Some titles attract buzz—manufactured, earned or what have you—and when the buzz comes, you go. A Single Man picked up an acting award for Colin Firth last week at Venice; it also landed a distributor in the Weinsteins mere hours ago, who added a second Toronto press screening and stoked the fire. For the record, I was already planning on seeing it, not just because I’m exquisitely attuned to microchanges in hotness, but because the movie is the first by fashion designer Tom Ford and I like to see those kinds of professional leaps. Since the film is superstylish and set largely in 1962, people are crying Mad Men (many critics are swooning). But a better comparison might be something like Far from Heaven, which swaddled a tragic, pre-lib gay story in affecting melodrama. The clash isn’t wholly successful. Read more »

One of our all-time favorite wallpaper makers, Rollout, was asked to create a unique paper for the Star Lounge at Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week. (Another one of our favorite things!) For those who won’t be in the tent (sorry!), a swatch is included to the left for your visual pleasure. Ugh, it’s gorgeous prints like these that make us sad we don’t have bigger walls in these NYC apartments.

The tents last February.

Wanna see Fashion Week up close? No, we don’t have tickets for you. But you can tune in to Videofashion Daily for full coverage of the event on NYCTV. It’s teaming up with Glamour magazine’s executive fashion editor-at-large, Suze Yalof Schwartz, to report on all aspects of the shows. From the beauty of the runways to the hassle backstage to exclusive interviews to who’s protesting outside, every bit will be covered. Which is more than we can say for some of the models.

Videofashion Daily premieres on NYCTV Sun 15 at 9pm and airs daily through Feb 26, with 72 hours of New York Fashion Week coverage.

Most people won’t be able to get their hands on the clothes from Spring 2009 Fashion Week until, well, Spring 2009. But these celebs showed up at the Emmy’s in frocks fresh off the runway.

So, where do these designs work better, on the runway or in real life?

Christina Applegate in Reem Acra

Read more »

No, technically goodest isn’t a word, but you get the idea: It’s time to take inventory of the free swag that piled up on desks last week. Amid the eye creams and lipglosses and breath mints were some standouts worth noting, so without further ado…

Most appropriate for my grandma: Ports 1961 gave out a knitting bag with funny-topped knitting needles, a ball of yarn and knitting instructions. Are we supposed to create our own replicas of what came down the runway?

Most appropriate for Nicolette Sheridan: Tony Cohen’s bag included everything a desperate hussy needs: sweet-smelling soaps, a romantic candle, shave gel, a coupon for a free facial, a spray-tan gift card and a Botox gift certificate. Now we too can tear families apart with a single pout of our bee-stung lips!

Most likely to instigate a hair-pulling fight: Not only is Vincent Longo’s lipgloss in Mission Control, compliments of Douglas Hannant, a great color, but it also smells like butterscotch. No wonder The Vulture wanted so many.

Most likely to make our pee neon: Verrier’s "Strength Style for Life" bag contained vitamins, calcium chews, gum and Splenda. We’re pretty sure that if you ingest all of these things together you will become radioactive.

Most likely to find its way under our pillows: We thought the condoms in Yigal Azrouël’s bag were slightly odd, but then we opened the New York Couture bag. The leopard-print number contained the customary lipgloss, a great T-shirt and a gift card for the fantastic Bar & Lounge Deck, and then there was something that looked like it might be a tube of lipstick. But wait: It had a remote control attached and bore the Babeland logo. We’re speechless—and slightly aroused.

Fashion designers: They recycle too!

Michael Kors Spring 2009

Michael Kors Fall 2007

Full Fashion Week coverage: timeoutnewyork.com/fashionweek

The fashion industry is constantly being criticized for allowing stick-thin models to rule the runway. All week we’ve seen emaciated-looking girls with concave chests and protruding bones, despite the CFDA’s recent efforts to combat the problem. Their educational booth inside the tents is like a ghost town, but I guess that’s what happens when the booth next to it is giving away free booze and raffling off BlackBerries.

But we’ve noticed a more subtle attempt to force-feed the fashion folk: style people collaborating with food companies. If you make food fashionable, will they bite?

Eva Longoria endorsed M&M’s Premiums earlier in the week as another attempt to hype trendy treats. With brightly colored shells and mouthwatering flavors like triple chocolate, mocha and chocolate almond, these “upscale” candies should have been a big hit.

But TONY staffer Lucy Quintanilla said that the crowd’s reaction inside the tents was tepid at best: “Most of the people eating the candy were the journalists, while the models looked at them like they were pure evil,” she says. “Some people even shooed away the candy-bearing girls.”

Another force-feed attempt has been made by designer Erin Fetherston, who designed limited-edition packaging for yummy French cookie makers LU. We caught up with the LU ladies (left), who have been passing out the tasty treats in the fashion tents, to see how they’ve been received by fashion fiends.

Cookies seem like the last thing people attending Fashion Week would want. Is anyone interested?
Most people really like them. I think sometimes seeing all those skinny models makes them want to eat.

I thought it would be the opposite.
Well, there are some people who have given us dirty looks and kept walking.

Ouch. Hand ‘em over.

What hits you, sitting in the Bryant Park tents for The Project Runway finale, is that, despite this season’s playing-to-the-cameras cast, the show is built on real people. Stars from seasons past and present mingled about, but looked more vulnerable than on TV: Kenley had a scratch on her leg, Suede has bad skin and Blaine doesn’t add -licious to every word. “Everyone says it back to me. What have I done?” he asked.

Six designers showed this morning, but only a few were actual finalists (it’s a secret!) and only one will win (that’s a secret too). Here’s a preview from the second row, with photos of the models also featuring (a) some guy’s shoulder, or (b) Gossip Girl star Michelle Trachtenberg’s head.

I. Heidi!
The host introduced the show with a bombshell: Guest judge Jennifer Lopez dropped out yesterday—citing a “foot injury”—but she’d be replaced by…Tim Gunn! “I’ve never been a judge before,” he said, adding he’d put his love for the designers on a “metaphorical shelf” to be objective. After a goodbye to Bravo—and a kiss for producer Harvey Weinstein (blamed for moving the show to Lifetime but apparently forgiven by Heidi)—Klum started the show.

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