And So It Begins...
The spring 2008 fashion shows officially began Wednesday and just to keep things interesting with the challenging zig-zagging across town in search of the next new thing, there's a taxi strike. Whoo-hoo! Put on the walking shoes because no, I am not fabulous enough to rate a car service. I was able to put off the inevitable crazed dash for a taxi post-show because I spent the bulk of the day holed up in my office writing a column for Sunday. Deadlines must be met. But I did at least christen the arrival of New York Fashion Week by attending a breakfast at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in honor of Harriette Cole. She's the new creative director of Ebony and has also been asked to join the museum's multi-cultural advisory panel. So major congratulations to Harriette.
Hariette Cole (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
I use the term breakfast loosely, by the way. Being a girl who hails from the Midwest and is A-OK with not being a size 2, when I think of breakfast, I'm thinking omlette, oatmeal, a big bowl of fruit. But I had forgotten. This is fashion. Breakfast is coffee and the teensy-tiniest hors d'oeuvres. After the fashion breakfast, I needed to go get some food.
As I said, since I spent much of the day trapped in the office, I only managed to see a handful of shows. One of them was Duckie Brown, the menswear label, and I have to say that ordinarily I'd have grave reservations about a man wearing a pair of peony-printed baggy pants, but in the hands of those Duckie Brown boys they had a certain charm. I also saw the new L.A.M.B. collection, which is Gwen Stefani's label. The clothes are sort of a '50s, sexy, preppy punk mish-mash that had a clear point of view. Go figure. Stefani is one of those rare "celebrity" designers whose clothes have something going for them beyond their relationship to a famous name.
The charm of Duckie Browne's clothes(NICHOLAS ROBERTS/AFP/Getty Images)
Sean "Diddy" Combs was in the audience. I'm hoping that he was taking a few notes on the womenswear and then perhaps he'll be able to get his own version off the ground.
I'm looking forward to seeing what Thom Browne has in store. His collection for Brooks Brothers is terrific and just might inject a bit of cheeky fun into the world of gray flannel suits. The show for his signature collection is today and as a reward for hiking to the edges of Manhattan I'm hoping for some serious fashion extravaganza. Last season he had a man in a train. This time maybe there'll be a full ball gown.
Editor's Note: Read Robin Givhan's review of "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style."
By Robin Givhan |
September 6, 2007; 11:41 AM ET
New York
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Posted by: Big Fan | September 6, 2007 2:53 PM
Missed your wit these past months. Welcome back.
Posted by: Will | September 6, 2007 7:46 PM
True, Duckie Brown had some lovely pieces. As for LAMB: absolutely not. In my opinion, this just can't be taken seriously, for now. Not because she's primarily a singer, but simply: this just seemed like a stylist's or editor's work. Completely unchallenging. Compare this to Thom Browne and it comes across as mere fancy. No thought. Still, I'm open, and I hope to be surprised in the future.
Congrats to Miss Harriette!
Posted by: Marko | September 7, 2007 7:18 AM
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Welcome back, Ms. Givhan! With your new column duties, I was unsure if you'd be blogging from NYC. I am thrilled to find you are. I'll be following you in the Post, and get all the pictures on style.com. Looking forward to hearing your take on it all,
MTL