Caravan Fashion Week Runway Show September 12, 2007

Caravan is a most unusual store....and not a store. Launched June 2005 in New York City, Caravan was at first, literally a mobile boutique-in-a-Winnebago--the brilliant idea of entrepreneur Claudine Gumbel and her husband Brian. Gumbel is also co-founder of the fashion PR agency Think PR. In 2006 Caravan also opened a retail store at 2 Great Jones Street in Noho (I attended the fantastic opening) and later added another location uptown at 128 East 91st. If you're not NYC-bound or based, there's a website: http://www.shopcaravan.com/ that includes a dazzlingly wonderful and large group of innovative designers. That's a photo of the van which was projected on the frames of the runway prior to the show. Caravan's products and merchandise are a hip mix of contemporary clothing, accessories, gift items, and art in a "Barney's" style that caters to both male and female fashionistas with a range of price-points and styles. If you can't find something to ooh and aah about at Caravan, especially in the chic setting designed by Greg Finney, you're not looking very hard! very hard!

Which brings me to the real reason for this post--the Caravan Fashion Week Runway Show held at the Metropolitan Pavilion on 19th Street last night. I moved with vigor to get downtown, right after the Tadashi Shoji runway show at the Promenade in the Bryant Park Tents, ended. With 23 designers from all over the world, this was an amazing show not just for the range of designers and the high-energy atmosphere, but for the sheer size of it. I wondered at the organization that must have gone into producing a professional show this large, that seemingly went off without a hitch. Backstage, it must have been absolutely mayhem, but you'd never know it from the front of the house.

To make it easy to recognize each designer, a slide of their logo was projected on the walls of the runway frame. Photography was challenging from my vantage point, but a picture is still worth a thousand words. With this many designers, I am just going to let my photos speak for me (but visit Caravan or the online store, to see even more designs and designers):

First up was Vivienne Westwood, the funky, English designer who has launched innovative collections for several decades. Following were: J. Lindeberg (Sweden); I R O (France); Sretsis (Thailand); Steelo (USA); HOSS Intropia (Spain); Walter Baker (USA); By Malene Birger (Denmark); Kimberly Foley (USA); H. Fredriksson (Sweden); Fred Perry (England); Rojas (USA); Social Atelier (USA), Scanty (USA); Loomstate (USA); Blue Marline (USA); Green Collective (USA); Drifter (USA); Heavy Rotation (USA); Blake Standard (USA); Edun (USA); Keep a Child Alive (Africa); Purp7e (Brazil); Mood of Norway (Norway)

After the show, those whose feet still had some "spring" left in them, wandered around the Sunsilk, Nikon, MaxFactor and Mercury displays. Show-goers also got canvas tote bags filled with products, courtesy of Caravan and their sponsors.