“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

“It’s good to be the king.” So said Mel Brooks in History of the World, Part 1. The reason I bring this up is because the men’s collections for Fall ’10, between Milan and Paris and now in New York City, are really great…and very butch. So, my quote for this season is, “It’s not good to be the queen”. In what I am calling an immediate response to my Manzie Reports from last season, every designer on Earth quickly revisited their sketches for this season and chose to man up. Thank you all for taking note, but now what… Read More »

The other day I wrote a piece about the lack of factual information being bandied about regarding the fees that celebrities are charging to attend the New York fashion shows. Fashionista.com did a really sloppy report on these supposed costs and random facts about talent. I just read Cathy Horyn‘s column in The New York Times Style, and she too, like fashionista.com has some information that is questionable and quotes from people that should just not be listened to. The worst part of all this is it is a bad reflection on the industry, which right now does not need… Read More »

No, I am not becoming yet another fashion website sticking in my two cents on every collection that waltzes down a runway. On the contrary. This season is dedicated to the People I Lerve, who over the years I have either come to know personally or have learned that they are avid readers of I MEAN…WHAT?!?, rendering them my undying , eternal love. It started yesterday with John Barlett, continues with my first interview for IMW-TV with Fern Mallis and continues with these two loveable guys, Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra. They did a tight, lovely collection…their draping is divine.… Read More »

God kicked off New York Fashion Week with lots of snow. Not the kind you snort…relax Los Angeles Fashion Week…but the kind that closed the New York City schools, yet does not daunt the Fashion Crowd. Nothing can keep them from making the scene. John Bartlett held his Fall 10 fashion show at a venue in Tribeca, where the streets were cold and desolate, but the venue was warm and cozy, as was the crowd, who were out in force. Though the collection was mostly men’s, I am going to take this moment to high five the women’s pieces because… Read More »

There are few times when I have little to say. This most recent tragedy is one of them. Losing a vibrant talent like Alexander McQueen at  such a young age leaves all of us speechless. Depression is a disease that rivals any other life-threatening illness. My heart goes out to Alexander’s family and close friends…who no doubt felt helpless and wanted to do more. Herewith are images from McQueen’s extremely emotional Spring/Summer 2004 collection inspired by the film, They Don’t Shoot Hoses, Do They?… Read More »

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… Read More »

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… Read More »

You all know how vomitous I feel about the barrage of designer-nee-celebrities (a.k.a. celebrity-turned-designers) that are flooding the already tenuous fashion market. Click on any of these links for a recap of how annoyed this makes me and how unsettling this is for real-live fashion designers. There are just so many open-to-buy dollars from retailers and if they are compelled to purchase from a celebrity-brand, that effects someone else’s bottom line. One plus one equals two. Till now I have been kind to the Olsen Twins, because their collection, The Row, was being well received, they are true on-the-fashion-scene insiders,… Read More »

The celebrity-turned designer situation has turned into a real situation and I don’t mean that “The Situation” situation, but a real situation that brings new meaning to the word situation. I just read that CAA, Creative Artists Agency, the powerhouse talent firm in Los Angeles, has jumped into the fray of the schmatta business.  Women’s Wear Daily reports today that CAA is buying into J Brand Jeans, that hot denim brand that probably grew too fast for its own britches. Since every celebrity is designing their own line of clothing or accessories, and celebrity capsule collections are falling off trees,… Read More »

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