>> Phillip Lim created the mascot skirt of Fashion Week earlier this year — not kidding, I've seen it on at least one person every day this week — and if the attendance to his newest collection's presentation is any indication, Spring 2009 will be smooth sailing for 3.1 Phillip Lim — the Tent was packed to the gills with fans, including friends Richard Chai and Irina Lazareanu, both sitting front row.

Christian Louboutin designed ruffled heels for the collection, eliciting covetousness in many — in fact, the whole Spring 2009 season is about ruffles for Phillip.  The treatment in some of the dresses and skirts reminded me of a tamed version of Marc Jacobs's Spring 2007 ruffles, but among the hazy smoke that hovered on the runway, the real standouts emerged — the stiff, open-edged zipper pieces, and the jewelry Eddie Borgo made for the occasion.
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>> It's hard to imagine being pregnant and designing hot little minidresses for other women to wear, but when you're Thea Bregazzi, one half of design duo Preen, and those hot little minidresses happen to be what your label is known for, that's just what you do.

The heavily expectant Thea stayed across the pond in London while her partner in design and life, Justin Thornton, carried on with the label's show today. He carried it well — everything went smoothly, save a slight wardrobe malfunction for Anja Rubik and the confusion that ensued at the end of the show, when Justin didn't appear at the end of the runway and no one knew when to start the final applause.

As for the clothes, the dresses with intricate paneled cutouts and peekaboo zipper slats, the piquante shots of tomato red, and the sexily laced up pleated skinny pants came together for a more refined collection than we have seen from Preen in the last couple of seasons. Maybe Thea should be pregnant more often . . .
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>> Take working-class fashion, add a pinch of Joy Division, and you've got the inspiration David Neville and Marcus Wainwright were drawing on for their Spring 2009 collection. The Rag & Bone show changed venues this season from the upscale Cipriani to the more hard-edged Pier 94 — a change from polished to slightly edgy that you could also say was reflected in the clothes.

Black wraparound leather belts with threateningly sharp silver spikes accented so many of the looks, and are sure to be a must-have — but even the typical Rag & Bone tweedy suits were rock-n-rolled up with a leather mini, like Julia Dunstall's closing look, or a silvery silk sheen, like Jessica Stam's blazer.

The model cast was full of high notes — stalwarts like opener Sasha Pivovarova or Coco Rocha — and the coveted new girls like Aline Weber and Liu Wen. Arlenis Pena was there too: she's had a big day, between being named as the new face of Lancome and slipping up at BCBG this morning.

To get the full experience, check out the runway video at Elle.com.
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>> Amongst significantly less hubbub — no Net-a-Porter selling his clothes right off the runway this time — Roland Mouret debuted his second collection yesterday under his new RM by Roland Mouret moniker.  The new set of dresses are definitely cut from the Mouret cloth — sheaths tailored with precision, oragami shapes — but for a man who's been using the same silhouettes since 2005, it's time to grow the aesthetic, not stand still in time.

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>> Seeing a Chanel couture collection is a thrill, but the clothes are always rivaled by what new, huge installation Karl Lagerfeld has plopped in the center of le Grand Palais for the models to stream out of.  In recent seasons, there's been a giant tweed jacket and a larger-than-life carousel; This time around, it was a gigantic set of organ pipes. 

The show started with a fugue of ominous organ music, and together with the central pipe installation and the tube-like detailing on many of the intricate dresses, reflected the inspiration which had come to Karl during a concert. 

Enjoy the big production while it lasts, folks — word is Karl is talking about reducing the Chanel shows to be more intimate experiences in the future.
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