New York: September 9
By Tammy Eckenswiller
Just left the Prada party after a couple of cocktails on a relatively empty stomach and I am feelin’ funky and ready to spill the beans! Not to start back-to-front, but it seems fitting: The Prada party is a regular fete at the SoHo store during New York Fashion Week and the usual hangers-on were there, along with Leighton Meester from Gossip Girl and models Jessica Stam and Cassie to name a few. I was so starving (pouring rain in NY equals triple the time to get from one show to another equals no time to grab any kind of sustenance) that I chased down the boys with canapés like they were Chanel bags at a sample sale.
Narciso Rodriguez showed a collection that was decidedly sexy. There were banded shift dresses in tough black and white, sharp-shouldered jackets and soft silk tops with sheer backs tucked into skinny pencil. The sexy ’80s power chick is definitely an emerging trend here, as is banding and black and white. Let’s talk about my new fashion crush, Sean Avery, the NHL hockey player who interned at Vogue this summer, sitting front row and looking so incredibly earnest and HOT while he studied the looks as they passed by. Okay, I’ve heard about the supposed scandals, but how freakin’ cute is he? Imagine him in the place of Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada. Yay!
Rodarte was, um, stunning! Not only did I want to wear every whimsical knit, leather skirt , banded top, tie-dyed gown, cut-out leggings and studded stiletto, but in between each delicious look I got to ogle Natalie Portman! Now that is a show. She looks fantastic by the way and in case you may have doubted the whole Harvard grad, smart-girl thing, she had the wherewithal to support Rodarte, and that makes her a genius in a sea of dim wits as far as the red carpet goes. If I see one more ho-hum, champagne-coloured satin gown at the Oscars I’m gonna barf.
Case in point, Monique Lhuillier: The collection was pretty—pretty boring. I know there is a market for this and I know that generally retail sales are in the toilet, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want and need inspiration and aspiration! It’s a fashion show for Pete’s sake—those looks shouldn’t be so realistic.
Jeremy Laing showed a gorgeous collection at one of my fave spaces, Bumble and Bumble (around the corner from Pastis and Spice Market). Nine a.m. is an unfortunate time slot, but that didn’t take away from the lovely shift dresses with clever chiffon layers, swingy silk satin tops and dresses with geometric cut-outs. If you want to see how wearable and inspiration merge in an exciting way, get thee to Holt Renfrew and check this young whipper-snapper out!
Shown: Rodarte Spring 2009. Photography by Peter Stigter
Tammy Eckenswiller is a stylist in New York City. Visit her at tammyeckenswiller.com.
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