What brought about this mod British Indian melange?

“It was the tarot cards, and no one knows where they originated. Everyone wants to claim the tarot. The inspiration was: Oscar Wilde reads your Tarot cards then you put on your best menswear pajamas and have a great dance party.”

Stunning! That’s a party I want to be a part of. Now a question for President Lepore of Save the Garment Center: If you were in an elevator with a young designer about to send production overseas, what would you say?

I would tell them that they’re out of their mind. That there’s so much opportunity here in New York. Actually there’s one I shared a train ride with who was working in China. I was like, ‘You’re so making a mistake. You have to work here in America.’ She didn’t understand how to do it. And she’s gone, out of business. you can be so  hands on and so much in control of your fate if you’re right three. these factories want you to succeed. They’re there to nurture you. They’re not going to cut you off after one season if you haven’t brought your minimums to where they’re supposed to be. They will work with you. So I would do everything in my power to stop them from [going overseas].

With all proceeds going to Bottomless Closet, which empowers women with clothing and confidence, the ticket guarantees more than just a splendid time for all. It means women entering or re-entering the workforce with pride to be able to provide for their families.

A regular ticket costs $50. VIP status runs you $100. And it all goes to making positive change for women and communities through fashion. Will I see you there?

Congrats on the move! Any news on the progress?

Architects are measuring the space, and we’ll be seeing the first round of designs next week. We’ll decide on the final design by end of the month. It will be built by Spring.

How do you plan on continuing to promote the Garment Center even though you’ve moving away from it?

We have the CFDA Incubator program there in the Garment Center. We have 6 designers graduating this spring, and we’re helping them all to find studio space there. We’re seeding the neighborhood. We’ve got 10 more designers we’re helping find space there. We are also conducting a study with the Made in Midtown Design Trust for Public Space to see how we can use the Garment Center better.

And CFDA prospectives on your horizon? What new designers have you excited this season?

I can’t name any. I like every show, I just like going to the shows. I love the collective energy of talented designers and creative people. Fashion Week is one big giant long runway!

What’s the first thing you’re going to do once the giant runway of Fashion Week has come to a close?

I’m going to my house in Pennsylvania to relax.

And relax you should. You deserve it. Enjoy!

Which is why we want you to win this $500 bathrobe FREE!

The print mashup was sliced from Coromandel screens and the Qing Long Dynasty floral motif. Fused together digitally, they are now printed on fabrics not quite as luscious as in her ready to wear collection, but look just as vibrant. The price ranges from $80 – $700 (she’s still designer, after all), and they’re yours for the taking in one week!

So now, how can you be a part of NYFW?  Well aside from the 90 official shows at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Tents there are about 250 more all over the city, from pop up galleries to studio lofts to showrooms to Milk Studios (aka the cool kids version of Lincoln Center) and if you dress stylishly enough, crashing is pretty common.  If you don’t happen to be one of the 100,000 expected attendees in NYC, have no fear you can still enter to win!  Around 30-40 shows have become accessible for viewing online on different live stream channels (YouTube, MilkMade, and NowFashion are our favorite) and some brands are even putting their shows on their own websites a la Marc Jacobs.  Leave us a comment about which designers spoke to you, which trends you think are most prevalent, which collections were just hideous.  We want to hear it all so start now!

Color palette: Burnt orange and browns with deep ocean green-blues and multi-sided lavender and pink.
Mood: Underwater life meets 30′s draping and Beetlejuician intentions. It’s a kind of comfort that can keep uptown chic.
Statement Pieces: Patterned jumpsuit, done.
Front Row Name Drops: Patrick McDonald, the dandiest of the dandy.
Runway Music: The MisShapes

Barneys has them for $219. What are you waiting for?

Bracelets by Betsey Johnson

Reel the Betsey Johnson Kissing Fish Hinge Bangle for $65.

Click on the image to see more views, and get your arm bangling bright.

You might just catch me smiling in it at her show on Monday… and after party.

Kiss! xx

- Speaking of Mara, the girl without the dragon tattoo eschewed her usual black for a white frock at the Japan premiere of her hit film. Foreshadowing, anyone? [UPI]

- Kmart is ready, willing and more or less able to help with any #fashionweekproblems you might have. Thanks, Big K, but unless you know a drug dealer that delivers outer borough, my #fashionweekproblems are a bit out of your #areaofexpertise. [Racked]

- Kristen Stewart continues to weasel her way into the assumed hearts of the fashion industry with this little candid of her flipping the bird to/around/beside Karl Lagerfeld. Better people have died for less. [Styleite]

- Well this happened. Pied piper to the gays and the Guidos alike, David Guetta has a new video with newfound muse Nicki Minaj for “Turn Me On.” And it’s weird as fuck. [Towleroad]

- Adele will make her first post-vocal-cord-surgery appearance at the Grammys on February 12. After the ceremony, she’s expected to require shoulder surgery from lugging all those damn trophies around. [Paper]

- Hopefully you all tuned in last night to the season premiere of RuPaul’s Drag Race — i.e. the greatest show of all time. If you did, you might have noticed the thirteen dragtacular contestants brilliantly recreating the finale to Alexander McQueen‘s spring 1999 fashion show in which Shalom Harlow was assaulted by two paint-spewing mechanical arms. And if you didn’t, I don’t know what the hell you’re waiting for. [NY Mag]

With Radar, you can:

- RSVP to all of your shows all at once

- Keep in touch with your PR contacts

- Receive up-to-the-minute show updates

- Export your Fashion Week agenda to iCal, Outlook or Google Calendar

- Take Radar on the go with the snazzy iPhone app, which includes a map to easily navigate between shows

For more info on Radar, visit the Fashion GPS website!

I hear you’ve been in the works with this Macy’s project for over a year. When you started, did you know that Karl Lagerfeld had signed on, and the great roster of talent they were gathering?

I knew that Karl was involved. I have to be honest, he was a big motivator for me. I’ve always been a fan of Giambattista Valli, and Karl Lagerfeld is like God.

Which of your strongest aesthetics did you apply to designing this collection?

Definitely the element of jersey. I’m known for this elegant ease and I think that’s what I wanted to convey. It’s not the same jersey we use for the collection, but it’s a beautiful modal and I think it’s so modern. It’s great that they’re able to make it accessible for so many people.

What are you most excited about for your show this Fashion Week?

I love the process. During fashion week, there’s a rhythm to it. Everything feels great, and then you feel the emotion that comes with it; the momentum picks up. You work with all these creative minds and it’s so great to see it all come together. We have a rack for the clothes with about five pieces on there. And it’s amazing how fast things happen as you get closer to the day. Before you know it, it’s 3 days before styling and that rack just fills up, 10 more pieces, 20 more pieces, 30 more pieces! I don’t know how it happens! But it just does. And then things get faster. We’re working there 24/7 and it feels like 2 hours have gone by. It’s Fashion Law. Something happens where time gets sped up, but everything speeds up, the amount of clothes that are produced, the energy level, the creativity and I love that rhythm.

If memory serves, Kanye had adopted CSM professor Louise Wilson as his mentor and even utilized students as interns. Undaunted by the (dis)likes of Anna Wintour, West plans to stick with the Brits and will reportedly show again in Paris come Fashion Week. Kudos to you, Kanye, for putting your enormous ego aside and not letting reason or common sense get in the way of your fashion dreams. Take notes, kids. This is how you buck convention. And Ye is bucking shit up. [Vogue UK]

GOODNESS, Elettra Wiedemann’s Fashion Week pop up restaurant and the Daily Front Row magazine have partnered with Talenthouse and Perfecto DJ Zen Freeman to invite aspiring DJ’s to submit a sample of their set for an opportunity to perform at New York Fashion Week 2012.

One artist will be selected to DJ at GOODNESS and one evening event in the Renaissance Hotel in New York. Each set will be up to three hours and will require that the selected artists possesses a diverse catalogue of material. Travel and five nights’ accommodation in New York, along with $500 will be provided for the winner.

Two runners-up, one selected by GOODNESS and one people’s choice, will both be featured in the Daily Front Row magazine

You can check out the contest at Talenthouse

The challenge they face is producing within their boarders, keeping the business in Israel. Much like in the US, labor is more expensive there, and they lack the resources to fully flourish. Each garment becomes more expensive and and yet the quality suffers. According to Eva Cavalli, “There’s also a lot of creativity here, but there has to be more of a focus on techniques and workmanship. That exists here, there is the potential, but it needs to be nurtured.” Lev predicts that the Israel should be ready and capable for production in about 2-5 years. Get ready.

[WWD, WIWT]

The most hardcore way to go for the glitter is with a full-length red carpet ready dress. Elie Saab nailed this in emerald during Fashion Month. We can’t wait to see who wears this on the red carpet.

Sherry Lehmann Wine.  Arizona Iced Tea. Fiber One. No, these aren’t the contents of your grandmother’s kitchen cabinet. These are three of the big-name sponsors for New York’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, the biggest and least important of the four major Fashion Weeks. But is New York’s continued dwindling in importance a direct result of the less than fabulous coterie of sponsors, or is it the other way around? And who’s to blame?

The Hardy Gays are on the case!

The main culprit is Milk Studios, whose latest incarnation as MilkMade has stolen much of the luster from Lincoln Center. But whereas they compete for sponsors, MilkMade usually draws smaller shows…however, the Marc Jacobses and the Ralph Laurens don’t show at the Tents either. Rather, they show offsite, effectively spitting in the faces of IMG Models and CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg, who dutifully shows at Lincoln Center each season.

Why not show a concerted effort to make NYFW a juggernaut of influence and taste rather than a discombobulated hydra sprawling all over Manhattan with each head unaware of what the other is doing?

The Tents at Bryant Park were home to New York Fashion Week for seventeen years and the move to Lincoln Center was a controversial one that left many fashion followers scratching their thinning scalps. Aside from being convenient, Bryant Park’s proximity to the Garment District earned it the distinction as the fashion industry’s backyard. But as Fashion Week grew bigger and more and more sponsors came on board — from Dunkin Donuts to McDonald’s — designers became more and more disenfranchised. And Bryant Park became more and more annoyed. Now, the Tents at Lincoln Center resemble a circus rather than a legitimate gathering of professionals and creatives.

Which brings us to Fern Mallis, the lady behind those seventeen halcyon years. She helped organize the move of NYFW from warehouses and studios all over the city to one central location, but with the Tents’ dissolution everything is scattered once again. Just last year Mallis evacuated her role as Senior Vice President of IMG to reportedly start her own consulting business. Interesting timing…

Perhaps she felt disillusioned over what she hath wrought. Perhaps she struck a deal with Bryant Park to kick fashion week out of its lush lawn. Perhaps she poisoned  major designers against her former lover, one Diane von Furstenberg to gain revenge for breaking her heart when she married Barry Diller, effectively ruining Fashion Week and leaving Fiber One as one of the few legitimate sponsors who would touch MBFW with a ten-foot pole!

Cue lightning flash and dramatic music.

Perhaps this is just speculation and hearsay. Perhaps we don’t really care because as far as Mac and I — and the bottle of vodka we’ve already opened to celebrate — Absence of Mallis: The Case of the Lackluster Tents is closed.

- And that info was previously unheard because it probably never got spoken. YSL came out with a statement disclaiming Menkes’ rumor milling. [Styleite]

- Daphne Guinness will eat when she’s dead. I hope she waits a few days after she’s dead to indulge since no one likes a fat corpse and I’m assuming there will be an open casket. Or at least a translucent block and a lace veil. [The Cut]

Photo: Styleite

- Lindsay Lohan agreed to star in German designer Philipp Plein‘s ad campaign, sight unseen — but then again a bitch got bills and not enough time to care how they’re getting paid. Of the collaboration, Lilo said that she thinks “maybe people’s perceptions of me have been kind of taken out of context just from what you see and read.” Yeah, you’d think from seeing and reading things that Lindsay Lohan is an unemployable mass of blond extensions, temper tantrums and comped alcohol who’s next acting role is more likely in a straight-to-DVD frat film than a legitimate movie…but that can’t be right. [NY Post]

- The truth about Fashion Week involves cocaine, misogyny, hand jobs, rough sex and absurd diva antics: just what I dreamed it would be as a young gay paging through my September issue of Vogue. [Fashionista]

- Lara Stone claims to have lost her memory from smoking too much pot in her hometown of Bongsville, The Netherlands. BUt I can tell from personal experience that that’s a load of…wait, what was I talking about?[Telegraph]

Photos from Style.com

Sam‘s Faves

Prabal/Style.com

- Ralph Lauren: “For the ostrich feather boas.”

- Diane von Furstenberg: For handing out little American flags in honor of 9/11 and for making an outfit that anyone could wear.

- Prabal Gurung: “For using one print 100 ways, and also for clever cutouts.”

- 3.1 Phillip Lim: ”For his tasty sherbert color palette.”

- The Row: “For dressing the old ladies that the Olsen twins were born to be.”

Might I begin by showing you a proud moment of mine: it’s called Vogue Italia:

Now look at these fab fashionheads turning it at New York Fashion Week.

We’re going to be breaking down all of our daily looks starting on the next page.

According to The Cut:

“Lohan, without warning, rose from a banquette in a sunken section of the club and sent a drink — still in its glass — sailing over the wall and directly at a cocktail waitress…Just when it seemed things couldn’t get stranger, the lights came on and the music went off. “She’s bleeding!” yelled a man at the bar. Medics surrounded a brunette woman, lying with her black sheer-stocking-ed legs elevated on a white leather couch, adjacent to where Lohan had been sitting. When they lifted her up to place her on a stretcher, the back of her black dress was soaked in blood. Broken glass, a security guard confirmed after she had been rolled out. By then, the crowd had thinned out.” [The Cut]

I mean, it’s got to be better than this. And for more kickass photos such as this, visit The Guaty Galleries featuring photos from fashion photographer and certified hottie Richard Guaty.

- Speaking of schooling the children, Condé Nast UK is opening up the Condé Nast College of Fashion and Design in London come next September. I’m hoping André Leon Talley will teach a class on haberdashery and great-capes.[Styleite]

- Hey tranny, it’s tranny. Andrej Pejic channels famous Warholian tranny Candy Darling in Chris Benz‘s spring 2012 collection. [Fashionista]

- While everyone was consumed with whatever was happening on Tuesday in and around the Tents — days have just blended together by this point — Michelle Obama was holding court at the White House for the 2011 National Design Awards. [Telegraph]

- Scientists recently discovered a diamond star of 10 billion trillion trillion carats. I’m thinking of a platinum setting. [BBC]

- And it’s a sad day in retail. Borders is closing. #fuckoffkindle [Racked]

Karlie joins the ranks of iconic supers Veruschka and Naomi Sims that have graced the legendary pub. Trailed by Revere over the course of four days in July, the 19-year-old’s cover was snapped backstage at Jean Paul Gaultier’s Haute Couture show. Now I’m ready for a Vogue cover, an attempted acting career and general world domination.  [Life]

Photo: Style.com

Color Palette: A confectionery collage of bold brights featuring  magenta, teal, pomegranate, apricot, sherbert, citron and marigold.

Mood: Dior Haute Couture (during the late-Galliano era) on a budget meets a lady from Shanghai

Statement Pieces: I openly gasped at a rose brocade gown, seen above, though the color  may be a little more Candyland than couture

Front Row: Audrina Partridge who’s from some TV show I refuse to even pretend to care about and singer/homewrecker Leann Rimes

Runway Music: “Add Ends” – When Saints Go Machine; “Thanks for Nothing” – Danton Eeprom

Image: Vogue September 2011

It is both McCartneys’ first foray into ballet. Paul is donating his time and Stella is lending her services at a reduced rate; essentially they are doing it for the art of it. Though Paul is technically only the composer (whose role typically is over after the music is delivered), he has been there at every rehearsal, contributing to the set, choreography, et all. He wrote the storyline and is seeing the project, as he does, from start to finish with his hands deep in, committed to the project. It was, in fact, not his idea to bring his daughter on board, rather the producers of the show suggested it. Brilliant, thank you.

Paul McCartney with Choreographer Peter Martins

Image: New York Times

See Stella’s sketches and some sneak insight into the costumes ahead.

- Franca Sozzani, editrix-in-chief of Vogue Italia and all-around bad bitch thinks Dior should just hire back Galliano. And as usual, she’s right. [Daily Beast]

- In Saudi Arabia, hands off the girls. Men are now outlawed from selling lingerie. [Styleite]

- Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have partnered with Steve Madden to become creative directors of Superga, an upscale version of which will be launched with The Row‘s spring 2012 collection. [Fashionologie]

- The next generation of It girls is pretty much fucked. [Styleite]

- Anna Wintour‘s been in a great mood this Fashion Week. Something awful is about to happen, isn’t it? [Refinery29]

And for even MORE gratuitous male flesh, check out our Facebook page!

The New Focus

Your instinct may say “Shopping spree!” as mine did when I lost my fashion week virginity back in ’07. If that’s the case, you get to pick up fresh all the trends you’ve been lusting over since last season. Often with this approach, we see more dresses, singular pieces that carry the look. This week you’ll spin your new looks on everyone who will know exactly who made what and why it’s so sensational.

Disclaimer: Fashion week is super serious cereal to us and we want you to use these tips wisely. It’s more than just sneaking into an party. True fashion enthusiasts step to the front of the proverbial line.

Keep reading for some tips.

The Editor-in-Chic

What you’re thinking: I’ve got places to go, people to fire, careers to kill and not enough time to worry about getting my goddamn photo taken. But as a fashion professional, I’m never caught with my palazzo pants down so take your goddamn pic and get outta my goddamn way, trash.

What you’re doing: Spotting the photog out of the corner of your eye while pretending not to see him and stomping by in a controlled rush to be properly preserved.

We don’t recommend party crashing as a regular hobby because in all honestly it’s kind of trashy especially when you get a rep of doing it multiples times. There are just some instances where you just can’t get on the list or found out about the party 15 minutes before you get to the door.

Keep reading to find your way in.

- The New York Dermatology Group is offering half-off on Botox injections during Fashion’s Night Out. Well I know where I’ll be with a half-smile frozen on my otherwise immobile face. [Fashionista]

- Over 50 shows are live-streaming during this Fashion Week. A lot to keep track of, but luckily someone already did that while you were hating your life during the course of the workday. [The Cut]

- Last Fashion Week’s economic impact on Lincoln Center was roughly about $20,902,193, with an estimated $233 million impact per season citywide. And that’s not even counting drug money. [NYT]

- Lanvin‘s Alber Elbaz continues to be the most adorable thing this side of…well, these Lanvin dolls. In a talk he gave over this weekend, Alber explained why he just says no: “I don’t take drugs because if I did I’d love them – I’d be a junkie. And because I’m Jewish, I’d probably be a dealer too.” Comedy! [Vogue UK]

- Then there are those designers who don’t even know what “no” means. And the result: superstardom. At least that’s what I got from this particular fable. Drugs only help. [Refinery29]

FashionIndie‘s own Jessica Lapidos captured
during last Fashion Week by NY Mag

Go East, Young Tran!

Asia is booming! With many designers flocking to the Far East not only for business but inspiration, why not give a knowing wink to the Orient with this look, featuring a Boudicca cape, cropped McQ jersey harem pants and of course, what Asian sensation is complete without a little Hello Kitty?