“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

Remember Christmas? So much drama happened this past holiday, and I don’t mean your traditional family dinner with cursing and yelling and depression. That is child’s play compared to the near fatal plane crash by terrorist slash underwear model Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab. And what about that nativity scene at the Charlie Sheen mansion in Aspen when Chuckles was charged with a felony menacing and misdemeanor assault after he allegedly attacked his wife, Brooke Mueller. He was reported to be drunk at the time. Who can wrap their minds around either of those situations? There are eery likenesses to the… Read More »

When the song Native New Yorker was released in 1977, I was way into my third addiction while Dani Stahl, Style Director of Nylon Magazine was still the apple of someone’s eye. Here is the third edition of IMW-TV.… Read More »

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… Read More »

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… Read More »

As we close another season of New York Fashion Week, I thought it most fitting to drag my poem “Fashion Is” out of the mothballs, which was written in 1986 and feels as current as a review from one of the many fashion blogs out there. My point is that nothing really changes. Good taste is always in style and what looks good now will look good in another 20 years. 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,… Read More »

Just watched the press conference with Tiger Woods, looking all pouty and apologetic for have endless amounts of glommy and poontang with a gaggle of hussies. I am not buying any of it. As you all know, golf has never been a big attraction for me, so why would I hang on every word that someone that wears pleated slacks. Anyway, I could only imagine what Rachel Uchitel (Lips McGilicutty) was doing during this press conference. She, who was his weekend sex toy, who reveled in Tiger’s salacious requests for constant sexual favors between golf holes. (Stop) Who wouldn’t want… Read More »

Stephen Burrows’ collection was great. She showed this beautiful signature column gown that brought me back to 1977, when I first arrived on the scene. Stephen was my first introduction into the scene. My roommate Sal De Falco and he were dating, and I was immediately whooped up into the firestorm that was Stephen Burrows’ World. We were called Burrow-ettes. Stephen would stitch together colorful, little garments for us to wear to Studio 54 or Tea Dance in the Pines…before the muscle heads and crystal queens took it over. It was a fairy tale time in the fashion industry. New… Read More »

Madonna is finally jumping into the fashion business?!? I knew that she was hankering to become a schmatta peddler for years but was waiting for the right time and the right deal. And I guess this is it. There is no time like the present and there’s no place like Macy’s…though I wish she would just stay home. Anyone who is anyone that reads I MEAN…WHAT?!? knows how obsessed I am with this whole celebrity-turned-designer quagmire that we find ourselves in. And not obsessed like “I am obsessed with my Sarah Jessica Parker for Halston number” but more like, “Can… Read More »

With all the recent hub bub about celebrities sitting front row comes a new declaration from Women’s Wear Daily that bloggers are the new celebrities populating Fashion Week. That’s pretty amazing when you consider that just a few short seasons ago, bloggers were like flies to publicists, annoyingly buzzing around their heads trying to get access to the shows. There must be plenty of PR girls (bitches) cringing when they think back to how rudely they treated them, and now, they have to roll out the red carpet and cow tow. Just deserts. Though I Mean…What?!? was not mentioned in… Read More »

“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 »