NEW YORK – The Associated Press is all over New York Fashion Week, from the runways to celebrities as eight days of fall previews come to a close Thursday.
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MARC JACOBS: CLOSING FASHION WEEK WITH A BANG – AND A BOOM
Marc Jacobs is known for starting his shows exactly on time, not almost 30 minutes late as most designers do. And so at the very stroke of 6 p.m. on Thursday, fashionistas in the cavernous Park Avenue Armory were thrown back into their seats with a huge, pounding “BOOM!” It was just really, really loud music, but it certainly got everyone’s attention.
Then, Jacobs kept that attention with a moody, stylish show that at some points seemed to channel some darkly romantic Victorian novel, perhaps by Dickens, and at others seemed utterly modern.
The show was heavy on long, pleated skirts, often topped by gorgeously tailored and embroidered coats, or capes. Some of the outfits were heavy enough to wear outside in the rapidly descending New York temperatures, and others were light enough to – well, one gown was totally sheer.
There were luxurious coats in black-and-white mink, and there was plenty of sparkle, too: in silvery metallic pleated skirts and jackets, for example, or on gowns covered with the brightest of sequins. Model-of-the-moment Kendall Jenner, half-sister of Kim Kardashian, sported a sleek black coat over a floral pleated skirt.
Her hair, like that of all the models, was pulled up into a topknot on the very front of her head. These distinctive hairdos – meant to elongate the neck, as in a swan – were accompanied by heavy silver-grey eye shadow and eggplant-colored lips, for a dramatic and elegant look apparently inspired partly by Diana Vreeland, the famous fashion columnist and editor who died in 1989.
Among Jacobs’ guests at the show: singer Nicki Minaj, director Sofia Coppola, and actress Christina Ricci, a longtime Jacobs fan. “It’s the most exciting show, the most fun show,” Ricci said. “Such a creative mind, always doing something unexpected.”
Something unexpected like, perhaps, those waiters offering guests glasses of vodka with a lemon twist when they arrived in from the cold? That was pretty creative, too.
-Jocelyn Noveck and Nicole Evatt
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CALVIN KLEIN: A STOP FOR SALLY BOWLES
On her way to the Kit Kat Club in decadent 1930s Berlin, Sally Bowles stopped off at Calvin Klein.
That would be Sienna Miller, who just began a stint starring in Cabaret on Broadway, taking over for Emma Stone. Miller’s been having a big year, with a major role in the movie American Sniper and now her theatre gig. Dressed in chic winter white, she had the seat of honour next to Vogue editor Anna Wintour at Thursday’s show.
“I’m very excited,” she said before the models came out. “Francisco (Costa) is a friend,” she said of the Calvin Klein designer, “and I’ve managed to squeeze it in between my play, so I’m really happy to be here.”
As for the clothes, Costa was clearly favouring patchwork leather in coats, jackets and dresses this season; fully half of his runway looks had it, in black, blush, chocolate, eggplant and forest green.
Costa also showed coats in haircalf, and dresses in a comfy-looking metallic knit. And he presented an extremely shiny patent leather peacoat, in burgundy and in black.
The designer said he was inspired by the very “vocal” type of woman he sees in New York – “very strong, very confident,” he said.
-Jocelyn Noveck and Nicole Evatt
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