Catching up, catching up! So much has happened in the past couple days that it’s been tough to let you in on the details.
On Tuesday, Monique Lhuillier gave me a chance to go behind the scenes to view the industrial inpiration for the hair behind the show. The artists from Aveda combined Audrey Hepburn looks with Japanese anime to create spiky buns meant to complement Lhuillier’s looks. On the runway, she went way outside the norm to try to emulate the looks of Frank Gehry’s Disney Concert Hall, a building she drives by daily in Los Angeles. She should really stick with her red carpet looks. She used a lot of gold lamés and brocades to try to achieve this industrial look. But a strapless gown in emerald could even bypass the Joan Rivers red carpet scrutiny. You can find Monique Lhuillier at Outfit at the Wynn Las Vegas.
The scene: Vanessa Minnillo was on the front row.
Long and slim was the name of the game from Chaiken. Designer Jeff Mahshie, who co-designs the line with Julie Chaiken, found inspiration from Navajo prints for their fall collection, showing egg yolk yellows and tomato reds. Fuller trousers and curvaceous sheaths rounded out the collection. As far as I can tell, Chaiken isn’t in Las Vegas, but you can probably find it on www.neimanmarcus.com.
Temperly London also let me visit backstage. The hair stylists from Aveda kept the look simple, a low ponytail, to let the hair accessories do the talking. The look was all about the Russian Revolution. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the show to see the final looks. Behind the scenes, it’s all chaos — models getting hair and makeup, dressers preparing the looks, stylists prepping for the show and everyone needs to be ready when first look is called. And up until the point that the show starts, nothing is ready. I spent a lot of time elbowing print and TV journalists trying to get the looks before the show started.
After that was one of the greatest production numbers yet. Betsey Johnson always puts on a spectacle, and this season was no exception. The white glove invitations invited guests to the School of Charm, and cute tea tables lined the front row. But this was not her typical sex bomb show complete with the cartwheel at the end. Naughty schoolgirl was a better description, with form-fitting dresses that evoked Marlene Dietrich. Fun young looks that grew up a bit for fall. You can find Betsey Johnson boutiques at Fashion Show mall and Dessert Passage.
The scene: Beth Ostrosky, Amber Tamblyn, Cyndi Lauper, Aubrey O’Day and Fran Drescher joined the fracas.
Doo.Ri really sharpened her focus for fall. She expounded on short with cocktail dresses that swang with hems that looped gorgeously from the side seams or bust. And while her dresses were exceptional, take a look at her pants that cinched the ribs or cropped three-quarter jackets, looks that helped her expand her vision. Tallulah G carries the line.
Finally, Tuesday night was capped off not by Heatherette (it’s just a spectacle anyway) but Narciso Rodriguez. Unlike other designers, Narciso decided to keep his vision restrained to his best looks rather than expand it with new looks. Black, black, black, proceeded white, white, white then gray, gray, gray and jewel tones. Some looks, like a coat with a repeating square collapsing on itself, were gorgeous, while others, such as a white gown with what looked like spaghetti on the front, probably wouldn’t look good on someone larger than a size 2. You can find the line at Outfit at the Wynn Las Vegas.
The scene: Narciso showed off the Bryant Park campus in an industrial warehouse with risers as the seating. And afterward, waiting for a ride, the wind and cold sliced through you like a knife. Claire Danes, Rachel Weisz, Julianna Marguiles and Jerry Seinfeld rounded out the celebrity onlookers.
And on a final note, I ran into Paris Hilton and Fergie at Indochine for a late-night dinner.
