French fashion house Lacoste presented its 2009 spring collection aimed at the well-heeled young as Tropical Storm Hanna doused the city with heavy rain.
New York authorities warned on Friday evening of the risk of high winds and downpours on the second day of Fashion Week that continues through this week, showcasing about 100 designers including such names as Diane von Furstenberg, Calvin Klein and Gave Karan.
On Friday evening, American Erin Fetherston who installed herself in New York two years ago after studying fashion in Paris unveiled her creations for spring-summer 2009 on ultra-thin models, despite industry promises to turn its back on the anorexic look.
The Lacoste show on Saturday sent out models in ethereal pastels and sequinned bustiers that looked pearly under the spotlights.
Fascinated by the light of Paris and New York, the designer wanted to evoke clouds reflected in the Seine and the Hudson Rivers.
If the first half of the Lacoste show was romantic, with lanky beauties with their long blond hair pinned up, in flowing beige skirts split over shorts, the second half had more bite. The runway was invaded by arrogant models in catsuits or shorts with hoods in aggressive reds, oranges, yellows and apple green, as if the house’s crocodile logo was prepared to use its jaws to conquer a bigger share of the wealthy 18 to 21 market.
Present at the show and all the surrounding parties this week was 19-year-old Peaches Geldof, daughter of musician and charitable event organizer Bob Geldof, who symbolizes a generation of young rich who live off the money made by their dads or moms.
Heroines of the television series Gossip Girl, high-society girls are increasingly the inspiration and target customers of fashion designers.
It was not unusual to hear girls seated in the audience saying into their cellphones: “Yes dad, I am at Bryant Park, and where are you?”
New York Fashion Week will maintain its high-energy pace of around a dozen catwalk presentations a day until Friday.
Yesterday, US fashion heavyweights Donna Karan and Diane von Furstenberg were scheduled to present their creations.
On the eve of Fashion Week, Christie’s, the auction house, held a function in its sprawling ground floor viewing hall. Guests, including top model Agyness Deyn, sipped champagne and sparkling water at an evening exhibit of vintage clothing by Pierre Cardin and Paco Rabanne, which will go under the hammer at Christie’s London next month.
Blocks away in the gallery-rich Chelsea neighborhood, a party thrown by Mini Cooper — the trendy British car — on a terrace overlooking the Hudson River was overflowing and unable to accommodate all its would-be guests.
“Don’t worry, it’s New York. Walk a few blocks and you will find another party,” New York magazine advised those who were turned away.
“Be confident, dress appropriately, pair up with someone who knows someone and bring business cards. It can work,” wrote the magazine, which has compiled a list of all the happenings in New York’s five boroughs to fete the must-have shoes and flimsy frocks everyone will be clamoring for next spring.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS