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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Fashion folk who've grown used to scoring serious swag at the tents during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week have been known to turn their noses up at some of the freebies on offer (we noticed there weren't many takers for T3 haircare products being thrust at the crowd leaving Monday's Carolina Herrera show). Forget about cookies (though those DHL biscotti are tasty) and all the newspapers you can carry -- how about a new car?

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Here's a newsflash: all those well-turned out folks flocking to Fashion Week have a lot more on their minds than Michael, Marc and the gang:

A sampling of snippets we caught yesterday:

"I'm thinking about having a kid, but everyone tells me it's so much work and I'm not sure I can give up my 'me time.'"

"I told them at the door, please don't hassle the Fox camera guy."

"St. Moritz is a long way to go for the weekend, but you should have seen their house."

"I watched a little of the Super Bowl because I was hoping they were going to show Gisele and I wanted to see what she was wearing."

"She really does have a great facelift, but she's still fat."

— Diane Clehane

Dominick Dunne made his only Fashion Week appearance at Carolina Herrera this morning ("We're good pals"). Sandwiched between Vanity Fair's fashion director Michael Roberts and the unsmiling Fran Lebowitz , the intrepid chronicler of the social set's crimes and misdemeanors was happy to chat about his latest passion: the Princess Diana inquest. "I've been back there twice," says Dominick, who is filing his latest "diary" entry for Vanity Fair today. "There are a lot of fascinating things that are happening -- it just comes out in bits and pieces." Most intriguing, he says, is the fact that Mohamed Al Fayed's remains doggedly determined to convince people that Dodi and Diana would have married.

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From left: Project Runway alums Elisa Jimenez, Victorya Hong and Christian Siriano reunite for the cameras
Photos by: Jesse Wright

Friday night's Na*Be by Victorya Hong show was an exercise in under-the-radar riches: the recently-ousted Project Runway contestant apparently dipped heavily into "personal savings" to fund the endeavor -- or at least that was the line the publicist said she could share when we inquired how in the hell Hong ponied up the thousands it takes to stage a show during Fashion Week. Hidden treasure came to mind, too, when we found Washington Post fashion critic Robin Givhan solo, cooling her heels pre-show in the front row. Itching for some lower tones ourselves after the hustle backstage (fellow Runway-ers Christian Siriano and Elisa Jimenez had photogs working overtime), we sidled up to Givhan to see how her first full day of this Fashion Week was shaping up.

Givhan considered Rag and Bone a standout, and said Hong's was "somewhere around the No. 5 show" she'd seen that day. Menswear and military looks were early themes, Givhan informed us. That was good and well (note to self: don't chuck jacket with epaulets into pile of babydoll dresses the fashion gods have mandated we burn at their altar negative-now) but we were more into her take on the value of fashion-centered reality shows. The fire next time happens when would-be fashion assistants go to Elle...

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