With the exception of Lacoste, Malo, Adam Lippes and a few others, the Fall '08 shows at Bryant Park were all about the kind of flesh-baring, flowing fabric, crayon color you usually see in spring collections. The same was true in London. Personally, I love that fall fashion is moving away from heavy fabrics and somber palettes. What say you?

[l to r: Ashish, Eley Kishimoto, Louise Goldin, Biba & Roksanda Ilincic; all photos courtesy of londonfashionweek.co.uk]

[l to r: Rag & Bone, Sean John and Lacoste]
Like weddings, Fashion Week is primarily for the ladies. Though some boys did play dress up, I couldn't help thinking that the menswear looks would've looked better on the female models. Our friends at Muse feel the same way.

[Rag & Bone and Lacoste photos courtesy of Style.com]

As you can imagine, covering Fashion Week is no meager task; between having to look fabo, sucking up to the gatekeepers and snagging relevant, witty interviews on the fly with some of fashion's biggest stars, many "uh, oh," moments can occur. Watch what happens here when I ask Christian Louboutin, about shoe trends for Fall '08. Boyfriend wasn't happy. LOL.

Despite the huge trend of both major retailers, brands and celebs going fashionably green; fun, fur looks for the winter are on the rise. Captured outside of the shows, these light grey fur coats managed to be both fuzzy & warm and suave & stylish.

Now that we've all taken a peek at the trends on the runway, I wanted to share a few trends off the runway. Soft, metallic booties adorned the feet of the trendiest, with details including a zebra like print, buttons around the ankles and an over-sized cuff.

Menkes did a 180 with her recent IHT review of the Marc Jacobs show. This season there was nothing but praise for the previously-maligned designer: "It was as though the demons that had been turning the designer's shows into frantic and frazzled exercises in fashion overkill had disappeared." She even went as far as to call it redemption for a dull fashion week (?!). Let's compare that to last fall, when all hell broke lose after Menkes dared declare Marc's Spring 2008 collection "a freak's costume show." I guess this time we won't have Jacobs crying to WWD about how he doesn't want to show in New York anymore. [Image courtesy of Wire Image for Getty Images]

...was spectacular. Problem is, it started on time. Truly. By 7:30p it was over. So was I...

--TONI SAUNDERS
[photos by Fernanda Calfat, GettyImages.com]

First fact: Carmen Marc Valvo has one dress, a "shutter pleated cocktail" that has sold 5 million dollars worth!!!!Not sure over how many seasons, but that is one big load of dresses!!!! (Guess which department store rang up each cha-ching!)

Second fact: His clothes are totally wearable, salable and glamorous for women of certain ages... he surely knows his customer.

His colors this season left no surprise: satins in red, jade, peacock, sapphire, and amethyst, plus chocolate, ivory, pewter, and black.

His lengths: Below the knee.

His accessories: Elbow-length gloves, dark tights, some hats.

His hair: Slicked back chignons by Odile Gilbert -- perfect for the clothes.

This is the last you will hear from me until late tonight after Marc Jacobs closes down the week...supposedly at 7, but who knows? (Sorry...I no longer beg borrow and steal to get my old seats at Donna and Ralph and Calvin. The designers say please come but their PR departments do not hear them...)

--TONI SAUNDERS
[photo by Frazer Harrison, GettyImages.com]

Tadashi's presentation featured his signature draping with forgiving shapes, and all below-the-knee lengths. Great colors too: red, bright purple, jade, yellow, grey, brown, black, and pure white satin. Not making waves but apparently selling well...

I'm at Carmen Marc Valvo now!

--TONI SAUNDERS

Bubble wrap started popping up on runways in 2007. This year, Zac Posen took inspiration from his collaboration with DSL, rethinking the snail mail mainstay to create this snappy “bubble wrap” cloak. If it looked as irresistibly squishable as the real thing bouncing down the runway last night, let’s hope it’s part of Posen's burgeoning eco-chic sensibility and more biodegradable. At the rate the planet’s warming, 2009 could be the year of the bubblewrap bikini.

[photo by Karl Prous/Catwalking, GettyImages.com]

The view from the balcony at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall was pretty awesome. I had an aerial view of Tommy Hilfiger's collection -- an adult take on his usual Ivy League Americana that was mostly predictable, but I have to give it to him for making me wanna get a pair of plaid widelegs -- and Anna Wintour, hidden behind a swollen fur jacket and a massive pair of shades. Nicky Hilton, Russell Simmons, and tons of other celebs were also in the house.

Totally forward -- yet true to the retro, girlish effervescence that has been Cynthia Rowley's signature. The show in the Fashion District's Gotham Hall opened with a giant screen dropping to reveal a pop-up world of cut-out shapes that looked like a paper forest. The models stomped out wearing fantastic pieces, most of which seemed to be painstakingly constructed with little shapes of fabric. I adored the heavy wools cut into fun outlines, then strategically sewn onto sheers to create a color-blocking effect -- except the color was the fabric. But the cutest moment happened backstage where the designer carried her young daughter while carrying on multiple conversations with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Parker Posey, Alan Cumming, Martha Plimpton, Amy Smart and 'Lipstick Jungle' star, Lindsay Grace.

Bill Blass was very together. Black, white, grey, teal, amethyst, sapphire, jade, emerald, topaz, turquoise and fur, feathers, flannel -- luxury. Great stuff for the Blass customer of all ages.

--TONI SAUNDERS

[pictures by Mark Mainz, GettyImages.com]

Vera was esoteric -- layered and tunic-ed in black, yellow, lapis and amethyst. I confess my seat was eight rows up so I only got the tops in sight.

--TONI SAUNDERS
[photo by Frazer Harrison, GettyImages.com]

The house was so packed, I couldn't get in. :-( But I liked what I saw from the monitors in the tents. Take a look! (PS - You know, you can shop Rebecca Taylor's currently available collections here, right?)

Isaac Mizrahi Couture was so far from anything he will be bringing to Liz Claiborne except for his full petticoated skirts, anoraks and brights. Furs, tweeds, embroidery, and fair isles flowers gave the show punch.
[photo courtesy of GettyImages.com]

--TONI SAUNDERS

While the Beatles sang, Anna Sui sent patchworks and ponchos, brights and golds, furs, mohairs, tweeds, chiffons and crochets down the runway. It was upbeat all the way. Fun '70s styles -- with 2008 sense -- for the young and young at heart.

--TONI SAUNDERS

LOVELY and AMAZING. See for yourself and let me know what you think.

The Marc by Marc Jacobs collection shown yesterday afternoon was a total upper... young, fun, wearable, colorful and very "money in the bank." The bubble shapes, the dresses, the bright accessories, the giant houndstooth, the zippers, the motorcycle boot shoes and tights are happy -- good, Marc. By the way Marc is very, very, very fit and he does have EXTREMELY large diamond earrings (bigger than our Jardin fakes) and also short navy blue hair!!!!! [Image courtesy of Getty Images]

--TONI SAUNDERS

Tory Burch's presentation was last night...very Tory...very classic, colorful and cool. Lance Armstrong was there among all the pretty, young Tory friends...so I guess they are still together....
[Image courtesy of Getty Images]

--TONI SAUNDERS

Michael Kors showed this morning. Seated in the audience were SOPHIA LOREN, Eva Longoria, Ellen Pompeio, and the cast of ‘Grey's Anatomy’ I think! There were numerous other stars there whom I either did not see or did not recognize. His collection was devoted to the REEL LIFE...movie star glamor. It was glamorous, although a bit dated...all lengths for skirts were below the knee; for pants, above the ankle. The colors were lilac, green, brown, olive, camel, puce, and brown and a beautiful pale smoke-grey, and nude He showed all with high heel pumps and oversized clear glasses. Boucle, tweed, mohair and shantung textures. It was very sophisticated. The menswear looked good to me...it went with the womenswear! [Image courtesy of Getty Images]

--TONI SAUNDERS

Right in the heart of the fashion district, I caught up with famed designer Stephen Burrows in his showroom for his Fall 2008 show. Opting, as he has for the past three seasons, for a presentation over a full runway show, models strutted into the intimate brick-walled space, to launch their poses onto a white background, allowing a bevvy of writers, bloggers and photographers the ability to really dig into and shoot the collection. Burrows said the line featured, "elements of water and earth." Peep the interview below. Click here to view the collection.

[Cynthia Steffe creative director, Waleed Khairzada; photo by Mark Mainz, GettyImages.com]
Cynthia Steffe presented a rainbow parade of red, lapis, emerald, and purple. There were summer prints, short sleeve jackets and coats, knee-length shorts, baggy pants, tight pants, crochet knits, etc. Meanwhile, just saw Nina Garcia. She loves Bluefly.

--TONI SAUNDERS

"Dress down glamour, effortless chic," is how Charlotte Ronson described her '60s inspired collection. I agree with CR in that this collection was a bit more adult -- fitted, fun and carefully planned out -- than her previous collections. Also note, she's the latest celeb to take a stand against the use of fur. Peep the interview below, and click here to check out the runway presentation.

LOVED the smoky ode to the flapper complete with bell-sleeved embroidered and ombre coats trimmed in fur, gem-encrusted necklines, feather skirts and collars, as well as her famous tulip-skirted dresses.

[photos by Mark Mainz, hot off GettyImages.com]
Just came from Peter Som. The quote from all the young journalists was "Isn't it wonderful? So very British". Not sure what that means, but, if it means nothing goes with anything else, and there are no rules, then it was. Navy, grey, plum, tweed, plaid, furs, velvets -- all together. Menswear looks with full womenswear looks. Very arty. Cheers...

--TONI SAUNDERS

The Season 2 finalist is pretty certain it involves "crapping their pants"...

Sifting through my photos, I wanted to share with you all of the fabulous, stylish folks on the front row at some of Fashion Week's most prominent shows--sometimes these Styleaholics are more of a show then the collection on the runway.....I'll be back with more.

ANTM alum Nole Marin speaks out AGAINST Hillary’s style team.

As Fashion Week winds down here in NYC and we grind through Fashion Week fatigue, I've noticed quite a few trends emerging for the fall season. Eco-chic seems to be here to stay with major retailers, brands and even celebrities getting in on the trend, not to mention that both runway collections and make-up palettes had environmental elements of water, earth, sea and grass. The '40s and the '60s were present across style genre from DVF to Betsey Johnson. The wide belt and shrug are replaced with a skinny belt and knee length coats and jackets; super high-waist pants and skirts tells us that butt cleavage is a thing of the past and color palettes consisted of rich purples, cool blues and neutral earth tones. Check out my NPR (National Public Radio) trend report for the "Day to Day" show here for more trend spotting.
[Image courtesy of Getty Images]

Inspired by Fernand Leger's painting, "Three Women", Barbara Tfank's Fall '08 preview at New York's Carlyle Hotel was a transportation to Doris Day chic. Dresses emphasized hourglasses, cinching the waist with belts, cropped fitted jackets or definitive cuts. House lights shone (as you'd hope candle light would on these fancy dinner ensembles) on the quiet metallics, pleated silks and a luscious quilted, double-embroidered fabric. I'll let Barbara explain the rest.

Loved it. Brushed wool pencil skirts and cape-sleeved belted coats for work, floor-length frocks with cropped jackets for evening, and sequins and lame minis for cocktails. But the coolest thing about this complete collection of high-concept looks were the fabrics -- some printed or sequined with impressionist watercolor renderings of floral bouquets. Listen to Y & Kei co-designer Hanii Y explain the theme of his collection, and why he thinks so many designers are going light, airy and floral when fall's traditionally dark. (Oh and you can check out the entire collection here.)

What is a fashion show without great models? Here these models were on their best behaviour even while being poked, prodded and puffed backstage during Fashion Week.

I do believe I have found a new Heatherette-like love. THE BLONDES! THE BLONDES! THE BLONDES! My goodness this is by far the best show all week -- at least for the avant-garde, the drama queen and the drag queen. Rhinestone hotpants, crystal corset dresses, huge busts, SKY HIGH HAIR, animal costumes, sequined, Dream Girl-style pantsuits. I wasn't the only one up on this smorgasbord of fashion madness. Front row style icons included Patricia Field, ANTM alum Nole Marin, Nigel Barker and Christian Louboutin. Click here to check out the runway show.

It's not all pretty dresses and beautiful people at the tents. The Dennis Basso show was shut down today when someone had a seizure. Basso's people and Bryant Park were amazing. They closed off the tent immediately and an on-site medic organized a stretcher to take the person out. I hope this person recovers speedily.

--TONI SAUNDERS

"Full Frontal Fashion" host, Judy Licht gives us a mid-Fashion Week review of her favorite shows.

Guess which outfit from her fall '08 collection, Monique Lhuillier would love to see Barack Obama's better half wearing. Here's a hint.

[Day & evening looks from Badgley Mischka fall 2008]

Having just seen Badgley Mischka and Monique Lhuillier collections at the tents I have lots to report BUT, I realize that neither collection is really for our customer... That said, it's the best looking merchandise on the runways for EVENING especially in either gold or gold-embroidered (Oscar, Badgley, Monique) or fabulous jewel tones: amethyst, emerald, ruby, sapphire, garnet, citrine (or apple green), emerald, plus fuschia and scarlet... These colors shone and popped and, hopefully, can be part of our fall mix.

For day, the colors are brown (shown with orange), lighter grey, navy, and, of course, lots of black for day into night... but everything is rich looking. Peter Som's signature sweaters (v-neck cardigans in vests and long sleeves) were in these colors. (Note: Many of his pieces taken separately, work and look great by the way) And everything mixes with opulent tweeds!

In other news, I was being polled by a newspaper about primary voting and whether I saw a reflection of the tough times in the clothes. Just the opposite. The clothes are rich and cheerful and speak of rosy future!!!

More from some contemp collections in a while (Steffe, Marc by Marc, Tory) in the afternoon and early evening shows...only six more to go today!!!

--TONI SAUNDERS

[photos by Frazer Harrison, hot off GettyImages.com]

A few hours ago I caught up with celebrity stylist Patricia Field front row at The Blondes show to find out which presidential candidate(s) she would love to style. Well, her answer knocked my hair down -- find out which candidate she would love to grope, and which one she wants to fit into a straight jacket.

I caught up with Tina Lutz, one half of the design team behind the Lutz & Patmos collection, the other night at the Bowery Museum. I have to be honest here and tell you that the chunky, knit, basic sweater sets in muted metallics, jewel tones and various shades of oatmeal were, frankly, uninspiring and very much over about two seasons ago. Peep the video below as Tina chats a bit about the inspiration behind her fall '08 line. Click here to check out photos from the collection.

[photos by Scott Wintrow, hot off GettyImages.com]
Oscar was full of color. Bright fuschia, hyacinth, garnet red, jade, amethyst and, of course, black. Russian fur hats and boots with kitten heels too. In a word: luxury.

--TONI SAUNDERS

[photos by Frazer Harrison, hot off GettyImages.com]
Carolina Herrera went to Austria -- on a proper English hunt. (Note English vs. British.) Great hunting jackets, vests, riding pants, dirndl skirts, plumed hats, furs and tweeds. Very, very chic throughout.

--TONI SAUNDERS

Rock this beaded skirt to the club with a teensy black tank, ankle booties and shake it like a disco ball.
Don the ski bunny skirt to work with wool tights, a cashmere cowl neck, cropped jacket, and the perfect pair of boots. The dress? Wear it to the grocery store -- I dare you! -- with patent wingtips.

See more from Malo's Fall '08 collection here.

LOVE that every piece seriously belongs in a museum. The cashmere that came down the runway was hand-woven, hand-painted, beaded, bedecked with oversized sequins and/or cashmere buttons, spray printed, and patched together with leather, angora, silk and fur. See it close up, here.

[photo by T. Alves, courtesy of WireImage.com]

Piper Carter -- you might recognize her from VH-1's "The Shot" -- on "blog-tographers" and the secret to getting perfect runway pics.

How many shows are you shooting this week?
I’m shooting about 20 shows this week... all the majors:
Y-3, Yohji Yamamoto, ThreeAsFour, Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Thakoon...

What's the coolest -- and the worst -- thing about shooting the shows?
The coolest thing about shooting the shows is seeing the collections firsthand. And the energy is amazing! The worst is the crazy fighting with the other photographers.

Speaking of fighting with other photos, these days, every blogger with a digital camera is shooting Fashion Week. Does it hurt business?
No. I have a certain vision and you will definitely know I shot the picture. My personal style comes through.

What's your secret for getting amazing runway shots?
The key to getting great runway shots is to have a fast lens and camera. Also, looking at the models and anticipating what will be a great image. It's imperative that you frame the figure to fill the space, and make sure you try and capture some attitude and personality. Oh, and you MUST show up early to get a good spot!

You get to go backstage/behind the scenes. What's the funniest thing you've overheard or seen in the tents?
The funniest thing about the shows is seeing all the people trying to sneak their way into the tents. They come up with some great stories.

Did you learn anything from your time on "The Shot" that you're employing in your photography now that you weren't before?
I learned how to shoot much faster, make quicker and to look much more carefully. I also learned how to stand up for myself and to push myself harder.

In other reality news...

A few seasons back, this gorgeous woman stops me on the street, takes my photo and says: "I want to feature you in Glamour." Little did I know that she wanted to do a before and after story (my roots were horrendous), and that I had just met Suze Yalof Schwartz, the Executive Editor-at-Large for Glamour magazine. That was the start of a beautiful relationship. Here I catch up with Suze backstage at Tracy Reese about the Fall '08 fashion trends and how to be: "done, undone."

Ahhhhhh – I truly enjoyed this show! This season's DVF girl easily went from drinking tea in the English countryside as Daddy's favorite, to a virtual IT GIRL at the party of the season! Diane described the line as loads of fun with beautiful patterns taken from nature. I honestly felt as if she took her signature wrap dress and cut it up for this collection. The '40s inspired line featured quite a bit of layers, pairing bold, silk zebra prints with belted wool coats in purple. Full and pencil style skirts tended to bring the look back to earth with neutral shades, highlighted with fun elements such as silver tinsel. Side note: Supermodel Alek Wek, worked the runway only she could. Peep the runway show below and click here for backstage fotos.

This year I took the road less traveled -- somewhat -- and sought out designers who were pretty much new to the scene. Alexander Terexov’s collection, was actually quite delightful. When the first few pieces hit the runway, I feared he was going to do the “it's gotta be black to be fashion” thing as his first few pieces were all black. However, he quickly brightened things up with DVF inspired '70s-style dresses which included jewel tones, full trumpet skirts accented by belted waists and flute sleeves; wearable floor length gowns and caftans in both brocades and silks. There were fitted pieces in leather too that paid homage to the waistline. Peep the clip below for the runway looks and click here for the interview backstage.

[photos courtesy of Style.com]
The collection is not my style, but (for the same reason I enjoyed the KLS Collection and didn't love Nicole Miller's) I appreciate that Costello Tagliapetra's fall pieces would all be cozy in the same woman's closet.

[photos courtesy of Style.com]
LOVE the imaginative interplay of plaids, stripes and non-traditional color-blocking, and totally inspired by his ability to make structure look easy -- slouchy even. From the looks of the black dress pictured here, looks like Alexandre was inspired too. It's cool, Balenciaga's last collection was amazing.

Tracy Reese does it again -- a parade of prints and feminine flourishes in a riotous explosion of color. Inspired by nature and the elements, my fave is the wild grass green pattern on the dress pictured here.

Loved the smoky oversized plaids, muted forest prints, appliques and embroidery; plus, every other piece was cashmere -- but I'll let Adam explain his collection to you himself... while I check out the stuff I can get now.

It was all about the deets in Jose Ramon Reyes' ambitious fall '08 collection. The Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation winner presented sharply tailored blazers and wideleg trousers, pin-tucked dresses, exaggerated belt loops and more.

The Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation winner certainly showed he could do it all as he presented everything from color-blocked babydoll dresses complete with pleated foil-colored skirts to pin-tucked one-shoulder pinafores. There was even a reinvented (and belted) toga-meets-sari. The parade of colors, metallics, floral prints, and billowing maxis was a bit dizzying at times, but one thing was clear: this guy's the one you go to for precision tailoring (do you see the slacks on the model to the left??), look-again details, and total originality. Listen to what Harper's Bazaar's Mary Alice Stephenson has to say about Reyes' collection.

Backstage at Lela Rose's Fall '08 show, we spotted one of our fave models, Candace. It was a lovefest in the hair and makeup area too. Our Beauty.com BFFs, makeup artist Tina Turnbow and hair stylist Ted Gibson were in the house too creating the diva next door looks.

On her eyes: Candace is wearing a smudge of Kaliste liner with Nars Duo in Paris.
On her lips: Misbehave by Nars
On her cheeks: Dolce Vita by Nars

LOVE that pretty much everything in this collection was floating and sparkling. On a side note (literally -- sorry!), find out which Presidential candidate Lela Rose has designs on.

Okay, I had a slight malfunction with my digicam so ignore the side view, but you'll love Lela's answer!

[photos by Brad Barket, hot off GettyImages.com]
Cocktails and galas in Sari next fall, okay? Yay!