It's Only Rock 'n' Roll at New York's Fashion Week

Date: 15 Feb 2003 13:54:11 GMT
Newsgroups: alt.gossip.celebrities
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FOX NEWS....
NEW YORK — Retro, rock and downtown chic dominated New York Fashion Week,
which came to a conclusion Friday.
From Kenneth Cole's new collection, which had models walking the catwalk to
Rolling Stones music to the funky downtown looks by Marc Jacobs, many designers
took a cue from rock 'n' roll.
Cole's models strutted to "Paint it Black" and donned zippered miniskirts,
sleeveless minidresses and flared velvet trousers.
And while Michael Kors' name may not make you think of downtown chic, the rock
'n' roll stores of Manhattan's East Village seemed to be where he looked for
inspiration. Punky silver studs ran up the side of black leather pants, fringes
swung from the hems of jersey miniskirts and jackets were made of black satin
and distressed leather.
Tommy Hilfiger also sometimes uses different musical eras as inspiration for
collections. His theme this year mined the mod squad style. The men's
collection included narrow, tailored Beatles suits and black boots, while the
women wore short A-line jumpers and go-go boots that recalled the age of Jane
Jetson.
"I am a Beatles fan and have been looking at a lot of photos of them, really
studying them and listening to a lot of their music," said Hilfiger. "When I
saw them on the Ed Sullivan show when they first came to America, I watched in
awe and became a fan. They started the mod revolution, and I wanted to pay
homage to them."
Fanciful is a word that can be used to describe Brit designer Matthew
Williamson's neon-bright clothes -- models were dressed in hot pink chiffon
blouses, pink and green tweed coats and black party dresses covered in sequins.
Designer Anna Sui used the look of retro ski bunnies and Jazz Age flappers in
her collection. Models wore puffy coats over black shredded '30s dresses as
well as satin ski parkas with coordinating sequined tank tops and lace skirts.
Rebecca Taylor's theme was rocker chic a la Chrissie Hynde, captured by
ensembles like a leopard faux fur jacket over an appliqué chiffon dress or a
soft, sheared tiger coat with a silk chemise and crème brulee cordoroys.
When asked what she enjoyed about fashion week, actress Stephanie March from
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit , said she loved seeing the "amazing
assortment of incredible clothing."
"The women are beautiful and the men are ridiculous and it's kind of like a
little fantasy world for one week in New York," she said.
More than 100 designers were represented in the 11th annual shindig, which took
place in four huge tents in Manhattan.
As usual, the high-profile socialite Hilton sisters were on hand for much of
the festivities.
"(Fashion Week) is just so much fun," said Nicky Hilton. "I am now a designer.
I'm designing handbags so I love seeing what all the different designers are
doing. Skirts, I love that mini skirts are back. But I mean I never thought
they were out."
So what happens when the tents come down and the models go home? Designer Kors
said there is no rest for the fashion set.
"I'm a quintessential New Yorker. What am I going to do after the show? I'm
going to have some pizza and keep on working. It's New York, the energizer
bunny city, so we keep on going."
The Associated Press and The New York Post's Farrah Weinstein and Libby
Callaway contributed to this report.
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