New York Fashion Week

NEW YORK - Vogue magazine, perhaps the world's top arbiter of style, is making a statement about its own models: Too young and too thin is no longer in. The 19 editors of Vogue magazines around the world made a pact to project the image of healthy models, according to a Conde Nast International announcement Thursday. They agreed to "not knowingly work with models under the age of 16 or who appear to have an eating disorder," and said they will ask casting directors to check IDs at photo shoots and fashion shows and for ad campaigns.

The numbers are staggering: Since Mickey Drexler took over as CEO of J.Crew in 2003, the company's revenues have risen 170 percent to near $1.9 billion in 2011. Each year 40 million copies of the J.Crew catalog (now euphemistically called a "style guide") are printed. The company, which once kept its eye squarely on preppy culture and was more closely related to Eddie Bauer than Tory Burch, is now showing seasonally at New York Fashion Week. It's the reason why Drexler was once dubbed "The Merchant Prince" during a mercurial run at the helm of the Gap. ...

NEW YORK - Fashion prognosticators gazed into their crystal balls - and also into their crystal embossed pumps - early and often during New York Fashion Week. There was a frantic stampede to call trends for Fall/Winter 2012-2013, to predict hot colors, slap designers on their delicate wrists for missteps, and snap photos of Nicki Minaj doppelgangers for street style blogs. If New York Fashion Week occurred 100 years ago, Barnum & Bailey would have declared it the greatest hot mess of a show on earth.

NEW YORK - Vogue magazine, perhaps the world's top arbiter of style, is making a statement about its own models: Too young and too thin is no longer in. The 19 editors of Vogue magazines around the world made a pact to project the image of healthy models, according to a Conde Nast International announcement Thursday. They agreed to "not knowingly work with models under the age of 16 or who appear to have an eating disorder," and said they will ask casting directors to check IDs at photo shoots and fashion shows and for ad campaigns.

It's not surprising when a New York-based high fashion boutique opens on Newbury Street. Boston is a logical step for expansion. But what is surprising - in the case of clothier Rag & Bone - is that after 10 years, a label that started without fashion designers has gone global. Boston's first Rag & Bone store opened last month on Newbury Street, but it was only a decade ago that David Neville and Marcus Wainwright, a pair of friends who first met at boarding school in England, starting exploring the idea of making men's jeans.

Target's latest capsule collection -- Gwen Stefani's Harajuki Mini -- goes on sale Nov. 13. Will soccer moms and fashion-obsessed tweens be shoving down the doors to get their hands on these ska-by-way-of-Tokyo fashions? Stefani is best known for her music (oh, and those makeup ads where her lips are weirdly superhuman red), but she's also an accomplished designer who regularly shows at the Lincoln Park tents during New York Fashion Week.

The numbers are staggering: Since Mickey Drexler took over as CEO of J.Crew in 2003, the company's revenues have risen 170 percent to near $1.9 billion in 2011. Each year 40 million copies of the J.Crew catalog (now euphemistically called a "style guide") are printed. The company, which once kept its eye squarely on preppy culture and was more closely related to Eddie Bauer than Tory Burch, is now showing seasonally at New York Fashion Week. It's the reason why Drexler was once dubbed "The Merchant Prince" during a mercurial run...

I'm back at New York Fashion Week and ready to complain! As much as I j'adore new technology, the latest problem at Fashion Week is the iPad. It's bad enough when the hoi polloi crammed into the rafters at Lincoln Center have to strain their necks to get a glimpse of the runway. Making matters worse are folks who hoist their iPads into the air to take pictures and video of the catwalk. If you have the misfortune of sitting behind these people, all you can see is a grainy image of the proceedings on the tablet, because it's directly in your line of vision.

Luxury fashion still caters to movie stars, high-powered businesswomen and ladies who lunch, but designers are starting to show interest in that generation's daughters. Halfway through New York Fashion Week, familiar runway themes like military tailoring, old-school rock 'n' roll, and Hollywood Golden Age glam are showing tweaks designed to appeal to younger eyes: the double-breasted coat in shiny patent leather, tweed suits infused with metallics and leather substituted in silhouettes that used to be silk.

Singer and designer Gwen Stefani, one of the few celebrities who has stuck with her fashion brand for the long haul, offered a "That Girl" vibe at the New York Fashion Week show for her LAMB line. Black-and-white photos of New York in the 1960s provided the backdrop for tweed miniskirt suits, chunky knit sweaters worn with shorts and tights, and a double-zip, high-neck jumpsuit. Grays and blacks were punctuated by occasional flashes of bright yellow. Unfortunately, the logistics of her presentation Saturday night at the Lincoln Center tents...

Most Americans who orbit outside the taffeta- and tulle-draped planet of high fashion were introduced to designer Isabel Toledo on Jan. 20, 2009: Inauguration Day. Style-savvy first lady Michelle Obama lit up television screens around the globe wearing an intricate lemongrass-hued lace coat and matching dress designed by Toledo for the event. At the time, Obama's every sartorial choice was being eagerly dissected by the fashion press. The nation had become so engulfed in Obamamania that the first lady's inaugural gown quickly spurred cheap knockoffs.

It's not surprising when a New York-based high fashion boutique opens on Newbury Street. Boston is a logical step for expansion. But what is surprising - in the case of clothier Rag & Bone - is that after 10 years, a label that started without fashion designers has gone global. Boston's first Rag & Bone store opened last month on Newbury Street, but it was only a decade ago that David Neville and Marcus Wainwright, a pair of friends who first met at boarding school in England, starting exploring the idea of making men's jeans.

NEW YORK - Fashion prognosticators gazed into their crystal balls - and also into their crystal embossed pumps - early and often during New York Fashion Week. There was a frantic stampede to call trends for Fall/Winter 2012-2013, to predict hot colors, slap designers on their delicate wrists for missteps, and snap photos of Nicki Minaj doppelgangers for street style blogs. If New York Fashion Week occurred 100 years ago, Barnum & Bailey would have declared it the greatest hot mess of a show on earth.

The big names at New York Fashion Week who are watched for trends include Marc Jacobs and Proenza Schouler. But now, Jacobs and Proenza designers Jack McCollugh and Lazaro Hernandez have more on their minds than mere creativity and innovation. They have big businesses to run, and that has to enter the decision-making process at some point. When you're more of a startup, there's freedom. And there might not be much money, so fashion shows are done on a much smaller scale. Models might work for clothes and other freebies.

NEW YORK - Phillip Lim made his point when the DJ at his Monday afternoon show played the James Brown standard "It's a Man's World. " Through the technical difficulties of a hyperactive fog machine, models in panel cape jackets and silver PVC collars neatly summed up Lim's idea of the strong woman in masculine tailoring. With unapologetic and nuanced nods to superheroes, Lim's ensembles balanced menswear silhouettes with feminine touches such as peplum blouses. That kind of duality - think the lyric "It's a man's world, but it would be...

Marc Jacobs, always the showman, turned his New York Fashion Week show into a mystical forest Monday night, presenting his fall collection amid an old-school fairy tale, complete with characters wearing oversized fur hats and embellished big-buckle shoes. There were hints of Victoriana, with bustles tacked on to some of the dresses, and a sequined faux-fur coat that appeared to be covered in snowflakes. Nearly hidden amid the onstage drama unfolding at the Lexington Avenue Armory were beautiful pieces of outerwear and chic cocktail clothes.

Marc Jacobs, always the showman, turned his New York Fashion Week show into a mystical forest Monday night, presenting his fall collection amid an old-school fairy tale, complete with characters wearing oversized fur hats and embellished big-buckle shoes. There were hints of Victoriana, with bustles tacked on to some of the dresses, and a sequined faux-fur coat that appeared to be covered in snowflakes. Nearly hidden amid the onstage drama unfolding at the Lexington Avenue Armory were beautiful pieces of outerwear and chic cocktail clothes.

Fashion reality programming has given us everything from budding designers making couture from potato sacks to stylists scrambling to find frocks for starlets. Having exhausted nearly every aspect of the industry - and knocking off its dearly-departed “Project Runway’’ with pallid imitations - Bravo finds a new way to bring viewers into the rapid, vapid world of fashion: a show focused on fashion publicists. “Kell on Earth,’’ which premieres tonight at 10, captures the drama and meltdowns you’d hope to see from a pressure-cooker office...

Luxury fashion still caters to movie stars, high-powered businesswomen and ladies who lunch, but designers are starting to show interest in that generation's daughters. Halfway through New York Fashion Week, familiar runway themes like military tailoring, old-school rock 'n' roll, and Hollywood Golden Age glam are showing tweaks designed to appeal to younger eyes: the double-breasted coat in shiny patent leather, tweed suits infused with metallics and leather substituted in silhouettes that used to be silk.

Singer and designer Gwen Stefani, one of the few celebrities who has stuck with her fashion brand for the long haul, offered a "That Girl" vibe at the New York Fashion Week show for her LAMB line. Black-and-white photos of New York in the 1960s provided the backdrop for tweed miniskirt suits, chunky knit sweaters worn with shorts and tights, and a double-zip, high-neck jumpsuit. Grays and blacks were punctuated by occasional flashes of bright yellow. Unfortunately, the logistics of her presentation Saturday night at the Lincoln Center tents...