Show Season

Fashion Week season will soon be upon us with the Men's shows in Milan and Paris, followed by the Couture shows in Paris and then the Ready-to-Wear collections soon after that. I am excited to see how designers take two of the new themes from last season -- technology and the future, as explored by Husein Chalayan and by Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga, and an eighties revival a la Herve Leger as pioneered by Proenza Schouler in New York and Christopher Kane in London -- and push them even further. That whole pretty girl in a pretty dress thing was getting a bit old, so it was good to have some new ideas injected into the mix.

Beyond the parties, glamour, paparazzi and celebrities, Fashion Week actually plays a critical role in the Fashion industry. Once upon a time, it was the time for buyers to choose and pick what styles they wanted to feature in their stores. But today, with the advent of the "pre-collection" which account for 60%+ of the season's sales, Fashion Week now is mostly about brand and profile building. What better way for a young designer to get their name and signature known than in front of the photographers, press and buyers of the world who assemble twice each year in the world's fashion capitals? These photos are beamed around the world -- and the more creative, provocative and different your show is, the more likely Suzy Menkes will talk about in her highly respected reviews in the Herald-Tribune. The more you have tapped into the zeitgeist of what the consumer wants, the more likely it is that Julie Gilhart will snap up your collection for Barneys New York, one of America's premier luxury department stores.

Just for the sake of some good old fashion reminiscing, here's a look back at the Paris shows for S/S 2007 from Style.com, including my highlight of last season, the Alexander McQueen show that took place at a Circus in the round.