Rachel Zoe makes her runway debut, rumors mount that Marc Jacobs will replace John Galliano at Dior, and Daphne Guinness heads to the museum. See highlights from the upcoming New York Fashion Week. By Misty White Sidell.
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Rachel Zoe is no stranger to fashion, although she has yet to conquer the glaring eyes of runway critics—until now. On the heels of her Bravo show’s season premiere, Zoe will present her Spring 2012 collection in the traditional show format this week (so far she’s had only presentations). We’re expecting more items that tie into the super-stylist’s signature style—sequined dresses, flowing maxiskirts, a leather jacket or two. One guest who certainly won’t be in attendance? Her former assistant Brad Goreski, whom Zoe dissed on the first episode of the new season of the Rachel Zoe Project, which debuted on Tuesday.
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Last season all eyes were on Dior’s John Galliano and the international scandal that ensued after he allegedly made anti-Semitic remarks at a Paris café. The designer was notoriously fired just before the historic label’s fall show—and since then has faced trial (a verdict in his case is expected on Thursday). Immediately following Galliano’s ousting, the fashion world began speculating about his replacement. Many designers, including Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci and Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz, have been floated for the job, but now no person seems more likely to succeed Galliano than Marc Jacobs. He’s an LVMH acolyte, and recently moved his highly anticipated New York show from Monday to Thursday of next week (which he says was due to Hurricane Irene). If Jacobs’s fall silhouettes are any indication (Dior’s trademark nipped waists and strong shoulders), the rumor mill might just prove true.
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Kanye West has been ubiquitous at New York Fashion Week for the last few seasons, appearing (sometimes uninvited) in numerous front rows. So it didn’t come as a big surprise when Grazia magazine reported in mid-July that West had quietly teamed up with it-Brit designer Louise Goldin and Christine Centenera, fashion editor at Harper’s Bazaar Australia, to create his own womenswear label in time for New York Fashion Week. Though the report got the rumor mill buzzing, it doesn’t seem to be happening—yet. Kanye’s name is absent from the New York fashion calendar, but new rumors have surfaced that the rapper is a shoo-in to show during Paris Fashion Week later this month.
There’s nothing fashion loves more than a bit of off-putting irony, something nightlife impresarios Carlos Quirarte and Matt Kliegman must have taken into consideration when opening Westway, a stripclub-turned-boite located on a sleepy stretch just off the West Side Highway in downtown Manhattan. Any given night there, you’ll find hipsters swaying to hip-hop from the early aughts on the club’s so-cheesy-it’s-chic light-up platform. The duo, who are also responsible for hotspots like the Jane Hotel Ballroom, will be hosting a bevy of events this week, including former French Vogue editor in chief Carine Roitfeld’s book-release party. Also sure to take over the late-night scene is Nur Khan’s Electric Room (pictured), opening in the basement of the Dream Hotel’s downtown outpost, where several events are scheduled this week—including Rachel Zoe's birthday bash and a party celebrating Jade Jagger’s new Disco Diamond collection.
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Provocateur and former French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld didn’t take much time off after her departure from the magazine in December. Since then, Roitfeld has collaborated with Barneys on a scenester-heavy advertising campaign and is now releasing a book with Rizzoli titled Irreverent. Curated by Purple Magazine editor Olivier Zahm, the coffee-table title is both a personal and a professional ode to Roitfeld -- including 386 pages filled with photos, from her family album and photographer Mario Sorrenti alike.
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Russian art collector (and former Pop magazine editor) Dasha Zhukova unveils her new magazine this week—a much-anticipated art and fashion bible called Garage. The tome attracted attention well before it hit stands for its controversial cover, which features a Damien Hirst butterfly tattoo on the vagina of a 23-year-old woman named Shauna Taylor. (It’s covered with a sticker that commands the reader to “Peel slowly and see.”) A spread inside the magazine features the work of a collection of artists, from Jeff Koons to John Baldessari, who designed a series of tattoos for volunteers. Garage will hit the streets of New York this week in the form of an ice-cream truck, which will be parked outside some of the week’s hottest parties. There the fashion set will buy the magazine—and, of course, receive temporary tattoos.
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Savage Beauty, the Costume Institute’s Alexander McQueen exhibit that broke attendance records this summer, taught us one thing: people love Alexander McQueen. Now the Fashion Institute of Technology will open a retrospective of the late designer’s muse and best friend, Daphne Guinness. The style arbiter is best known for her signature black-streaked platinum hair and couture collection (she recently purchased the entire couture collection of her close friend Isabella Blow). Guinness is a champion of gravity-defying heel-less footwear, taking a turn in a pair shortly after their debut in Nina Ricci’s Fall 2009 show. These shoes, along with awe-inspiring couture works, will be on display at FIT starting Sept. 16.
René Habermacher
Earlier this week, Lady Gaga made headlines for appearing without makeup on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar. Next she’ll pair up with designer Jean Paul Gaultier for a special broadcast on the CW network called Gaga by Gaultier. Never one to hold back, Gaga will speak about her former drug use and attraction to women. The quasi-documentary premieres on Sept. 12 at 8 p.m.
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Macy’s has been on a fashion streak of late. This year it released collaborations with several high-end labels, including Matthew Williamson and, most recently, Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld. Although he won't be on hand to celebrate his monochromatic designs on Fashion’s Night Out, Vogue Nippon editor Anna Dello Russo will be in the Herald Square store alongside model Karolina Kurkova. Also off to a rolling Fashion Week start is Missoni’s vast collection for Target that includes clothing for the entire family (men, women, children) as well as home furnishings and outdoor-furniture sets. The mass retailer will kick things off early (the collection hits stores nationwide on Sept. 13) with a three-day pop-up shop in New York, which opens to the public on Thursday.
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It’s become a behemoth evening akin to Halloween (with sometimes equally costumey clothes) but love it or hate it, Fashion’s Night Out, Anna Wintour’s annual international shopping bonzanza, is hard to ignore. This year’s PSA features the cast of Glee singing David Bowie’s "Fashion" and sashaying in this season’s designs by Marc Jacobs and Dolce & Gabbana. This time around you’ll be able to find The Jersey Shore’s Pauly D holding court at the Kardashians’ DASH boutique and SNL’s Seth Myers bartending at Coach’s Madison Avenue location. Be sure to also stop by Barneys (either in the flesh or online); the store is donating 10 percent of the evening’s proceeds to the 9/11 Memorial Fund.
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Just a few seasons ago, designers began to stream their fashion shows live online. Now comes 3-D. Last season Norma Kamali had a gang of oversize cardboard cutouts show off her collection, and this time she’s branching out with a prerecorded multidimensional video (it’ll be available for at-home viewing after its Fashion Week premiere). Burberry experimented with a 3-D live stream in select cities around the world. Now jumping aboard the techie trend is Spanish label Custo Barcelona and Thierry Mugler’s Nicola Formichetti (the always-avant-garde personal designer to Lady Gaga).
Nicola Formichetti and Gage/Clemenceau Architects, Courtesy of BOFFO
