I like to start Fashion Week off on the right foot, and for me that means the right footwear. Sadly, that wasn't the case this season. While I had major shoe crushes (all the tough-chic "shooties!"), I had no designer kicks of my own to boast about. And so, I still pad around in my well-worn K. Jacques gladiator flats. The right shoes will take me from my home in Brooklyn all the way to the cobbly streets of Paris, so I need a pair that will literally go the distance. Lucky for me, the first weekend of the New York shows wasn't too hectic and I was able to locate a Burberry wedge bootie with a crepe sole. Picture a chic sneaker. Sold.
Shoe problem solved, I could concentrate on the clothes I was seeing -- although nothing has blown me away yet. Sometimes that's okay; often the best trends creep up on you. I've been contemplating "couture sport," mulling over the positive effect of cobalt blue, and flirting with the idea of feathers. But it won't be until after we see Marc Jacobs tonight that the blueprint of the season will be laid out for us. You see, Marc might not be fashion's most precise designer, but he is its most perceptive, defining the mood of the times, rolling out the plan in New York, and etching it into our desires at Louis Vuitton in Paris three weeks later.
After Marc's show tonight, everyone will be donning their bubblegum-pink wristband to get into his afterparty (thrown by V magazine), where Lady Gaga will play. I find her influence on fashion fascinating. Even Derek Lam, one of American sportswear's clearest voices, showed pantless looks yesterday (but thankfully not the full lion face mask she wore to the MTV Awards). This wasn't swimwear by any means. Think gorgeous crepe blouses that Joan Crawford would have favored, but without the bottom half, which he cheekily termed "deck sides."
Someone who isn't big on pants, but isn't exactly running around in her underwear, either, is Victoria Beckham (pictured here at her show with Bazaar staffers), who is in her third season of her dress collection. We saw her yesterday afternoon for an intimate presentation narrated by VB herself.
As it turns out, the former Spice Girl has a spicy sense of humor herself. Of a strapless mini, she said, "There's something quite sexy about the fact that it looks like it could fall down at any minute," and when her showstopping finale dress in a deep cerise came out, she joked that what she loves best about it is "how beautifully it will clash with the red carpet." Ahh, if only everyone's fashion dramas were that, well, dramatic.
For more on New York Fashion Week, check out our full Fashion Week coverage with behind-the-scenes videos, party pictures from all the hottest fetes, and early looks at trends for both fall and next spring.