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Everyone's fabulous
NEW YORK - DAY ONE
"You're in your lemon-yellow Rolls Corniche, driving
off to Palm Springs for a round of golf at the club. You're Ali and Evans at
the height of Paramount power ..." Michael Kors's runway motivation
message, traditionally posted for the models backstage, is a good indication
of the season's mood. Angie Harmon pops by looking rather Ali MacGraw in a
beige suede skirt and chocolate ribbed sweater. "Effortless," says
Kors. "That's how I like to see women look, even if they spent five days
getting ready -- I don't want to know about it!" Harmon confides she
recently turned 30 and had to "get rid of a lot of those cutesy little
T-shirts I wore in my twenties." Model-turned-actress James King breezes
by looking gorgeous in a little black dress, upswept hair and ruby red lips.
Hard to believe she used to be the goddess of "heroin chic."
Everybody's growing up. Kors's clothes are California preppy, complete with
Bermuda shorts. The best piece is a big white-fringed leather bag that a
maillot-clad Gisèle is carrying.
Outside the Bryant Park tents, Canada's Bonnie Fuller is
making noise. Dumped by the fashionistas at Condé Nast, she's now the editor
of US Weekly and putting the screws to Vogue's Anna Wintour by splashing her
on the cover of a cheesy little supplement that's being distributed all over
the place. "It's All About Anna!" screams the lightweight handout.
Catty types are thrilled to finally know Anna's real age (52). But more
importantly, this stroke of marketing genius on Fuller's part is raising the
profile of US and sets tongues wagging for the week.
"It's time to celebrate life again ... to find joy in
living." Oscar de la Renta waxes on about the timelessness of his
clothes. A retired professor from Washington, D.C., named Savanna Clark is
hanging backstage in a silk striped "Oscar" outfit from the '80s, a
testament to the classicism of this designer. Out front, Hollywood stylist
Phillip Bloch keeps his eyes peeled for dresses "for all those awards
shows." He finds them, in a collection filled with brocade and taffeta
and ruffles and embroidery. The white-and-gold brocade jean jacket and trench
and metallic leather jeans are hot.
Iman is signing autographs over at Saks Fifth Avenue to
raise breast cancer awareness. The wife of David Bowie has two daughters --
one in her twenties and one who's only 2. "So it's really important for
me to be involved in women's issues," she says. Her advice to young
models? "Remember, this is a business, not a summer job."
"And save your money. Don't spend it on Concorde
tickets or jewellery!" That's the advice of former supermodel and
recovering alcoholic Janice Dickinson, hanging out backstage at Kenneth Cole.
Her new autobiography, No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the
World's First Supermodel, is rife with tales of excess and sexual hedonism.
"The girls today can't walk!" she rants in all her fabulousness.
"They should take lessons from me!"
Cole's presentation starts with a slide show: "Believe.
Accept. Decline. Love. Question. Speak. Yell. Act. React. Stir the air.
Fashion is in tents." We're bombarded with imagery of icons such as
Martin Luther King, Martha Stewart, JFK and Bill Clinton. And then Donovan's
Hurdy Gurdy Man fills the air, and more Bermuda shorts and ruffled shirts and
leather corsets ensue. Shift into Something in the Air, and the message is
idealism. Got to hand it to those designers who see fashion as a platform for
social change ...
David Copperfield's posing for paparazzi lined up outside
the Maritime Hotel, where Marc Jacobs is showing. This designer continues to
deliver on the celebrity front, with luminaries such as Hilary Swank, P. Diddy,
Sandra Bullock, Kyra Sedgewick, Christy Turlington and Debbie Harry basking in
the runway glow of some of the latter-day supermodels who've been lured back
to strut it for Marc: Amber Valetta, Eva Herzigova, Michelle Hicks, Carolyn
Murphy and Shalom Harlow, who admits she has forgotten how to walk in high
heels. We all get nostalgic for the Old Glory Days of fashion.
The girls stream down the runway, easy cool personified, in
romantic little dresses, casually mixed retro-feel pieces and elegant tweed
coats that are very Chanel.
DAY TWO
Naomi Campbell's first big business effort with her new
marketing company, NC Connect, is a Brazilian bikini show by the Rosa Cha
label. She's holed up in the ladies' room backstage at the Cipriani Hotel
before appearing for some quick encouragement from her pal Donald Trump.
"She's very, very smart. And a great businesswoman," he tells me.
"She should do very well." Naomi leans over to me. "Just call
me if you ever want some bikinis."
A Lubavitch "Mitzvah Mobile" is parked across from
Zac Posen's show in an attempt to persuade us that the Messiah is on his way.
The irony is fitting: Many in the business see this 21-year-old as fashion's
new saviour. He's got some heavy-hitting front-row converts, too: Julianne
Moore and Ellen Barkin both adore his vintage references; Bernadette Peters is
cooing about the dress he designed for her Tonys appearance; and Natalie
Portman protects her terrier, Charlie, from our camera's bright light as we
all settle down to see what the wunderkind has to offer. Sophie Dahl turns up
the heat in a black scoop-neck "Sophia" number, and the pretty,
twirl-worthy dresses conjure up visions of old-time romance, securing this
young upstart a definite place in fashion's future.
Hasidic Jews are erecting a "Succa" in Bryant
Park, as Calvin Klein prepares for his presentation downtown. Gwyneth Paltrow
and Sandra Bullock come out to show support for the kind of "easier
romance" Calvin claims we need. There's lots of satin and creamy white,
and Bianca Jagger, stellar in a white Calvin pantsuit, is adamant about this
being "his best collection ever." She applauds his sense of
optimism.
Narcisco Rodriguez is one of the scene's most brilliant
young designers. And a very pregnant Sarah Jessica Parker -- looking as though
she's going to pop any minute -- agrees. So does Julianna Margulies. "I
love the simplicity of his things. You can pull them out of your closet after
two years and still feel good in them." Angie Harmon is breathless after
running six blocks to the show in a slinky black jersey Narcisco dress.
"He's so fabulous. We're going to grow old with him," she predicts.
The evening wraps with Naomi's hedonistic party for Rosa Cha
at Man Ray, complete with nearly naked Brazilian dancing girls in
big-feathered headdresses. "What do you love about this swimwear?" I
ask a star of Law & Order: SVU. "The fact that some people actually
have the nerve to wear it!"
DAY THREE
A quick trip to check out the legendary Geoffrey Beene's
spring offerings -- very forward, but very '70s at the same time -- and then
it's over to a converted factory space for L.A.'s Rick Owens. The models are
wearing sky-high wooden platform shoes and look pale, drawn and ultra-skinny
as they plod down the runway in strange flowing pieces reminiscent of Belgian
design. Ellen Barkin and Julianne Moore say they're major fans and wear this
stuff all the time. "But the pants are so dragging on the floor," I
comment. "I freaked at my 12- year-old the other day for wearing hers
that way." To which Ellen says, "Well, I freaked at my 12- year-old
for wanting to have his pants hemmed! I just hate things that are too
tailored." And so the L.A. style story goes.
Back to the tents for Anna Sui. Todd Oldham is singing
Anna's praises. "She has a teenager's brain. And she manages to maintain
it!" he says with a smile. It's "Sporty Sui" this go-round,
with bold flower-print sundresses and soccer socks, and lots of funky
golf-inspired clothes -- way too whimsical to wear on a conventional course
but great for hanging around a club. "Sports stars are our heroes,"
says Anna. "It's time to feel happy again."
Optimism is punched up again in the meat-packing district,
where Stella McCartney is opening a store. The lights are bright, and the
press is jam-packed behind rails. We arrive in time to see Gwyneth Paltrow,
sporting a big black Carnaby Street hat, disappear into a big black SUV. Amid
the chaos, Kelly Klein and Lorne Michaels brave the paparazzi and make a
beeline for the privacy of the store, open only to VIPs tonight. Liv Tyler
arrives in a hand-stitched Stella jacket, thrilled that her designer friend
has opened this shop "in her neighbourhood." Stella can't believe
all the hype and excitement around her on this side of the ocean. "And it
especially means a lot because my mother was a New Yorker." I forget to
check if she's really pregnant.
DAY FOUR
Brazilian actress Sonia Braga is spinning around in an
amazing denim handcrafted cape at the Carlos Miele show. This is the Brazilian
designer's first New York show, but he's already done some outfits for Britney
Spears. He has armies of peasant women in his home country working on these
unique pieces -- sewing, crocheting and beading -- and he's determined to keep
providing them with jobs by stocking his hundred-odd stores back in Brazil and
a new American one, which will be opening soon in that trendy meat-packing
district. Britney was supposed to show up, but she's not feeling well and has
sent her stylists, Kurt and Bart, to check out the exuberant Latin runway
fantasies.
Down in SoHo, Paper magazine is hosting an alternative to
the typical Fashion Week fare, with a round of counterculture installations
and exhibitions. The one that grabs us is a small army of Afro-American
hairdressers from across the United States who are doing wild hair-braiding
demonstrations and showing off their wacky hair creations, some of which are
Day-Glo-dyed, gargantuan and motorized! Don't ask. Rush up to the tents again
to visit L.A.'s Jeremy Scott backstage, whose big fake rocks on the runway are
as hollow as the "deep sea" California-inspired collection he's
presenting. "Clothes for starlets," he insists. Evidently. Not many
places other than LaLa Land one could wear a suede bikini.
Uptown, Elizabeth Hurley shows up at Ralph Lauren's splendid
show, escorted by Elton John's boyfriend (and her best friend), David Furnish.
Ralph isn't doing any interviews this season, so we hang down at the tents for
one of the week's most anticipated shows, Miguel Adrover's. He was put out of
business a little while back, after his controversial ode to the Middle East
didn't play at the retail level and his backers split. This time he's relying
on friends and favours to show more restrained "citizen of the
world" attire, meticulously tailored. Still, it's too conceptual, and not
really newsworthy. More interesting was the chat I had with the Council of
Fashion Designers of America's Stan Herman about larger-than-life Vogue editor
André Leon Talley. "Did you see the picture of him in the paper the
other day? He was sitting at a show and his fly was totally open! Outrageous.
Everybody's buzzing about it." I think I'm glad I never did see that.
DAY FIVE
In the final stretch, we pay a visit to Jack Nicholson's
38-year-old daughter, Jennifer, who's showing her collection to editors over
at the 60 Thompson Hotel. She's a big vintage collector, and her line is
reminiscent of great finds. She also stocks her L.A. store, Pearl, with
big-name designers and authentic vintage. "And what's the most important
thing your dad ever taught you?" "To be cool," she says. And
she is.
More L.A. action, this time from a young designer named
Jared Gold, who worked for Melrose merchant Fred Segal for six years.
Evidently, he understands what sells and sends out a simple collection of
little shirts and denim skirts and perfect pieces for cruising Sunset
Boulevard. Ab Fab's Edina and Patsy (a.k.a. Jennifer Saunders and Joanna
Lumley) are in the front row, filming for an upcoming episode. But they're
being true fashion snobs and refuse to talk.
Back downtown for the show that really has everyone buzzing:
Esteban Cortázar is the youngest designer ever to show at Fashion Week. He's
only 18, a native of Colombia who lives in Miami, and first showed there when
he was only 13 -- at his school playground! Todd Oldham has taken him under
his wing, and so has Kal Ruttenstein of Bloomingdales. Madonna's brother has
been working on a documentary of him for four years now. He's an absolute
delight and has managed to entice some heavy-hitting fashionistas such as
Ivana Trump and Nikki Hilton to his show. Everyone wants to check him out. He
delivers an ultra-sexy, Halston-inspired collection of flowing aqua and lime
chiffon, and cute terry wrap dresses. The offering is focused and smart -- we
can only imagine the heights this kid may hit. To boot, he's wonderfully
charismatic and unusually fearless. Just don't offer him any Champagne: He's
too young to drink!
The craziness continues at House of Field's show, where Sex
and the City Emmy-winning stylist Patricia Field holds court as her designer,
David Dalrymple, delivers a spirited collection of rock-chick attire. Britney
Spears is front row centre, decked out in skin-tight denim, flanked by her
stylists and chomping on a big wad of turquoise bubble gum. Security heavies
protect her from doing any press. But directly across the runway is ageing
diva Joan Collins -- engaging, stretched and stylish, fanning herself, a
vision in pearl-drop earrings, a zebra dress and white safari jacket. The
juxtaposition of these two unlikely stars is exactly where our fascination
with fashion lies, and what always makes the scene such an irresistible show.
- Jeanne Beker is the host of Fashion
Television Saturday
Post 25 Sept 2002
