[pullquote1 quotes=”true” align=”center”]Designers find different ways to make cold hot
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Staff Writer
February’s Fashion Week, projecting styles for the Fall of 2013, proved to be more about the designers than their fashions. Recent snowfall was the cause of some of the commotion around the couturiers, which left some designers going stir crazy at New York Fashion Week. Others, of course, are just kooky by nature.
Michael Kors, former Project Runway judge and the 2010 CFDA Lifetime Achievement winner, decided showing up to an event fashionably flawed is better than not showing up at all. Kors, a debatable king of American Fashion, wore Uggs to one of the first shows of the week. Joking backstage, Kors told The Associated Press that he “came in looking like Pam Anderson.” While some may argue having an accredited designer wear Uggs will help the brand, it’s probably more important to note he slipped them on with the notion that the snow would probably destroy them. Kors was just protecting his toes, not the Australian brand.
Another affected top designer was Marc Jacobs, who is coincidentally often confused for Michael Kors. While Kors wore Uggs to defy the weather, Jacobs had no choice but to postpone his show to later during the week due to shipping delays. Ironically, his fashion show included a giant faux-sun, which added extra light to the catwalk. Those in the audience more interested in the actual fashions than the show as a whole, namely magazine reporters and trend forecasters, walked away annoyed by the sun’s glow. Apparently, it greatly altered their ability to discern colors. People whose main concern, though, was the ambience and excitement of Fashion Week didn’t seem phased by the sepia set-up. It seems Jacobs must have foreseen the poor weather while planning for the show.
As for the naturally crazy, Betsey Johnson showed viewers how to keep toasty during a blizzard with a bit of exercise. To warm up their throats too, Johnson introduced a little champagne to the equation. Before the models could drink the bubbly backstage, they first had to use the bottles as dumbbells on the runway. In addition to the champagne weights, the models laid on yoga mats and did some ab work, led by Johnson herself.
Keeping the show classically Johnson, the models walked down the runway looking super chipper and pretending to talk on cell phones, telling the person on the other end to hold on while each posed at the end of the runway. Instead of disappearing backstage, each model then took her place by the head of a yoga mat, waiting for the others, so they could begin their “workout.” Johnson and the models wore garments reading “BJ kicks A,” leaving fanatics hopeful to soon own similar workout gear.
As is typical of most Fashion Weeks, only those in the magazine and merchandising industries of fashion cared about the actual clothing and suggested trends. For everyone else, it will be another seven to eight months before these clothes can even be purchased. Consequently, celebrities and die-hard designer fans, not to mention New York’s elite, just go for the fun and the goody bags. Because of that, they weighed the benefits of going and just dealt with the weather. Even though designers considered streaming their shows online, most fans made the journey to the Lincoln Center. This February’s NY Fashion Week ended up being more about the weather than the clothes that will keep buyers warm for Fall 2013.
Questions? Email First at efurino@fandm.edu.