The days following a fashion show are a relief for the designer and his or her runway production team, but the busiest time for retailers and sales reps. After all, the clothes would never make it past editorial spreads if someone didn't work hard to bring them to local fashion emporiums. Curious to see fashion week from a different angle, the retailer's point of view, I tagged along with Heiji Choy Black of Hejfina on a buying appointment for... Read more

Every year, models from the Midwest try to make it in the international fashion scene, walking in shows in Milan and Paris and then they go back to … swimming practice and SAT prep courses. That's right, most runway models, especially the neophytes, are barely old enough to drive. With the fashion show cycle over for this season, I decided to check in with two new girls, both Chicago residents who signed with Ford Models and are doing well. Keep your eye out for their faces next time you're flipping through your favorite fashion glossy... Read more

Lanvin is much adored for its female-flattering looks. At the entrance of the show on Sunday, as I watched the editors come in, I was strangely reminded of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. No one was in drag mind you (although the Paris Vogue editors certainly can work a bondage look!), but it was more that cult feeling. Women come to the Lanvin show knowing all the words to the song and knowing they will like what they hear... Read more

If good manners means starting your fashion show on time, Marc Jacobs has become the fashion equivalent of Emily Post. Scolded by critics for his notorious tardiness in previous seasons, he now aims for precision, by golly. This afternoon we received an e-mail from the press contact: "The show will start at 2:30 p.m. sharp." Well, I arrived sweatily at the courtyard of the Louvre at... Read more

Leave it to Karl Lagerfeld to deliver on so many levels: great invitation, swag, celeb turnout, and set. And yes, even great clothes (with the exception of some 80s metallic prom dresses at the end, complete with poofy sleeves. Really, Karl? Really?)

Since the last few seasons have featured elaborate sets—remember the carousel?—an invite like this forcibly gets you thinking about what will be in store. Well, some invites you really can judge by their cover—it ended up being exactly true to what arrived in my mailbox... Read more