A few days before the Y-3 show for its 2008 Fall/Winter Collection,members of Adidas reminded us to dress warmly for the show. An odd request since it was unseasonably warm here in New York City, with no expectation of ice or snow for the weeks to come. But more on this later…

Though most people see New York Fashion Week as the few shows taking place at Bryant Park. In actuality, Bryant Park Tents are only small representations of New York Fashion Week as a whole. In fact, there are hundreds of shows dotted across New York City. While most are upcoming designers or labels, like Proenza Schouler. Established labels, such as Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren, opted to have their shows outside of the tents so they could create a more elaborate show. Y-3 definitely fits into the latter category.

The 2008 Fall/Winter Collection brought spectators to Pier 40, a converted shipping pier on Hudson River now acts as parking facility and soccer field. Made a simple turn into the parking structure and the scenery altered into a darken corridor with eerie blue LED and dimmed spotlights. Walked down this hallway, a sensation of you were in a jetliner, landing on a runway. A few hundred yards or so of darken space, the feeling of anticipation built even though you have not reached the main venue yet. Greeters welcomed the guests toward the end and guided each through a series of zig-zags. It became obvious why Adidas staffers warned us days before - a wall of ice, measured at 20 feet high and 230 feet long, dominated the entire main venue. The ice wall ran parell to the runway, served as the backdrop. Meanwhile, rolls of padded benches postioned across it. For those who didn’t heed to the warnings, a rolled-up terry beach blanket was provided for each guest.

» Y-3

» Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

©Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

With cream-colored sheepskin covered the runway, Lacoste’s Creative Director Christophe Lemaire set the tone to what’s to come for the Fall/Winter 2008. The theme is ski resort, more specifically that of Megève on the French Alps. The resort was established after Baronne Noémie de Rothschild opened a hotel there in 1920. Soon, it was the must-go destination for the rich and the famous. The first sets to be on the runway were that from the Lacoste’s Club line, with its distinguished silver crocodile logo. The colors were neutral, in the ranges of beige, white, and grey on rich fabrics with subtle patterns. A few more details were found on the ladies lines with adorable skirts in different length, even a flared jump skirt. Attentions were paid on the boots each model wore. An updated version of the classic hiking boots in oiled leather for both men and ladies, with a sexy high-heel sole on the ladies’ version. Then, Lemaire broke the stiff nature of high-society on the slope with a tropical twist. By adding colorways of Jamaican flag into classic Lacoste polo shirt and polo dresses, along with jackets, dresses, and accessories. Bold stripes and color blocks in Rastafari colors. As the end neared, it is a return to classic, with parkas, knitted skirts, and dresses in the familiar pastel shade of violet, pink, and white. The show itself was a high spirited, the runway was wider than most with the models were appearing in different sections, sometime in sets of 2 or 3. A fun alternative to the traditional single-file runway walk. Proved that a 75-year old label can still be young at heart.

» Lacoste

» Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

A ribbon cutting ceremony took place yesterday morning right outside of the Bryant Park Tents to mark the official opening of the New York Fashion Week for Fall/Winter 2008. The ceremony featured IMG Fashion Senior Vice President, Fern Mallis, along with actresses Brooke Shields, Kim Raver and Lindsay Price, the leading ladies from Lipstick Jungle, a new TV-series based on best-selling book by Candace Bushnell, of Sex and the City fame. Joining the 5 ladies for the ceremony was Stephen Cannon, the Vice President of Marketing from Mercedes-Benz USA, the major sponsor of Fashion Week.

Joining the already established designers, such as Vera Wang, Carolina Herrera, Lacoste, and others. A few new designer and label will be debuting their collection for the first time within the Bryant Park Tents, such as 3.1 Phillip Lim and Hervé Léger by Max Azria.

» New York Fashion Week F/W 2008

As the New York Fashion Week for Fall/Winter 2008 gets underway, something is interestingly different with this season’s identification badge, or more specifically, the badge lanyard. In place of an usual nylon cord, each badge was attached to a strand of unused zipper. The fully functional zipper can be “zip-up” into a single strand when unused. When need be, simply “un-zip” the strand and it becomes a lanyard. The zippers were provided none other by YKK, the largest fastener manufacture in the world and a major sponsor of the Fashion Week. Making the zipper badge lanyard a creative yet subtle method of marketing.

» New York Fashion Week F/W 2008

» YKK

©Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

In a recent television interview, fashion designer Vera Wang stated that she is “a woman’s woman”, that she’s sensitive to women’s needs and desires. A very important trait when you are in the bridal wear industry, where a woman is at her most emotional state. But her sensibility has guided her through the terrains gracefully. Which explains why she is synonymous now with bridal gowns. It also shows how she navigate these terrains.

» Vera Wang

» New York Fashion Week

It is scorching hot here in New York, and there is not a cloud on the horizon. So how do you go about making a thunderstorm, that will pour down on 1 city block only? That will start and stop when you wish it to? You could ask Yohji Yamamoto for advice since he did just that for the Y-3 Spring/Summer 2008 collection. The runway show for the label, a collaboration with Adidas, took place far away protective tents Bryant Park. Instead, it was at the gallery-filled Chelsea district, underneath the Highline, an abandoned elevated railway that will be transform into a city park in a few years. Workers lined the structure with wires, pipes, lights, speakers and everything you need to make a faux storm. As the opening approaches, speakers blared out distant thunders, strobes flashes indiscriminately as lightnings. The coordination of the two got louder and faster, until the nozzles were on and the rain came.

» Y-3

» New York Fashion Week

©Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

Naoki Takizawa’s freshman collection after 26 years of working with Issey Miyake sought to emphasize new beginnings, new interpretations of past looks, and innovative materials (the use of “memory system technique” that allowed foil printing with copper and silver as well as the ability for fabrics to maintain their original appearances). After setting up his own studio across the Atlantic in New York City last year, coming up with a collection that had a distinctly individual voice was inevitable for Takizawa. The use of sophisticated colors (black, grey, and white) was made to appear relaxed through the use of diaphanous fabrics. It was impossible not to notice the modernized classical columnar silhouettes that continually showed up on the runway revitalized by the softened pleats and faintly metallic materials.

» Naoki Takizawa (ISSEY MIYAKE)

» New York Fashion Week