AdviceSisters Notice About Fashion Week Spring 2009

Fashion Week starts a just a few days from now. As in previous years, I will bring you up-close-and-personal reports and photos from the tents and the runways. I will also be reporting from backstage, where the greatest hair and makeup artists in the world will be creating looks you'll be wearing in Spring 2009.

If you have been reading my online content for a while, you already know that The Advice Sisters online publications include a blog: http://www.advicesisters.net/advicesistersblog.html; a web site: http://www.advicesisters.net/ ; forums, and a free, bi-monthly Ezine (4,500 subscribers). Each offers fashion, beauty and lifestyle advice and information for an international audience of educated, upscale adults. Our PR4 web site is ranked by Alexa at 580,000 -- halfway up the top million sites of the Internet. The Advice Sisters are also a member of the Total Beauty Network. Content from our publications are shared with Total Beauty, and social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter.

Last season, The Advice Sisters reported on more than 25 shows and events at Fall 2008 Fashion Week, and we reported and photographed 30 shows for Spring 2008 Fashion Week. These archived reports are accessible through this blog's archives, and accessed every day through search engines. Individual reports and features of shows are also often picked up by other sites. Mentions of Fashion Week routinely appear with throughout the year on advicesisters.net's long-standing fashion and beauty review column called: "What Works. http://www.advicesisters.net/whatworkscol3.html.

In the past, Fashion Week was a small-ish event, with buyers and press assembling in the designer's showrooms and modest venues to see the collection. But thanks in great part to IMG (and also to our celebrity-obsessed culture), Fashion Week has become a star-studded "cricus" that brings lots of interest. Everyone from legitimate press, to people with cameras who just like taking photos of pretty girls, to a constant stream of gawkers on the steps to the tents, wants to be a part of it. This makes it challenging for legitimate reporters of smaller publications. Those of us who don't work for the Style Network, Vogue, or another of the top media outlets. We also need to report on Fashion Week--and I think we do it in a fresh and exciting way for our readers! The New York Observer published a story on the topi9c: Oh, Lowly Blogger? Your Seat's in the Back Couture’s cyber-clique still pulls up the rear at Fashion Week. But times are changing, slowly … by Gillian Reagan September 2, 2008 http://www.observer.com/2008/style/oh-lowly-blogger-your-seat-s-back

The Advice Sisters have a great reputation online. We have no wish to compete with celebrities or huge media outlets. We feel that while we're not as "huge" as these mega-publications, we offer coverage that is more personal and therefore, more unusual.

As the Publisher and reporter for The Advice Sisters at Fashion Week, I completely appreciate the fact that designers and their publicists have to maximize the space they have in Bryant Park's small venues, by inviting buyers, sponsors, and mainstream press first. Despite this, I will be reporting on as many shows both backstage and from the runway as I can if I am invited to do so.

I hope you will enjoy reading about the shows, the models, the clothes, and everything else "Fashion Week." I'll be burning the midnight oil to upload photos and give you the latest, the fastest, and with my personal view to what's happening. Please feel free to link to anything and everythign here. But if you want to do more than that I would ask just this: PLEASE RESPECT THE ADVICE SISTERS COPYRIGHT! If you want to do more than just link to a post--if you want to use one of my photos, or quote something I've written-- please ask permission and when you get it, make sure you attribute it to the Advice Sisters at http://www.advicesisters.net/ with Alison Blackman Dunham as the author/photographer. © 2008 all rights reserved by Alison Blackman Dunham of THE ADVICE SISTERS® The Advice Sisters is a registered United States trademark. No portion of this web site, including illustrations, may be copied or used in any without written permission of THE ADVICE SISTERS. E-Mail: advicesisters(at)advicesisters(dot)net.

Thank you for your kind consideration of my intellectual property. I look foward to hearing your comments at any time on this post, and any other I'll be creating in the future.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ FIRST NEWS FROM FASHION WEEK: New York, NY (August 20, 2008) – In a few weeks, fashion insiders from around the world will come together as the first Spring 09 collections are revealed at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week from September 5-12. Creative new talents will share the stage in the iconic tents of Bryant Park with celebrated designers such as Michael Kors, Diane Von Furstenberg, Carolina Herrera, Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang, Zac Posen, Betsey Johnson and DKNY, who is enjoying its 20th Anniversary, among other designers from Brazil, China, Korea, Japan, Russia, India, Israel, Spain, France, Italy and Australia. “We are very excited to welcome so many new talents to the most prominent fashion event of the season,” said Fern Mallis, Senior Vice President of IMG Fashion. “We are anxious to observe how these energetic, enthusiastic and creative new ‘fashion engineers’ will inspire, influence and impact an industry hungry for new talent.” This season a record number of internationally recognized designers will present their collections to buyers, editors of noted fashion magazine, the media, celebrities, clients, industry professionals and various VIP’s. The list of debuting designers includes Michael Angel, Charlotte Ronson, Andy & Debb, Thuy, Sergio Davila, Leifsdottir, Aurelio Costarella and Zheng Luo. Each designer’s distinctive vision and unique approach to fashion and style will be reflected on the runway. Australian designer, Michael Angel, has been in the fashion industry for over 10 years, as a top stylist for many influential celebrities and campaigns. He has now transferred his hypercolor designs into fabric and created a collection that will truly astonish. Charlotte Ronson has gained a notable reputation and an enviable fashion and celebrity following. With fourteen boutiques already in Japan, her much anticipated debut show in Bryant Park will reinforce her future expansion on the global fashion scene. Andy & Debb, a famous Korean couple, produce their own collection and run a number of boutiques in major department stores in Korea. Their signature clean, fresh modern cuts are inspired by the artists’ designs in the many museums and galleries they frequent. Thuy Diep, the Vietnamese born, New York designer inherited her talent and skills from her parents, who used to run a tailoring school and custom-made clothing shop. Thuy’s romantic, sophisticated style mixes together a casual chic reflective of “a woman of beauty and intellect with an artistic and forever youthful soul.” Peruvian native, Sergio Davila, began developing and marketing a menswear line based on a vision for how he himself wanted to dress. His very first collection created a buzz on the West Coast and was immediately bought by many established retailers. Davila’s character, hard work and talent has helped secure him a mark on the Manhattan fashion scene. Anthropologie's new wholesale line, Leifdottir, is a pretty, artsy and quirky collection of clothes for a young, feminine customer. Top American editors have said, “Leifdottir attention to little details such as whimsical prints, vintage buttons and intricate embroidery have secured their reputation.” Aurelio Costarella has turned a Western Australian based company into an internationally recognized luxury brand. Determined to keep evolving without losing his Perth City identity, his instinctive and sophisticated designs grow each season and are a testament to his success at achieving his goals. Zheng Luo, a leading Chinese designer, owns Omnialuo Inc., is one of the most successful fashion companies in mainland China. Working with natural fabrics gives her collections an organic and eco-friendly flare. Zheng believes that “the perfection of human nature, no matter whether in the West or the East, is driven by the power of chasing beauty.” Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week begins with Michael Angel and is followed by BCBGMAXAZRIA , Perry Ellis, Yigal Azrouёl Women, Duckie Brown, Rubin Singer, Nicole Miller, Erin Fetherston, Academy of Art University, Venexiana, Lacoste, Charlotte Ronson, Toni Maticevski, Abaeté, Andy & Debb, Rosa Chá, Verrier, Alexandre Herchcovitch, Rock & Republic, Lela Rose, DKNY, Tracy Reese, Terexov, Hervé Léger by Max Azria, Diane Von Furstenberg, Y-3, Akiko Ogawa., Tibi, Miss Sixty, Thuy, Twinkle by Wenlan, Carolina Herrera, Peter Som, Jill Stuart, Sergio Davila, Diesel Black Gold, Luca Luca, Yeohlee, Tony Cohen, Ports 1961, Gottex, Cynthia Steffe, Matthew Williamson, Monique Lhuillier, Iódice, Betsey Johnson, Dennis Basso, Joanna Mastroianni, MAX AZRIA, Vivienne Tam, Brian Reyes, Michael Kors, Nanette Lepore, Richard Chai, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Carlos Miele, Pamella Roland, Milly by Michelle Smith, Anna Sui, Mara Hoffman, Malan Breton, Vera Wang, Naeem Khan, Rebecca Taylor, Reem Acra, Calvin Klein, Leifsdottir, Chris Han, Custo Barcelona, Zac Posen, Aurelio Costarella, Project Runway, Ralph Lauren, Tadashi Shoji, Sabyasachi, Carmen Marc Valvo, Donna Karan Collection, Badgley Mischka, Yigal Azrouёl Men, OmniaLuo Zheng Luo and Chado Ralph Rucci. Title sponsor Mercedes-Benz is joined by DHL, American Express, M·A·C Cosmetics, Judith Ripka, YKK, W Hotels Worldwide, Havaianas, TRESemmé, BlackBerry® and T-Mobile USA INC., OfficeMax, Seoul Metropolitan Government, LU Biscuits, Evian ® Natural Spring Water, Peroni, The Wines of Rioja, Imperia Vodka, Chambord, and BAWLS Guarana as well as the following media partners The New York Times, Women’s Wear Daily, Full Frontal Fashion, ULTRA HD, Getty Images and The Insider. Each of these sponsors will be providing hospitality, services and amenities to make the exciting week of shows as enjoyable and pleasant as possible for all attendees.