Daily Front Row

2010 March 12

Unforgettable Europe

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Chanel, Fall 2010
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(NEW YORK) Maybe you're back au bureau, maybe you're still fighting off jet lag a la maison. Whatever the case, visions of Paris and Milan are surely haunting your dreams...and your waking hours. Which moments will you remember most? These, for starters.

1. THE MOB SCENE AT GAULTIER.
Granted, it's nothing new, but scores of chanting anti-fur protestors can even rattle the most devoted vegan---to say nothing of those clad in chinchilla. Several top Russians eschwed the scene altogether in favor of tranquil team dinners.

2. THE FAUX FUR AT CHANEL.
After seeing elaborately-conceived fox and broadtail on runways major and minor, the fashion world was craving some good, old-fashioned tweed. Karl delivered--but with a hefty side of faux fur, used unabashedly in everything from jacket trim to full-fledged trousers. Did we expect it? Not at Chanel. The contrarian Kaiser was just having fun, but the question remains---will his ladies who lunch actually bite?

3. EARLY AU REVOIRS AT MARGIELA.
The last model had barely hit the runway when troops of American editors, led by the T team, stood up and fled the scene of the exaggerated waistline. By the time the actual finale began, the U.S. press section was only populated by a handful of graceful eds like Hamish Bowles. Let's hope Renzo wasn't watching!

3. DOLCE & GABBANA'S HOMAGE TO THE ATELIER.
Is the front-row sentimental? Rarely. But there were a few teary eyes during the gloriously sappy pre-show video at Dolce & Gabbana, which featured the designers snipping and sewing away at their atelier. As the group of Dolce artisans assembled for a group shot, the designers surely realized that they had the fashion world in their petits mains.

5. THE SUPERMODEL RETURNS AT VIKTOR & ROLF.
Kristen McMenamy's retour to the runway actually began during New York's Fashion Week, thanks to Francisco Costa and Calvin Klein, but it wasn't until Viktor & Rolf when she (literally) took center stage, wearing 14 different coats, which the designers removed and re-styled on other models. Backstage, she tripped down several stairs due to the excitement of all her well-wishers; editors from T to Interview were vowing to get in touch soon. Do we sense another cover?

6. THE SUPERMODEL RETURNS (AGAIN) AT VUITTON.
Yes, Elle MacPherson, we're talking to you. Of all the shocking runway returns, leave it to Marc to pack the most punch. How we've missed these women!

7. LOHAN'S PERPETUAL HIGHJINKS.
The tabloids barely pay attention, but the fashion world remains interested. For the moment, anyway. Thanks to a stint at Ungaro that was fated to be, well, ill-fated, Lohan's half-life, press-wise, has been extended immesurably. The only one who doesn't seem to care? CSI's Gary Dourdan, who sat next to her front-row at Viktor & Rolf for a whopping 17 minutes before offering a one-word greeting. Yes, we counted.

8. DAVID BECKHAM AT THE PRINCIPE!
Quel treat. The evening before the Armani show, the delectable soccer stud appeared at the Principe bar, and graciously held court in a corner table as chicsters whispered, stared, and snapped. Even the most hard-lining publicists were transformed into ogling teenyboppers as everyone wondered: How did Zanna Roberts get so lucky as to end up at his table? (Answer: they're old friends from England.)

9. THE END OF THE IT-GIRL?
Alexa Chung and Pixie Geldof were famously dismissed au Meurice; while the usual slew of front-row Chanel ambassadors were relegated to second. Is the nouvelle socialite era over at last? Charity season is upon us...

10. GALLIANO'S FIREWORKS!
Leave it to Alex de Betak to create a splendid fireworks display (complete with a flaming runway) inside the massive warehouse on Boulevard Vincent Auriol where John Galliano staged his Fall collection. There's a reason you fought those relentless crowds...
ASHLEY BAKER