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Fashion Week returns despite a few 'hiccups'

BY JOSEPH V. AMODIO | lidesk@newsday.com

September 2, 2007

Orange. Purple. Red. The Empire State Building will light up in trendy shades Tuesday evening in celebration of Fashion Week, which starts Wednesday and runs through Sept. 12.

Some 64 designers will show off their Spring 2008 collections in the tents at Bryant Park, the official venue sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, while scores more -- mostly up-and-comers, but a few heavies such as Oscar de la Renta and downtown favorite Heatherette -- will set up runways in smaller sites throughout the city.

"We wish Oscar great success with his show and we hope it works well for him," says Fern Mallis, senior vice president of IMG Fashion, the company producing the shows at Bryant Park, when asked about de la Renta's departure. The fashion vet announced in August his switch to a former church on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Later last month, Traver Rains and Richie Rich, true to their unpredictable brand, Heatherette, decided to hop from the tents a few blocks south to Gotham Hall.

Store buyers and editors generally agree: The tents are easier, more central, especially this season with a schedule altered to accommodate Rosh Hashanah, which begins at sundown on Sept. 12. (The shows usually start on a Friday, not mid-week.)

"This is not the first time we've had some hiccups in the schedule," says Mallis, noting changes made a few seasons after 9/11.

Nautica starts things off Wednesday at 9 a.m. Others returning to the tents include BCBG, Nicole Miller, Michael Kors, Diane von Furstenberg, Carolina Herrera and Zac Posen, plus younger labels such as Buckler for men, Sabyasachi (created by a Bollywood superstar) for women. Tent newcomers Gwen Stefani (with L.A.M.B.) and Nicky Hilton (debuting her Nicholai line) will pack the house.

Unlike Hilton, most fledgling designers wind up in cheaper locales. "You have to be inventive when putting on a show out of editors' comfort ratio -- and ready for no-shows," says Swedish designer (and Brooklyn resident) Helena Fredriksson of the risks of putting on a show outside of Bryant Park's radius. She's offering her flirty H. Fredriksson line at a show at the SoHo Grand. Los Angeles' Pegah Anvarian will show at the Gramercy Yoo, a condo designed by Philippe Starck.

Of course, Fashion Week is not just about fashion shows.

Ralph Lauren's bash in Central Park's Conservancy Garden on Saturday will treat A-listers to a runway show, then a black-tie dinner, in celebration of his 40 years in the business. Radio City Music Hall's Fashion Rocks, a concert airing Friday on CBS, boasts performances by Aerosmith, Alicia Keys and Usher, among others.

But perhaps the most light-hearted stop on editors' schedules is Friday's "Snoopy in Fashion" show, where designers conjure up looks inspired by Peanuts characters. "I've thrown myself into the Peanuts world and come out with the most divine little concoction," says Isaac Mizrahi. "It's Naomi Campbell meets Linus."

As Charles Schultz might (lovingly) say: Good grief.