Fashion Week

Which 'razzi enraged Vanity Fair EIC Graydon Carter?

So far, the media folk we've seen have been on their best behavior -- except Graydon Carter, that is. The famed Vanity Fair editor-in-chief lost his cool at Diane von Furstenberg's show Sunday when a photographer fell into his lap trying to get shots of Hollywood stars in the house, including Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria, Tatum O'Neal and Uma Thurman. "Who cares?" Carter was overheard fuming. "They are just actresses." Someone ought to share the boss' thoughts with the VF editor who's placed nearly every one of them on a cover in recent months (and can Tatum really be far behind?).

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Photo: UnBeige

Our turned-out sister-in-arms (a.k.a. design blog UnBeige) has the lowdown on the electoral fever permeating Bryant Park this election-season Fashion Week. No longer just the province of social maxim-sharing designer Kenneth Cole, IMG itself is exhorting the fashion flock to vote, from the political sloganeering and signage that's part of the extravaganza's own design scheme to an impassioned missive sent by IMG Fashion's Senior Vice President, the "not bitchy enough" Fern Mallis.

If you're up on how to vote, but aren't sure of what to wear, be sure to follow Unbeige's sartorially sound Twitter feed, packed with insights from the shows, backstage tidbits and more.

Journalists look on as socialite and sometime actress Lydia Hearst seeks... something.

As an aspiring journalist/groveling intern, it's hard to say which makes better punishment: sorting a million paper clips into piles by color, size and thickness; an hour on the rack locked away in a medieval dungeon; or, attempting to interview Imitation of Christ designer Tara Subkoff and socialite Lydia Hearst last night at the opening of their short film, Fame Fatale, written and directed by the designer to showcase her holiday line for Bebe.

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Actress Lauren Hutton sounds off at Thursday night's fashion show/launch event for Be EcoChic at Manhattan's Museum of Natural History

Merry Fashion Week! Like the Halloween decor we saw at our local drugstore in July, the sartorial smorgasbord seems to start earlier and earlier each year -- in fact, related events have been underway since early this week.

In other words, there's no time to waste. If you're perplexed about which of your PR pals you should be bombarding with compliments about their pretty blow-outs, or state-of-the-art headsets in hopes of gaining access, our natty-dressing brother blog PRNewser has the breakdown of which PR firms handle which designers and their shows this season. Go forth and brown-nose with the best of 'em.

Academy Awards show producer Gil Cates has done such a good job of keeping his plans for an 'alternate' broadcast should the writer's strike remain unresolved come February 24, that even Academy insiders who would ordinarily be gearing up for the big night by now are still in the dark. Tom Julian, who oversees fashion commentary on Oscar.com says he's received no word on what to do with the usually all-encompassing fashion coverage that typically kicks into high gear come Fashion Week, should there be no red carpet runway:

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What's an A-list actress to do if she's found the designer dress of her dreams for Vanity Fair's Oscar party now that the legendary bash has been cancelled? And what about the editors who rely on those indelible images from Morton's that seem to live on for eternity? Those were questions that were making the rounds at Fashion Week when news broke that Graydon Carter had cancelled the party of the year due to the as-yet unresolved writer's strike.

"I feel their pain," said InStyle's Charla Lawhon whose own Golden Globes shindig had to be cancelled last month. "We went through the same thing. There is so much that goes into these things that the decision has to be made early enough to avoid having to go to far down the road at considerable expense."

Allure's Linda Wells said the fallout goes further than a bunch of stars all dressed up with nowhere to go...

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With the surprising dearth of A-listers at Fashion Week (Does Sophia Bush ever stay home?), those of us who brave crowds at the tents to ask celebs burning questions like: 'Besides your Blackberry what do you never leave home without?' the Michael Kors show promised to yield plenty of chatty items that populate the pages of People and Us 'Weekly. IGM's Fern Mallis said there'd be no less than 15 marquee names ("Raquel Welsh is backstage")in the front row. Jackpot!

When Angie Harmon had been nice enough to stop and chat about the Writer's Strike on her way into the tents, things looked promising. We took a lap around the front row spying cards that boasted names such as Natasha Richardson and Sigourney Weaver. A few seats down, there were plenty of blanks (with the exception of a sole seat tagged Chris Ivery' -- clever, since he's the hubby of Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo and the seat next to him was empty. However...

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Glamazon actress Angie Harmon has been passing time this week at the tents doing a Fashion Week diary for InStyle (slated for the April issue) and sitting in the front row of shows like that of pal Michael Kors. But truth be told, she really wants to go back to work. The former Law & Order star whose new ABC show Women's Murder Club has been stalled with the WGA strike, says it's time to get serious. "This is really get bad," the statuesque star told us Wednesday. "It's really gone on long enough. I'm tired of this. There, I said it, let's get this thing worked out."

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What else is there to do but listen in on the chattering classes while enduring the endless wait for shows. A sampling of what we heard today:

"Some cop stopped me and wanted to look in my bag and I told him, 'My God, don't you know it's Fashion Week?' He was like, 'Okay, go ahead.' I mean, Jesus!"

"Is that The Sex and The City girl? No, it's Shakira. Oh, wait a minute, it's just Rachel Zoe."

"Do you think Hillary will show?"

"Just get me into the Gucci party! That's your job! I didn't hire you because you graduated cum laude for nothing."

--Diane Clehane

Fashion Week has many of the stylish regulars who break bread (or at least nibble on their salads) on Wednesdays at Michael's taking a pass today. At the tents ourselves, we found out what top media fashion plates are dishing up instead...

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