Alexander Wang hit Barneys’ Madison Avenue flagship yesterday for a trunk show to debut his Spring 2010 line. No surprise, the girls (and grandmas!) were waiting. Below, Wang’s report, exclusively for Style.com.
When I got to Barneys, I was welcomed with the news that our Rocco bag had a waiting list of 400-plus. By day’s end, their entire Spring 2010 handbag order sold out with pre-buys—and that’s before it will even hit the floor. Yikes! Good news, but now we’re going to have to figure out how to produce more bags so our section won’t be empty come January.
Having the chance to meet and personally walk through the collection with customers is a truly fulfilling experience. It’s amazing to hear firsthand how much they enjoy wearing the collection and to see the range of buyers. Girls come in with their mothers and even grandmothers, and I love that they all can find something within the collection.
Next stop is Chicago for another Barneys trunk show, and then to Zurich for the Swiss Textile Awards, which I’m totally psyched for. I’ve got a ton of stuff to keep me busy, but at least I’ll have Halloween to party before the next round!—Alexander Wang
Photo: Courtesy of Alexander Wang<!–
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Alaïa speaks! The reclusive designer spared a word or two when he showed a few Fall looks to a gathered mass in Paris. Here’s what he had to say of fashion’s frantic pace: “It’s inhumane…too many collections; too much pressure.” [WWD]The Times takes on a controversial topic: the dress code of the court appearance. Lindsay Lohan—a frequent guest of the L.A. County courthouse—tends to go high and tight (like her recent white Kimberly Ovitz number); her old friend Nicole Richie used to go classier in Breakfast at Tiffany’s-style black; and as for Naomi Campbell, she, of course, wears her good friend Azzedine Alaïa. [NYT]Today in news we didn’t see coming: Karl Lagerfeld shoots Rachel Bilson for an ad in Paris…an ice cream ad. [Elle U.K.]And from the annals of westward expansion: Taavo Somer’s New York-based Freemans Sporting Club will open its first California outpost in San Francisco’s Mission District next month. [WWD]
When you need a favor, it helps to have friends in high places. Or, in the case of Jenna Lyons, to be a friend in a high place. Several months ago, Lyons, the creative director of J.Crew, was trying (and failing) to track down a few pieces of Fenton/Fallon jewelry, a problem with no real solution until she ran into Fenton/Fallon designer Dana Lorenz (pictured, with Lyons) at a dinner. “It was a party hosted by Maria Cornejo,” Lorenz recalled last night the Soho J.Crew store. “I remember, I was wearing a chambray shirt with paint all over it, because I hadn’t expected to be able to make it. Anyway,” Lorenz continued, “Jenna told me that she was looking for these pieces, and they were all sold out. I offered to make them up for her, as a favor.” Lyons decided that the real favor Lorenz could do for her was to join the J.Crew fold for a season. The Fenton/Fallon for J. Crew collection is on the sales floor now; Lorenz describes the range as a “mash-up” of her two brands. “It’s a little less statement-y than Fenton, a little more statement-y than Fallon,” Lorenz said, “and I’m kind of loving the contrast with the preppy little blazers and things.” Prices start at $95 for the Carrington chain bracelet, below.
When Erin Wasson claimed she was installing a mechanical bull at the Lower East Side launch party for her collaboration with RVCA Wednesday night, many thought she was bluffing. “Well, I just proved them wrong, didn’t I?” quipped the Texan when, sure enough, the bovine plaything materialized. “I don’t mess around when it comes to the rodeo.” Seeing as Wasson was wearing a T-shirt that read, “If you ain’t a cowboy you ain’t shit,” we’re inclined to agree. Hosted by PM Tenore and Opening Ceremony, Wasson’s late late-night bash (her presentation at Milk Studios didn’t wrap up until 11 p.m.) saw friends Lara Stone and Noot Seear crawling into an inflatable ring in a still officially unnamed Essex Street eatery for a tumble with the bull. “I would be willing to give it a try,” said Fabiola Beracasa. “But I don’t think it would be pretty in this dress—that would be a whole other show.”