“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

It’s astonishing how unimportant Los Angeles Fashion Week is when you think about Hollywood once ruled, and how Adrian, Edith Head and Orry-Kelly and many others were major influences. Somehow, the Los Angeles fashion scene fell short and all the other major fashion cities excluding Madrid reference Old Hollywood all the time, as in the case of John Galliano’s amazing Spring 10 collection. By the time the last dress sashays down the runway in Paris, nobody wants to see another dress…like ever again…at least not until next season. But alas, there’s Los Angeles Fashion Week-let. And a sad little market… Read More »

Who doesn’t look forward to the Paris shows? Oh…I see. Well then, let’s focus on the people like me who are very interested in what the great French houses are doing for the season. As the Paris shows wind down World Fashion Week (my new favorite term), I look forward to that large mug of coffee while perusing Women’s Wear Daily, style.com and Cathy Horyn’s review in The New York Times. I love that WWD glides over hot messes and style.com’s willingness to sift out the nugget of gold from the muck…except in the case of Maison Martin Margiela…yikes. But… Read More »

As I started reading Tim Blanks‘ review of the Thom Browne collection on men.style.com, I thought I must have landed in the Fashion Twilight Zone. Having read the Women’s Wear Daily review and judging for myself based on the images, I thought, “What is Tim drinking backstage…Thom Browne Kool-Aid?” There is little to say. WWD wrote, “The clothes were ridiculous.” Whereas Tim Blanks says things like, “Browne’s clothes felt refreshed, confident, and as upbeat as the soundtrack of Beatles songs.” Or how’s this, “He just loves polka dots and Darth Vader.” Fotz. You judge for yourself. This is a bi-polar… Read More »

Just when I thought that my Manzie Reports were getting read by all the right people, being viewed on all the right laptops, iPhones and Blackberries, comes the reality that I am not fully doing my job. I know that the Manzie Report has been a source of laughter and hysteria by many of the industry’s top taste-makers, creatives and editors. But clearly, there are several stylists and fashion designers that must be deleting the IMW Manzie Report and clicking to CocoPerez.com. Big mistake girl. He is not going to steer you in the right direction. Perez will just feature… Read More »

A few weeks ago I did a piece on the “End-of-Summer Stomach Ache” and now…sadly…summer is really over. Today’s headlines in Women’s Wear Daily speak to the stomach ache designers are feeling while they approach the worst economic market since the Great Depression. How is that for an Imodium Moment? While reading through the article, something stuck in my craw that I wanted to talk about. In addition to the many elements that made our economy crumble, I firmly believe that the fashion designers who made those Target, K-Mart and other down-market deals, did not do themselves or their peers… Read More »

The Party’s Over has become one of the more fun entries on I Mean…What?!? It gets lots of laughs from the viewers, and while that is the main reason for everything, I must say it brings me unending joy to research “who’s” out there, or shall I say the “who are you’s” that are out there getting photographed at events. Things that are shocking need no introduction as pictures speak louder than words…therefore…… Read More »

After my heartfelt Woodstock moment yesterday, I am breching (vomit in Yiddish) from the lead story in Women’s Wear Daily, Woodstock at 40: Fields of Fashion. First of all, the writer Sarah Haight (no doubt hired for the whole Haight-Ashbury coincidence) has very little to say about the cultural, societal phenomenon; rather, she is quick to hone in on the “unfolding of the hippie chic look”…which correct me if I am wrong…is an oxymoron. The Hippie movement rose and fell as a rebellion against the stats quo…if not, status in general. Thankfully, Valerie Steele, chief curator F.I.T., points this out.… Read More »

Uch, such pressure. I was reading an artcle in Women’s Wear Daily about the top U.S. designers response to being snubbed by Michelle Obama. Now, granted, I think her Jason Wu and Thakoon obsession is not that warranted, but it’s really cool of her on some level. What level, I’m not sure, but a level. And I see the point that Donna Karan, Oscar de la Renta, Vera Wang and Carolina Herrera make. Oscar was even bold enough to say, “You don’t go to Buckingham Palace in a sweater.” Oh, no, you didn’t. Good for him, though. What does he… Read More »

Be Afraid. Be very afraid. Because these people here (I use the term loosely), these “bankers” are at the core of our country’s financial problems. But it’s not just them. They share the blame with these other friggen clowns, the Wall Street “stock brokers”. Just look at these buffoons. This is no way for a self-respecting adult to spend their day. Screaming and carrying on with no sense of decorum or sophistication. And screaming and yelling about money? I mean…what?!?  Is this how horribly they were raised, that they need to spend their waking, working hours screaming into the air,… Read More »