Gratis champagne at Lord & Taylor / the adorable cupcakes from the Glamour Treats Truck

The highly anticipated Fashion’s Night Out event that took over New York City Thursday night flashed by in a flurry of shopping, champagne, and models. Follow my journey around Manhattan for the evening.

A still from Jasmin Shokrian's video / courtesy of the designer

I started off the night at Jasmin Shokrian’s video screening of her Draft No. 17 collection. Her latest designs, which will span four seasons, are based on the concept of a slip dress turned into tops, dresses, skirts, etc. Each piece is inspired by the influential ladies in her life. A part of each woman’s spirit, as experienced by Jasmin, is encapsulated in fabric and formed into a garment. The video showcased the actual women that had triggered the collection including actress China Chow, painters Rebecca Morris and Jennifer Rochlin, and fashion designer Mary Ping.

Next it was off to the Meatpacking District to see what else FNO had to offer. Ikea was kind enough to set up a lounge in the middle of the cobblestone streets to offer fashionista girls a place to rest their heels (or at least that was my take on it).

The massive crowds at Tory Burch and Theory

We popped into Theory and it was jam-packed. I’m not sure that people could have even looked at merchandise because there were so many live mannequins crowding the floor. One girl bragged that she bought a jacket (which she was already donning) just so she could get a glass of free champagne.

Along the way to Tory Burch, we spotted the Treats Truck that was sponsored by Glamour magazine and helped ourselves to free cupcakes. How cute!! - “Live for Glamour.”

Tory Burch was overflowing with people both outside and inside. That is probably because Tory Burch teamed up with La Esquina and set up an outdoor taqueria outside her storefront. They dished out free grilled corn and quesadillas all night!! Tory also offered buckets of free Fiji water in addition to the alcoholic beverages inside.

We then headed up to Lord & Taylor for the Vogue event. Liberal amounts of alcohol were being passed out on all floors of this department store and it was definitely necessary. Turns out bigger is not always better because the event seemed basically empty as it was dispersed all throughout the store.

Then we decided to check out Sean John. This was the only event that had a velvet-rope with boys and girls lining up dutifully behind it, hoping to get in. Luckily we had a piece of gum, offered it to the “bouncer”, and stepped right in. The store was packed and everyone was rocking their urban attire (which includes wearing sunglasses at night). The deejay was playing hip-hop hits and some orange drink (most likely mixed with Ciroc) was being served at the bar.

Metal mesh necklace and denim leggings at BCBG

Afterwards, we stepped next door to BCBG and finally did a little shopping! I found this gorgeous Metal Mesh necklace that wears like a glamorous bandana. BCBG also offered a fun array of ponte riding pants and denim leggings.

And with that, let Fashion Week commence!

Tags: BCBG, champagne, cupcakes, Fashion's Night Out, Glamour, Ikea, Jasmin Shokrian, Lord & Taylor, Mary Ping, Sean John, shopping, Theory, Tory Burch, Vogue.

Peter Lindbergh: Naomi, Linda, Tatjana, Christy and Cindy, British Vogue, Jan 1990.

If the 1990’s symbolized the end of the supermodel era, the forty years before that was a steady climb of pretty girls, each decade giving us a set of faces that served to define an era. Then the 2000’s made it abundantly clear that models were simply mannequins again, nameless girls, still beautiful, though none with the stature of a Cindy, a Christy or even an Amber.

The Model as Muse exhibit at the Met is a a beautifully organized history lesson of those names and their Vogue covers (support is provided through Condé Nast), illustrated also with the important fashion designs of each period from the 1950’s until today. The exhibit design feels very similar to a fashion version of It’s a Small World, with each room revealing a reconstructed decade through mannequins in various dress and pose, projections of films and videos starring models and loudly looped music reaffirming the Disney ride atmosphere. However kitschy, it is an immensely guilty pleasure to read about each model’s life (Jean Shrimpton actually graduated from a modeling school) and to watch an enlarged Freedom ‘90, George Michael’s seminal supermodel music video.

Left/ Irving Penn: Jean Patchett, B&W Vogue Cover, 1950. Right/ Carmen Dell'Orefice, Vogue Cover

The grand hallway leading into the exhibit recreates the famous 1955 Richard Avedon photograph of the model Dovima posing with elephants at a Paris circus; the actual photograph follows later down the hall. To have been a model in the ’50s, one had to have carriage, posture that was as physical as it was mental, an air of elegance and refinement. Hallmarked by Irving Penn’s luminous black and white photograph of model Jean Patchett and Avedon’s 1949 image of model Dorian Leigh, the 1950’s monochromatic-ness was soon to change.

Richard Avedon: Dorian Leigh, evening dress by Piguet, 1949. Gelatin silver print.

Leaving carriage far behind in the ’60s, modeling changed drastically. We are treated to a snippet of William Klein’s art house film about fashion, Qui êtes vous, Polly Maggoo? (Who are You, Polly Magoo?) where a heavily eyelashed Dorothy McGowan is fussed and hairsprayed in a stationary metal dress (an early rendering of fashion as immobility). The aluminum alloy dresses in the movie are center stage here in the 1960’s room, on rotating mannequins, along with Yves Saint Laurent’s Mondrian dress and Rudi Gernreich’s topless swimsuit. Subsequently, the ’70s-’90s explode with name brands and inflated modeling contracts, the dawn of Sports Illustrated and then grunge. Brooke Shields’ iconic Calvin Klein pose, photographer Peter Lindbergh’s supermodels in Chanel ballgowns and leather jackets. Then a strange thing happens at the end of the exhibition: the model disappears. Instead a glowing cabine of minimalist designs from Prada and Helmut Lang cap off the forty plus years that we have just seen.

The name of the show, Model as Muse hints at this complex relationship, whether it is between model and designer or model and photographer, however, never quite examines either working marriage completely. Fashion has always been regarded as that hollow medium, and this exhibit does little to discredit this notion. In showing movies about models or the fashion world, what is notably missing is Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-Up (1966), which highlighted the elongated limbs of model Veruschka and explicitly detailed the notorious relationship between photographer and model. These relationships are only hinted at here and never entirely dissected. What is fully illustrated though is that models are the paradigm of the values and movements of each time period; their faces, body types, pedigrees, and attitudes adjusting accordingly. The age old question of whether a model is merely a clothes hanger or a cultural icon was best addressed by model Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn in 1949. Quoted in a Time magazine article she stated, “It is always the dress, it is never, never the girl.” Though Naomi Campbell may heartily disagree, it seems nowadays the sentiment rings true again.

Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion through August 9, 2009 at the Met

Tags: Blow-Up, Chanel, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Dorian Leigh, Dorothy McGowan, fashion photography, George Michael, Irving Penn, Jean Patchett, Jean Shrimpton, Met, models, Naomi Campbell, Peter Lindbergh, Polly Magoo, Richard Avedon, supermodels, Veruschka, Vogue, William Klein.

Images via WWD.com

New York Fashion Week brings with it every year unique collections that range from the bizarre to the clean-cut, but few have the distinction of including fabrics that were blessed by the Dalai Lama like at Ecco Domani Award winner Bodkin’s presentation. The show was hosted at the Horticultural Society, located on the thirteenth floor of an inconspicuous building on West 37th Street. The small space teemed with fashion editors, presumably friends of former Vogue writer and creator of Bodkin Eviana Hartman, who were all eagerly awaiting the newest collection from the eco-friendly line.

The Horticultural Society on West 37th Street

The low-key event had models standing on a runway displaying a total of twelve sustainably sourced looks. Great care was given to each piece, from the silks dyed with natural materials like blueberries which created the ethereal dresses to the handmade, sustainably-dyed leather and wood shoes worn by all the models. Catsuits in soft, organic fabrics were layered underneath tie-dyed dresses and oversized tunics. High-waisted skinny pants paired with loose-fitting tops and oversized jackets completed the collection. The casual aesthetic of the collection fills a niche that is often overlooked amidst the forced avant-garde sometimes expected at Fashion Week and many are looking forward to what is in the future for this innovative designer.

Previously: Bodkin in Escape from Bryant Park: Fashion Week’s Other Venues

Images by My Nguyen unless noted.

Tags: blessed, blueberries, Bodkin, Dalai Lama, eco-friendly, event, Eviana Hartman, Fashion Week, Horticultural Society, natural, new collection, New York, presentation, silk, sustainable fashion, Vogue, wood.

There has been much, perhaps too much, discussion about the wardrobe of Michelle Obama, especially her Election Night Narciso Rodriguez dress. At Wednesday night’s Glamour Magazine’s Women of the Year Awards in New York, Condoleezza Rice was asked her opinion about Michelle Obama’s style. Now, I don’t know about most people, but I do not want a Secretary of State giving fashion advice, however I am positive that she never read her job description properly. Websites like Mrs. O and Blacksnob have been keeping count of her every skirt and blouse like a data tracking team.

The hard-core fashion set, a.k.a. the folks that believe in the seriousness of a debate on an asymmetrical hemline, have recently been sent into a tizzy over Mrs. O’s Election Night dress. Though these are the same people who probably won’t be happy until she wears Balenciaga armor leggings and a Gareth Pugh dress.

Did she look beautiful? YES! Progressive for American Fashion? YES! If you were given that Narciso, you would have worn it! (You know you would have.)

Instead of looking into the shallowness of this conversation, why doesn’t someone commend Mrs. O on her support of the American fashion industry? Every retailer she has come in contact with is seeing sales rise based on a single publicity appearance. Maria Pinto is probably the only designer business on the rise right now. The small ready-to-wear designer based in Chicago has seen sales grow 45 percent since Obama decided to wear her favorite designer around the country. Traffic to jcrew.com was up 464 percent the night after Obama wore an all J. Crew ensemble on the Tonight Show.

And the Obama girls? Biscotti Inc., the childrenswear designer of Malia Obama’s Election Night bubble dress is in a mad rush to re-issue the red frock after being bombarded with new order requests.

However, there are some people out there who will never be happy. Bored to tears with Laura, now they finally have someone whose closet might rival their own. I’d hate to think that the insiders who set the rules, might not be pleased to have a powerful woman who doesn’t take notes from Vogue or use the “Buy me” stickers in her Lucky magazine. And it’s actually kind of refreshing.

Tags: Balenciaga, Condoleezza Rice, Gareth Pugh, J Crew, Lucky, Maria Pinto, Michelle Obama, Vogue.

*Tokyo Madness: Comme des Garçons at H&M debuts  today. Watch the video! Japanese fashionistas admit to waiting 10, 12, 40 hours in line! (The Cut)

*Vogue’s Ten Best Dressed Week of 11.10 is released. #2 has to be questionable. (style.com)

*Byrdie Bell fixes her diastema. (Chic Report)

*Sofia Coppola’s commercial directorial debut for Miss Dior airs during Gossip Girl. (Fashionologie)

*Kate Winslet’s Vanity Fair fur turns out to be real…unbenownst to her. (Telegraph)

Tags: Byrdie Bell, Comme des Garcons, H&M, Kate Winslet, Sofia Coppola, Vanity Fair, Vogue.