Wednesday I went back to the tents to take in a few shows. I am watching the first of them, Carmen Marc Valvo, again, on the IMG web site. If you haven’t tried this yet, it’s fantastic. You’ll get a front-row seat to every single show, including Streamling Live Video, without ever having to wait on a line. Try it — you can see every single show!
Speaking of which, I have been standing in line enough to make the bottom part of both my feet swollen and so painful I can barely fit them into shoes, let alone stylish ones. Those of us “lucky” enough to get actual invitations wait in a long line to be checked in before the show, usually about 40 minutes before. If we are lucky, we get an actual seat assignment. However, if we are not lucky, we get the dreaded “S” for standing, which means we get to stand in a holding line, waiting for virtually every single other person with a ticket to get in and sit down first Then the standing line is allowed in. There is more jostling for a place to stand, or if you are lucky, after you’ve been standing for about another 10-15 minutes you may be allowed to “fill in” the empty spaces. The entire process takes anwhere from an hour to 1 1/2 hours. It is honestly, exhausting.
As I was standing in line to be check in for the Carmen Marc Valvo show, I actually ran into a woman that I had helped with her book project a year ago, and with whom I had some cyberspace “words” after I had done so much for her and she said some unkind things about me. In person, however, she seemed to be much more pleasant and hopefully we buried the hatchet. She got a seat assignment and I got the dreaded “S” for standing, so I am sure that made her day. Meanwhile, after waiting in the standing line a long, long time, I managed to get a seat high up in peanut heaven, so high up that actually, I had to watch the video again today to figure out exactly what I was seeing. The evening clothes that are a Carmen Marc Valvo signature seemed a bit, err…boring. They were pretty, but not unusual in any way. Most were thin-strapped, body-conscious evening gowns worn with shrugs or jackets–very little skin was showing and frankly, the collection lacked va-va-voom.
After this show I boarded a bus to the Yeohle showroom. When I got there I discovered I did not have a seat for this show either, and my legs were seriously aching. Upstairs, cute waiters were serving wine, but I wasn’t close enough to the action to get any although, perhaps, that might have helped my aching feet. I slunk to the begining of the runway, where most people do not want to sit because the models walk by too fast to absorb the outfit, and took a seat in the last row. The clothes were mainly black, white and camel, in beautiful, heavy wools and silks. I particularly liked the well-tailored long coats and capes that draped in luxe folds over the models’s bodies. There seemed to be something for everyone in this collection, from pants outfits to long knit skirts and dresses that hugged the body (but not too much) and beautiful, flowing pants and jackets worn with lacy, see-through camisoles.
I was allowed backstage after the show to interview the hair stylists (from Christo) and the makeup arts (from Too Faced). I wish I had been able to see them applying the makeup and doing the hair as I did last season, but I arrived too late for that. If you want to know about hair and makeup trends for FALL 2006 keep reading this blog and if you wish go to http://www.advicesisters.net/thankyou.html and sign up for the Advice Sisters Enews (Ezine) where I will give more details about Spring, and give you a “sneak peek” at FALL, 2006.
I took the train back to the tents, since the bus that had taken guests to the show, had already left. I waited in line for the Anna Sui show, snagging a choc-mint martini and a slplit of Moet & Chandon (courtesy of the LYCRA display). I ate a few Mason Mints since there was nothing else to eat and I hadn’t had any lunch or dinner. I thought perhaps the alcohol would help the pain in my feet, but it actually got worse. When the standing line was finally were let into the tent it really looked as though I’d have to stand. The evening shows are always popular and filled to capacity with celebs and others. I knew I’d have to stand, so to pass the time and keep my mind off my pain, I chatted with a volunteer who was an FIT (fashion Institute of Technology) student. After what seemed like half an hour (and probably was), I finally snagged a set close to peanut heaven. Anna Sui’s collection is adorable, but very youth-oriented and frankly, I can’t imagine too many people getting away with huge peter-pan collars or ballon-type mini dresses. The show was a crowd pleaser, though.
I couldn’t wait to get home and take off my shoes!