Haute and the City

It has become an increasingly popular notion in the fashion industry that what was once a tightly-sealed industry-only event, fashion week must be brought “to the people.” DKNY Men made New York Fashion Week history yesterday by becoming the first-ever collection to be presented at the NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square, which was broadcast on the screens to the pedestrians outside on the 12 Reuters JumboTron screens.

The crux of this season’s DKNY Men’s collection pays tribute to the timeless 1950′s gray suit, modernized by a slim silhouette, skinny ties and paired with platform Doc Marten’s and Tevas. Unstructured blazers and the (disappointing) presence of cargo shorts provided a more casual feel to the overall collection.

The message here is clear: whether you need an outfit for your nine-to-five or for the weekend, DKNY men has you covered with the American classics.

Photos courtesy of Style.com.

DKNY

• Fashion Fights Cancer – FFC was last night and was a great success! I’ll be writing a follow-up sometime this weekend, but I wanted to share the Guest of a Guest gallery with you!

• Condé Nast is Moving to Wall Street – The latest in the relocation rumors! Apparently, CN is planning to move from the iconic 4 Times Sq to 1 World Trade Center.

• Fashion’s Night Out Fashion-Show Tickets Are (Currently) No Longer Available – “We called Lincoln Center to ask about tickets, and the sales rep said they may still become available prior to the show. You just have to keep calling to find out, but you can call as much as you like. It’s unclear what those tickets will cost.”

• Ugly Battle Brewing Over Fashion Week – “The disagreement is rooted in the nature of the union’s relationship with Lincoln Center and the specific location where IMG is scheduled to erect the tents it will use for fashion shows.” It wouldn’t be NYFW without a scandal!

• Frugality in Fashion Amid Economic Slump – “While restrained spending has always gone hand-in-hand with a shaky economy, now, more than ever, Americans are bragging about their rock-bottom fashion finds.”

• Long Nguyen Looks Back on 20 Years of Dolce & Gabbana for Men -  You have to check this link out – include the look book from 1990!

• Fashion Bloggers In China Gaining Industry Traction – “In the US and the UK, fashion bloggers have long been considered ahead-of-the-curve influencers, and are fixtures at fashion-world openings, runway shows, and other events. With China’s growing appetite for luxury, there’s room for China’s fashion bloggers to gain industry traction as well.”

• American Apparel Drops After Getting Subpoena on Auditor Change – This poor company cannot get a break…

• Seen on the Street: Strangers as Style Icons – “We’ve had the age of supermodels as fashion icons and the age of celebrities. Now comes the age of attractive strangers.”

• Champagne corks popping again in luxury business – “PPR’s net profit in the first six months shot up 113.3 percent to 403 million euros (528 million dollars). Earlier this week, the world’s biggest luxury group, LVMH Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton, announced a 53-percent rise in net profit to 1.1 billion euros.”

• Why Do We Care About Luxury Brands? – “The pricing of fakes reveals something important about how the human mind calculates value. In many instances, we crave authenticity as an end unto itself. We want the real iPhone not because it works better but because it’s the real one. The same logic explains why we splurge on Hermes bags, Rolex watches, Prada T-shirts, fancy Bordeaux, and expensive art.”

• Vogue: The September Issue – “The most immediately striking thing about it is its opulence, page upon glossy page of advertisements for every expensive fashion house or jeweller you have ever heard of – so many that at least 100 pages go by before you arrive at the first bit of editorial copy.”

• Marc Jacobs’ Bookmarc and an E-Commerce Site Slated to Open on September 15 – “Call it Marc Jacobs’ Fashion Week Trifecta: both Bookmarc, his latest addition to his ever-sprawling Bleecker Street empire, and a new e-commerce site are scheduled to debut on September 15, the same day as the designer’s Spring/Summer 2011 runway show.”

• For Shoppers Who Never Drop – “Times Square’s newest hotspot draws a young crowd, keeps the music pumping and closes at 2 a.m. But instead of offering drinks and food it mainly sells teen clothing and accessories. Forever 21′s recently opened store is usually bustling after midnight, long after other retailers have shut their doors. Who gets the urge to shop instead of sleep?“

Photo credit: Flickr