Fall 2008 New York Fashion Week

>> Socialista may have been a fashion week hot spot earlier this month, but something not so hot went down.  Turns out one of the bartenders was infected with Hepatitis A, and health officials are warning anyone who visited the establishment Feb. 7, 8, or 11 — i.e. right at the tail end of fashion week — to get vaccinated. 

Those who attended fashion week events at Socialista early on in the week — Nicole Miller (Feb. 1), Miss Sixty dinner party (Feb. 3), Betsey Johnson (Feb. 4), Matthew Williamson (Feb. 5), or the Phillip Lim party (Feb. 6) lucked out — but those who attended the Tony Melillo showing on Feb. 8 are not so lucky.  Roberto Cavalli and Francois-Henri Pinault, head of the Gucci Group, who both attended Ashton Kutcher's birthday celebration at Socialista on Feb. 7, also not so lucky.

This is one fashion trend that I hope doesn't catch on . . .

*image: wireimage

>>  I'm not sure if it's just me or not, but when I first saw this look from the Ruffian Fall 2008 collection (L), I immediately thought of the Balenciaga Spring 2006 collection (R).  The fitted jacket with skinny black lapels, the stiff brocade material, the black belt with gold embellished buckle, the cropped fitted pants . . . they're all very similar to my eye.

>> She's been a brunette, and a blonde, but now Julia Dunstall has pulled a reverse-Stam on us, and gone from blonde to red.  The new color first showed up at Miss Sixty a couple of days ago, and it's not just a one-show fluke — it's since been spotted at Thakoon and Karen Walker.  The brilliant shade definitely gives her an edge; I'll be glad to see an auburn head bobbing along among the sea of less vivid hair colors.

Before: Elie Saab Spring 2008; After: Miss Sixty Fall 2008
*images: getty, wireimage

>> At Rodarte, Laura and Kate Mulleavy riffed on "Japanese horror films" with agressively studded Louboutin shoes, deathly pale faces, and plenty of blood red.

I admit, before seeing Rodarte in motion — and in person — I was a little confused about the hype surrounding the label.  But after seeing the loosely-woven tights, the angora dresses, the punky sugar plum fairies zig zag past, I am converted.

Not many designers can take two such contrasting looks — pretty, pretty princess and Sid Vicious — and make them mesh so well together.  It was clear that the girls were still exploring a few elements from Spring: the Degas-esque tutu dresses, the studded shoes, the draped and pleated chiffon dresses, the metallic fitted pants; when I asked Kate about it, she told me they "were just trying to find [their] thing." But by no means were they mired in a past collection — and I look forward to seeing where the whimsical Mulleavy girls go from here.

*image: getty

>>  There's no doubt about it, the British duo behind Preen is still obsessed with satin jumpsuits, sheer lace, and the color blue: all three carried over from their Spring collection.  The label's second New York outing brought early nineties grunge with a hint of glam, and the result had its hits (the jumpsuits, most of the dresses) and its misses (the dated-looking plastic belt loops, highwaisted pleated pants, the scrunched thick socks).

I would pass on some of the more grungified plaid and shearling looks, but the strapless sequin dress, Karlie Kloss' asymmetrical one-sleeved dress, and the belted black sleeveless trench dress I'm game for.  Meanwhile, Catherine McNeil's cocoon coat and croc-imprint leggings ensemble, plus all the jumpsuits, bring to mind Stella McCartney wear — an interesting turn of events from the label whose staple used to be brightly colored minidresses . . .

Also, one noticeable absence on the runway: Aggy Deyn, whose shock of bleached hair graced the runway in Spring, and who has been known to wear Preen in real life.

*images: getty

>> Winner of the cool set design award goes to: Y-3.  The runway was lined with floor-to-ceiling thin bricks of ice, which dripped down and made for a wet catwalk.  For those who got chilly, the PR team was kind enough to hand out hand-warmers and fuzzy Y-3 blankets.

>> Two runway walks have really stood out to me so far this week: Karlie Kloss' and Tanya D's. 

Karlie walks slower than everyone else — substantially slower.  Her head bobs back and forth, and her facial expression makes her appear as if in a trance.

Meanwhile, Tanya D. just walks it out — rocks it out.  She has the uncanny ability to make any outfit she wears look good.  Earlier today at Preen, she posed at the end of the catwalk like you might have seen Linda do in the nineties . . .

**image: getty

>> First, let me just say that I am a big proponent of the bandage dress, so I was really curious to see what Max Azria had in store for us at Herve Leger, ten years after he bought the label.

Clearly Mr. Azria grappled with how to make the Herve Leger legacy his own; his answer was to add a lot of feathers, ribbons, and prints on top of the bandage dresses, which just ended up looking like too much.  He even tried working with woven knit pieces made to mimic the bandages, but again, the vision fell a little short.

I prefer a pared-down version of the bandage dress, one that works with the patterns of the bandages across the body — because, really, it is all about the va-va-voom factor.  There were plenty of streamlined looks towards the end of the showing, thank goodness, because what I thought was going to be the final look, Lily Donaldson's peach princess gown, appeared more Project Runway and less professional design (save the feathered cape — that was cool).  But I ended up leaving the show jonesing for a Leger dress, so I guess Max did his job.

As a sidebar, Catherine McNeil was the only one with what you might refer to as "cleavage" in the show  — an interesting decision by casting to go for hipbone rather than breast, at Leger of all shows.

And for comparison's sake, the Leger of old (circa 1993):

**images: getty