Stargazing at Fall Fashion Week, Part II

It is always a trick to get a taxi in the morning during NYFW, but I managed to catch the sensationally elegant Carolina Herrera show at 10:35 a.m. on Monday, February 11. The show opened to pizzicato harp and piano music. And again, we were seeing patches of fur—on a collar, sleeves, and down the front of a coat. Stylist Brad Goreski, in the front row, wore a shiny purple coat. Also spotted front and center: Ivanka Trump, Maggie Grace, and Molly Sims. "The weather is insane," mentioned Sims. And during the show, right in front of Anna Wintour, one model caught a heel and flailed an arm out at the last second to keep from falling on the runway.

Donna Karan debuted her fall collection on far West 26th Street—a schlep, but worth it. The front row included Deborra-Lee Furness (Hugh Jackman's wife), who we’ll see at the Oscars this weekend. And sitting next to Gretchen Mol, Uma Thurman caught my eye with the most beautiful haircut. After the show, which was classic Karan (clingy dresses with, say, a cape covering one arm), I was invited backstage to talk to the front row stars. But before I could speak to Thurman, a guard started lightly shoving me along. This hasn't happened in 15 years, so I walked right over to my pal Patti Cohen, head of PR, who was with Donna, and the guard quickly disappeared.

Back at Lincoln Center’s The Stage, at Kaufman Franco, Ashley Greene wore white with a bright red lip. "They sent me a couple of options," said Green. "I saw this one and instantly fell in love." The show opened to Lana Del Rey's “Brite Lites,” with lyrics like "I look for you in magazines . . . I'm taking off my wedding ring." Again, we saw more sequined military green. Olive and avocado will be huge colors this fall. Remind me to hit the army surplus store.

The next morning, Tory Burch had me up for her luxe show at 9 a.m. at The Pierre hotel in all its Venetian chandeliered splendor. The room was brimming with uptown ladies in pastel suits. Debussy's "Claire de Lune" played as models circulated the ballroom. In the back of the room, I noticed three society ladies standing next to one empty ballroom chair, as if it was the last hors d'oeuvre and everyone was too polite to take it. Impressive! Meanwhile, Gustav Klimt’s gilded works apparently inspired the suits and dresses in the collection. Dreamy.

At 1:25 p.m. on Tuesday, classical piano music kicked off the Jenny Packham show, where models walked the runway with wispy, loose locks tied back with a thin ribbon. During the show I noted one beautiful jewel-blue dress and a pretty sparkle that cascaded down the sides of a pant and one other dress. Backstage, I ran into Katherine Heigl. "Jenny Packham is amazing, so I'm very excited to be here today, but we had a slight wardrobe issue, because I didn't have the right bra," she said. The front row went in this order: moi, Aly Raisman, Vanessa Hudgens, who had on black-and-white nails with Valentine's Day hearts, and Heigl. Hudgens told Raisman that her boyfriend was away, so she'd have to be her own Valentine.

At Naeem Khan at 2 p.m., Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana Barroso, were sitting with Ranjana Khan, Naeem's wife, in the front row. (Damon and the Khans have vacationed together.) I also spotted Taraji P. Henson and Brooke Shields across from them. Note: The color Champagne with some sparkle is a look for fall. As always, Khan showed extraordinary beading and sequins and a caftan dress that sure would look great at the Academy Awards. I noticed Matt and his wife cheering and clapping at the end.

It was Dennis Basso's thirtieth anniversary show at 3 p.m., and the runway was filled with colorful fur. Before the show, Joan Rivers was adamant about not sitting next to Joan Collins. (I love them both, FYI.) Martha Stewart was used as a buffer. I'm not a fur enthusiast, but the Basso anniversary was furrylicious, fur-fabulous, and furtastic. Rivers sneezed at one point, and one model later lost a shoe. A guard appeared concerned as an elegant older woman ran out and snagged the shoe off the runway during the show, but it was the right thing to do.

Again, it was a crazy early morning for Bibhu Mohapatra on Wednesday, February 13 at 9:00 a.m. Getting a cab at that hour during NYFW is no small task. However, television actress Julie Benz and Django Unchained's Nichole Galicia made the show and looked great to boot. Benz told me she had showered the night before to save time. Smart. Models wore mirrored platforms—very cool. I loved one sparkly tulle overlay. Later in the day, I ran into Mohapatra and his family at the Empire Hotel; he's both talented and nice.

Michael Kors at 10 a.m., meanwhile, had the headiest front row with Michael Douglas, Hilary Swank, Zoe Saldana, Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Paz Vega. Kors showed a lot of blue and orange and military camouflage. The program said it was about random uptown glamour and urban athleticism. "I loved it," offered Saldana backstage after the show. “In the black shoes, suit and jacket, she looked so tomboy. To die for!” she added in regards to one model's runway look.

Minutes later Nanette Lepore showed at The Stage. Her front row included close friends Steve Buscemi and his wife, Jo Andres, Patricia Clarkson, and June Ambrose. The opening lyric of the soundtrack, "Let's go to Mars," gave way to the collection’s space travel theme, with fabrics inspired by the Mars Rover and pops of military green and camouflage. And the models, with slicked back hair and big cat eyes, could have easily been chic space travelers back from the future.

At 1 p.m. at Milk Studio, I made the Jeremy Scott show, which often ends up being the most fun 14 minutes in all of Fashion Week. (Although, I hear The Blonds was great this season, too). I had just had a big blow-up at Rachel Zoe's show, where I was invited backstage but then was told I wasn't on the list, so I raced down to Milk for Scott's hilariously bright and fun show. I was too late to get one of the amazing bags given out in the front row, but the show made up for it. There was a typeface that they used in Mad Magazine to write the word “Splat”; there was a "Monster Mash"-style print that looked very Kenny Scharf; and Neo Geo patterns recurred. I spotted a jacket with a geometric pattern and tails that this writer wants to wear to the "Punk" opening gala at the Met.

That night Anna Sui did an all-French look to a vintage French pop soundtrack. I sat with author Jill Kargman and her young daughter, who loved the show. In Paris, you see women on the street with the most fabulous assemblages of vintage French fashion. Sui captured and updated that look. Meanwhile, Vincent Gallo was uniquely unfriendly in the front row. I also spotted Sofia Coppola, Michele Hicks, and Trish Goff. After Sui, I raced to the Elizabeth and James presentation at the top of the Hotel Americano, where I spotted one Olsen momentarily. They not only were showing deliciously sophisticated fashion, but also served delish hors d'oeuvres. And Chanel was throwing a watch debut across the street; the gift bag had a great big bottle of Chanel No. 5, which saved me on Valentine's Day!

The final day, Thursday, February 14, was the most significant of Fashion Week. Ralph Lauren, at 10:00 am, offered up the most comfortable seat of the week. He pads the benches at St. John’s Center Studios with thick white cushions. And there were huge antler chandeliers lighting the runway. The look was yet another sophisticated nod to regal Russia, but done in a style of luxury as yet not touched—big fur hats. In the front row I spotted David Lauren, Lauren Bush Lauren, and Ricky Lauren.

At 2 p.m., a mute Jessica Chastain and Olivia Wilde took their seats at the Calvin Klein show just before it started. Francisco Costa had done a rubberized patch on plaid wool, leather and wool, and dresses with arty little square cutouts. He also showed military green.

The masterpiece of the season was Marc Jacobs at 8 p.m. sharp at the Armory on 26th Street and Lexington Avenue. I went backstage at 4 p.m. to meet all the hot au courant models. They were having black messy shag wigs cut to order backstage. In the front of the house, Jacobs had built an enormous yellow light, 30 feet across. And though it hurt my eyes, it gave everything in the room a black-and-white look. The runway was a large, round disk surrounded by an amphitheater where the editors sat, and the light beat down on it like a sun. Half way through the show, white spotlights revealed the actual colors of the bright, sparkly fabrics. The clothes then shone as if they'd been sprinkled with diamond dust. After the show, Miley Cyrus had me walk with her backstage. "It was beautiful . . . the suits, everything he did was really chic and rocker," she said. "He breaks a lot of rules and makes it look so good . . . I'm so excited!" Concerning her fun getup with Minnie Mouse emblazoned on the front, she offered, "My stylist told me, 'If you're not in worst dressed, you're not taking any chances.'"