Fashion Week Wrap, Day 1: The Legend of Billy Jean King



(image via EspyCollection)

It's FashionWeek again, or, as we like to call it, "How much Muller Catoir Gimmeldinger Schlosse can one imbibe in the tents before passing out?" Week (The Corsair sips the Black wine of Cahors, elixir of Popes). Unexpectedly, on day one, Billy Jean King killed. According to The Merc:

"That first show on the catwalks at Bryant Park was the Heart Truth show, an annual event in which celebrities wear red dresses created for them by famous designers. Heart Truth is part of the Red Dress project, a federal initiative spearheaded by first lady Laura Bush, to raise awareness about heart disease.

"It's not a fashion show by traditional standards, but the standing ovation that tennis great Billie Jean King received might be a sign that fashion industry insiders are more willing to accept women who exceed the size 0s that have become the standard.

"The Heart Truth show was attended by Bush, who wore a crimson Bill Blass skirt suit. She was accompanied by Blass designer Michael Vollbracht and Carolina Herrera.

"...Kelly Ripa wore her Diane von Furstenberg beaded wrap dress well; race-car driver Danica Patrick looked like a modeling pro in her loose short-sleeve gown by Jovovich-Hawk that featured a heart embroidery at the center of its empire waist.

"But the audience favorite did indeed seem to be tennis star King, whose outfit was designed by Gustavo Cadile. She shunned the high heels that most of the other celebrities wore in favor of Adidas sneakers - accented with red, of course."

Rhonda Erb of LookOnline writes:

"Linda Loudermilk kicked off fashion Week with a collection that was both creative and elegant. Drawing upon nature as an inspiration for her Fall 2007 designs, Loudermilk featured luxurious natural fabrics (hemp satin, organic cotton fur) crafted into playful day and evening wear, including a rainbow one-shoulder silk blouse, a stone gown with trailing icebergs, and a black mad housewife dress in bamboo wool.

"The environmental theme extended to the gift-bags: a Loudermilk Jeans organic cotton tank fashioned into a bag filled with eco-friendly goodies." (LookOnline)

And, from Kim Hastreiter of at Papermag:

"So fashion week kicked in officially last night with the opening of the cool Target Proenza Schouler pop up store in Soho. Target collaborated with one of our favorite stores for the occasion, Opening Ceremony, who they hired to transform their Howard Street boutique into a fabulous three day Target Proenza Schouler shop ... Get your booty down there some time in the next few days cos the stuff is CUTE AND the prices are CUTE. (I'm talking 19, 29 and 39 bucks for dresses, coats, fabulous spring bags, cute bikinis, fab polo shirts... just tons of cute stuff.) Don't miss it. Howard Street is one block above Canal off Broadway. Look for the crowds and the Target sign." Full post Here

Personally, we find socialite Fabiola Beracasa a bit hard to take. Waay too surfacy for our tastes. But for those with the acquired taste, here's some of her blogging for NewYorkMag:

"7:30 p.m. I went Milk Studios where the Glamour party was taking place. I saw the Rodarte girls, Vena Cava, Sari Gueron, and Rachel Roy. I also ran into Lydia Hearst who invited me to be part of Designers for Darfur on February 9. I left the party with Derek Blasberg, Lyle Maltz, and Ashley Javier, and headed to the Box for the Mercedes-Benz event. There were tons of fun people at the party, but I spent the rest of my night catching up with Tinsley Mortimer since we haven’t seen each other since the Paris couture shows!"

Finally, from NYPost's
Things To Watch For:

" ... Madison Avenue furrier Dennis Basso, who dressed Meryl Streep in those fabulous coats in The Devil Wears Prada puts on a runway show for the first time. Attendees to the Friday, Feb. 9 display are advised to wear paint-proof clothes.

"2. Isaac Mizrahi is showing a collection for the first time in two years. His Monday show will no doubt be wild and star-studded, with lots of sexy models. He may even fondle a celebrity or two."

From lookonline:

"The hands down highlight and the crowd pleaser (other than energetic Betsey Johnson cavorting down the runway in a red pouf dress of her own design wearing a new platinum bob) was tennis legend Billie Jean King who hammed it up and jaunted down the runway wearing a red pantsuit by Gustavo Cadile accessorized with Adidas sneakers (to the pulsating beat of Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’ of course)."