Kristin Davis's campaign slogan will be "GOVERN THIS"

Now that David Patterson has officially backed out of the race, look who’s planning to take a stab as Governator for the State of New York? Remember the Elliot Spitzer, Client 9, Ashley Dupre saga? Yes, that old, tired story. Well, the madame in that trinella, Kristin Davis, no, not the Kristin Davis from Sex and the City, but the one pictured above is ready to take her stand. Davis was the only one in that case that went to the slammer for her dirty dealings. I am sure while Kristin stewed in prison, she hatched this riveting plan to get back at Spitzer…or The Man. Now a Libertarian, Davis is prepared to take on Andrew Cuomo, and anyone else that has balls as big as hers. Let’s face it, what illicit sex scandal doesn’t garner you a media career?!? (Please click on that link which proves my point.)

Ashley Dupre and Yigal Azruel pictured at Fashion Week.

Kristin must have been seething on Rikers Island when she read that Ashley Dupre was making the rounds at New York Fashion Week, and then became the Dear Abby of Love for the New York Post. What was she to do to come back fighting for her Last Five Minutes of Fame?!? Well, considering the amount of time she spends on injectibles and other implantings, she plans to use the same care and feeding to fix up the New York State economy. She has hired the veteran Republican lobbyist, Roger Stone, from Richard Nixon’s Committee to Re-elect the President fame, to do all her maneuvering. Stone refers to himself as “a GOP hitman” and has been referred to as, “The most dangerous person in America today…”.  Davis’ press release reads:

“Davis will announce her intention to petition her way onto the ballot and will outline her platform, which includes legalization, regulation and taxation of prostitution and marijuana to generate urgently needed new revenues for New York State and her support for gay marriage.”

Now far be it from me to be a buzz kill. Anyone whose agenda includes sex and drugs is alright by me. But please, leave us gay people out of your publicity scam. The truth is, Davis is petitioning for a new series of porn related production deals rather than seriously trying to calculate how to govern the State of New York. Perhaps Stone will engage the Tea Party…who we can call Tea Baggers here…to rally on her behalf. It makes perfect sense since she wants to overthrow a Democrat. And don’t think Sarah Palin won’t jump on this bandwagon, well, that is if Kristin would pay her $180,000 to speak at the Museum of Sex fundraiser planned for later this year.

Get ready to see these two publicity hounds all over the airwaves.

So long Bryant Park, hello chaos.

On the eve of the Bryant Park tents being dismantled for the last time, thousands of fashionistas and people came to the park for So Long Bryant Park, the official goodbye party, complete with sobbing uncontrollably and drinking…and not in that order. From what I know, getting that party together was like pulling teeth from sponsors. But, since Fern Mallis was on the case…there was no way those tents were going out without a bang and some booze.

So what’s next for New York Fashion Week? Will everyone run to Lincoln Center because Anna Wintour deems it the thing to do? Will the cooler, more independent designers stay in the Meatpacking District and support the MAC & MILK initiative? Will there ever be peace in the Middle East? Who knows. Oh…if it were that simple. There are so many venues vying for rental fees throughout the city, at least the Meatpacking District is a cohesive neighborhood that speaks to the fashion industry. Mazdack Rassi is keen to engage the district as a place where fashion lives. What you get around Lincoln Center is Fiorello’s, Barnes and Noble, Madonna and an UGG store. I used to live there.

Fashion is a circus after all. And certain rules do apply.

Now that they are filming a one-hour special for Fashion’s Night Out, you know that Anna will probably pull off some fabulous presentation at Lincoln Center that will feature all the participating designers in the new uptown Big Apple Circus tents in an effort to show the industry that it pays to pay top dollar. I do know is that the Meatpacking downtown design initiative will have a vibe all it’s own and will pull together their resources to prove that downtown is where it is at. (When you are not forced to be uptown.)

Anyhoo…change is in the air. They will both have advantages. The only disadvantage I see is Ninth Avenue as the thoroughfare between fabulous and groovy. Yikes. With the Lincoln Tunnel and theater traffic…the best times to show are the morning and early afternoon. The two factions should get together with Ruth Finley at Fashion Calendar to figure some of that quagmire out. It’s only fair to the press and buyers to consider their schedules. Let’s the games begin.

The stunning Zoe Saldana has been bandied about all week in The New York Times.

Twice this week, Cathy Horyn from The New York Times Style Section has mentioned Zoe Saldana in relation to attending New York Fashion Week events and in both cases…she got it wrong. How does that happen? Cathy Horyn is like the goddess of The New York Times Style. Her sensual, melodic voice recapping each the season’s collections lulls me into a trance that makes me remember why I love fashion. But girl…stop referring to celebrities. It is beneath you. And (B) at least get your facts straight.

EXHIBIT A: Tommy Hilfiger had the last word at Fashion Week, closing the collections on Thursday night with a high-booted display of sportswear before a throng of garment industry executives and front row star-of-the-moment Zoe Saldana, as 18 years of fashion under the tents in Bryant Park came to an end. (Published February 19, 2010) If you look at the images from the front row, it was Rosario Dawson.

EXHIBIT B: The actress Laura Linney is expected to attend Mr. Kors’s show, Mr. Daley said. Also on guest lists, according to KCD, a publicity and show production company, are the actress Zoe Saldana, the singer Maxwell and Alexa Chung. (Published February 12, 2010)

I can only say that Ms. Horyn not need to acknowledge the celebrity contingency that populates fashion week. The way she speaks so eloquently of the designers reminds us that they are, in fact, the superstars. Her ability to raise the verbal bar on fashion, is exactly what the industry needs now, more than what most bloggers have to say. It is crucial to look and honor the craftsmen that make up the fashion industry…not the bloggers or actresses…that sit front row. They, my dear, are the dressing. The dressmaker is the star.

FASHION IS

Fashion is—what fashion was,
It’s just that it’s “in fashion”.
And passion is—what passion was,
And that too is “in fashion”.

Designers choose the state of art,
Which only makes me wary.
‘Cause if Calvin Klein is in a bad mood,
What you look like might be scary.

I’ve dealt with schmattas for many years,
And I’ve seen both good and bad.
But seeing a septuagenarian in a mini-skirt,
That really makes me sad.

I say fashion is what you choose,
To wear, to move with ease.
Lots of black, with a splash of color,
And an extra layer, please.

Ignore what they say in WWD,
Who crowned John Fairchild, the queen bee.
Just look in the mirror before you leave the house,
A navy blue skirt, and a crisp white blouse.

Accessories, accessories are always a must,
No sweater too tight to show off the bust.
In regards to leather, keep it simple and black,
If you buy it in brown, you’ll only take it back.

Stripes and solids are always good,
Stay away from lilac, buy something with a hood.
Evening wear is always black with pearls,
And as for your hair, extended curls.

But darling don’t go by what I just said,
If you wear anything else, you’ll wish you were dead.

Written by Abe Gurko, circa 1986

Produced by Image Loading for IMW-TV

This is what the quintessential Super-Fashionista...a.k.a. The Manzie, is wearing this fall. Fur knickers.

Faster than a speeding publicist…
More powerful than a glossy editrix…
Able to leap tall models in a single bound.
Look, up in the sky!
It’s a bird…
It’s a plane…
It’s Super-Fashionista.
Yes, Super-Fashionista, the new sub-human that has cropped up since the CFDA starting centralizing New York Fashion Week under the Tents at Bryant Park. Super-Fashionista. Once a lowly wanna-be…now a self-proclaimed stylist/blogger/insider/personal shopper. Two years ago, Super-Fashionista only wondered what it would be like to hang around the inner sanctum of fashion victim-land, a.k.a. the tents. Now, they are a welcome force to be reckoned with. Once relegated to having their nose pressed up against the glass…now they are sitting comfortably, and even front row. Ah…the internet. How it has moved our society forward, yet at the same time, not. It birthed a crop of Manzies that can make your skin crawl. I went to a fashion show last night and the amount of air-kissing that went on made me cringe. All I can say is: Hanger-on-ers of Real Housewives wearing “smart” berets need to be jailed, or ignored, not air-kissed.

What fashionista.com does not know is the nuance that comes with seating a front row.

I just was reading through the list on fashionista.com about what fashion brands will pay to sit front row during New York Fashion Week. What a crock of hooey. Let me start by saying that part of my business is orchestrating front row talent for assorted companies and none of what they are reporting is true. What I think fashionista.com did was call a slew of garden variety talent agents and received generic quotes. One thing you learn about casting a front row is…never call agents. They love throwing out ridiculous nilly-willy high prices. And that does not even get you anywhere near guaranteeing the talent. Booking talent for front row or any other event or project is not as cut and dry as buying something online. There is no Celebrity Ebay. Sure, people think we have celebrities chilling on ice, that you crack them off one by one when you need to spice up an event, or dazzle the press. But it is a far more complicated process, one that takes years of cultivating relationships. There is much navigating the waters of publicists with agendas, managers with different agendas and the talent, who usually are the nicest people, but the handlers make you think otherwise. Stressful? Sure. What isn’t during Fashion Week?

Does fashionista.com no longer consider Madonna a celebrity?

And as for Marc Jacobs “banning” celebrities from his front row. Is Madonna no longer a celebrity? She was there, with her twinkie in tow. And Perez Hilton surely considers himself a celebrity and he was there as well. Look, don’t take it out on me. If the press would commit to attending shows without a friggen tip sheet, then maybe the crush of celebrity might not be in such high demand. If the press covered the designers for the actual collection, then we’d be in a different game. But we’re not Blanche, we’re not. Yes, talent is a high stakes game. But the economy crashed, remember? And to throw out those numbers like 100 grand for Rihanna and 80 grand for Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen is silly. I mean…get a grip. Who on Earth would pay the Olsen Twins anything when they have two collections showing at Fashion Week? It is utter nonsense.

I think with a great haircut, cleaner make-up and a more buttoned up outfit, Jenni Farley would be a good front row get.

As New York Fashion Week looms and celebrities are being schnorred up for front row, the topic of the Jersey Shore cast was bound to come up. The New York Post’s Page Six reports today that the cast is demanding tickets to shows. The only viable candidate for my money is Jenni Farley (JWoww), but only if she would agree to a complete IMW Makeover. As much of a fan that I am, these kids are way too Jon Gosselin for anyone in the fashion industry, besides Ed Hardy, that is. Shedding their image would be the only way to go. And having more than one Shore-ite would be way to distracting for any one fashion show.

Left to their own devices...yikes.

NEWSFLASH: Johnna Escobedo, who works in my office, was at dinner the other night and couldn’t help overhearing a group of really cool girls talking about the Last Five Minutes of Fame and Carrie Prejean. Johnna, being the loyal wench, engaged in conversation. The girls were in fact talking about I Mean…What?!? One girl said, “That website is hilarious. I hear the writer is a tranny living on Long Island.” Let me squelch that rumor now. If I was tranny, Long Island or otherwise, I would have been sitting front row at any one of these Couture Fashion Week shows. See for yourself.

NEWSFLASH: The people at Couture Fashion Week asked me to take down their runway pictures from IMW. I did not have prior approval and once they read my commments, well, I guess they didn’t want to be featured here. Please feel free to click on this link Couture Fashion Week, enjoy and judge for yourself.  In the meanwhile, can you guess who is the tranny in this picture? Hint: Blond.