Fashion Week Lighting Up New York

Fashion Week is in full swing in the Big Apple.

Designers, models and celebrities are all on hand to see, and be seen.

Glamour magazine Executive Fashion Editor at large Suze Yalof Schwartz has been there from the start.

Trends she's observed emerging at the show include a hard-rock look, super-short mini-skirts, and a celebrity-fest.

Form-fitting, hard-edged clothes have been paraded down many a catwalk. Rock is back, with designers showcasing leather jackets and minis -- and there was lots of black, after a year of mostly gray.

Designers also paraded out jewelry, decorative feathers, and dresses painted like art. Diane von Furstenberg bucked the trend, showing elegant, feminine dresses

Plus, celebrities -- who haven't had a lot of exposure lately because of the writers' strike -- have been out in full force.

Among the sightings: Julianne Moore, Gisele Bundchen, Joss Stone, and Heidi Klum. Rumors are rampant that Cameron Diaz and Lindsay Lohan will be among those showing up later this week.

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To see photos from Fashion Week, click here.

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"Also, we're seeing a lot of tights with open-toe sandals for fall, which I thought was very interesting. A lot of dresses. And we're seeing a lot of artistic work" -- splattered-color-type dresses."

But are these items the average woman could wear?

"Absolutely," Schwartz insisted. "These are things we're seeing on the runway, and then they're translated, and you're seeing them in malls across America."

One of the looks at New York Fashion Week was pure rock: form-fitting, hard-edged - and back in black after a year of mostly gray.

On Sunday, Max Azria brought back the bandage look of Herve Leger and outfitted rock starlets Joss Stone and Mandy Moore in the signature style in his front row. Rock & Republic turned for inspiration to the underworld and deep purple (the color, not the band).

Meanwhile, DKNY evoked a relaxed '70s glamour, while Diane von Furstenberg turned to the 1940s and Tracy Reese chose a ladylike look.

The rock look has been evident since the start of New York Fashion Week, when Nicole Miller veered away from pretty cocktail dresses and invited Joan Jett into her front row.

Clearly, they are not the only ones who still love rock 'n' roll. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week runs through Feb. 8, with Oscar de la Renta, Zac Posen and new incarnations of Bill Blass and Halston yet to preview their collections.

DIANE VON FURSTENBERG

In the first real bellwether collection of the fall season, Diane von Furstenberg favored retro glamour with an international flair, bucking just about every trend that seemed to be emerging at New York Fashion Week.

The first looks on her runway were inspired by wartime Berlin, including a glen-plaid blazer with blue satin elbow patches worn with a wool jersey illusion dress. For the evening in a secret supper club, there was a siren's wrap gown in copper jersey.

The crowd included Susan Sarandon, who was wearing a colorblocked knit dress, a look that von Furstenberg indicated will carry into fall, although in more subtle colors such as bronze, teal and black.

Women count on von Furstenberg for chic clothes for the office, and she didn't disappoint. No reason to be a meek mouse, though. How about a fuchsia wrap dress in a shiny faille fabric with a tempering merino wool vest in a dark purple on top?

HERVE LEGER

Max Azria figured out 51 ways to tie a bandage before he presented his Herve Leger collection Sunday.

A skintight, bandagelike dress is the signature of the Leger label, which the Los Angeles-based Azria - of BCBG fame - recently resurrected by putting many celebrities in vintage versions of the formfitting yet surprisingly flattering silhouette.

This was the first time a new line was presented at the Bryant Park tents to editors, stylists and retailers along with likely customers Joss Stone, Mandy Moore, Sophia Bush and Padma Lakshmi.

Azria never strayed from the bandage formula but he tried it in more fabrics, including chunky knits, and experimented with coats, pants and tops, too.

But the dresses, ranging from minis to gowns, still were the stars here. Azria wasn't afraid of calling attention to them, adding all sorts of embellishment - feathers, sequins and grosgrain ribbons - with varying degrees of success.

DKNY

Donna Karan showed off her handiwork with the fall DKNY collection with the theme of "eclectic glamour."

There was a '70s vibe to the bow blouses, slouchy wide-leg pants and floaty peasant dresses, but what really stood out were the knits, especially fringed sweater dresses. A silk georgette fringed skirt looked like individual pieces of yarn - camel, purple, gold and red. Those same colors were featured in the silk prints used for balloon-hem minidresses and plaids on jackets.

The DNKY collection targets a younger and trendier customer than her signature - and more expensive - Donna Karan label that will be shown to editors, stylists and retailers on Friday.

DKNY also has men's clothes. Next season, Karan is offering them dark denim jeans with flannel wool blazers worn with cardigans underneath.

TRACY REESE

Tracy Reese's refined look returned in a series of ladylike outfits that were just edgy enough to advance the designer's signature style.

Thanks to some bright colors, asymmetrical details and a mix of unexpected prints, the fall collection felt new, but underneath was Reese's core piece: the all-occasion frock.

The highlights of the show, held at the tents at Bryant Park, came at the beginning and end: a sheath with a draped neckline in a light-blue abstract rose print and a shift dress in a pink-and-black rhododendron print.

She also mixed florals with paisleys, and paisleys with animal prints for a shot of youthfulness.

ROCK & REPUBLIC

Rock & Republic is all about gangster chic for fall.

With an orchestra - complete with a shiny baby grand piano on the runway - providing much of the 1970s rock 'n' roll soundtrack, sleek black suits dominated the runway Saturday night. Other old-school, underworld classics, such as fedoras, trenchcoats and watchman jackets, brought the mafia looks of yesteryear to an audience that included Joss Stone, Christina Milian and Tyson Beckford.

The toy-gun accessory worn in a holster on slim, low-slung black trousers was too literal and unnecessary. But the suits, especially those for women, looked right on target.

The palette here was limited, mostly black, gray and the occasional flash of deep purple.

The collection by creative director Michael Ball and input by new designer David Cardona certainly fit in with the rock 'n' roll look emerging as a trend, but some audience members mused after the show - what happened to the denim that made this label famous?

The fall trends shown Saturday at New York Fashion Week are bound to cause a collective shiver: Along with chunky turtlenecks and peacoats, prepare for super-short miniskirts.

The leggy look was big at shows for Nicole Miller, Lacoste, BCBG Max Azria, Erin Fetherston, Abaete and Kimora Lee Simmons' Baby Phat line - among the early previews for editors, retailers and stylists at the tents at Bryant Park.

Most minis were paired with opaque tights and ballet flats, a good sign for women who bought into those trends last fall. Treat those things with care and you'll get another season out of them.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week still has plenty of time for new "it" items to emerge. Runway shows run through Feb. 8 with Oscar de la Renta, Diane von Furstenberg, Zac Posen and a new incarnation of Bill Blass yet to preview their collections.

NICOLE MILLER

Nicole Miller reversed course with her fall styles, ditching the artisanal Central American and Moroccan themes she has favored in the recent past and adopting an edgy, rock 'n' roll tone.

With Joan Jett sitting in Miller's front row Friday night, the designer showed super-skinny black pants - some with patches of satin - paired with boxier jackets or cozy cocooning sweaters. She also hit on the miniskirt and the yin-and-yang dynamic that seems to be emerging as a trend, with either loose tops and tight bottoms or vice versa.

Outside Miller's traditional comfort zone of cute cocktail dresses were a black, zip-front catsuit and draped silk dresses in chain-mail or fleur-de-lis prints.

LACOSTE

Lacoste's golf- and tennis-enthusiast fans will have new options for the slopes.

The French brand made its case on a gigantic bear rug Saturday, opening with cozy jumpsuits in sweatshirt material for women and chunky turtleneck sweaters for men.

Next came some more fashion-forward looks - shorts with tights, and flat-weave sweaters with geometric patterns.

There were plenty of menswear influences in the women's styles, including skinny ties and traditional blazers with country club-style emblems. There also were gray flannel pants in every possible silhouette - gaucho pants, wide-leg palazzo pants, slim trousers and capris.

The finale was an apres-ski disco party with a dress code of striped sweaters and knit minidresses in blue and purple worn with legwarmers.

RAG & BONE

Rag & Bone declared itself a serious player with a fall collection that was equally somber and stylish.

The label, known mostly for its denim just a few seasons ago, showed serious clothes for men and women on Friday - clothes worthy of the buzz designers David Neville and Marcus Wainwright have been generating and of their up-and-comer award last year from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

A packed house that included Gisele Bundchen and Julianne Moore saw a parade of gray, black and navy clothes that seemed loosely military-inspired.

One of the best men's looks was a Navy officer's coat worn with a slim cashmere trouser, while a fitted "cigarette" minidress with chunky black beads forming a vertical stripe down the front and back was one of the few pieces with any adornment.

BABY PHAT

For the first half of Kimora Lee Simmons' fashion show, it looked like her banker-type male models would have no dates they could bring home to mother.

The Friday night preview of her Baby Phat collection had the men dressed in classic suits and the women in cropped jackets with tiny shorts and shiny leggings. The female version of the three-piece suit was low-rise knickers with a belly-baring top and jacket.

Eventually Simmons started sending out her more expensive KLS Collection, which had references to the 1920s and '30s, and seemed a better match for a crowd that included Tyra Banks, Vivica Fox, the designer's ex-husband Russell Simmons and current companion Djimon Hounsou.

Usually both the men's and womenswear are geared toward trendy, young customers and rooted in urban style. Maybe, 10 years into the fashion business, Simmons sees her fans growing up a bit.

ABAETE

Medieval met Madame Gres at the Abaete fall collection preview.

Designer Laura Poretzky alternated the dresses on her runway between black wool pieces with armorlike silver studs and chiffon ones with beautifully intricate braided fronts that were graceful and delicate.

In between, there were touches of color-blocking - which is already expected to be a trend for this spring - and tailoring, especially wide-leg pants worthy of 1940s film stars like Lauren Bacall and Katharine Hepburn.

Poretzky also gave a nod to the short skirts and dresses that are proving popular for next season, but many of hers were in a bouncy circle shape.

She said the look was a mix of "French femininity, Brazilian sensuality and American simplicity." Don't forget frugality: All of her shoes were from the line she does for Payless.

PERRY ELLIS

There were no men in black on the Perry Ellis runway. Instead, navies, greens, browns, burgundies, grays and even splashes of purple dominated the show.

The collection had an outdoorsy, lodge-y, feel with cargo-like pants, cardigans and cashmere turtlenecks given names such as Hunting Pants, Shooting Pants and Shooting Sweater. Creative director John Crocco experimented with wool blends, flannels and slick nylons and added paisley, medallion and plaid shirts and neckwear.

The clothes ranged from a navy turtleneck sweater with a large snowflake on the front and burgundy storm pants to a charcoal blazer topping a yellow, V-neck sweater over a paisley shirt.

ERIN FETHERSTON

It's possible to be a free spirit without wearing - or creating - frivolous clothes.

Erin Fetherston, the young designer who recently had a limited-edition run at Target, took her bow Friday night in a floral minidress that was representative of her whole fall collection: It was ethereal thanks to its loose, floaty shape and feminine print, but the colors, including purple and yellow, were not at all flimsy.

She titled her show "Love Sprung," maybe a sign that she also has bought into the idea that fashion is seasonless - she alternated her fall collection between coats and sleeveless dresses.