Interview

DONNA KARAN, VALERIE STEELE, SHELLEY FOX. CLINT SPAULDING/PATRICK MCMULLAN COMPANY

Parsons' Tishman Auditorium packed with journalists and students as Donna Karan spoke to students about 9/11 and a "global wake-up call." Incidentally, it was that fateful day that karan was to show her Spring 2002 collections at the Armory and the Tents. She recalled the date as she announced two new programs at alma mater Parsons. Living downtown at the time, she recalled, "I peered out my window, watching the buildings and then watching the TV, and life was never the same. I think there was a real consciousness that awoke us all about what it means to be conscious."

It's this relatively recent "consciousness" that motivated Karan's conversation at her alma mater, Parsons. Her focus was the "soul of the clothing"—which from a lesser designer might sound like New Age hokum, but from one of the most important fashion profiles of the 20th Century, sounds like a manifesto. And that manifesto was filled with puns, like, "How do we address an issue? How do we dress an issue." Karan described the program's goals, "Good design right now isn't about the old system of 'let's create a dress and put it down the runway.' We have to be exposed to many different cultures and ways of designing." The two programs, one based on design and the other on theory, will focus on the environment—literally and figuratively—of the social, economic and cultural implications of fashion. The ability to simply tailor isn't enough anymore, the designer-turned-mother-turned-philanthropist repeated often throughout the night. Fair enoguh, as Karan admitted to the crowd that she failed draping when she was at Parsons. but the program was made possible with her support. The program will open in fall of 2010, although Karan won't be at the chalkboard, the program was made possible through her generous support.

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Fabiola goes behind the scene (and puts in orders) at Aljeandro Ingelmo's shoe presentation, and Preen.

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PHOTO BY PATRICK MCMULLAN

Last night, Chanel inaugurated the renovation of the Mark Hotel with a dinner for Vanessa Paradis. Not just the femme de Johnny Depp, she's now the face of the brand's new lipstick. (She was wearing a beautiful crimson shade herself.) Fashion, like renovation, looks good at the end but requires hard work. Kate Bosworth was sporting an epic updo and she confessed she took an Advil before dinner to combat the tightness-related headache. But after all that hard work comes time for philosophy: "I think it was harder for the hairstylist. I sat there and drank tea." CLICK FOR ALL THE PHOTOS

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PHOTO BY HANUK

It wouldn't be New York Fashion Week without the city's most kissable photographer, Hanuk. Emboldened by the notoriety he found in 2009, shooting for Interview, among other magazines and web sites, Hanuk has moved upward and onward into the gallery world. Eight of the fashion world's most kissable, among them Derek Blasberg, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, and Patrick Robinson, will host the opening of a show of the photographer's work from 2003–2008. Hanuk did us the special honor of picking out a special favorite image from the show, a non-compositional photograph from January 28, 2004 (above), featuring a bottle of champagne and artist/Cheeseburger frontman Joe Bradley. Says the artist, ever nostaligic and self-deprecating, "This picture makes me miss when I was a Cheeseburger groupie partying with crazy rock and roll boys with my bra undone."


PHOTOGRAPHS, 2003–2008, OPENS FEBRUARY 12. ATTENDANCE REQUIRES RSVP. THE SHOW IS LOCATED AT BELLHAUS, 57 BOND STREET, NEW YORK.

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