New York Central (Oct 10, 2011)
A dress from Halstons fall 2008 collection. (Diane Bondareff/Associated Press)Whenever I go to some black-tie affair at the Waldorf, I leave thinking of my father, Eugene Horyn, an ex-newspaperman. I cant help it. He loved all that big-city stuff, and I dont take any of it for granted even when my shoes feel too small. I went to the Waldorf tonight because Bill Cunningham was being honored, among others, by the Citizens Committee for New York, and the Times took two tables. After Ben Chos show, which was, as usual, imaginative and very much a continuation of some of the shapes hes been doing, I went home and put on a black dress and my Manolos, and walked over to the Waldorf. I saw Oscar and Annette de la Renta, I saw Peter Duchin, and then I saw Bill, who was taking pictures. He would not hear of actually giving an acceptance speech, and so the Committee showed a video of Bill on the job, which began with a quote from Anna Wintour: We all dress for Bill. Which is true. Everybody with style comes swinging down the steps of Bryant Park and tries to get Billys attention. Anyway, the film clip was great, especially the part shot in the office where Bill was working with a copy editor to lay out his pages in the Sunday Style section. Im sure he drives the copy editors crazymove that picture up here, move that down therebut people forget that Bill used to do his collage layouts for Details. Hes particular, and why not? Disposable cameras had been put on all the tables in the Grand Ballroom and on the count of three people took Bills picture as he took theirs from the stage. Then he went back to work and, Im sure, forgot the whole thing. Thats Bill. Another look from the Halston show. (Diane Bondareff/Associated Press)Today was Oscar, Carolina Herrera, Thom Browne, and Halston. I arrived late for Oscarand he doesnt wait too longon account of Brownes show being in Chelsea and the traffic being miserable. Brownes show made me laugh. I kept thinking Dumb and Dumber, especially when two guys came out sharing a trouser leg and wearing a straight face. There was a fellow in a gray feather suit, too. What can I say? Sometimes I think that Browne just goes around and around, really not breaking out of the tasks or fascinations he has given himself. A lot of the clothes are jokes, but every so often he poses some interesting questions about tailoring and proportions. One of Carolina Herreras pieces from her fall 2008 show.I thought Marco Zanini did a great job today for Halston. Liza M was there, in a red pantsuit, her hair jet black, and she left out a little cry and spanked her hands at the first outfit, a slim gray cashmere cape over a dress and suede boots. Zanini said the clothes would be a little banal, which was a plus to him, and I can see what he meant. There were some beautiful clothes, some very specific colors (like those mushroomy browns and that clay blue, for a jersey evening dress), and I just wanted to see more. I thought some of the bags were new, especially a flat satchel in crocodile or fake croc, and a super-soft shoulder bag shown with the brown satin shirtdress. The retailers were huddling afterwards. Herrera was interesting. Its the second show in the past two weeks that made me think of Daphne Guinness (who I hear is having armor made for herself), and maybe because Herreras theme was vaguely Anglo-Irishhorses, tweeds and pheasants. You would really not wear all these clothes as they were shown, unless you didnt know better, but there were some terrific over-the-top looks, like the coats and fur vests.Backstage at Preen during New York Fashion Week. (Elizabeth Lippman for The New York Times)You know, before going home to catch the last four minutes of the Giants-Patriots game, with a pastrami sandwich from Katzs, I stopped by the Box to see the Rodnik show. The clothes were cute and straightforward, but I thought the scene was fun, especially how the models looked. I mean, they cant dance. Its questionable if they can even walk. But the long hair, bangs and dark eyes is always English and appealing. I always think of Marianne Faithfull. I saw her, by the way, at the Chanel couture show. I saw Andre Leon Talley, who had on his sables and so forth. He told me he had spent a couple of weeks in Chicago campaigning for Obama, mainly working the phones. I took a cab uptown with my sack from Katzs.Read Cathy Horyns latest review from New York Fashion Week.Slide Show: Monday SelectionsListen to an audio slide show of Cathy Horyns New York Fashion Week Review here.
