“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

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 »

Word is out that Anna Wintour is kicking up the heat on Fashion’s Night Out and pitching the networks for a Victoria’s Secret-type televised special for CBS. The show would include a huge, grand-scale fashion show filmed at Lincoln Center, which would also serve as the official kick-off to the new home of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, which is being moved uptown in September. That should create enough drama, cat fights and gridlock to choke a horse. No one is looking forward to moving the tents uptown to the Big Apple Circus tents except Anna and her underling Stephanie Winston… Read More »

Have you seen the images of the Christian Dior Couture Collection? Are you kidding me? John Galliano is so amazing, that it hurts my eyes to look at some of the other showings that are under way now in Paris for the Spring Couture Shows. I’ll get to those outings shortly, but I am not finished gushing on this “what fashion is all about” collection. John Galliano is so fierce that he probably scares himself. His throw back to Fifties glamour, with Gay Nineties thrown in there was just so inspiring that anyone else that remotely calls themselves designers should… Read More »

Who says that I Mean…What?!? wouldn’t lead to major things? Actually, several great opportunities have come my way, mostly writing gigs, which has officially become my mid-life career. Hey it’s sure beats the mid-life crisis…trust me. One of the gigs is writing articles for a just-launched website catering to the newly divorced set called Divorce Candy. Though not newly divorced, rather, I was in an eleven-year relationship that ended about three or so years ago, rendering me a good enough candidate to speak on the topics at hand. Since I am as opinionated as hell in matters of style and… Read More »

Oh man. Will the celebrity-turned-designer cycle ever stop? Or at least slow down? Everyday this week, Women’s Wear Daily has reported YET another celebrity-designer collaboration, which is beginning to make my skin crawl. Must every actress try her hand at designing (and I use that term loosely here) a capsule collection? The only capsule I am interested is one that can be washed down with fluids and alter my reality. But the new reality world of celebrity designers is like living in Bizarro World. We now have Sarah Jessica Parker heading up the Halston legacy (click link for yesterday’s IMW… Read More »

You see, we do have an altruistic bone in our bodies. It’s not all bitching and moaning about celebrity designers and cheek implants. Not at all. I Mean…What?!? has a long history of supporting great causes and last night was one of those Good Witch nights. No, we did not help to raise 1.4 million dollars for Haiti. Rather we attended the dinner of the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund, honoring the Geoffrey Beene National Scholarship Award. A while back I spoke at a panel at The New York Times Center about the future of fashion. That was the precursor event… Read More »

Let’s go back in time a few months when NBC announced its “ground breaking” late-night turned prime-time programming coup d’ etat. The hype was exhausting. Leno was a bigger news story than both wars put together. Jeff Zucker touted, “The Jay Leno Show will change the face of prime-time television”. The peacock network was basking in the glow of their brilliant maneuver way before the first show aired. Jay Leno even said, “If we go down in flames, we’ll be laughing on the way down, believe me,” during the summer press tour. Do you think Jay Leno and Jeff Zucker… Read More »

As we close out the year and begin anew, let’s see who has what it takes to keep their puss in the light of media glare and what nudniks gets cast aside like a pair of old shoes. It’s a tough business, this business of show, and you have to be cunning, baffling and powerful…oh, that’s alcohol, but still applicable here. Who doesn’t benefit from a booze addled night coupled with a few Hooter-types? Can you say Tiger Woods thirteen times fast? Anyhoo, here to kick-off 2010, is the first installment of Last Five Minutes of Fame.… Read More »

As we wind down from a financially awkward year and look back at “What the F#@k Was That?!?”, let’s take a moment to consider what things we would like to see go away in 2010. Today’s article in Women’s Wear Daily on Novelty Fading for Pop-Up Shops suggests that they are losing steam, but retail events will be more necessary than ever, think Fashion’s Night Out. Pop-Up shops are not going anywhere since there are so many great reasons for them to continue thriving, considering all the empty retail spaces, not to mention the built-in marketing opportunities for the participating… Read More »

Sure, the lackluster economy does not top the list. Nor does the endless coverage of Tiger Woods and his barrage of hookery-tramps. Today it is all about taking a deep breath and thinking back to what you have to be grateful for. Though this year was turbulent, your job is to identify where there was joy. Gratitude lists are very personal, and since I feel so close to many of you (except those kooks who were obsessed with Lindsay Lohan), herewith is my list. I urge you to make your own, because as the year comes to an end, it… Read More »