Here we go kids! Fashion Week is here, buckle your seat belts and let's get started. Without any particular agenda, I cruised over to Lincoln Center to get the lay of the land and check out the new venue. First impressions? It's nice. Like that sort of nice where no one wants to talk about how nice it is. Where you play it cool and act as though you've seen it all before - as in you're touring a fancy house and demurely nod at the surroundings while excitedly thinking to yourself "damn, that's nice... it must be imported...."
I loved the tradition of Bryant Park and had mixed feelings about the move, but this venue is a big improvement. Of course no one will actually come out and say this until they have ascertained that it is actually fashionable to say that the Lincoln Center venue is better than the Bryant Park location was.
Second impression? What a bizarre day. As a rule, New York is a weird city. I sort of walk out my door with the idea that I'm going to see some pretty unusual stuff, but today I sure cooked myself up a strange cup of soup. It began with a look at the Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge designed by Iman and Carlos Mota (it just so happens I have designed that space myself a few times in the past). Looking around, I overheard a Mercedes-Benz executive say with certainty that it was the nicest lounge they have built and more unexpectedly I found myself agreeing (hey I got out-gunned... there's not much else to say....). I shrugged it off and decided to get some interviews. Next thing I know I'm on the couch with Iman chatting her up. I tried to play it cool, but it was friggin' Iman for crying out loud and there is no denying it...she is stunning....like to the point of distraction. Anyway, she gave me some lovely sound bites which I can't recall without watching the tape because I was too busy trying not to stutter while also nervously wondering if I had something on my face. Luckily, it turned out I was speck-free. I then cruised across the street to get some color from the bartender at PJ Clarkes about how the neighborhood felt about Fashion Week...well, that and uh...to grab a beer.
Next I swung over to the Time Warner Center to check out some Fashion Week toys being introduced for the holiday season. At first I thought it was pretty cool seeing a TV that's as thin as a sheet of paper with a 3D picture but then it just made me feel bad about the one hanging on the wall in my house. I unexpectedly got a call and raced up to East Harlem to Rao's restaurant for what I knew what be a colorful interview with
Bo Dietl (Bo had a storied career in the NYPD and besides his lively appearances on Imus, is an unabashed clothes horse). When I got there the street was blocked off because Bo was having dinner with the governor and as I rolled up I was a bit concerned for my welfare because all the body guards didn't look too thrilled to see a camera crew. Bo quickly calmed the situation down and proceeded to give me his take on fashion (the tents aren't a great place to get exclusive stories, but I was pretty sure the girls from Vogue weren't going to make it up to 114th street and Pleasant Avenue to get the old guards philosophy on style).
Not your ordinary day.