New To The Game

CBSNews.com contributor Poppy Harlow went looking for some of the hot new designers making their debut at New York Fashion Week, and for insight into how they got there. Here's her report.

Looking back on the Spring/Summer 2007 collections that took over Bryant Park this week, I can't get the images of the young, starry-eyed designers out of my mind.

Of course, no designer who gets to show their duds on the catwalks of New York's famed Olympus Fashion Week is really new to the business. But they are new to the eyes of many of the editors, buyers, media and ever-present socialites who congregate under the tents this time of year.

Sure, the hottest ticket may be the Marc Jacobs show, held at the Armory again this season, or a front row seat to see Carolina Herrera's or Oscar de la Renta's latest masterpieces.

But this season, much of the excitement was in the work of new designers.

It's never easy to stay on the safe side and have flair—especially before an audience of American women, whom designer Max Azria proclaims are more stylish than their European counterparts. The American woman, Azria says, "understands the power of good style, and has the confidence to feel comfortable."

3If I had to name successful mavericks, the first names on the list would be the ever-fabulous (and they think so, too) Heatherette, comprised of dynamic duo Richie Rich and Traver Rains; the often-called painfully hip Imitation of Christ, and British born designer Sue Stemp, who has dressed London's chic but has just moved to New York.

When I spoke with Richie Rich of Heatherette on Friday at the STYLELOUNGE launch party hosted by Caravan, he said Spring/Summer collections are the most fun to design simply because there's all that skin to show for the warm weather months.

4The elegance of the runway shows in February 2006 may have been replaced with tiny bikinis and hot pants. But the excitement of designers showing for the first time resonated with the audience.

Fast Forward to Sue Stemp. An established name in fashion circles in New York and London, Stemp showed her own collection for the first time this week. Her aptly-named "Byrd of America" collection ("bird" being British slang for girl), is her third since leaving Tocca as their co-head designer, not to mention her previous work for the likes of Alexander McQueen and British label Ghost.

I visited Stemp two days before her show at her new studio in the heart of New York's garment district—so new that a boom box was providing the music, and there was only one mirror to work with on last-minute castings and fittings for her show.

A look at her most recent collection makes it clear that, albeit this is her first real runway show (she showed her 2006 collection at The Players Club in Gramercy last September, and made the cover of WWD), this designer's years of experience have served her well.

Her showroom was filled with feminine, flirty pieces with a refreshing edge not always seen in established collections. Exposed zippers, dropped waists and offset sleeves are all welcome accents.

The work behind each piece is evident—she talked to me about her collaboration with textile designer Ben Copperwheat to create a feminine yet distinct print based around the English Tudor rose and other Elizabethan elements. In her own words, this collection is "historical, but [has] modern elements."

Her show in the Red Bull Nokia Theater met with rave reviews. Not every new designer is so lucky. But, according to Stemp, it's not all about luck. Her advice to aspiring designers is, simply, "get experience."

Oh, and did I mention she dressed Kate Moss for her 30th birthday bash?

Needless to say, established designers such as Herrera and de la Renta are established for a reason. They, too, were once new designers trying to make their names.

The establishment has a tendency to become, well, predictable.

But as the saying goes, the cream always rises to the top, and we saw just that this year with acclaimed American fashion house Bill Blass. In need of re-vamping, the house of Bill Blass launched their collection this year along with a spring/summer '07 women's shoe collection that was hard to beat.

I took a look at the new shoe collection at a kickoff party they hosted at the newly-opened Gin Lane in the meatpacking district, and was not disappointed.

Sometimes the old just needs a little something new.

2Just take your seat in the proverbial front row (if you can manage to get there) and judge for yourself.

The established--and deservedly so--Donna Karan wrote in her notes this year that her designs were inspired by New York, and "New York isn't one thing, it's everything."

That is a fact, and from what I saw this week, the designs reflect the ever-changing city under whose tents they are first seen.

We count on the new ones to bring us inspiration, and open our eyes. Whether they succeeded this season or not is up to the beholder (or the buyer). Their biggest hope is to be welcomed back to Bryant Park next season.