NYFW diary: Marc Jacobs’ Dickensian trip, paper-bag waists, Jenny Packham’s princess looks, and the Rachel Zoe effect

Date February 14, 2012

Marc Jacobs Fall 2012, Photography by Peter Stigter

From a raw start (apparently a one-hour flight has me jetlagged?) to many fantastical shows (read: Marc Jacobs does Eliza Doolittle at the Ice Capades), here’s my countdown of yesterday’s hits:

1. The Kate Middleton factor: Yesterday morning, Kate-favourite Jenny Packham showed 33 shimmering previews of what’s certain to be on the HRH’s back come fall. While most looks were the kind of predictably pretty that we’ve come to expect from the Duchess, this creamy pantsuit is one I’d love to see her try.

2. The paper-bag waist: I’ve been noticing this in a big way—from Thakoon to yesterday at Preen. Duo Thea Bregazzi and Justin Thornton did it just right, with their spellbinding rainforest-meets-colour block collection both in blood orange and in navy.

3. Whitney: As the world mourns the death of one of pop’s biggest stars, the fashion industry celebrates her. At Donna Karan, the designer finished off her Old Hollywood á la Dietrich (referenced at Jason Wu as well) collection with “I’m Every Woman.”

4. The Zoe effect: I arrived one minute too late for the Donna Karan show in West Chelsea (that’s what you get for taking the subway!), only to be shut out alongside Holt Renfrew’s Barb Atkin. Then, Rachel Zoe appears to a flurry of street style snaps, “It’s Rachel, I’m trapped outside,” she spits into her phone. And then just like that, the doors open sesame!

5. The motor jacket: With its everlasting appeal, the motocross jacket has been reinvented more times than the skinny jean—first, with added length at Theyskens’ Theory, then again at 3.1 Phillip Lim, in emerald-green wool, with a zip-able peplum-effect waist.

6. The peplum: If this week’s shows are any indication, the peplum is sure to live on for fall. I spotted it at Preen, and in Karen Walker’s sweet (whale prints!) and brightly hued (poppy!) collection on this beautifully offbeat tailored dress.

7. The reverie: Twice we were treated to proverbial trips. First, at Thom Browne, when we were ushered funeral procession-style into a dimly lit room at Fifth Avenue’s legendary New York Library where the dead had, in fact, died for fashion. Ten caskets with ten faux dead models lined the room, as Jeff Buckley’s haunted voice filled it. And then, after a short announcement from a suited speaker, we were treated to the girls’ collective last wishes: a Burton-esque fashion show, of the zaniest grey showstoppers on veiled models who walked ever so slowly as if to give off an extra-moody ghost effect.

And then, Marc. Oh, Marc! With a surrealistic broken-down white castle set designed by friend and artist Rachel Feinstein, Eliza Doolittle-esque models appeared with the largest fur Dr. Seuss hats you ever did see, walking up and down the set, displaying layers and layers of offbeat Dickensian attire. So surreal in fact, that it reminded me of this funhouse done by Salvador Dali back in 1939 for the World’s Fair in New York.

8. The start time: As anyone who’s attended a fashion week would know, start times are notoriously at least 20 minutes late. Not Marc Jacobs though—the designer has become freakishly on time since he made editors wait almost 2 hours for his Spring 2008 show. After a very slight address mixup, Amy Verner and I arrived at 7:59 for an 8:00 showing to find the doors mid close. We made it juuuust in time, only to have to stand behind a massive crowd of taller-than-us viewers. Did you watch it on the livestream? Then you saw it better than moi.