Paris Fashion Week, Fall 2008: The Last Gasp

Bloody hell, Paris was brilliant and why did I lose track of it so? How do fashion editors and writers do it without gouging their eyes out from overuse? I haven't a clue. (Being paid to do it must help, I think.) I liked the playful flourishes amidst the familial severity at Limi Feu (daughter of Yohji Yamamoto); the pretty chiffon frippery of Chloe (although I swear, sometimes I thought I was looking at a spring show, not autumn); a more poetic take on pretty at Nina Ricci; and just the sublime aura of Lanvin in general. There was lots to be puzzled by, of course. (Um, most of the pants in general this season. Trouser people, be ready to cry a little next fall, unless you like weird hips and crotches.) But there was a lot of be taken in by. Completely beautiful stuff.

(l-r: Antonio Berardi, Chloe)

(l-r: Hermes, John Galliano)

(l-r: Lanvin, Limi Feu)

(l-r: Louis Vuitton, Martin Grant)

(l-r: Nina Ricci, Ralph Rucci)

(l-r: Costume National, Givenchy)

(l-r: Haider Ackermann, Hussein Chalayan)

Paris Fashion Week, Fall 2008!

Crap, I'm so behind in keeping up with all the Paris shows! Which is too bad because there has been some stunning work so far, Paris being the city of truly visionary design talent, where some designers really are auteurs and bizarre runway styling is just par for the course. If there's one designer who's got me, it's completely Rick Owens, and he turned in a superlative show this season. He took the couture experimentation of his spring show and brought it back to his usual post-apocalyptic tropes, and the result are feats of fantastic cut and construction by someone who was already was a master at those things. If you're at all a fan of jackets, Owens is your man. Balenciaga, of course, is always eagerly awaited; who doesn't want to see what emerging from the mind of Nicholas Ghesquiere? He always freaks people out: "I don't want to look like a scary sci-fi freak!" "That's so shiny!" "Who can walk in those?!" But take apart his collections piece by piece and there is often something wearable, even as it challenges the eye. In fact, so much of Paris is about challenging the eye, thinking about the foundations of clothes and their relationships to bodies -- and how this overarching project gets translated into actual product is why this city is the beating heart of fashion.

There was so much else, of course -- seeing Comme des Garcons experiment with "trashiness," watching Galliano being so subdued at Dior -- but alas, pictures are better than words, no?

(l-r: Ann Demeulemeester, Balenciaga)

(l-r: Balmain, Comme Des Garcons)

(l-r: Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier)

(l-r: Jun Watanabe, Kris Van Assche)

(l-r: Maison Martin Margiela, Rick Owens)

(l-r: Tao, Undercover)

(l-r: Veronique Branquinho, Viktor & Rolf)

(l-r: Vivienne Westwood, Yohji Yamamoto)

Milan Fashion Week, Fall 2008: Best of the Rest

Look at pictures of the gold-"dipped" furs at Fendi (yes, people, real furs whose tips were gilded in real gold), I couldn't help but think about how high fashion is dealing with news of the upcoming recession. Often the attitude this season was "What recession?", what with an emphasis on luxury fabrics, couture-like detailing and, um, furs dipped in gold. I think it's evidence that high fashion is banking on the appetites of the newly mega-rich coming out of emerging markets like China, the Middle East and Russia -- as well as the mega-rich everywhere, who probably won't be affected right away by any economic downturns. (One look at this season's Gucci show demonstrates how the luxury house is banking on Russia to keep it afloat.) This is so interesting to me, especially in juxtaposition with the Lee Miller biography I'm reading now, where I'm at the part where the editors of Vogue (for whom Miller photographed for) knocked heads together and came up with ingenuous ways to make fabric rations, shorter haircuts and other forms of deprivation glamorous and beautiful. I'm not saying fashion has to embrace potato sacks and look depressing -- just noting that at some point it was able to deal with social realities in an imaginative, dashing way that doesn't seem to exist now. The visual evidence of the ever-widening gap between rich and poor makes me a little uneasy, even as I'm appreciating the surprising elegance of line and structure at Versace or the color and exuberance of Matthew Williamson's work for Pucci or the charm and delectable color palette at Marni.

(l-r: Daks by Giles Deacon, Dolce & Gabbana)

(l-r: 6267, Alessandro Dell'Acqua)

(l-r: Roberto Cavalli, Dsquared)

(l-r: Fendi, Gucci)

(l-r: Iceberg, Luisa Beccaria)

(l-r: Marni, Max Mara)

(l-r: Pollini, Pucci)

(l-r: Salvatore Ferragamo, Versace)

Milan Fashion Week, Fall 2008: Favorite Looks So Far

Milan, Milan, Milan: it's not as commercial as New York, not as theatrical as London, nor imaginative as Paris. So goes the common wisdom about Milan's Fashion Week. Milan: very much about a general bourgeois discretion and a sense of luxury, foregoing directionality and theatrics in favor of a certain attitude that recognizes fashion as not just entertainment or art or sartorial sex-substitute, but an investment. I used to bag on this attitude until I came to adopt it a bit myself, finding myself looking to spend my very hard-earned money on things that will last for more than a season. (But personally, I'll be damned if I ever find myself buying a skirt suit for the office. I'd rather throw myself on top of a burning pyre.) Sometimes Milan's muting of seasonal characteristics is a smart thing, and there is something for every customer ranging from the candy-color confections at Blumarine to the well-disciplined chic of Francesco Scognamiglio. But reducing Milan to a certain commercial attitude, of course, doesn't explain the almost severe purity and minimalism of Jil Sander (where Raf Simons just keeps getting better and better) or the sometimes divisive experimentation of Prada, whose show this season turned Miuccia Prada's usual take on bougie grandma chic into something subtly erotic and almost fetishistic. And with that, the pictures!

(l-r: Alberta Ferretti, Blumarine)

(l-r: Bottega Veneta, Burberry Prorsum)

(l-r: Derercuny, D&G)

(l-r: Emporio Armani, Etro)

(l-r: Francesco Scognamiglio, Gianfranco Ferre)

(l-r: Giorgio Armani, Jil Sander)

(l-r: Missoni, Moschino Cheap & Chic)

(l-r: Prada, especially those SHOES!, Pringle of Scotland)

London Fashion Week, Fall 2008: Leftovers!

Just a few looks we enjoyed from the tail end of London's recent fashion week. Up next week: Milan! Then: Paris! Oh, the whirlwind of it all!

(l-r: Allegra Hicks, Erdem)

(l-r: Luella, Peter Jensen)

(l-r: Rodnik, Vivienne Westwood Red Label)

And finally, the most British of proper British, Margarel Howell, who I always like in a perversely quiet way:

London Fashion Week, Fall 2008: Gareth Pugh Says "I Cut You"

Holy shit! It's raining Goth samurai robots over at Gareth Pugh! The whole thing is sinister, crazy, vicious, almost completely unwearable -- but kind of scarily awe-inspiring, in the same way that listening to Japanese noise can be. It's all about thanatos, kids. And what can I say? I'm kind of Goth-y so naturally I adored the whole thing, and one can't deny that Pugh has the incredible talent to even engineer the complexity of some of this construction. How deep can one mine this particular vein remains to be seen, but till we reach that deep, dark end, I'm kind of taken away by this totally fierce nutter:

Seeing the Gareth Pugh pics made me a bit flabbergasted and unable to render coherent thought on some other shows. There was sophistication (Richard Nicoll), simple elegance (Nicole Farhi), utter chic (Roksanda Ilincic) and great squishy fun (Louise Gray). But dudes...Goth samurai robots. You just can't get that out of your mind so easily, you know?

(above: Basso and Brooke)

(above: Jens Laugesen)

(above: Louise Gray)

(above: Nicole Farhi)

(above: Richard Nicoll)

(above: Giles)

Hey, weren't these girls on "In Living Color"?

(above: House of Holland)

(above: Todd Lynn)

(above: Roksanda Ilincic)

More London Fashion Week, Fall 2008: More Favorites!

The rock don't stop in London! Two words: Christopher Kane. Could any show be more anticipated in London? One thing you must say about Mr. Kane and his sister/design partner: they don't rest on their laurels, this time playing with a drape-y silhouette, transparency and many, many pailettes. Not my thing, personally, and I do admit I missed the Versace gestures of the past, but I did love how sparkly it all looked without evoking Vegas showgirls or drag queens. (Not that there is anything wrong at all with those looks!) In the meanwhile, Marios Schwab delivered a definitive collection that served up a long, lengthy silhouette that definitely reminded me of the mid-90s. Below, more looks, most courtesy of the fabulous people at Coutorture.com:

(l-r: Aquascutum, Ashley Isham)

(above: Betty Jackson)

(above: Duro Olowu)

(above: Krystof Strozyna)

(above: Marios Schwab)

(above: Osman Yousefzada)

(l-r: Paul Smith, Christopher Kane)

London Fashion Week, Fall 2008: We Like These So Far

Love, love, loving London! Have to say, many of the shows coming out of the city this season have been really superb; it's like they've taken a lot of the ideas from New York's fall collections (a loosening and 'melting' of previous seasons' volume) and dosed them with a shot of youthfulness and energy. Ann Sofie Back's collection still retained its deliberately skewed take on awkwardness, but added a degree of grace to it; Topshop Unique made me excited to resurrect my late-1990s wardrobe with its shearlings, sober blacks and flourishes of deconstruction; even Jaeger got in the game with some souped-up style and clothes that stretched waaaaaaay beyond their usual sensible older customer. But so far my biggest love has been reserved for Jean-Pierre Braganza, who showed a collection that would make an Alaia/Balenciaga/Mugler fan completely freak out with joy; it played with both volume and body-con and was incredibly creative, and it gave me instant 'want' virus. In fact, Balenciaga and other purveyors of a certain angular fierceness seems to be a huge influence on London so far; even Louise Goldin, already renowned for her flair with innovative knitwear, got in the futuristic/body-con game. Other things we've been noticing a lot: leggings in leather and satin (which we also saw a lot of in New York) and the emergence of the 'melting' silhouette's counter-narrative, a short, flared skirt that sits a bit higher near the waist. Also, jacket and coat lovers, you will find great ones for fall later this year. Anyway, onto the pictures, which have been scavenged everywhere from style.com to Yahoo:

(l-r: Ana Sekularac, Ann Sofie Back)

(l-r: Biba, Eley Kishimoto)

(l-r: Emma Cook, Felder Felder)

(l-r: Jaeger, Jasper Conran)

(l-r: Jean Pierre Braganza, John Rochas)

(l-r: Louise Goldin, Modernist)

(l-r: Paul Costelloe, PPQ)

(l-r: Sinha-Stanic, Topshop Unique)

New York Fashion Week, Fall 2008: Some Final Favorite Looks

Of course Marc Jacobs had the big buzz as New York Fashion Week wound down. (It started on time! Rachel Zoe got shut down! Oh, snap!) Don't ask me what his show was about, though: some critics dug it and I can get that it's an interesting, focused take on American sportwear with a particularly askew treatment of how clothes sit on the female form -- and the color palette and textures were so lovely and gentle. But will I wear it? Probably not. But sometimes you don't have to wear clothes to appreciate the beauty and craft that goes into them.

I think the same can be said for me for this season's Vera Wang collection, which had another skewed take on how clothes fit on the body -- one less rooted in the American vernacular and more within Wang's increasingly idiosyncratic take on arty European avant-garde, dosed with a shot of New York fancy lady aesthetic. Wang's show was one that I simply 'ooohed' at when I saw the pictures; they fit into my idea of what a renegade modern-day Edith Wharton heroine would wear. I just loved it on a viscerally girly level: the rich colors, luxe fabrics, and the wealth of interesting details (pleating, origami folds, skewed hems, draping and some pretty amazing jewelry.) There were some stunning dresses, as you'd expect, but also some beautiful tops and a pant silhouette that managed to be both narrow and relaxed at the same time. Wang's ideas about color and proportion carry down well through her diffusion collections (Vera Wang Lavender, and her line for Kohls, which for my money is developing into one of the better high-low designer collaborations out there -- if you ignore the bread-and-butter pieces and take time to find the more experimental items.) Could I wear any of Wang's fall collection? Not all at once, for fear of looking like a walking coat rack (I'm petite and that long, dripping silhouette makes me look like I'm melting) -- but I still think it's gorgeous.

And without further adieu:

(l-r: Bill Blass, Calvin Klein, Staerk)

(l-r: Cynthia Rowley, Daryl K, Donna Karan)

(l-r: Jenni Kayne, Kai Kuhne, L'Wren Scott)

(l-r: Marc Jacobs, Phi, Ralph Lauren)

I don't know, man -- it's easy to bag on Fashion Week being boring and all, and yeah, there were some pretty wrong shows to be had. (Zac Posen, I'm looking at you.) But with shows like Vera Wang's, not to mention the serene minimalism at Calvin Klein, the flight of fancy at Rodarte or the lithe take on Victoriana at L'Wren Scott (never did I think I'd love a show by a Mick Jagger girlfriend), I thought there were some nice schmattes to be had.

New York Fashion Week, Fall 2008: More Favorite Looks So Far

Perhaps it's because we've got a possible female presidential candidate on the collective brain, but there's a streak of "grown up" conservatism going on in the New York collections this season, what with lots of separates, suits both skirt and trouser, and a general covered-up thing going on. I'm not sure how I feel about it; it should definitely sell to the "working woman" and I'm happy to see the sometimes infantilizing girlishness of the recent past recede gently like an evening tide. But surely we don't need to look dowdy, which some shows came dangerously close to being. (If you're making tall, emaciated models look heavy and matronly, you know something's not working.) But happily, there's a few other things happening as well: purple (which has been popping up on nearly every runway), Katharine Hepburn (lots of high-waisted trouser suits happening), and my favorite theme of all, a sort of Joan of Arc flourish, what with a lot of militaristic detail and emphasis on a strong shoulder and almost breastplate-like bodices. Maybe Jeanne d'Arc offers a middle way between past seasons' little girl lost and this new Hitchcock heroine redux? She certainly satisfies my own slightly savage/dark romantic predilections. And certainly it's been fascinating to watch girly and ladylike stalwarts like Temperley and Behnaz Sarafpour find their inner toughie. But I think my most favorite show of all so far was Rodarte -- beautiful, intense, almost unwearable and highly imaginative, with its Japanese horror film and manga inspirations. I would like to live in a Rodarte world, or at least make a Rodarte movie. They should team up with Hayao Miyazaki and make a fairy tale..

I trawl style.com so you don't have to;

(l-r: 3.1 Phillip Lim, Anna Sui, Badgley Mischka)

(l-r: Behnaz Sarafpour, Benjamin Cho, Brian Reyes)

(l-r: Carlos Miele, Carolina Herrera, Catherine Malandrino)

(l-r: Chris Benz, Dennis Basso, Derek Lam)

(l-r: Doo.Ri, Halston, Isaac Mizrahi)

(l-r: Jill Stuart, J. Mendel, Karen Walker)

(l-r: Luca Luca, Malo, Marc by Marc Jacobs)

(l-r: Marchesa, Matthew Williamson, Max Azria)

(l-r: Michael Kors, Monique Lhullier, Narciso Rodriguez)

(l-r: Oscar de la Renta, Peter Som, Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti)

(l-r: Ports 1961, Proenza Schouler, Richard Chai)

(l-r: Rodarte, Shipley & Halmos, Stephen Burrows)

(l-r: Temperley, Thakoon, Tory Burch)

(l-r: TSE, Vivienne Tam, VPL)

(l-r: Y & Kei, Zero Maria Cornejo)

New York Fashion Week, Fall 2008: Favorites So Far

For one reason or another (CMJ, jet lag, travel, school) I always end up missing Fashion Week. But I still make time to trawl through all the pictures at style.com! Key words so far: sportswear, elegance, rebellious boarding school girls, all grown up, structured dressing, tomboys and androgyny. And while I missed the Goth Vikings from Elise Overland's past shows, Alexander Wang's show has enough toughness to fill in the void, although what's with all the sheer black stockings?

Here, my flash-favorites so far:

(l-r: Alexander Wang, BCBG Max Azria, Costello Tagliapietra)

(l-r: DKNY, Elise Overland, Erin Fetherston)

(l-r: Alexander Herchcovitch, Herve Leger by Max Azria, Jason Wu)

(l-r: Jeremy Laing, Jonathan Saunders, Jovovich-Hawk)

(l-r: Juan Carlos Obando, Katy Rodriguez, Ohne Titel)

(l-r: Preen, Rachel Comey, Rag and Bone)

(l-r: Sue Stemp, Three As Four, Tracy Reese)

(l-r: United Bamboo, Y-3, Yigal Azrouel)

Milan Begins: Armani, Burberry, Dsquared

If New York's fashion week is practical and commercial and London colorful and streetwise, then Milan is like the alluring, elegant older sister of Fashion Weeks. It began with three disparate shows, including the grand master, Giorgio Armani. He showed within his typically sophisticated mien, taking inspiration from the nautical themes that have been popping up here and there. There were elegant interpretations of sailor stripes and almost surreal little decorative touches like anchors and other sailing accoutrements. Despite the tributes, exhibitions and stars on the Hollywood Walk of Style, Armani's role in fashion is almost overlooked in its quest for perpetual stimulation, but the spring show demonstrates what he does best: make clothes that are timelessly stylish without falling into traps of trendiness. They may not inspire the rabid excitement that greets the newest thing, but Armani will always stand for a classic stylishness that makes him one of the truly global brands of fashion.

If Armani lifts itself out of the maw of fashion, then Burberry Prorsum keeps it all up to the minute, thanks to wonder boy designer Christopher Bailey, who has been remaking Burberry into something decidedly au courant (and financially solvent.) Perpetually It girl Kate Moss walked the runway, leading off a show that displayed a lightness of touch that falls into the rest of the spring trends without stepping into twee or cute territory. The palest green, the freshest pink and the prettiest grey (or is it "griege" these days?) popped up into loose, easy silhouettes comprised of little biker jackets, swinging skirts, abbreviated trench coat capelets and little t-shirts that were tossed together with the coolest insouciance. It was very tomboy and a touch of London in Italy.

If Burberry is a cool customer, then Dsquared is a hot tamale of a fashion show. There was no subtlety to be found: it was very 50s and very sexed-up, and will probably be found on the body of Eve, Lil' Kim and maybe even J Lo if Ben Affleck ditches her and she goes on the rebound. There's nothing new about t-shirts with "Rebel" emblazoned on them - they might as well have "Hot Topic" emblazoned on them - but there were some dead-sexy leather pieces, including a shrunken biker jacket and some tight leather cargo pants. It was exuberantly slutty and heavy on the va-va-voom; no wonder a huge crowd showed up at the show.

London's Coming

London's Fashion Week is happening soon! Read a preview here at vogue.co.uk, and be sure to keep an eye out for Fashion UK's coverage of off-schedule events.

NY MINUTES: Roland Mouret, Behnaz Sarafpour, Zac Posen

+ The photos are in for Roland Mouret's much anticipated show, and those who have no wish to look like a ruffle-y brightly-hued explosion of Easter candy will breathe a sigh of relief - in Mouret's collection, you have something to wear. There were beautifully draped dresses and layered tanks combined with lots of gentle biker-inspired vests and jackets, punctuated with lots of canary yellow, which is turning into the one of the colors of the season. (There are also some pretty daring swimsuits.) It's all very urban but decidedly beautiful - perhaps what editors were hoping for from Daryl Kerrigan's show?

+ Everyone wants to hate Zac Posen because he's young and successful and constantly surrounded by young, successful celebrities. But clearly he knows his destiny in life: to make youthful pretty frocks for youthful pretty people. His was a very red carpet-worthy collection with some superb examples of tailoring and a keen sense of color and line. There's scant little for daytime, but who needs the harsh light of day when you get plenty of light from all those flashbulbs popping as you escort the starlet du jour from her limo?

+ Behnaz Sarafpour is the ultimate fashion chameleon: she started off with an arty, poetic note with embroidering poetry on sashes of gowns that would make Morgane Le Fay weep, then last season she nailed down the society lady with perfect pitch. For spring, she gave the fashion flock a radical change with a fierce, frankly sexy collection - lots of skintight dresses, lots of leg, lots of black patent leather. (No floaty feminine stuff here.) What remains, though, is an inherent neatness and modesty to her lines and a cleverness to her details, what with floppy bows paired with teeny trenches and minis.

+ Matthew Williamson has been doing loud, pretty, and joyfully cacophonous for so long, and it seems that the fashion world has caught up with him this season. Funnily enough, he seemed a little restrained this time around; I actually spotted a grey sweater that you could wear to a corporate office. Horrors! Swingy, loose, and boho with lots of caftans in bright colors and sundresses in tropical hues, it's all enough to make you want to swim in margaritas and cha-cha in a barely straight line.

ADROVER, JACOBS, STUART, DE LA RENTA, HERRERA, DKNY

+ Marc Jacobs' signature show was on point for the season, all ruffles and pretty, gentle colors, perfect little sundresses and a very relaxed silhouette that reminds of late 80s L.A. - a slouchy pant, a looser shirt, shorts with blazers. He keeps broadening his audience for his main line, keeping his hipsters happy with the Marc line. Style.com mentioned that it is reminiscent of his work at Perry Ellis, before Jacobs became Mr. Fashion Superstar, which makes me wonder when he's going to resurrect his infamous grunge collection that got him canned from Ellis in the first place.

+ Miguel Adrover returns to the runway! He must have been superexcited, judging from the volume of looks that he showed. It could only have been described as American preppy goes to Africa; there were lots of oxford shirts and blazers mixed in with some inventive capes and jackets, with draping and intricate ribboning embellishing here and there. It, the use of models of all different ethnicities and ages, and the deeper colors must have been great for the eye, since all the springtime pretty must look a little monotonous after awhile.

+ Carolina Herrera continued in her lady Hitchcock vein, with perfect attenuated silhouette in brighter Mediterranean colors, mixed with a sporty touch here and there, not to mention a little touch of what I like to call Zac Posen constructionism, especially with the collars of some of the dresses. Those who were huge fans of her heralded fall show should enjoy this season; there are still the ribbons and bows, but every now and then a tougher, younger edge pokes through.

+ Oscar de la Renta's world is all socialites, dinner, dancing and red carpets, which is generally who he dresses. This clientele will be treated to Audrey Hepburnesque dresses and some truly marvelous gowns, including one in a shocking plum that was atypical for a season lightly but firmly dominated by gentle palettes of spring colors.

+ DKNY was all very swishy and resortlike. Taking a looser silhouette as the guiding light, Karan delivered trademark ease with relaxed trenchcoats, dropped waist dresses, and trenches. There were loose, easy dresses in a relatively restrained palette of grey and khaki, punched up with purples and yellows the color of Peeps marshmallow candy.

+ Jill Stuart: there was plenty of cute for your L.A. starlet, and plenty of vintage-inspired touches. But to be honest, I don't remember much about the show or the photos. What does that mean? Jill Stuart and BCBG are sort of labels that are always very wearable and probably are meant to sell well, but always seems a little disposable. I'm always puzzled to see them have runway shows but it's just the same stuff in their stores...

All these shows can be seen at style.com and mbfwnyc.com.

More random observations:

+ Shorts are coming back!
+ Bright canary yellow is turning out to be the accent color of choice, so snap up those Christian Louboutin flats soon.
+ The flapper dress gets many modern interpretations
+ The little white dress is not going away
+ Ruffles, ruffles everywhere, so girly girls should be plenty happy

NYC SPRING IN FULL EFFECT

The spring ready-to-wear has launched, and style.com has full photos and some editorial comment on shows as they come up. Right now the big shows up from the past few days are Luella Bartley, Imitation of Christ, As Four, Luca Luca, Diane von Furstenburg and Tuleh. Here's my quick lowdown so far:

+ Tuleh: girly-girl socialite into ruffles who got lost in an Easter basket

+ Luca Luca: Tuleh's grown-up sister who would rather sip Bellinis somewhere on the Mediterranean coast than get lost in an Easter basket

+ As Four: "I Dream of Jeannie" goes to Las Vegas via a magic carpet and picks up Siegfried and Roy so they can all sleep in the communal bed in their silver loft in New York. They do not detour through an Easter basket.

+ Luella: Cool British girl goes backpacking, opens said backpack to find that she's packed her Chanel jacket, which has mated with her ratty, ironic 80s sweats. In despair, she dips her toes into Easter basket hell but gets out when she realizes it goes all Day Glo on her. She goes to some tropical paradise in Southeast Asia and blows through her trust fund on pareos and halter dresses and cabana boys.

+ DVF: Flapper girl jumps out of an Easter basket, which has turned into a time warp portal of sorts since she also brings bits and pieces of the 80s with her. She gets a part on Sex and the City as Carrie Bradshaw's long-lost sister and sashays off her guest appearance with a serious drinking problem and a few new boyfriends.

+ IOC: A bunch of early 50s Hollywood starlets sit around the set sipping grenadine and soda and call each other "darling." Eventually they get political and decry the Easter basket as a symbol of oppression, but for now they shove it in the closet.

So far what I've noticed:

+ Grecian-inspired fashion is still big, ranging from toga-like gowns at IOC or the sandals at Luella, which makes sense: it flatters a huge range of women's body types, which you really can't say for many cuts or silhouettes in fashion.

+ Like fall, it's a big skirt and dress season, so if you've ever wanted to load up on frocks, this is your year. What's more, the mini is still going strong (which is great for small girls, like myself.) There's still a bit of 80s with the bomber jackets here and there.

+ Instead of the little black dress, there are plenty of little white dresses. IOC has some darling ones in their girlish, innocently Hollywood-inspired show. Tara Subkof's designs get more and more wearable each season, so I'm only assuming that some mass production is on the way for the label.

Whenever I scour all the shows' photos, I'm always struck by the continuities versus the differences at first. As Four has echoes of Balenciaga and even a little Marc Jacobs, only with the rounded edges of their Arabian Nights references and metallic colors. Luca Luca's show has echoes of Carolina Herrera's Hitchcock-inspired fashions, only in a color template in the most sherbet hues of spring; there's also a hint of Narciso Rodriguez in the gowns with their cutaways, with an added rounded edge to Rodriguez's more angular touches.

NYC FASHION WEEK: MORE LINKS THAN I SHOULD CRAM INTO ONE ENTRY

Fashion Week in New York has descended. Keep up with schedules, photos and designers here, but don't take it too seriously, in the spirit of this humorous piece, via Gawker. After all, isn't it all about who's in the front row and who's going to what party and the models? (Insert air-kiss here.) Above all, don't act too enthusiastic about anything, since fashion isn't really cool anymore. Whatever. Uncool is the new cool, square is the new edgy, nouns are the new verbs, numbers are the new letters.

NEW YORK PREVIEW

Style.com has a preview of the New York Spring Ready-to-Wear season up on the site; the best features are the designers' inspirations and the ones to watch. I'm excited to see that Annelore will have a show; I've stopped in the Annelore boutique in the West Village a few times, and the clothes are beautiful, and slightly eccentric, which is what you would expect from someone who used to design for ultra-girly Catherine Malandrino. Derek Lam will also be showing; a master of beautiful tailoring, he's been recently featured in NYLON and the buzz is building around him. Roland Mouret also joins New York this season - Mouret commands a diverse fashion vocabulary, and having tried on and adored his sensual yet restrained designs at Kirna Zabete, I'm excited to see what he is offering for the season.

The designers' inspirations are as diverse and sometimes loopy as the designers themselves. Zac Posen, for instance, cites the Eiko Ishioka costumes in Mishima as well as a book of shells; Behnaz Sarapour is looking to Pop Art this season. There's always a general sense of brightness and return to nature for most of the designers, although Daryl K will keep on her edgy urban woman route. (She's still using the film Escape from New York as inspiration, however, proving that when the weather heats up, even the most urban diehard wants to get away.)

PARIS, MON AMOUR

Some of us look up to Kate Moss or Carine Roitfeld as fashion idols, but not our favorite hotel heiress. If you've ever wondered where Paris Hilton gets her (ahem) style inspiration from, look no further than the painfully obvious Pamela Anderson. According to this column, Ms. Hilton keeps a scrapbook of the pneumatic blonde sex symbol. I wish I could say that Ms. Hilton's style could be described as ironic Playboy chic, but the girl really means it.