“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

As with many of you, style.com and Women’s Wear Daily are the go-to websites for my fashion show coverage. The biggest difference between me and them is that I just tend to be a bit more brutally honest. A bit? Curiously, the best coverage this season of the Paris shows was from The New York Times. Anyone who knows me knows that I adore Cathy Horyn‘s perspective (and voice…still wish she reported via audio daily) but besides her, The Times added Suzy Menkes to their reporting roster vis-a-vis International Herald Tribune. Kudos to The Times for realizing their Style section shortcomings and added this critical layer. First of all who doesn’t love Suzy Menkes? Oh, really…then leave this site right now. She has staying power, has risen above the fray of battle ax fashionistas and gained unprecedented recognition within the industry. Not an easy fait when you consider how youth obsessed the industry is. And the fact that she has not changed her hair…well…I don’t know what that is…but it says something about Ms. Menkes like, “Do as I say, not as I do.”

My point today is simple. Where was the coverage of Azzedine Alaïa Spring 10 collection in either of those websites? Nowhere to be found. Why? I do not know. But apparently he had one of the stronger collections this season. “Alaïa, Lanvin, Balenciaga, Hussein Chalayan, Alexander McQueen and Junya Watanabe were among the strongest collections”, says Erin Mullaney, Buyer, Browns London. So, why was Alaïa not reported on my fave go-to websites? No clue. Well, it was on The New York Times by Suzy Menkes. Whatever…I know…who cares, in light of the war in Afghanistan raging, Iraq no bed of roses, and not to mention the Darfur of it all. So, where does this Alaïa news fit into the global big picture? I’ll tell you where…just after Darfur.