The Cut

There Are No Eating Disorders at Fashion Week

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:12:23 -0500

There are three booths in this photo snapped inside the tents today. One booth is for BlackBerry; one is for Havaianas; and one is the CFDA health and beauty booth, which offers counseling and information on eating disorders to the fashion masses. Guess which two of these booths have seen 20 to 30 people lining up all day long, and which one is always empty, save for a lonely staffer gazing longingly at the crowds to the left and right?

Richie Rich Show Canceled

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:27:00 -0500

Heatherette designer Richie Rich was to debut his Hot Topic line, Celebutante, at Gotham Hall during Fashion Week, but it would seem that this is no longer the case (terribly surprising, yes). But now we're being told that there's no clothing line at all right now — Richie's too busy working on his Celebutante album, which is supposed to drop during Fashion Week as well. As for the clothes, Rich's people say it won't come out until sometime next year. And despite what we'd been told — Rich informed us himself it was called Celebutante; Aubrey O'Day said she was to walk in the Celebutante show and star in the campaign (Rich's reps say she was just "confused") — the line will not be called Celebutante. They've yet to decide on a name, but may we suggest something along the lines of Unicorn Skittle?

Earlier: Aubrey O'Day to Star in Richie Rich's New Campaign and Runway Show
Richie Rich: Heatherette Is Just Taking a Breather

New Party Photos: Rachel Zoe and Benjamin Bixby

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:11:36 -0500

In case you didn't make it out last night (surely you were resting up, getting beauty sleep for the rough week ahead), check out our slideshows from the launch party for The Rachel Zoe Project and the Benjamin Bixby after-party. No one's going to fault you for shamelessly checking out the pretty people: Kate Hudson, Molly Sims, André Benjamin, Charlize Theron … you know, your friends and neighbors.

Watch a slideshow of the Rachel Zoe party.
Watch a slideshow of the Benjamin Bixby after-party.

Rag & Bone Time Change Causes Havoc (for Us)

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:44:27 -0500

We only caught the tail end of Rag & Bone because they changed the time from 5 p.m. to 4 p.m. (we, er, forgot about that) — but we still caught some looks because, at least today, shows seem to be consistently running 30 to 45 minutes late. Anyhow: The skinny pant is very much alive and well on Pier 94. To wit: A shrunken leather jacket was paired with a pair with pastel floral pants that were so skinny they bordered on leggings. Women also wore skinny ties and suits — a nicely cut blue one caught our eye. Also catching our eye was Her Stam-ness.

New Shows: BCBG, TSE, Yigal Azrouël

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:13:00 -0500

Fresh from the runway, just uploaded for your viewing pleasure, we've got today's shows from BCBG, TSE, and Yigal Azrouël. Note: Maybe it's the summery frocks, but Karlie Kloss seems to have lessened her Death Stare by about 30 percent.

View the BCBG collection.
View the TSE collection.
View the Yigal Azrouël collection.

Leigh Lezark Literally a Cartoon

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:57:44 -0500

It is with some reluctance that we direct you to Style.com's Virtual Front Row, in which they present cartoon versions of the fashion set talking about, obviously, fashion things. Usually it's kooky-cute. But one cartooned insider who'll be participating all week is MisShapes D.J. (can we still call her that?) Leigh Lezark. Her avatar sounds just as enthused about the endeavor as you'd expect. And for a cartoon, she even looks pissy. [Leigh Lezark - Style File]

Fug Girls: Celebs Stay Remarkably Un-Sweaty at Yigal Azrouël

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:33:08 -0500

Mere hours into Fashion Week, the humidity is already wilting our spirits (and our hair). So we watched with awe as Elettra Rossellini-Wiedemann sauntered into the Yigal Azrouël show in tight leather pants; were that us, our legs would be marinating in buckets of perspiration as we wept openly and begged someone in standing room to stab us with a pen, but Wiedemann defied science and logic by looking sweat-free and calm. We're not sure what her secret is, but we suspect it has less to do with what you can buy in Duane Reade than it does with a car and driver.

Amusingly, at one point Wiedemann left her seat and followed a photographer to the venue's white backdrop and posed energetically and exaggeratedly — flipping her hair, piling it on her head, pouting, etc. She then perused the results on his digital camera, which we imagine was her way of making sure the pics would pass muster with ANTM guest judges Miss J Alexander and Nigel Barker, who chatted together in the front row. Hey, at least Elettra enjoyed the photo op. Party girl Cory Kennedy — fresh off her cameo on 90210 — appeared not only tired and disheveled in trashed white jeans and Doc Martens but totally bored throughout. Although frankly it seems like she would look bored if George Clooney were tickling her feet wearing diamond-studded chaps, so perhaps she's just inexpressive. Or hung-over.

Expectant mom Alexis Bryant Morgan, who hasn't popped yet, wandered in looking low-key in flats and a sundress (the baby weight agrees with her). Katie Lee Joel squeezed into the front row next to Fabiola Beracasa, while Nina Garcia commanded reporters' attention across the runway. The biggest surprise, though, was People's Revolution honcho Kelly Cutrone. Despite having to run the event, Cutrone looked much less harried than she does on The Hills. In fact, in person, the self-proclaimed power bitch looked cheery, well rested, and actually kinda hot. And not in the sweaty, overheated way. Cutrone: 1, Fug Girls: 0.

View a slideshow of the Yigal Azrouël collection.

Exclusive First Look: Inside Colette x Gap

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:20:00 -0500

With a spare moment between shows, we didn't see why we shouldn't head over to 54th Street and Fifth Avenue and stalk the Colette x Gap pop-up. The space opens tomorrow at 10 a.m., and it is, as the gods would have it, tiny — this one could (and likely will) get violently crowded, and fast. Remarkably, the paper's off the windows a day early, and though they're not letting anyone near the doors, they were rather friendly about our gawking.

Boarding the Bus With the Models at Trovata

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:06:35 -0500

We don't know how you like to make an entrance, but if you're walking for Trovata, you'd better be game for something a little more conceptual than the typical backstage lineup. For yesterday afternoon's show, designer John Whitledge had his models enter the show by walking through a "magic bus" and onto the runway. And if it gets the boys and girls on the catwalk on time, then it's magic indeed. In this video shot by artist Jeremy Kost, dozens of models board the Trovata bus to runway glory.

Fug Girls: Models Get Lucky at BCBG Max Azria

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:45:53 -0500

Our prediction: There’s going to be at least one spill on the runway this week. We were barely two minutes into BCBG this morning when model Arlenis Sosa slipped and nearly took a tumble. Peering into the wings, we saw closer Abbey Lee lose her footing for a moment backstage in her haste to run to the front of the model parade for the finale. They dodged the bullet, but someone else isn't going to be so lucky.

Also out of luck: Karlie Kloss, whose name was misspelled on the program not once but twice — unless there exists a designer-imposter version of her named "Karlie Koss" — and anyone at Max Azria who thought this show would bring out the celebs. BCBG is usually a huge draw for the sort of pretty young starlet who has a show on the CW, but the likes of Sophia Bush (usually a staple) and Leighton Meester were nowhere to be seen. Instead, we spied Jamie-Lynn Sigler sitting beside last season's inexplicably omnipresent Leigh Lezark; Phillip Bloch displacing a seat filler so his pretty female companion could perch next to him; and stylist Robert Verdi. Vivica A Fox glammed it up in chunky pearls, a red blazer, pants, and pumps, which she said was some combo of Tracy Ellis and Chanel. Apparently Vivica attended the Samsung event honoring Valentino because she gushed over the chance to open Fashion Week by meeting the icon. "He's amazing," she told reporters, then added after a beat, "VERY tan!" She singled out a blue shorts jumpsuit as her favorite look from the BCBG show, but we urge her to tread carefully with that one. Jumpsuits are very advanced.

But our biggest almost-squeal of glee came after the show when we almost bumped into heartbreaking Olympic gymnast Alicia Sacramone standing across from the Bryant Park Hotel — upright, on both feet, and with a cute boy to boot. Alicia looked deeply fierce in giant shades, a black dress, a blowout, and huge peep-toe platform pumps that made her very nearly person-size. Forget that damnable balance beam, Alicia — you get a gold medal for negotiating New York's streets and precarious subway grates in those bad boys. Who cares about the Olympics when you have Fashion Week?

View a slideshow of the BCBG Max Azria collection.

Erin Wasson Launches Line, Dance Party

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:20:12 -0500

Model Erin Wasson launched her own line last night (a collaboration with skate and surfwear company RVCA) in an apartment on the Lower East Side, and New York’s Fabiola Beracasa was there. The designer described her collection as a “blend of Southern California beach culture with downtown Manhattan.” Whatever it is, the models loved dancing in her clothes.

This Just In From Duckie Brown

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:05:00 -0500

There was hardly a lick of bare male-model skin to ogle on menswear label Duckie Brown's runway. Pity. But the look was nerd-chic: crisp, short-sleeved button-ups worn over snug black shirts. When black pants and jackets came out followed by shorts layered over leggings, we had to remind ourselves we were looking at spring clothes. Oh and also? The pants were, dare we say, baggy.

Taylor Momsen’s Shocking Style Evolution: From Girlie Tween to Goth Glamour Girl

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:01:00 -0500

Oh, little Jenny Humphrey — er, Taylor Momsen! The charming 15-year-old Gossip Girl actress must be swept up in discovering herself, fashion sense included. Because earlier this week at a M.A.C-sponsored Fashion Week kickoff dinner at Café Select downtown, the little cherub was all choppy bangs and kohl-rimmed eyes, wearing a very black, very severe Dolce & Gabbana frock. This marked Momsen's second Joan Jett–inspired party outfit in as many weeks: Last week she wore a black leather-jacket ensemble with smoky eyes for a Henri Bendel event. For those of us accustomed to the smiley schoolgirl's onscreen knee socks and frilly, pastel-intense party dresses (now, of yore), it was a little startling. But at Café Select, she said she's obsessed with Alexander Wang and D&G's edgy offerings. And canary-yellow minidresses she's worn to parties past aside, Momsen claims she's always preferred to dress on the dark side. "I don't think I ever wore anything tacky. I always wear dark colors."

Then again, maybe it's all an elaborate life-imitating-art thing, since Momsen also hinted that her Gossip Girl character is headed for White Oleander territory: "Jenny goes through a giant transformation this season — from the Jenny you know to a completely different person." Ooooh! Still, let's keep a watchful eye on this (predictably?) unpredictable 15-year-old: Many months before the entire world flipped their wig over Miley Cyrus's bare back in Vanity Fair, the media barely batted an eyelash when Momsen, then just 14, graced the cover of this mag in her skivvies.

Victoria Beckham Unveils Her New Fancy Dress Line

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:29:21 -0500

Stores are dropping Victoria Beckham's denim line like sweat beads at an Alexander Wang after-party. But that didn't stop the Poshster from invading Manhattan and bringing her new frock line with her. She showed off her new fancy dress collection to the lucky folks at WWD. We'd tell you what it's called, but WWD only reports the labels on the clothes say both "Victoria Beckham" and "dVb" so it's kind of unclear. Nonetheless, Posh talked up her work with the jargon of a fashion-industry vet — which she undoubtedly is. WWD reports:

“Structure is an important word to use when discussing my collection,” said Beckham, who is expected to grace Marc Jacobs’ front row on Monday. “The corsets and belts that have been incorporated into my dresses have been made in such a way that they are comfortable and supportive. My clothes are designed for women from a woman’s perspective.”

Ah yes, what woman doesn't absolutely delight in the comfort of a corset? They're like wrapping oneself in down pillows, after all. More from Posh:

“I like to focus on the posture of a woman and how she holds herself, which led me to incorporate features such as modern corsetry and grosgrain details,” she said. “… In addition, there are finer grosgrain belts that are incorporated into the line of the softer constructed dresses to give this effect in a more subtle way, thus enabling women of all sizes to wear my dresses to create a magnificent silhouette.”

Translation: My dresses will make all women look skinny! And if anyone knows skinny, it's Posh Spice. The pieces will wholesale for $600 to $1,400, which means if you buy one, it will cost a lot more than that. Other looks include … oh, hell. Does it really matter?

Victoria Beckham Launches Dress Collection [WWD]

Update: We're wrong on the matter of several stores dropping Beckham's line — to our knowledge, it's just Kitson, and the line is carried at Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Maxfields and Fred Segal.

Male ‘Project Runway’ Vets Swear by Panty Liners

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:50:58 -0500

The most valuable lesson Jack Mackenroth and Kevin Christiana learned from last season's Project Runway didn't have anything to do with speed sewing or "making it work." "If we're sweaty, we put panty liners under our arms, so [we] don't sweat," Mackenroth said last night at Gen Art's "Fresh Faces in Fashion" at the Manhattan Center. "I learned that from my roommates on the show," Christiana chimed in. "At one point, I had the cameras actually on me, and I dropped my notepad and all the panty liners fell out. And I had to clean them up real fast." Added Mackenroth: "You've got to get the ones with the sticky side, so you can stick them onto your clothes." (He recommends Always brand panty liners in the purple box.) And they have reason to perspire: The two season-four competitors are working on a new redesign reality show — "kind of Queer Eye, well, one queer meets Project Runway," in Mackenroth's words — that they're pitching to networks like WE, Oxygen and TLC in October. But they've had enough time to watch this season's Project Runway: Mackenroth's top two picks are Leanne and Korto. Both Mackenroth and Christiana loved the Olympic challenge, although "I think they butchered it," Christiana said. "A linen jumpsuit with a leather vest for the Olympics?" Mackenroth asked. "I know. Would you wear that?"