Land Rover and Range Rover added an extra dose of style

Land Rover and Range Rover added an extra dose of style to two of Fashion Week's hottest shows with a fleet of vehicles for VIPs. The new Land Rover LR4 was the starring attraction at the Rag & Bone show in Soho, sponsored by the famed UK SUV marque, where beauties like model Jessica Stam (above) and Mad Men's Jon Hamm made the scene. And at the presentation by Marchesa, designed by Georgina Chapman, Range Rovers and Range Rover Sports provided luxe transportation for the likes of actresses Vanessa Hudgens and Michele Trachtenberg, musician Eve, socialite and TV personality Olivia Palermo, and model Irina Lazareanu. At both venues the vehicles sported the designer's logos, and when lined up impressively outside got nearly as much attention as the scenesters themselves.

"Land Rover is expanding its marketing profile with, for the first time, supporting a fashion house, Rag & Bone, during New York Fashion Week," noted Stuart Schorr, vice president of communications and public affairs, Jaguar Land Rover North America. "The Rag & Bone brand, led by Marcus Wainwright and David Neville, is admired for its refined and versatile aesthetic. Both Land Rover and Rag & Bone were born in England and enjoy massive global appeal. The Land Rover LR4 has evolved a distinct design heritage that is rooted in both authentic luxury and rugged capability. Similarly, through Rag & Bone, Marcus and David have established a legacy through high levels of skill and craftsmanship." Might we dare to hope for a Ltd. Rag & Bone Edition LR4 edition in the near future....?

Designer is the latest celebrity mired in controversy

The arrest and suspension of couture designer John Galliano, amid allegations of a booze-fuelled outburst this weekend in a Paris district known for its Jewish community, has reinforced reports of an alarming increase in anti-Semitism.

The French fashion house Christian Dior suspended the designer in the aftermath of what is being described as a drunken confrontation with a couple in the Marais district.

Claims by the pair, denied by Galliano, that he used anti-Jewish and racist slurs against them drew him into a welter of controversy which has most recently led to career trouble for the actors Charlie Sheen and Mel Gibson.

Galliano's representatives were last night trying to limit the damage caused by the controversy. His lawyer said the designer intended to claim for defamation and injury against his accusers and pronounced him shocked that Dior had suspended him.

The move came just days after the CBS television network pulled one of America's biggest comedy TV shows, Two and a Half Men. Although Charlie Sheen had tested the company's patience with cocaine and drink-fuelled binges, hotel-room orgies of violence and numerous tabloid eruptions, he overstepped the mark when he appeared to flirt with anti-Semitism in a radio broadcast, referring to the show's creator Chuck Lorre by the Hebrew name Chaim last Thursday.

Hollywood star Mel Gibson suffered another recent postponement of his latest film, The Beaver, capping nearly five years of serious career problems since he was recorded making anti-Semitic comments during a drink-driving arrest in 2006.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center last week highlighted what it suggests is an ongoing problem, with its list of the 10 most high profile anti-Semitic outbursts of 2010.

In the UK, the Community Security Trust, an advisory body for British Jews, warned of a steady increase in attacks in the UK since 1984, with 639 anti-Semitic incidents last year. This was the topped only by a freak jump in numbers the previous year during Israeli military operations in Gaza. Across Europe, monitoring groups report growing concern. On last year's 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, vandals marked at least 18 gravestones with swastikas when they desecrated a Jewish cemetery in France. France's main Jewish organisation, CRIF, said that 13 tombstones at the Cronenbourg cemetery in Strasbourg had also been overturned.

And in the former Soviet Union, anti-Semitic and ultranationalist skinheads increasingly profess themselves above the law. A judge withdrew from a politically charged Moscow murder trial this month involving fascists Nikita Tikhonov and Evgeniya Khasis, who are accused of killing human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova in January 2009.

The sentencing judge for the trial, Eduard Chuvashov, was shot dead in April last year.

Rain Won't Affect Red Carpet Fashion

What changes occur in red carpet fashion if it really does rain on the Oscar arrival line this Sunday, as predicted?

Red carpet pundits probably remember last year’s (2010) Golden Globes and its torrential downpour. 
 
How did it affect the gowns, the shoes, the bare arms?
 
Answer: Not a whit.
 
At that memorably rain-soaked Globes, nominees like Sandra Bullock wore their beautiful expensive semi-sheer gowns, bare arms, delicate strappy shoes and much-labored over hairstyles, but donned coats in their limos; they were shielded by umbrellas on the way into their limos, out of their limos – and they even had handlers holding umbrellas over them as they stepped carefully onto the soggy red carpet. Once there, the carpet walkway was, of course, tented – if not a little bit leaky. They all arrived shivery and even a little damp – but when the cameras hit, the stars turned on the full-force glamour and wattage, and smiled and posed as usual, as part of their normal job requirement. The Oscars will be no different. Because when the red carpet photos hit, no one will – or should – remember it was raining. Therefore, the Oscar arrivals line might be damp – sopping, even – but the show – and the clothes – must go on.
 
Will Natalie shiver? Will Nicole’s hairdo fall? Will a Chanel couture design be obscured by a heavy shawl?
 
Not a chance.
 
No doubt, once home at last, they will all change into cashmere pajamas. But for as long as Oscar night revelry goes on, they will all grin and bare it. With big coats and furs in the car – and the warmth of anticipation.

Gwen Stefani Fashion Line Real Work

Gwen Stefani was shocked at how much work goes into creating a fashion line. The No Doubt singer, who has had huge success in the fashion world with her L.A.M.B. clothing label, admits there's a lot of stress involved with creating a collection and while she would love to add to her line, she doesn't have the time at the moment.

Speaking ahead of her show at New York Fashion Week last week, Gwen told the USA Today newspaper: "I don't want anything else right now. I can't handle it. There's too much going on. Sunglasses would be amazing, but it's one of those things where if I added one more thing to my plate....I love doing this, but it's unbelievable how much time it takes to make it real and make things that I would really wear."

"I never thought it would be this much work. It's so exciting, and it's so worth it at the end of the day. It's so creative, and I'm just so passionate about it."

However, while she loves designing clothes, she admits to giving a sigh of relief once fashion week is over.

The mother-of-two said: "But I can't wait for this to be over today. It's just such a build up. I was sitting in the showroom waiting for those clothes to get there. And I was like 'Why am I sitting here? Where are the clothes?' And then they get there and then it's all a scramble. And it's just the same every season, and I still love doing it."

Luxury Fashion Customers Looking for Inspiration

Luxury shoppers are back in the stores, and they no longer feel there is a need to hide their shopping bags. That's good news for designers.

"Fall 2010, it feels like a century ago," said Yildiz Blackstone, president of luxury fashion house Luca Luca.

Blackstone expects to see plenty of color—fuschias, oranges and greens—on the runways, as the Fall 2011 shows kick off New York Fashion Week.

Throughout the economic downturn, Luca Luca worked hard to keep its sales ahead of industry trends, and finished 2010 with its sales up 30 percent from the prior year. That's against a backdrop where total apparel sales in the US grew just 1.9 percent, according to market researcher NPD Group.

For the fall, the Luca Luca collection was inspired by nature and a walk in the woods. To capture the idea of a forest, Creative Director Raul Melgoza juxtaposed fabrics such as leather, suede and lace together to create texture and dimension.

"It's more fantasy-like," Blackstone said, citing designs in the collection that mix lace with prints as an example. "We want to reflect the optimism."

As designers unveil their Fall 2011 collections, many are expected to bring more feminine looks to the runway. And while they will be hoping to give women a reason to shop, the recession will likely still lead to many designs that offer a lot of versatility.

That is likely welcome news to many women, who have been shifting to skirts and dresses, according to recent sales data from NPD. In 2010, women's skirt sales were up almost 13 percent and dress sales were up almost 4 percent.

"Women have migrated into skirts even though the industry isn't promoting them as a fashion trend," said Marshal Cohen, NPD's chief industry analyst, in a written statement. "And dresses continue to post growth because they are being worn year-round and are no longer relegated only to spring wardrobes."

At BCBG Max Azria, one of the first shows at Lincoln Center kicking off Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, the skirts were long and flowing, with layered pieces and drop-waists, loosely inspired by the 1920s and '30s. Some pieces were colored bright red or rich cobalt blue. Many pieces were accented with belts or touches of fur.

BCBG is the most accessible of the three labels Azria will be showing this week, and it provides a good taste of what may translate from the runway to retail stores this fall.

From a design perspective, it stands to reason, after seasons of sparse design and neutral colors, fashion designers would shift to more bold looks.

But adding embellishments may also accomplish another goal for retailers. With cotton prices having more than doubled, more complex clothing designs will help consumers accept the higher prices that will be necessary to offset the rising costs ahead.

Although retailers and manufacturers can use cotton blends, there is only so far they can blend before it changes the look and feel of the garment, said Chris Callieri, a principal at management consulting firm A.T. Kearney.

"The U.S. customer has been used to expecting ever-dropping prices," Callieri said. "They wait and see what happens, they wait for the huge promotion to come up."

Luxury customers clearly aren't as price-sensitive, but they set the tone for fast fashion and garments geared to a mass market.

"There's a natural high to spending," said Sherif Mityas, a partner in A.T. Kearney's retail practice. "The luxury customer can feel good about spending money again."

Mityas expects retailers will be doing a lot of testing this year to see what works. With consumer spending beginning to loosen up, retailers can afford to offer a broader selection.

"They don't have to play it safe anymore," Mityas said.

Riding on the heels of a successful spring collection

Monday was a packed day of shows. Riding on the heels of a successful spring collection, Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos of Peter Pilotto showed their signature long cutout dresses in black and white patterns. There was a sexy white sheath with a peekaboo slash from the neckline down toward the torso. Multicolored cardigans, lots of layers, and skirts over pants (a trend here) over thick blue tights made for a warm and wearable collection.

Pringle of Scotland paired its signature sweaters with flared pants and fur vests. Models in knit ponchos and a black and red sweater coat walked down the runway to the tunes of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

At Christopher Kane, Arizona Muse modeled a multicolored crochet dress to perfection. The collection also featured plastic bubblelike accents on collars and pockets and in the form of a squeezable clutch.

Burberry’s snowy show started out with mod coats in red, orange, greens and blues. The pants were shown skinny and tight with a large bell bottom. Plaid toggle coats and sweaters (and furry white hats) were a perfect touch before the snowstorm as finale, in which Jamie Hince, Kate Bosworth, Rachel Bilson, Stella Tennant and Mario Testino were just inches away from the runway blizzard. The models stayed dry in clear plastic raincoats.

After a long day of shows, the fashion set flocked to Liberty for the party for Alexander Wang and Love magazine’s “Androgyny” issue, which features covers of Kate Moss and Justin Bieber. Katie Grand, Daisy Lowe, Alison Mosshart and Wang were among the many guests who took in a solo performance by Beth Ditto followed by a department-store dance party.

Baptiste Giabiconind I know you were wondering

Although he is a little absurd, a little style-over-everything, it shames me to admit that he is monumentally sexy. No wonder men, women, children and chiens fling themselves at him as he jogs up and down the Seine near his Left Bank apartment. 'When I am on stage I must not tire easily so the running helps a lot.' He is a proper pin-up in France, having appeared in countless Chanel campaigns since Lagerfeld discovered him in 2008, as well as many of the maestro's catwalk shows and photo shoots, the latter done mainly in the buff.

He saunters into The River Café early on a bright February morning, fresh from Claridge's and gleaming with the miracle of youth, hair wax, silver chains, rings, belts and a vast watch by Richard Mille for whom he is an ambassador. 'I was given my first watch, a Rolex Submariner, as a present,' he says, 'which was excellent as I had wanted one since I was 16. Now I have about 20 watches.' Would it be mean-spirited to point out that, even so, he is 20 minutes late? But I forgive him.

tartan and classic reds rule at Fashion Week

Red was the colour of London Fashion Week, along with traditional materials such as tweed and tartan. It all invoked a mood of the classic county clan and set, well, a rather regal tone. There has been a great appetite for such hyperbolic Anglophilia, with the British Empire as a reference at Jaeger London and the great outdoors as an inspiration at Daks.

Founded in 1934 as a menswear label, Daks used its newly opened in-house museum to resuscitate its signature archive checks. Outerwear detailing, such as large buttons and lining fabrics, informed many of the pieces; full skirts appeared to be made from the quilted lining of a shooting jacket. Models recalled Carey Mulligan in An Education, although bluestocking styling contrasted with loose gauge scarves and ponchos with plenty of bounce.

Jaeger London meanwhile showed tomato-bright blazers cut in collarless, minimal shapes and fiercely creased crimson cigarette pants. These were matched with camel blouses and jackets, sleeveless navy waistcoats and crombies that featured oversized cartoonish lapel detailing.

And national treasure Betty Jackson showed bright and fleecy wool coats belted atop more muted terracotta shades and knitwear of varied weights, which gave structure to a looser classic silhouette. There were ox-blood leather jackets with bow-back details, and hooded scarlet blousons offset by much lighter tiered chiffon dresses in swirling floral prints.

Tradition prevailed again at Daniella Helayel's Issa, which has come to the fore since Kate Middleton wore an Issa dress on the day she and Prince William announced their engagement. Inspiration came from Audrey Hepburn and Wallis Simpson – a combination that conjures Ms Middleton's own blend of demure and daring.

But the next generation were using colour and traditional fabrics in quite a different way. Clothes were riotously bright at collections by young designers Louise Gray and Henry Holland. Gray's tweeds were laced with metallic flashes and large gold polka-dots on girlish wool coats. Tartan and plaid were spliced together on boxy jackets and shorts, further decorated with tassels and fringing.

Those tweedy clichés were spun again at House of Holland, reworked on herringbone wool bustier dresses embellished withpearls and in a near-trompe l'oeil denim shade. There were fuchsia herringbone skirt suits, too, with vinyl detailing on lapels and pockets, and psychedelic orange, pink and purple-checked coats over tights printed with bingo balls. It was the perfect whimsical-with-a-hint-of-retro collection for Holland's cool kid and socialite clubgoer clientele.

 

Ralph Lauren Fall 2011 Collection

Today, Ralph Lauren proved exactly why he is in a class by himself. The Ralph Lauren Fall 2011 Collection presented during NY Fashion Week, was timeless, glamorous and dramatic. "It was a masterpiece," André Leon Talley, Contributing Editor to Vogue, raved to Luxist after the show. "It was unmistakably Ralph Lauren. It was a simple masterpiece. He is unstoppable in his sense of taking his classics and giving them new twists and new drama."

Much of the collection was influenced by Chinese fashions, such as a black glossy silk illusion sweater dress, a jade silk panne velvet wrap dress and a red silk shantung embroidered smoking jacket that was shown under a black cashmere cocoon coat trimmed with long hair shearling.

The collection also included glossy smoking jackets, silk embroidered shearling coats, tuxedo jackets, velvet quilted jackets and pinstripe jackets paired with matching vests and trousers. A burgundy silk velvet wrap smoking jacket over a white cotton wing collar formal shirt with black sable tuxedo trousers was particularly striking. Several evening dresses were embroidered and beaded while many had an Art Deco feel.

Ralph Lauren's Asian inspiration was explained by his son David, who is the Senior Vice President, Advertising, Marketing and Corporate Communications for Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. "This past year he traveled to China," Lauren told Luxist. "It was his first trip there and he was inspired by what he saw. The future of our company is very much going to be expanding in China over the next couple of years. It has been in the air everywhere we turn. He is very inspired. For him it was a trip he took through a Ralph Lauren lens and what he saw, which is very different from what exists there, or it even never existed there.

awareness both through the messages

Beginning in April, H&M is launching a line to make you fashionably aware.  Fashion Against AIDS (FAA) is an extremely important initiative for H&M and this year the collection comes with a new twist...the collection is unisex!  Because the HIV/AIDS message is vital for both women and men, the sporty unisex collection is for everyone to wear in their own way.  H&M is donating 25% of sales to youth HIV/AIDS projects around the world.

“H&M’s FAA campaigns are extremely important, as it is essential to spread the message to young people worldwide to take care and have safe sex. The main message is -- life is beautiful, so keep it that way and be safe, both for yourself and your partner.  HIV is everywhere, not just in Africa, not just in the gay community – HIV concerns us all. If you’re old enough and wise enough to make love, you’re also old and wise enough to take care,” says Ninette Murk, founder and creative director, Designers Against AIDS (DAA).

With this new H&M collection, ladies can work that boyfriend look that is trending on the runways of New York this year.  Guys are able to be more stylish in the way they dress with this collection.  The starting point is shape and detail, with sporty T-shirts, blousons and parkas that can be personalized.  Sleeves can be rolled up or zipped off, waists can be belted and garments can be adapted from one item into another.  Comfort is key and H&M uses natural colors and pale pastels to confirm the use as a unisex collection.

This will be the fourth year of H&M’s FAA initiative, which aims to promote safe sex and HIV/AIDS awareness both through the messages found in the collection and through the advocacy of the organizations which benefit from the sales.  The money has been divided between Designers Against AIDS (DAA), YouthAids which focuses on its projects in Haiti and Russia to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in chronically affected areas, the MTV Staying Alive Foundation, and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

 

Jersey Shore's Angelina Upstages Fashion Week With Engagement

Angelina Pivarnick got engaged today in the spot she loves the most—in front of a million cameras.

The Jersey Shore's feisty castoff was at the Style 360 lounge at the Metropolitan Pavilion for the Sachika fashion show when boyfriend David Kovacs popped the question with a 2.5 carat ring.

"It was so surreal," she tells E! News of the big moment. "The ring is huge. So big."

Apparently he had been planning the moment for some time—and Angelina tells us she knew right away he was the one.

"It was crazy, we were both living on Staten Island we were both Island natives, but I didn't know him before ths show," Angelina says. "He's the sweetest guy I've ever met in my life. He treats me with respect, he's like a real gentleman. He doesn't treat me like s--t, like so many people have treated me in the past."

Even though this all went down about, uh, five minutes ago, the reality star says she's been dreaming of a wedding all her life.

"As a little girl I was always thinking about wedding, my big day. I want a big huge wedding with family and friends," she says.

How Kovacs managed to hide the planning from her had her shocked. The couple live together in Manhattan and she says he did such a good job with the secret she was truly shocked.
"He was nervous too because dropped the ring on the floor," she says, laughing. "All I thought in the moment basiclly was OMG. OMG. I thought the way he did it was ballsy."

And as for that huge ring, she loves it.

"I'm not materialistic, it's what means to me is what's special,"she said. "It's from the heart and he knew my style."

The first person she called after he put a ring on it was her mom, who started crying.

"She loves him, my family loves him," says Angelina.

These days the ex-Shore denizen is working on her music.

"I have two hot singles coming out, one's a club hit here one's going to be crazy overseas," she says. "That first song that came out was, like, practice. This time I showed all I can give."

And we had to ask, has she been watching her old pals on the Jersey Shore this season?

"I'm not watching, no," she says. "I'm happy that way, I'm happy I don't know what's happening."

She does wish the best for her former tormentors though.

"I wish everything to them in their lives," she says. "I wish we could be friends in the future, especially with Sammi, but I text her every holiday and she doesn't care. In life you can only try so much. I cant keep going with it, I'm a good person and they can go on."

one of the oldest Russian furriers

Johnny Weir isn't afraid to let his fur flag fly—in fact, he's flaunting his love for the controversial covering.

The ice-skating champ—dressed in a cream-colored fur jacket—told us today at the Dennis Basso fashion show at Lincoln Center that he's received everything from attitude to death threats over his fashion choice.

"Today I'm wearing Ekatarina, one of the oldest Russian furriers," he said. "I'm all about the fur."

And what about those threats on his life?

First Weir had a message for PETA, telling the animal-rights group to stop harassing those who wear the real thing.

"Don't be terrorists, let us live our lives," he said.

But it was a less public group that had threatened Weir last year before he was set to skate in the Olympics, and it was so frightening he reported it to authorities.

"I literally had a price put on my head before the Olympics," he explained. "I had to go to the Olympics with the FBI because somebody wanted to kill me [over] fur. It wasn't PETA but someone different."

Death threats aside, Weir was joined in the front row by Kelly Rutherford, Star Jones and Hoda Kotb. All gave the designer a standing ovation when the show ended.

As for the outrageous fashionisto's best fashion tip?

"Never be afraid and know your body," he said.

But Wu was the one to watch on Friday

Jason Wu does not enjoy the profile of Marc Jacobs or Ralph Lauren when it comes to New York Fashion Week, first of this month's major international shows ahead of London, Milan and Paris. But Wu was the one to watch on Friday.

The 28-year-old Taiwanese-born designer shot to fame after Michelle Obama wore a sparkling white Jason Wu gown to her husband's Inauguration Ball; and Wu's collection on Friday night was not a little geared to this most famous of patrons.

A-line shift dresses and evening coats came trimmed with swirls of lace climbing from hems and shoulder seams like voracious ivy. There were slick cigarette pants too, paired with mannish grey sweaters, also embroidered with lace. But the pièce de résistance was the final look: a stunning floor-length crimson gown, strapless and belted with gold brocade detailing.

It would have been the perfect dress for the First Lady to have worn to the President's Chinese state dinner last month: instead she wore a red gown from the British designer Alexander McQueen, to the annoyance of several of America's top names in the business, not to mention the Council of Fashion Designers of America, which is fiercely protective of home-grown talent. Wu will be hoping his creations, inspired by the restoration of Versailles, tempt his patron back.

Elsewhere, it was up to Christian Siriano, who dressed Mad Men's Christina Hendricks in a controversial strapless peach gown at the 2010 Golden Globes, to provide the only killer looks. Quite literally, given that the shoes at his show nearly killed at least four models, with girls tripping and stumbling down the catwalk. One model was so irritated that she took them off in a huff during the finale.

On the subject of suffering for fashion, anyone bemoaning the return of the bodysuit to the high street might despair at one of the key looks at Rebecca Minkoff's show. The designer kept the bodysuit flame burning with a black leotard, worn under a black blazer with black lazy tights.

Despite the twice-yearly carping about models' undersized frames, criticism this time round has focused on an inanimate object: PepsiCo's skinny new diet drink can. The drinksgiant billed its can as a "taller, sassier" drink, but fashionistas think the company has overstepped the mark with its size-zero version and are furious that Pepsi, which is launching the can next month, is comparing being skinny with celebrating beautiful women.

New York Fashion Week has a reputation for chic, wearable clothes from designers such as Tommy Hilfiger, Donna Karan and Diane von Furstenberg, and is key to the city's fashion industry, which is based around 7th Avenue. It runs for the next four days, with highlights including Marc Jacobs's show, which will be held tomorrow night.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City

Christian Siriano's show has become a hotly-anticipated highlight of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City.  As I can attest, the half hour wait for standing room can be grueling, especially if you are a fashionista who insists on wearing heels. Good thing I opt for flats.

Siriano, however, is worth the wait.  Once inside, the packed tent silenced to a hush as the "Project Runway" alum's mostly black and a few moss green looks hit the runway. There were structured jackets, sheer and tailored skirts, and of course his trademark architecturally-stacked shoes which will undoubtedly be the inspiration for his next Payless line.

It was obvious the models were having a hard time navigating Siriano's punky pumps and booties, and one took a spill in her pretty, strapless mauve cocktail gown adorned with petals onto the runway.  Another wobbled and stumbled twice.  Despite those minor, literal missteps, the collection was sharp, edgy, and extremely wearable. In true Siriano fashion, the closing look was a show-stopper: a sheer, short-sleeved charcoal top paired with a mauve ruffled ball gown that looked like bunches of moving Hydrangeas.

The Huffington Post said this fall 2011 collection marked a turning point in Siriano's career.  "The show represented a big step in his evolution as a designer: away from the over-the-top style he's become associated with and into a purer, more toned-down aesthetic."  I somewhat agree, but I've covered the 25-year-old designer's past three seasons, and I think he tends to tone things down for fall and then pump up the volume in spring.

This is far from the truth, as any fashion insider could tell you

“It’s radically improbable and the most practically impossible thing you could imagine,” said Andre Walker, referring to Tiwimuta, a publication he refers to as an object-zine, as he hauled a new copy from his rucksack. “I did it in ignorance, the way I do everything,” he added. “I never really know what’s going on.”

Times Topic: New York Fashion Week
This is far from the truth, as any fashion insider could tell you. Andre Walker always seems to know what’s going on and seemingly has since staging his first runway show in the Oasis, a Brooklyn club, at age 15. Mr. Walker is a kind of fashion Zelig, a man whose unofficial résumé (he would never have an actual résumé) locates him into so many places at so many times and in the thick of so many scenes that one cannot help but be amazed when he informs you that he is just 44.

Mr. Walker, who neglected to finish high school, got his start in long-ago times working for Williwear, a label created by Willi Smith, the prodigy who designed the wedding dress worn by Mary Jane Watson when she married Peter Parker in the Spider-Man comic book in 1987 and the suits that Edwin Schlossberg and his groomsmen wore when he married Caroline Kennedy in 1986. Mr. Smith died of AIDS in 1987 at 39.

Mr. Walker then went to Paris to work with the designer Patrick Kelly, another early AIDS casualty; formed his own label; made clothes whose padding and flanged hemlines put some in mind of the design genius Charles James and others of the mermaids at Weeki Wachee; and become a center of a small downtown design cult and a Paper magazine darling and a hired gun for other designers, like Kim Jones, who seem to be intrigued by his near-telepathic ability to read the spirit of the moment.

Most prominently, he worked as a consultant to Marc Jacobs for a decade until Mr. Jacobs abruptly cashiered him by text message a year ago.

“We’re still good friends, though,” Mr. Walker said. “What can you do?”

You can start a magazine, of course, although you have no publishing experience. You can give it a nearly unpronounceable title formed from an acronym (This Is What It Made Us Think About) and sell it at Barneys New York, Rizzoli and Dashwood Books on Bond Street and at Colette in Paris in costly limited editions — the first number was $375; the second, which comes out this week, costs $195 — and produce it yourself in the vast Victorian house where you were raised in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, and where your parents, Jamaican immigrants and ordained ministers, operate a beauty shop in the basement.

You can ask pals like Mr. Jacobs to pose half-clad in women’s evening wear and to be photographed by Jean-Paul Goude and then print the resulting pictures on heavy stock with an embossing press; and solicit contributions from other friends, like the writer Hilton Als (a pal from Danceteria days) and the photographer Marcelo Krasilcic and the artist Phillipa Horan, compiling their efforts in an image-dense volume that, once it finds its way into the studios of art directors and designers, is certain to be scrutinized with the kind of rapt devotion one associates with the Book of Kells.

“It’s wonderfully eccentric,” said David Strettell, the former cultural director of the photo agency Magnum and the proprietor of Dashwood, referring to Tiwimuta. “It’s so free-form it’s hard to get a grip on, but that’s also what’s so special about it.”

Everything he has learned to date, Mr. Walker said, “I’ve learned from having a lack of knowledge.” By certain standards this might make him an idiot savant. Yet Andre Walker is nobody’s fool. “I was never afraid to come up with an idea that was totally impossible,” he said last week over Earl Grey tea and rhubarb crumble at the Anglo-centric restaurant Tea and Sympathy.

“That’s a problem with fashion right now, and with art and with culture,” he added, before heading off to pick up a bunch of new issues from the printer.

“People have become too fearful,” said Mr. Walker, who was wearing cerulean corduroy jeans and a snug cotton T-shirt; he had a wool cap pulled low on his brow. “They’re afraid to do something improbable, something that is not immediately commercial. They’ve gotten themselves locked inside this cold referencing machine and they’re stuck.”

 

Fashion Week injected some color into a city drowning in gray slush

Fashion Week injected some color into a city drowning in gray slush, waking up the basic-black fashion crowd on opening day with shades of neon pink and poppy orange.

Pantone, which sets professional color standards, reported Thursday that the most requested shades for the fall collections being previewed at New York Fashion Week include bamboo, deep teal, an eggplant purple called phlox, and the melonlike honeysuckle.

Based on that, Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, predicts a painterly feeling to the clothes shown over the next eight days, with a balance of bright colors against staple neutrals.
Max Azria's BCBG collection balanced flashes of yellow and cobalt against fall classics like navy and gray. Jenni Kayne used a neon pink, with models in bright pink lipstick.

Retailers, editors and stylists get a preview of more than 100 runway collections over eight days in New York, which kicks off the catwalk season that will then move on to London, Milan, Italy, and Paris.

LUCA LUCA
Luca Luca creative director Raul Melgoza brought the deep woods to center stage, previewing looks that mimicked nature's seasonal gifts.
"This season was inspired by the adventures to be discovered in the deep woods — the beauty, the color, the fantasy," he told The Associated Press.

Of course, Mother Nature is full of contradictions, he added, and that's where the juxtaposition of lace and wool, or feminine sheers with tough, barklike fabrics come in. There also were opposing silhouettes of slim, pencil skirts versus exaggerated A-lines. Trousers moved back and forth between skinny and wide-leg.

Melgoza captured the colors of the season with rich shades of orange, olive and fuchsia, and a creamy white pleated skirt paired with a delicate silk-inset blouse was the calm after the big, early-season storm.
The best moments of the show were the quiet, delicate ones — a leaf-print sheath or the silver "birdseed" cocktail dress with a black beaded overlay.

The tough looks with sharp lines, as well as a lace cocktail dress dotted with puffs of silver fox, would be tougher to pull off anywhere but the runway at the Lincoln Center tents.

BCBG
Max Azria's BCBG fall collection revealed many layers of the layered look with nary a chunky piece, vintagelike silhouette nor — heaven forbid — anything messy on the runway.

Almost every single outfit, from the opening taupe coat dress with reversible black flap front to a poppy red strapless gown, was built on a whisper-thin white turtleneck.

The silhouette was long and fluid, with some delicate details but nothing frilly. The palette featured the fall classics of navy, wine, gray and chocolate brown, but flashes of yellow and cobalt were used most effectively on colorblocked pieces.

Azria shares design duties with his wife Lubov, often the most effective spokesmodel for the brand, taking her bow in one of the drop-waist navy numbers.

BCBG was the first major label to debut next fall's styles in eight days of previews based at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center, so the question is: Were these modern-yet-modest outfits a hint of what's to come?

VENA CAVA
Vena Cava resurrected the '90s with a palette of black underscored by electric blue for the label's fall 2011 collection at New York Fashion Week.

Designers Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai included polkadot prints in a dress and flowy palazzo pants, among half a dozen wide trousers on the downtown runway.

Models walked with long hair down and heavy, multicolored glitter encircling their eyes, many in leather and suede jackets and platform shoes.

"Vena Cava speaks to the young downtown hip girl, who has a cool edge," said Stephanie Solomon, fashion director for Bloomingdale's.
Crescent-shape cutouts at the stomach stood out on the Cava runway, along with rayon gowns that fit close up top and flowed at the floor. Buhai and Mayock also went with rayon in a fringe jacket and a black cropped jacket with shoulder pads and fringe.

TADASHI SHOJI
Tadashi Shoji relied on neutral hues and rich jewel tones for flowing silk chiffon dresses.

The Japanese designer included hand-cut floral organza detailing and showcased one-shoulder, off-the-shoulder and strapless dresses in purple, green and deep navy blues.

Shoji said he found inspiration in ancient moss gardens of the Far East. The collection had an airy, willowy feel. Some pieces were trimmed with feathers or had tiered fringe.

"I've always loved the simplicity of the design," said figure skater and reality TV star Johnny Weir, who sat in the front row and wore a long lynx fur coat. "Classic, clean and simple, and easy to wear for any woman."
Shoji also featured separates for the season. An ivory feathered top was paired with a black floor-length skirt embellished with floral detailing. A black pleated strapless gown had a ruffled train and a purple, off-shoulder gown offered peaks of red under tiered fringe.

JENNI KAYNE
Jenni Kayne balanced dressy and sporty with a standout dose of neon pink and bright gemstone tones in silk skirts and chunky sweaters. Pink popped in a long skirt with a front slit and a sleeveless mini-dress. Short skirts and dresses were made of white lace and a glittery deep mustard material.

"Our challenge is to give the customer something really chic at a great price point," said the label's president, Chris Arambul. "This is a collection for women who like to dress up a little bit."

Models walked the downtown runway in bright pink lipstick — some in sunglasses — and dark pointy flats.

More casual, comfortable sportswear included a white cardigan and Henley in thermal knit. Sweaters were in neutral colors, some cropped or cabled.

The California-raised Kayne launched her line in 2003 and calls her look subtle and refined.

award-winning novelist Naomi Alderman

Joanna Lumley, Helen Lederer and Claudia Winkleman are among more than 40 celebrities and designers who have customised bras in aid of a breast cancer charity.

Women are being invited to bid for the unique lingerie items at an auction next week. One of those donated, by milliner Nerida Fraiman, is estimated to be worth more than £1,000: it is hand-stitched with individual peacock feathers and has a diamanté jewel globe in the centre.

Another, designed by award-winning novelist Naomi Alderman, has written into it a short story by the author about a woman's relationship with her breasts. Esther Rantzen, Maureen Lipman, Isla Fisher and Kelly Brook have also designed bras for the breast cancer charity Cancerkin and the Jewish Community Centre for London.

The lingerie collection will go on show at a charity event at The Comedy Store in London on Monday 21 February.

The high-profile fundraiser for breast cancer comes as it emerged that a British woman's risk of developing the disease has risen to one in eight from one in nine, according to Cancer Research UK.