Fashion Week Wrap, Part the Second



(Babyphat via nypost)

While we wait, listlessly, for Lydia Hearst's Designers for Darfur next week at the Roseland Ballroom, Here's some of what the blogs are saying about Fashion Week. From NYMag:

"On a night we expected to be full of crazy celebrities jonesing for the kind of skank-chic party only Kimora Lee Simmons can throw, the front rows were depressingly barren. Oh, sure, Ice-T showed up, but his habitually naked wife, Coco, couldn't even muster up the energy to wear so much as a partially see-through shirt. Vivica A. Fox breezed past in a split second, we caught quick sight of a still-brunette Nicky Hilton mercifully separated from her insipid sibling, and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons cruised in to support his ex-wife. But, by and large, that was it. The flashbulbs remained almost entirely dim, betraying no sign of Spears, or her cleavage."



Britney does Babyphat. (image via starsareblind)

"It wasn't until the photos poured in that we realized the crushing, soul-devouring truth of the matter: Our girl Britney had indeed been there. She had sneaked in somewhere near the top of the runway, perched next to an equally invisible Alicia Keys. But like Britney's post–K-Fed 'comeback,' the show started out promising but quickly transformed into a flashy, fleshy fiasco."

From Marilyn Kirschner of lookonline:

"Yeohlee did a complete about face from the way she showed last season (when her venue of choice was an expansive, unfinished, raw space in an office building not far from the Bryant Park Tents). This season, she opted for the chic, elegant, tranquility of a high ceiling’d grand room of the W New York Hotel on Lexington and 49th street. It was an urbane and sophisticated respite from the Tents. Everyone was given a choice of bottled water or Pomegranate/White peach tea which was delicious and more importantly, the clothes that followed were some of Yeohlee’s best, displaying her enormous talent and ability to play with shape, cut, structure, form, simplicity.

"For fall 2007, Yeohlee was inspired by the undulating forms and structural genius of Antoni Gaudi (and his 'desire to go back to basics' and to create architecture based on the criteria of function')."



(image via Elizabeth Lippman for the NYTimes)

And The Gray Lady possibly spells out the demise of The Box by merely recognizing its existence:

"'Everything in New York has gotten so homogenized now that night life has been really boring,' said Simon Hammerstein, the 29-year-old grandson of Oscar Hammerstein II and boarding school dropout, whose latest toy is the Box. 'We wanted to have a place that was different,' and a concept that would mess with people’s expectations, he added, although mess was not the actual word he used. 'Where is our Mudd Club?' Mr. Hammerstein asked.

"'Where is our Stork Club?' added Richard Kimmel, a partner in the new enterprise, as the two sat in a balcony surveying a small empty stage that would soon be jammed with musicians from the Los Angeles band Shiny Toy Guns and an apron-size dance floor that would soon be packed with all the shiny types who religiously come out for these things.

"Located in a former sign factory and set up as a modern spin on a balconied dinner theater, the Box was conceptualized by a third partner, the downtown fixture Serge Becker, and designed by Cordell Lochin in low-life archaeological style. There are booths and overlapping layers of bordello-type wallpaper and glass showcases arranged with encrusted old bottles and curious nooks of the sort Mr. Becker always seems to build into his clubs, with the clear understanding that, while the implied invitation to undertake questionable activities may not correlate directly with revenue, it does seem to guarantee that a club will become irresistible."

Further thoughts on The Box, from Fashionweekdaily:

"The venue itself was a big attraction as most guests checked out the hyped nightlife centerpiece for the first time. 'It looks like something straight from Moscow,' noted Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, who visited Russia once before and came to the bash with bunch of friends, including male supermodel James Penfold. Indeed, the venue decorated with antique chandeliers, bright red table clothes, and rusted ceiling details resembled an upscale communist-era restaurant that served octopus and rounds of endless drinks to happy revelers. 'I’m obsessed!' gushed Paper’s Mickey Boardman, who made multiple return visits and danced to Junior Sanchez’ music the whole night. 'I even have my favorite cute waitress. She’ll be tired of me by the end of evening.'

"The crowded VIP area included Oscar-winner Adrien Brody, who arrived straight from the Miss Sixty show with the designer Elsa Pataky, as well as Theodora Richards and Zaldy, who admitted that he feels relaxed without having to worry about presenting two collections."

From Amy Diluna of the DailyNews, Isaac Mizrahi braved the tents in a wheelchair following a broken pelvis from a car accident last weekend. His show will go on as scheduled Monday. And also from the Daily News:

"Is Marc Jacobs' well-publicized, drawn-out split with Jason Preston finally taking its toll? The ex-rent boy was spotted acting erratically at Chelsea bar Barracuda on Tuesday night.

"'He offered the bartender [oral sex] for a cigarette!' sniped our spy. 'He got screamed at by the bartender.'"

Which really was more than we needed to know...