moisturizer. The whole thing together works great. When people say, 'Oh times have changed, there are so many people who are goth and want to be pale and edgy.' Excuse me, I don't see a lot of whitening products on the market. I see self-tanner selling big time. "

But he goes deeper into the ground of being:

"RV: Do you have any rules for living?

"MK: Never wear socks. Peds are fine, but never a sock. With a sneaker you can do a ped, but with a shoe not even a ped. Also, I'm convinced that if you look like you have to dress for the weather, you look poor. A woman who wears sleeveless dresses and sandals in a snowstorm, you automatically think she's got a car and driver waiting nearby. So if you want to fake it, just wear summer clothes in the winter."

And, never one to leave all the fun to the West: Uganda, that little big country where The Corsair was born, is having a Fashion Week as well.