New York Fashion Week: Naeem Khan Fall/Winter 2010 Collection

Before The Show: Even though I had a fabulous seat assignment for the Naeem Khan show, I arrived early and I was right to do so. Naeem Khan's presentation was one of the last two shows at Bryant Park and everyone wanted to make sure they were front and center for the designer's presentation. It also gave me time to mix and mingle among the crowd, where I had a chance to meet Colin Cowie, Anika Noni Rose, June Ambrose (who looked dressed to thrill for the occasion - see photo) and a few other people who strolled in. Editors abounded and when Brooke Shields strolled in to take her seat, we knew the show was going to get off to a great start.

The Collection: This collection was high voltage from the very first look. Naeem went for high gloss, high glamour with a gilded collection awash in luxe embroidery, fur, beading and sequin embellishment, feathers - the man pulled out all the stops. Each look that came stalking down the runway drew larger and larger gasps from the crowd.

 All still show photography courtesy of Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

Set to a soundtrack of classic rock from everything from The Rolling Stones to Def Leppard to Guns n' Roses, this fashion show turned the crowd upside-down. Let me be honest here: the fashion crowd are a tad jaded and you're told never to smile or show a facial expression during a show but when you looked around the room, feet were tapping, people were smiling and editors were actually gasping. If you're in need of a red carpet look or any piece for full-on paparazzi-exploding glitz, Naeem Khan's collection is definitely where it's at. I'm calling it now: expect to see many of these pieces on the red carpet come fall.

Trend Spotting: Gold and black, fur embellishment, full-on sequin and beading embellishment. It's what he does so well and this collection was bar none.

Overall Impression: Well, you can view the finale walk yourself. He's the first designer I watched receive a standing ovation at the end of the presentation. This show and its collection were in my top three of the week. Bravo, Naeem!

New York Fashion Week: Timo Weiland Fall/Winter 2010 Collection

Before The Show: I ascended the elevator to view the Timo Weiland show amongst a crowd of very enthusiastic viewers. Timo Weiland brings out fans of impeccable tailoring mixed with a touch of theatre and this year's show wasn't about to disappoint. We all walked in to view an installation of pedestals surrounded by black streams from floor to post in a wide room with a movie playing against the wall. The models walked in one by one and reviewers were invited to walk into and out of the collection to shoot and inspect the looks.

Overhead In the Crowd: It wasn't what was heard, it's what was seen. A very tall woman walked in wearing what can only be described as a marching band outfit. A HUGE Beefeater's hat with gold chains, a goat-hair trimmed leather jacket, liquid leggings and ginormous platform boots. I'm a huge fan of the avant but even that caused me to take a moment. Judge if you will but she definitely had my attention.

My two personal favorite looks from the collection

The Collection: The collection was described in its press materials as the designers attempt to "envelop themselves in their homespun, epic tale of eras colliding; the Age of Innocence meets Gangs of New York. The dichotomy of the masculine and the feminine, often captured throughout the history of cinema, is another great source of inspiration for the design duo that seeks to dress modern day dandies, male and female alike."

My take on the collection is that it was very Italian film noir-inspired, with chic retro cat-eye sunglasses, dandy tailoring and sweet, gamine dresses and suits. Think Sophia Loren meets Audrey Hepburn for the women's looks and very Cary Grant meets boarding school for the men. Tweedy and impossibly chic, the hues were saturated and wearable, with scarlet red, midnight blues and loden greens offset by camel and black The textures were rich and sumptuous and the silhouettes were classic and wearable. An extremely smart presentation and a great collection of clothes overall.

Trend Spotting: More camel and red mixed together, tweed and tailored jackets and suits. The textures were rich and I love the retro glamour feeling we're seeing.

Overall Impression: A very wearable collection with pieces for any wardrobe. LOVED Timo Weiland!

New York Fashion Week: Backstage Hair Looks for Charlotte Ronson and Tracy Reese with TRESemme

The first night of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week my fellow beauty bloggers and I were treated to a presentation by TRESemme. Lead celebrity stylist Jeanie Syfu (who I personally adore), walked us through a couple of the looks we would see during the week.

First up was Tracy Reese. The look was described as "country fair meets big city." The hair had luxurious curls created with an S-iron, where the hair was looped around and through the iron for voluminous waves.  A mixture of 24-Hour Mousse and Curl Activator spray helped set the look and it was finished with 24 Hour Body Spray.

Charlotte Ronson's look was very 70's rock and roll - sleek and sexy with some texture. Vertical sections were sprayed with TRESemme's new Dry Shampoo to make it look as if there was no product in it at all.

The event was held to highlight TRESemme's new Fresh Start and Naturals lines, an amazing line that was created for those of us who are concerned about using a ton of chemicals on our hair. After all, the protein on your head and the skin on your scalp ingest whatever you're using into your body, so why not treat your hair to a nourishing break? I'm working my way through testing the products now (my hair took a beating during Fashion Week) but I can report that the Dry Shampoo is magic and it's completely affordable!

You can purchase TRESemme products at a drugstore near you or hit drugstore.com for web-enabled beauty booty.

New York Fashion Week: Carolina Herrera Fall/Winter Collection 2010

Before The Show: I originally had a standing ticket for Carolina Herrera, which honestly was totally fine by me. After strolling to the end of the row, a lovely gentleman who must have been sent from Fashion Heaven said, “Would you like to move into a seat? We have an opening in the second row.” Why, yes I would. I could see Carolina and Lori Goldstein, who styled the show (and my epic makeover), send the models out onto the runway from my vantage point. I almost passed out from happiness.


Overhead In the Crowd: The crowd leading into Carolina Herrera was pretty quiet as opposed to some of the other shows. Most people were abuzz that Tory Burch was sitting front row.

All still photography from the show courtesy of Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

The Collection: I said this on Twitter but it bears repeating. Rarely have I seen something that moved me to tears and her collection was one of them. Carolina sent the Park Avenue set abuzz with her impossibly chic collection. Tilted oversized hats with fur-trimmed jackets and stoles were paired with tweed dresses and wide-leg pants.

The hues were just gorgeous and wearable on a multitude of skin tones, with a gorgeous French blue, russet red and camel leading the way in her color palette. Nighttime glamour saw the designer pull out all the stops with cascading ruffles in fitted silhouettes and vibrant hues and patters reminiscent of her heritage.

A floral-printed showstopper made the cover of The Daily the next morning. The designer received a thunderous applause after her models did their finale walk and it was well deserved.





Trend Spotting: Again, more fur, tweed, cozy uptown separates and gorgeous eveningwear. Glamour is back!


Overall Impression: The Carolina Herrera customer is an effortlessly chic, unfussy woman who needs clothes that are impeccably tailored and evoke an air of timeless glamour. This collection delivered an entire wardrobe for that customer and anyone who desires to become her.

New York Fashion Week: Trias Fall 2010

The Scene: Anticipatory, as I've been looking forward to this show all week. You could also tell there was a slight air of exhaustion among the incoming crowd, as Fashion Week is winding down.

Overheard In The Crowd: Myself blurting out "Kate Young did the styling?!" She's my favorite.



The Collection: Titled, Vertical Strength, Trias hit it on the mark. Even though a phrase like that can be vague and annoying, you could tell as soon as the first look walked that we were watching some really strong verticals. The pieces were simple, incredibly structural, and very grown-up. The designer mentioned a focus on pleats, which was apparent in large panel-like constructions, not the baby pleats seen on high school field hockey skirts.

This same structure flowed throughout the collection, with dresses, coats, and skirts all folding in a similar way. The designer also experimented with uncommon fabrics such as lycra and gomatto. (Not totally sure what that is but it sure looked cool.) The final two looks, while beautiful, resembled expensive choir robes. But, other than that, the whole line was wearable.


Trend Spotting: Ombre tights, tied leather belts, no bling.

Overall Impression: The Trias woman is no frills, and all about simple, strong sophistication. I want to be her.

New York Fashion Week: Maladrino Fall/Winter 2010 Collection

Before The Show: I happened to be upstairs covering the beauty look, so all I had to do was go downstairs. The line was a tad cramped due to the smaller venue but once we were able to go inside (which was pretty quickly), we were treated to an installation presentation where all the models stood on pedestals above the crowd and those invited could walk from look to look and view the collection up close.

Overhead In the Crowd: There were quite a few celebrities at the presentation: Kate Walsh and Whitney Port walked in right behind me. Most of the whispering was basically, "Is that Kate Walsh? Is that Whitney Port?" Yes, people. Keep it moving.

The Collection: Entitled "Khan", the Mongolian-inspired collection was absolutely awe-inspiring with oversized textured leather coats with goat hair embellishment, chunky metal and stone jewelry and sexy draped dresses. I became personally obsessed with a pair of textured skinny leather leggings.

The look was designed for the urban warrior and was impossibly chic. It was glamorous and extremely well-constructed. The accessories were also extraordinary, with amazing crossbody leather bags, gorgeous leather gloves and embellished belts.

Trend Spotting: More leather, more fur, sumptuous textures. It also looks like long leather gloves are extremely key.

Overall Impression: Stunning, amazing and perfect for red carpet and cosmopolitan chic living. I would definitely call Maladrino's collection a success for the designer and I would suggest you start planning which amazing piece you'll be adding to your own wardrobe. I have dibs on the leather leggings, though.