Fashion Week's Faux Pas

When Madrid banned sickly skinny models from its runways in 2006, and a British casting agent called it “discrimination”, Roxie nearly hit the wall.

“Discrimination?!” She screamed, “How dare they play the discrimination card? The fashion industry discriminates against everyone. Only rich people and celebrities get to go to fashion shows. And nobody over a size 1 can ever really be a model.”

Sometimes she flies off the handle, but now I’m starting to think she might have a point. Yesterday, we were walking through Bryant Park and saw the Fashion Week tent, where models strut their stuff for photographers and buyers. There’s a sign outside the tent that says “Not Open to the Public”.

“Look at this,” Roxie said, pointing to the tent, “it takes up practically the whole park.” There has been some controversy surrounding the tent’s location in Bryant Park. Residents are resentful of the fact that it does indeed seem to take up most of the park, not to mention the noise and traffic congestion it creates. But the most irksome point is that Bryant Park is a public park, paid for by taxes, and here it is being taken over by something that isn’t open to the public.

“This is our park. How dare they keep us from enjoying it? We paid for it. Those scrawny walking beanpoles sure as heck didn’t,” Roxie grumbled. I thought Roxie was overreacting, but I did feel a bit sad, knowing that I could never see what’s going on inside, except for pictures online.

When we got home, Roxie and I looked at Cathy Horyn’s blog on the New York Times, and saw the pictures for Gwen Stefani’s line, L.A.M.B.

“It looks like a prep school threw up,” Roxie said.

“Yeah,” I said. I have to admit, though, that I liked BCBG Max Axria’s line. Lots of feminine tulle and organza–definitely something I can get on board with. And I LOVED Bill Blass’s dresses: lovely, classic feminine shapes, harkening back to the glamour of Hollywood’s golden age. Even Roxie liked them, which says a lot, because when it comes to fashion she hates everthing.

The thing Roxie found most amusing about Fashion Week is the possibility of the tent being moved from Bryant Park to the roof of the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

“It’s a good place for them,” she said, “Up there they can breathe in bus fumes and look down on the masses. They’ll love it.”

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Posted by Mirela Gluck at 02:16 PM
APPAREL , STYLE/BEAUTY |