“We live not according to reason, but according to fashion”–Seneca

Here I am with my second installment from Fashion Week. On Tuesday, I was lucky to get an invite from a friend to a show by a Malo, an Italian company known for its cashmere and knits. Apparently the actual designer is a guy by the name of Fabio Piras, a Swiss Graduate of London’s University of Arts (the uber creative Central Saint Martin’s to be exact). I hadn’t heard of Malo before I went (I was just stoked to go), but turns out that Malo has got it going ON. The colors, the fabrics, everything, just…uh. I’ll get to that later.

So the scene at Malo seemed to be quite posh. Everything was decorated in pure white and blue, and the seats had these cute slip covers on them to make them seem like they were padded chairs…but turns out they were just hard chairs with slip covers on them.

Voila la venue:

Cute, huh?

I sorta knew this show would be a big deal when I saw the legendary Anna Wintour stroll in while I was waiting in line. Then I saw her again sitting in the first row. I had to snap a pic.
This is the best that my blurry little camera could do (poor thing):

My camera really tries, it does! Anyway Ms. Wintour was actually quite beautiful up close. I love her style…from her haircut to her dark glasses, to her cute, sassy dresses. Go on Anna. I think she’s so fabulous that people tend to villainize her. But I can kinda sympathize with her I mean.. the whole being fabulous and misunderstood thing (jk:)). So. My poor camera couldn’t take the best pictures, but I think I got some good shots of the final walk:

I absolutely loved this line. It classified elegant simplicity. The color palette was very basic: Gray, Black, White, and Sprinkling of Fuchsia (with the random psychadelic swirls thrown in for fun). My absolute favorites included the black dresses with amazing back details (think teardrop cuts, sequins, and surprising straps). My least favs were the jumpsuits (boo!), jackets with a weird oval print (boo!), and the swimsuits (double boo!).

The evening dresses were amazing…I wrote down on my pad “Buy all the evening dresses.” Of course you can’t wear these to the club or anything, but Malo’s clothes are perfectly suited for a socialite going to a formal event or dinner party. So simple…so elegant. Just amazing.

I left Malo still believing that fashion wasn’t searching to make a mockery of the everyday woman (the woman who seeks to have an understated, sophisticated look, not a train wreck). My faith in fashion solidified.

THEN I finagled my way into Heatherette. By finagle, I mean FINAGLE. Somehow I got into the tent. Somehow I got standing room. Somehow I slid my tush into a seat. I got in and that’s all she wrote.

Well remember what I was saying about fashion not making a mockery of those who actually get dressed in the morning to go about our day to day lives and not gyrate on MTV? Well. Heatherette made me question my faith.

But first, I’ll describe the scene.

Heatherette was PACKED. Chocked full of people, drag queens, editors, fashionistas, and fashionistos. A few pics of the scene:

There were a few celebs and stylists that I absolutely LOVE in the front row.

The fierce and GORGEOUS stylist Phillip Bloch who gave me the best interview for a shopping story I wrote in September of ’05 (when a lot of people wouldn’t give little ol me an interview). He is so handsome in person, honestly (I actually ran into him at another industry event and was basically bubbling at the mouth with compliments…and he’s the sweetest!).

Also present was Ms. Jay, a judge and walking coach on America’s Next Top Model who I think is HILARIOUS:

Ms. Jay made me laugh out loud during the third season….remember this (from the makeover episode)??

…anyway because of him (and Tyra) and I can’t wait for the next season.

Anyway after a one hour wait (yes y’all), the show FINALLY started. The show overall was full of lots of dramatics, but the clothes themselves left a lot to be desired. A few pics:

As I’m sure you can see, the actual show was choc full of celebrities. Paris Hilton opened the show…and the rest of the production featured appearances by Kelis (the bossiest), Mira Sorvino, Mya, Nikki Hilton, etc. The celebrities made the show super duper exciting, but really, fashion is mainly about the clothes, no? From my note pad, I wrote “Nothing I would ever wear” “Ridiculous” “Otherwise nice dress ruined” “Saving Grace: Oiled bare chested men with muscular yet defined pectorals”…Aren’t we glad I take notes??

In essence, Heatherette provided nothing but garments sewn with gewgaws, glitter, and whatnots. Turned out their show was more about theatrics and metaphorical pyrotechnics…and not fashion. Sigh.

Anyway. Heatherette was a really fun show and I think the designers Richie Rich and Traver Rains are soooooo cute ( one of them rollerskated out for their final walk/bow).

So. With that I leave you. Hope you were able to experience fashion week vicariously through me!

Smootches!!