Talk of the Tents

Half the fun of attending a Marc Jacobs fashion show is deciphering what it all means. It’s never easy.

Just walking into his Fall 2013 show at the Lexington Avenue Armory Thursday night — the final show of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week — begged the question: Why is that giant, blinding circle of light hanging in the middle of the armory, and making everyone look jaundiced? A “Land of the Midnight...

The folks at Clover Canyon may design, cut and sew their clothes in sunny California, but the new brand has Russia on the brain for fall.

Called “Winter Palace,” the line takes inspiration from the land of Baryshnikov and Tolstoy, using prints derived from photos of everything from grand architecture to dramatic vistas, from the Siberian plains to the stage of the Ballets Russes. The ornate...

You could tell Anna Sui was cooking up something très, très Francais from the moment you stepped inside the tent and took your seat, serenaded by a series of ‘60s (and thereabouts) French pop songs. Another tip-off -- her program, entitled “Nouvelle Vague” (or New Wave). 

Ahhhh, oui, oui, but of course -- La Sui, she is paying homage to the French New Wave, a group of maverick French...

Jeremy Scott sure knows how to put on a show -- the roar of applause was deafening after he unleashed a jet-fueled, neon-lit, sugar-rush collection inspired by the raucous, take-no-prisoners punk rock / New Wave movements, and sure to please all you club-hopping fashionistas and downtown dudes out there.

It was like time traveling back to 1979, with the B-52s anthem “Rock Lobster” blasting...

Narciso Rodriguez is a slasher extraordinaire—known for outfitting celebs like Julianna Margulies and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss in sleek, figure-hugging numbers with sexy, slashed cutouts. For fall, he loosens the silhouette, and offers no flashes of skin, but keeps things exciting with unexpected, diagonal color-blocking and slashed, angled hemlines.

There are no horizontal or vertical lines here....

You almost feel like you should have your passport on you when you attend a Sophie Theallet runway show.  Surely there’s some sort of customs checkpoint, where cold but impeccably dressed officials should survey your papers, and a front-row seat requires a visa.  Because as soon as the lights go down, the music pumps in and the models start down the runway, well, it’s clear we’re not in...

The Marc by Marc Jacobs line, especially popular with the older teen and 20-something demo, is often chock-full of campus-ready gear and preppy-with-a-twist collegiate looks.  For fall, the pendulum seems to be swinging in the opposite direction, with a line that seems focused on an après school wardrobe. Yikes -- these gals have had to get jobs, so they’re going to need more than that one...

Phillip Lim is known to explore themes in his collections -- like “duality,”  for instance, or a pastime like “kiting.”  But this season the theme seems obscure, something to do with biker chicks, clearly, given all that leather.

The first look down the runway held much promise -- a pink, quilted coat worn atop a taupe sweater, light blue button-down and caramel-colored leather miniskirt...

Tommy Hilfiger’s show at the Park Avenue Armory on Sunday must have achieved a new record -- for longest runway. Ever. It was like an airstrip, stretching out for what seemed like miles. 

But then, Hilfiger is an old hand at injecting some theatrical flair into what is, at heart, very traditional clothing. For fall, he borrowed heavily from menswear (not so surprising) and some mod elements...

For all the chatter about Zac Posen having once been the “enfant terrible” of fashion -- ohhh, his meteoric rise and, alas, mystifying fall (hey, the economy hit a lot of designers hard) -- Posen in many ways has a strong, traditionalist streak. Which may be why he’s managed to not completely go under, but eke it out season after season. Indeed, his dresses seem to be popping up on the red carpet...