So long tents. New York City has been buzzing about with the Mercedes Benz 2008 Spring Fashion Week. Even though Bryant Park decided to keep the shows for a few more years, the aire was not the same. Quite a few designers decided not to show in the tents but rather photo studios, their personal showrooms, or other office locations. This year, I kept it simple and worked a minuscule 5 shows: Carlos Campos, Rock & Republic, Nautica, Baby Phat and Custo Barcelona. {Pictured left: Omahyra and Bettina}
Carlos Campos’ line was classy straight cut suits for men. The secret closer was Omahrya. She is famous for her boyish looks, wild personality and numerous tattoos. I was 
assigned to dress her. She was a doll, but she kept dragging me to the bar for drinks. I told her she shouldn’t drink (get trashy) before the show, but she was so nervous (which was surprising because she does this sort of thing all the time) she wanted something to calm her nerves. Omahyra wore a fitted shimmery black tuxedo styled pant suit with pencil legs. As an added bonus, she wore a gorgeous diamond choker, valued at 200k. An armed bodyguard followed us everywhere to make sure no one took the necklace. He even followed her to the stairs when she ripped the runway. That was a fun show. {Pictured right: Carlos Campos, Omahyra and the jewelry designer}
Rock & Repulic. I prepped this one. My call time was 1pm with a show start time of 4pm. The collection didn’t arrive until 2:30 almost 3pm. That gave me an inkling as to the organization of the show. The production staff kept telling their higher-ups that the clothes were on their way and that everything was running smooth. Suuuure. The collection was pretty. The women’s line included lots of chiffon bedazzled in bling (in a good way), short-shorts and jumpsuit minis, long flowy gowns. The used a lot of rich blues, oranges… not a lot of patterns. The men’s line had heavy cotton jackets and pants. Light leather jackets. It was fairly bland.
Nautica. I prepped this one as well. The collection, nautical of course with lots of naked men. Well, not naked, but they wore surfer shorts, boxers with robes, white linen pants w/o shirts. There were a few shirts and 3 piece ensembles thrown in there, but I mostly remember a lot of looks that had 1-piece of clothing. Didn’t see the show, but I bet it was sexy. Interestingly enough, the clothes were dirty, as if they had pulled them from out of storage. Some smelled laundered. That was a disappointing find, but after I thought about it, it didn’t really surprise me. Designers recycling looks and collections all the time and simply say “This is the new blah-say-blah for Summer/Spring/Winter/Fall”.
Baby Phat. I dressed this one. Hot mess. The models wore 
tini-weenie bikinis. One dark-skinned model wore a chocolate bikini and therefore looked naked. As with Kimora’s style, random bling was all over the place. She had mini-jumpsuits as well, but the fabric was off. Turquoise, white, patterns… I was not impressed and frankly disappointed. The line looked more like the juniors section at Sears rather than a Fashion Week premiere.
Custo Barcelona. I prepped and dressed. This show was classic. If you know Custo’s style, then you know his over the top 
designs. Embroidered pants, skirts and jackets. He used a lot of plastic in the shirts and pants. Interesting choice of material and a tad bit hot for spring. I accidentally erased all photos taken, but the collection looked better on.
Until next time...
Be Seen at the Top! And be fashionable ;-)
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