"The fashion show, the walking up-and-down, the turn-turn-turn -- it's really become cliched, a thing of the past," designer Marc Bouwer said Thursday evening at a viewing party for the premiere of his Fall 2010 runway film.

His film stars fellow South African expat and Victoria's Secret model Candice Swanepoel modeling his Fall 2010 collection against a celestial background. Dutch designers Viktor & Rolf employed a similar technique with Shalom Harlow for their Spring 2009 show.

The crowd waiting for the doors to open at the Chelsea Art Museum for Marchesa's Fall 2010 presentation yesterday snaked around the block, like a very well-dressed pack of music fans staking out concert tickets.

Just inside the door, waiters stood at attention with trays of freshly-uncorked Dom Perignon. Amiable, chattering guests found themselves staring at models on pedestals, set against black curtains and under bright lights. Whether it was from the heat of the lights or the tightly-packed space, a few models looked like they might wilt and take their pretty frocks with them. A girl in an ethereal red dress visibly teetered, then caught herself.

Guests at William Rast's Wednesday evening show at Cedar Lake in Chelsea found staggered sets of tiered benches set around the event space, forming an H-pattern. There wasn't a bad seat in the house. As soon as the lights went out, a band in the corner, Freesol, kicked into some rock 'n' roll and a giant LED screen dramatically lit up. As models took their walks towards the photographers' pit, cameras caught them at different angles and projected them live onto a large screen in the back.

The cameras were focused on the front row, too. Singers Estelle and Matt Morris, French Vogue's Carine Roitfeld, Vogue's Anna Wintour and actress Jessica Biel, girlfriend of Justin Timberlake were all in attendance. Mr. Timberlake and his childhood friend Trace Ayala are William Rast's creative directors.

Two large all-white floral arrangements dominated the rooms at the Hosfelt Gallery, where Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen held their first runway show for their luxury line, The Row. Seating was limited to just 100 of fashion's top names; a coterie of A-list guests, including Anna Wintour, Nina Garcia, Chloe Sevigny and Carey Mulligan, were in the front row.

Models wore monochrome, layered ensembles, such as camisoles and dresses paired with corsets, with no accessories, minimal makeup, loose hair and flat sandals. The collection was strictly edited: There were only 20 looks, which meant there weren't deviations into other themes.

Every emerging designer remembers the first time that Vogue's Anna Wintour attends his or her fashion week show. Christian Cota got his inaugural visit Tuesday evening at the Metropolitan Pavilion as he presented his Fall 2010 collection.

The designer walked the editor through his looks, which were presented on a platform stage where models in ombre wigs stood (or tried to stand) perfectly still. Professional and amateur photographers created a little circle around the pair as they moved across one set of clothes to the next.

Charlotte Ronson's shows are gaining a reputation not just for her downtown cool clothes but also for the music played at her shows by her twin sister, DJ Samantha Ronson. The music for a runway show sets the stage for the collection, and designers often turn to music consultants and deejays to find the best songs to frame their clothes.

Here's how the soundtrack for the Charlotte Ronson Fall 2010 collection was created:

Dress-making at design house Chado Ralph Rucci means exacting fine details. Ostrich feathers, for example, arrive chemically treated so that they are not uniformly fluffy. Assistants sort the feathers one at a time, then glue them individually. Feathering one dress can take several days, and several assistants, to complete. For all the work involved -- each feathered dress is also hand-finished -- the dresses are expected to sell at upwards of $10,000.

View how an ivory georgette and guinea hen-feathered dress went from a sketch to the runway.

Guests arriving at Erin Fetherston's Sunday evening show at Milk Studios found a Valentine's Day gift: a long-stemmed rose and Jacques Torres chocolates. Servers made the rounds with pink champagne.

Ms. Fetherston's Fall 2010 "Chelsea Girl" collection, set to the sounds of Nico, featured dewy-skinned models styled with long bangs and straight, loose locks, similar to the hairstyle the designer herself wears. While Ms. Fetherston's Fall 2009 collection highlighted ultra-short poofy skirts, her newest autumn collection presented several billowy-sleeved, flowing, knee-grazing dresses among a smattering of short miniskirts and cocktail attire. The long dresses suggested an unfussy elegance that could easily segue from day to night.

"It isn't much warmer inside," a publicist leading us into the Commonwealth Utilities Fall 2010 show at the Nomad Hotel warned Sunday evening. Haven't heard of the Nomad Hotel yet? That's because it's still under construction.

Guests entering the space off 28th Street found a raw, unfinished lobby with exposed beams, stripped walls and peeling paint on the ceiling. The man next to us half-joked that it looked like the ceiling would collapse upon us. Ushers offered hand-warmers and warm (non-spiked) apple cider. We mention the virgin apple cider because the gift left on the seats was a Commonwealth Utilities flask, wrapped in a paper bag.

If you are more than 10 minutes late to a Jill Stuart show, you risk losing a limb to the paparazzi, who form a pack of jostling elbows, clicking cameras and blitzkrieg flashes around the likes of Jessica Szhor, Mena Suvari and Michelle Trachtenberg.

Ms. Stuart's Fall 2010 collection featured ultra-high miniskirts and saucy over-the-knee boots, accessorized with chunky scarves and heavy-knit sweaters. A few jackets had a straightforward militaristic look, but most looks were flirty, sassy little things meant for dancing on tables.

There are a few shows every fashion week where the crowd's affection for the designer is palpable in the room. Tracy Reese's shows are often packed with her family and friends, who cheer her on, present her with flowers and after the show, laud her latest work.

The newest collection opened with One Way's slinky R&B song "Cutie Pie" as models sauntered down the runway in a melange of textures. Sweet lace dresses were topped with fluffy scarves that mirrored the models' softly teased hair. Sweaters with faux fur sleeves worn over studded blouses ended in fingerless opera gloves. Tweed sweaters were paired with suede skirts. The overall effect was a downtown girl's twist on proper uptown preppy dress codes, with just the right amount of skin on display.

Zero + Maria Cornejo's Monday morning men's and women's show at the Hosfelt Gallery was an austere event. Seats were arranged across several makeshift rooms, leading models to walk by at such a brisk pace that they were gone in a blur of wool and leather.

This is a collection for a sophisticate who takes risks with volume and who understands that clothes need to look good from many angles, not just the front. One of the striking details of a woman's wool swing coat, for example, was the way the high collar was sewn down so it was perpetually stiff; it was subtle, but the side view of the collar compelled the eye forward, to examine it up close.

While making our fashion party rounds on Saturday night, Speakeasy bumped into "Mad Men" and "Community" star Alison Brie, who was parlaying her four-day break from shooting "Community" into a visit to New York's runway front rows. At the Paper magazine shindig celebrating the new Camper flagship store on Madison Avenue, ebullient partiers jostled for drinks while navigating around an inordinately large table in the center of the room. Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl spun music in a corner (they're fond of Prince).

Brie stood by the front glass doors, and discussed juggling comedic and dramatic roles. "There's so many moments on 'Community' which are dramatic, especially with my character," Brie said. "Similarly, I think that Trudy and Pete provide a lot of the comic relief on 'Mad Men'."

Alice & Olivia's Stacey Bendet can throw a good party. She's had the Hilton sisters cause a paparazzi swarm at a fete at her Bryant Park store and has held loft parties that included Lindsay Lohan and Jared Leto as guests. At her Fall 2010 presentation/party last night at Provocateur, guests, press and paparazzi shivered in the sub-freezing cold for 30 minutes at a time while waiting to check in. Once inside, the small lounge was so packed there was no demarcating space between celebrities and the non-famous. Everyone had to push past each other for a drink or a place to stand.

In the span of one hour, Heard on the Runway spied a platinum-haired Kelly Osbourne, Ugly Betty's Ana Ortiz, Sophia Bush and Gossip Girl's Matthew Settle, who was showing baby photos to Kelly Bensimon. On our way out the door, we had no choice to but squeeze past Mena Suvari entering the party, as Mad Men's Elizabeth Moss introduced someone to her husband, Fred Armisen.

Last season's Chado Ralph Rucci show took place in the main tent at Bryant Park; the backstage chaos leading up to the show was recently shown on Bravo's new behind-the-scenes fashion show, "Kell on Earth." This season the haute luxe label took a calmer approach: It held its Fall 2010 runway show at its showroom on Thursday evening. The room was brightly lit and set with rows of clear plastic chairs.

The monied ambiance was intimate and chummy; a lot of guests knew each other, swapping air kisses and trading compliments. The invitation had requested evening attire, and New York's doyennes did not disappoint. There were many delicate high heels in the front row, despite snow slush clinging to Soho's sidewalks just outside the door.

Expectations were set high for the Fall 2010 Christian Siriano show when a press release sent just hours before the show trumpeted a coterie of bold face names that would sit in the front row. As promised, popping flashes surrounded Amber Rose, Kristen Johnson and Mena Suvari as they took their seats. American Idol Adam Lambert was expected to attend, but Heard on the Runway didn't spy him; perhaps we missed him in the opening chaos.

A few scenesters dressed up for the occasion: At least two women were not wearing pants, a trend seen on the runways last season. Despite the just above-freezing temperatures, a guest donned a black leotard paired with printed leggings and heels.

New York City's fashion week begins with a somber note on news that iconoclast designer Alexander McQueen had died. WSJ's Elva Ramirez gets reaction from the fashion-show attendees at Bryant Park.

The usually ebullient crowd at Duckie Brown was a tad quieter this afternoon. As guests waited for the show begin, conversation inevitably led to the death of Alexander McQueen. In an unexpected Hitchockian twist, two lost sparrows flew among the crowd, causing people in the front row to duck manically while in the middle of conversations.

The dub music that opened Duckie Brown's Fall 2010 show gave it all away: the '80s rude boy is back. The fitted pants paired with boots and oversized jackets brought a new spin to the shrunken suit stylings popularized by Thom Browne. Duckie Brown upped the sartorial references by adding a ska edge to the mod influences.

At the Chado Ralph Rucci show on Thursday evening, Vogue's editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley was clearly moved when asked for his reaction to Alexander McQueen's death. "It is a great loss. It's a tragedy for the fashion world," Mr. Talley said. "He was truly an innovator and a master."

Mr. Talley added: "It's just an extraordinary loss for all of us and a shock to the fashion world. [McQueen] had incredible talents and gifts and at the same time, he was a great poet. There are very few poets left."

As New York fashion week kicks off, the area's first major snow storm of the year is muscling in to snag a share of attention normally reserved for opening show buzz.

Publicists sent out notes Tuesday and Wednesday advising on the status of their runway shows. Adrienne Landau's presentation was moved from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday at noon, due to the weather. Emerging label Nary Manivong postponed its noon presentation today.

Hermès inaugurated its first stand-alone menswear store last night with a celebrity-packed cocktail party, followed by a lavish private party at the Park Avenue Armory. The 690 Madison Avenue space stands directly across the street from the flagship store. It was formerly a Luca Luca store.

Plans for the store didn't falter even as the luxury sector took a pummeling. "We plan out for many years ahead," said Robert B. Chavez, Hermès president and CEO. "We don't change our strategy just for one or two years. We know the potential for this type of category is really great."

"Catwalk Countdown," Sundance Channel's new Web-only series is a simple concept: Pick an emerging designer and catch behind-the-scene moments as he or she prepares a collection. "It's about addictive storytelling, but we also hope it is elegant, interesting and fun," Sundance Channel executive vice president Sarah Barnett said.

The first crop of designers to be featured in "Countdown" includes Vena Cava, Christian Cota and Erin Fetherston.

The big names at fashion week tend to get the lion's share of attention. But the majority of the fashion industry is comprised of dozens and dozens of lesser-known designers trying to get a stitch closer to label recognition. Here are a few emerging talents to look for in a store near you.

When the weather warms up again, it will be fashionable for women to wear panties as outerwear if some of the industry's greatest minds are betting correctly.

Designers picked up and modified Martin Margiela's 2007 thought experiment on clothing that toyed with exposure. One year later, Marc Jacobs and Chloe presented sheer clothes that revealed the garments beneath; this motif was later echoed in the Spring 2009 collections of Erin Fetherston, Prada and Luella.

Stars with fashion-forward radar noticed -- and possibly contributed -- to the trend. In 2005, Madonna donned micro-briefs to promote her album "Confessions on the Dancefloor." In 2007, Sienna Miller borrowed Edie Sedgwick's iconic look (sweater, tights and leotard) while promoting her Sedgwick bio-pic "Factory Girl." Lady Gaga all but established her fashion cred by swanning about in leotards starting in 2007. Just this month, Beyonce and her back-up dancers shimmied onto the Video Music Awards stage in spangly leotards and tights.

Does the trend, er, have legs?

Designer Toni Maticevski has not yet broken into the mainstream in the U.S. though he's a successful designer in his native Australia. His stateside insider status is partly by design. While Maticevski shows during the New York shows, he doesn't actively court retailers or celebrities. His shows, which combine a mix of fragile dresses with an occasional aggressive touch, are meant to appeal to private clients. In a zig away from runway routine, the designer does not leave collection and inspiration notes on front row seats, arguing that his clothes should be strong enough to communicate his design motifs.

While Maticevski's aesthetic veers more towards the avant-garde than mainstream, his intellectual take on classic beauty will find fans among fashion-forward women who want to wear something feminine yet subversive.

Designers interchanged materials and tailoring but the styling always played with proportions.

At Alexander Wang and Charlotte Ronson, boxy sleeveless jackets were paired with sexy skin-baring blouses.

Ralph Lauren and Isaac Mizrahi pulled the jacket closer to the body, but balanced out the look with loose pants.

And sometimes, the jacket was a statement piece in itself, as in Diane von Furstenberg's head-turning orange creation.

The once-private fashion show generates enormous public interest. But the near-instant exposure comes with a side-effect: Designers are finding that the immediacy of runway images can make clothes feel dated by the time they hit stores.

"It's bittersweet," Proenza Schouler's Jack McCollough says. "[Accessibility] gets more people interested in fashion because it's more reachable. But at the same time, it's there faster so people get bored of it quickly." He adds that knock-off companies get a jump-start on sending out copies before the originals even hit the market.

There are no easy answers.

Thanks to the Internet, fashion blogs and a dash of Project Runway, public enthusiasm for the private runway show is at a high. American Express hopes that access to a 3.1 Phillip Lim runway show will mint retail sales.

On Thursday night, just as the last show of New York's season ended, American Express card members were feted with a cocktail party at the American Express Skybox in the tents. Later, guests were seated in the Salon at Bryant Park.

At Marchesa's Wednesday afternoon presentation in Chelsea, the guests were openly rapturous. "If I were getting married again, I'm going to wear that," a woman told her friend as she pointed to a white tulle gown so airy it appeared spun out of meringue. "Wait until you see this one!" a man excitedly exclaimed to his friend as they turned a corner into a new vignette.

Each season, Marchesa designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig whip up delicate, luxurious gowns that later grace editorial spreads and red carpets. Expect this season's Madame Butterfly-inflected collection to be no different.

Parties during fashion week are a dime a dozen. Even with celebrity sightings, there's a certain sameness to parties: Sip Champagne (usually Veuve Clicquot), totter about the room in irresponsible heels, then gossip about post-runway impressions while discreetly eyeing the flashy ensembles in the room.

Wednesday night's Gilt Groupe, Thrillist and Refinery29 party held at downtown's Santos Party House blew into the party circuit like a breath of fresh air. Billed as a non-fashion fashion week party, the event was in honor of Gilt Fuse, Gilt's new online sample site that features younger and more affordable looks than the original Gilt Groupe.

Out Magazine hosted current fashion obsession Lady Gaga Tuesday night. Diehard fans and those unable to score a ticket to Monday's Marc Jacobs after-party (where she performed for 10 minutes) flocked to neo-cabaret The Box in the hopes of a repeat performance.

Well before the 8 p.m. party start, a line snaked half-way down the block as taxis emptied boys in suits and girls in spangles onto Chrystie Street. Although the invitation said nothing about Lady Gaga or a performance by her, anticipation ran high following the magazine's September Gaga cover story.

Christian Cota has a simple objective: "I just want women to feel beautiful." Amid the gloomy recession, the designer aimed for a classic style, punctuated with the optimism that dressing up confers.

Cota's design notes reference "an urban garden," which is an apt description for classic ladylike dresses highlighted with edgy details like laser-cut flowers, saturated prints and hand-sewn cording that looks like over-sized lace. The effect might be described as Oscar de la Renta for "Gossip Girl." (In fact, Leighton Meester wore a sequined Christian Cota Fall 2009 dress to the VMAs this week.) It's quite a feat to pull off simultaneously young, fresh and classic in a single dress.

For all of fashion week's exclusivity, there is one all-access way to catch a peek at Cynthia Rowley's Spring 2010 collection: Catch a cab.

"Hide and Seek" is a 60-second film currently playing in 5,500 New York City taxi screens roughly every 15 minutes. It is estimated to reach over 2.5 million passengers via the NY10-Taxi Entertainment network. "We felt like taxis were this overlooked medium," says Rowley, who debuted the short the day before her Sept. 11 runway show of the collection. "We thought it was this great place where we could do something artistic."

Menswear line Commonwealth Utilities staged its first runway show last night at a storied New York barber shop, Astor Place Hair Designers. Although the label is relatively young, it has already captured a high-profile fan in New York Rangers player Sean Avery.

Six months ago, Commonwealth creative directors Anthony Keegan and Richard Christiansen sent Avery a sweater that was modeled off a hockey jersey. To their surprise, Avery called the duo and asked to work with them. He stops by their studio to weigh in on designs, Keegan says.

British avant-garde designer Gareth Pugh should be in Paris, prepping for his Sept. 30 Spring 2010 show. Instead, Pugh hosted a film installation at the MAC & Milk Studios space on Sunday night.

The film, directed by Ruth Hogben, is a four-vignette reverie on the elements and undercurrents of Pugh's newest collection. Last season, Pugh opted to present a video instead of a runway show, which Hogben also directed. The new films are projected onto four sides of a towering cube, and accompanied with a rumbling soundtrack not unlike the second coming of Stanley Kubrick's monolith in "2001."

Women of various generations flocked to Jill Stuart's noon show at the New York Public Library today. Teen girls in frothy Fall '09 dresses watched while cameras trailed Leigh Lezark, Kim Kardashian, Kelly Rowland and Peaches Geldof to their chairs. A bevy of Bravo's Real Housewives from the New York and New Jersey editions attended; after the show, New Jersey Real Housewives Dina and Caroline Manzo interviewed Stuart backstage.

The mainsteam media loves to use "couture" as a word analogous to "very fancy" or "expensive," but the French take their couture very seriously; only designers that are invited members of the elite Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture may show during the haute couture shows and use the label to describe their clothing, which is defined by exacting handmade details.

Ralph Rucci is the only American in 60 years to be invited into the elite society; he's still an member even though his label Chado Ralph Rucci hasn't shown at the couture shows for two years. Rucci has quietly shed the "couture" label, but when he describes the fabrics and techniques that he employed for his newest collection, it's clear that he hasn't strayed far from couture's roots.

Saturday's evening party roster was packed for those who had access. For stars like Lindsay Lohan and Jared Leto, the first stop of the night was Stacy Bendet's Alice & Olivia Spring 2010 party/presentation in the Meatpacking District. Guests such as "Gossip Girl" stars Kelly Rutherford and Jessica Szohr, Nicky Hilton and socialite Tinsley Mortimer packed into the industrial space. At one end of the space, tableaus of models lingered in the new collection, while a stage dominated the center -- French girl band the Plastiscines performed for the crowd. A front wall was open to the street, allowing guests to sip drinks just above the sidewalk. Guests shot phone images of the models, but really, the event provided a chance to mingle, dance and drink after a long day of rushing to runway shows. The overall (and intended) effect was of the iconic insider downtown New York party that is catnip to film and TV producers.

The pushing, impatient crowd that showed up for Christian Siriano's 4 p.m. show yesterday testifies to the Project Runway star's still-high popularity among fashionistas and pop culture nerds. Not everyone who arrived was let in; those who had tickets were forced to evict others.

When the standing-room-only chaos settled, the front row revealed Tim Gunn flanked by actress Kristen Johnson and Victoria Secret's model Alessandra Ambrosio. Kelly Rowland, Leigh Lezark, Tori Spelling and a gorgeously decked-out Mena Suvari were also in front.

One way to gauge a fashion designer's prominence is by the fame quotient of his or her front row. At Diane von Furstenberg's shows, the star-wattage extends as far back as the third and fourth rows. Editors who are normally front row fixtures elsewhere were pushed back for an A-list group Sunday that included Graydon Carter, Candace Bergen, Rachel Zoe, Terry Richardson and "Gossip Girl" stars Blake Lively and Kelly Rutherford.

Charlotte Ronson's runway shows are reliably something of a spectacle, and yesterday's 2 p.m. show was no different.

A paparazzi pack four people thick crowded around the front row, cameras flashing like strobe lights. Photographers caught Tinsley Mortimer in an "I Heart Ronson" dress from Ronson's JC Penney line, along with Russell Simmons and pop singer Keri Hilson. Nicky Hilton, whose straight brunette hair seemed to be the only mane to elude the downpour outside, took the lion's share of the flashbulbs.

Erstwhile muse Erin Wasson's debut brought out the crowds for her Erin Wasson x RVCA collection at the Bryant Park tents. Crowds were corralled outside the tent until 40 minutes past the 8 p.m. showtime. Once seated, guest passes were triple-checked by publicists intent on not letting any seat-stealing interlopers into the first and second rows.

The show began at 8:52 p.m. The crowd seemed to instantly forgive the long wait when doors opened to reveal a live band. Brooklyn group Gang Gang Dance performed against a video backdrop as models walked down not the a traditional runway, but the normal everyday floor. The band, which included a member whose only job seemed to be to wave a vinyl flag with his back to the audience, sounded a bit like Banco de Gaia with Siouxsie Sioux vocals. (Too obscure? Here's a performance on YouTube.)

MTV's resident ingenue Whitney Port had a long day yesterday, beginning with her debut at the Bryant Park tents and ending with a party in Soho.

The "Whitney Eve" collection premiered in a group show along with labels Mara Hoffman and Nicholas K. The show had a late start, which caused a minor panic among guests and photographers when the show ran past 3 p.m., potentially thwarting plans.

At high-fashion lingerie company Agent Provocateur, "naughty" is not frowned upon -- it's part of the business plan.

For the U.S. debut of the company's new line, "Soiree," Agent Provocateur put on an intimate runway event at the Soho Grand hotel. While the barely dressed models nearly melted the camera pit, the audience was decorous, and the ambiance was rarified.

On "Project Runway," viewers often look forward to the nail-biting, pre-runway sequence in which amateur designers scramble to finish their outfits before sending their models onto the runway, sometimes literally sewing clothes on at the last possible minute.

In his four-part "The Day Before" series for the Sundance Channel, which premieres tomorrow night, fashion documentarian Loic Prigent reveals that real world luminaries such as Proenza Schouler's Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez aren't immune to such scrambles. The film shows the designers fussing with a collar two seconds before pushing a model onto the runway.

The Fall 2009 collections that premiered for the press and buyers at last week's New York fashion week were created last fall, amid lackluster consumer confidence and slashed retail prices.

Many designers said that because of this, they tried to straddle pragmatic business options (making sure to include classic black trousers, in Duckie Brown's case, for example) with eye-popping looks that tugged at consumer's heart-strings (Diane von Furstenberg's luxe coats). We asked a few designers how they designed for the downturn.

American Express and Diane von Furstenberg staged a special runway show for American Express card-holders and executives Wednesday night. Most runway shows are invite-only, but this one, which featured Ms. von Furstenberg's Spring/Summer 2009 collection and a few looks from the Fall 2009 collection she showed Sunday, was open to the public. Tickets to the event were sold online for $150.

"Everyone talks about fashion week and the tents and the glamour of it, but those are really trade shows for the buyers and the press," Ms. von Furstenberg said backstage before the show. "I've always thought, Wouldn't it be great to make real shows for consumers?"

For many designers at New York fashion week, finding a sponsor during a recessionary economy was much harder than in seasons past.

"I was having a lot of difficulty raising money for the show this season -- it's more difficult than ever before," says Daniel Silver, one of the designers at menswear brand Duckie Brown. Although Duckie Brown obtained a sponsorship from Florsheim shoes, it didn't cover the entire cost of the show, which can run upwards of $100,000, Mr. Silver said. Mr. Silver and his design partner Stephen Cox decided to consider every company they had ever worked for. At the end, they joined up with McDonald's, who was looking to promote its new line of McCafe coffee drinks. Mr. Cox had worked at McDonald's in London as a cashier when he was 16 years old.

For the 50th anniversary of its blockbuster doll brand, Mattel invited more than 1,000 guests to view a fashion show featuring 50 designer looks inspired by Barbie. By 3 p.m. show time on Saturday, a large crowd, including many children, overwhelmed the tents. Organizers hustled to get guests in, but dozens did not -- including many crestfallen little girls.

New York fashion week officially kicks off this Friday and Twittering fashionistas have already started sending out updates with #NYFW tags. Among the fashionable set, scoring a runway invitation imparts cachet because shows are invite-only and often, the invitations are non-transferable. On Monday, the New York Times' blog The Moment told its 9,753 Twitter followers that it was offering up tickets to Project Runway winner Christian Siriano's Feb. 19th show.

Brazilian designer Valdemar Iodice is the latest designer to opt to do a showroom presentation at New York Fashion Week in February rather than a runway show in the official venue in Bryant Park.

But Mr. Iodice has an unusual plan for how to entice store buyers and fashion magazine editors to attend his presentation: he will offer them each a free dress from his current collection, along with free car service to ferry them to the showroom, according to spokeswoman Myra Joloya.

New York fashion week's Spring 2009 runways were a potpourri of styles meant to serve as an escape from the current economic climate. But there were a few standing motifs that peppered collections and which designers hope will ignite impulse buys despite tighter pocketbooks. Here are some of the trends to look for next spring.

There are few things that the fashion industry agrees on. One of them is Polaroid film.

Polaroid is used daily across the industry, among publicists, model agencies, casting directors and designers, to capture and file instant images. But Polaroid announced in January that the company would stop producing its instant film.

The crowd at fashion parties, usually a mix of journalists, industry executives, bloggers and friends, typically isn't impressed with many celebrities.

But when hip hop star LL Cool J arrived at his party Wednesday night at the Bryant Park Grill, nearly all of the guests rushed over and many of them jockeyed to be photographed with him.

Designers often begin their collections with a mood or inspiration board. Like haute magpies, designers gather images, trinkets and scraps that resonate with them and tack them onto a board to help them better visualize ideas for their clothes. As inchoate themes start to take shape, sketches and fabric swatches may be added.

A month before her collection was due to make its New York fashion week debut, designer Erin Fetherston gave the Wall Street Journal a peek into her design process. Fairy princesses, dragonflies and images of dreamy models were sifted into what became Ms. Fetherston's Spring 2009 collection, titled "East of the Sun and West of the Moon."

Is this the Fashion Week when diversity comes back into style?

It's been nearly nine months since CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg urged designers to create "truly multicultural" runway shows. Media reviews of last season's shows, however, suggested that the CFDA's suggestion was not always heeded. When Jezebel counted up last February's New York shows, they found that about black models were used only about 5% of the time.

About three weeks before fashion week starts, the offices of casting directors, stylists and designers are flooded with show packages containing cards of models that agencies want to promote for the bi-annual runway shows. Model cards are meant to provide basic stats on available models for hire: A typical card features photos of a model, his or her measurements and contact information.

In the last few years, the show package has evolved from a simple informational tool to an industry art form.

At New York Fashion Week, senior fashion reporter Teri Agins spoke to retailers and executives about how the luxury market is adapting to a possible economic slowdown.

How are designers and retailers responding to warmer global temperatures? Senior fashion reporter Teri Agins spoke to executives and designers during New York fashion week.

The buzz from New York fashion week was that young American designers are now just as respected in the industry as the long-established names from Europe.

Victorya Hong may have been eliminated from "Project Runway" before fellow contestants, but she beat them to the runway with the debut of her line at New York Fashion Week.

Even as designers debuted their newest looks, some worried that their work would be copied as soon as runway photos hit the Internet. Last year, a group of designers, including Nicole Miller, lobbied Washington for laws to protect original designs. During New York fashion week, Teri Agins spoke to designers and executives, including Ms. Miller and Oscar de la Renta, about copyright legislation.

Typically the clothes seen this week on the runways won't appear in stores for another six months. But the newly revived Halston brand decided to use a different merchandising strategy: The label, backed by investor and movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, teamed with online fashion retailer Net-a-Porter to sell two outfits the day after the runway show.

During New York fashion week, senior fashion reporter Teri Agins caught up with designer Marc Jacobs after his Marc by Marc Jacobs show. The designer discusses his latest collections, his Hillary Clinton fundraiser T-shirts and how he juggles planning for three different shows.

Some of the world's largest luxury brands are betting that the new luxury consumer is increasingly aware of design in conjunction with earth-friendliness.

At Thursday's FutureFashion show at Gotham Hall, the industry's top designers, including Marc Jacobs, Narciso Rodriguez, Doo-Ri and Stella McCartney, created and exhibited one-of-a-kind looks using materials such as organic cotton and cashmere.

Celebrity hairstylist Peter Butler, who has coiffed Natalie Portman, Claire Danes and Avril Lavigne, created the women's hair styles for the Rock & Republic show Saturday night. We went backstage with Mr. Butler as he prepped the models for the runway.

Ashleigh Verrier has been designing for several years now. But last night she showed her first runway collection in the Salon in Bryant Park.

"I hope that when our customers see this collection for the first time, they'll feel that it's a little bit more grown up than last season," Ms. Verrier, 26, said.

She found the inspiration for her Fall 2008 collection in an unlikely spot: "The theme of Russia came through a trip I took to Tokyo, believe it or not," she said. She witnessed young Japanese women sporting ladylike outfits, but it was their use of fur headbands that reminded Ms. Verrier of Russian czarinas and their Hollywood counterpart, Julie Christie in "Doctor Zhivago."

"This past year I've done a lot of growing up," Ms. Verrier says. "Now that we've been in business for three years, it's put myself in a different mindset [where] I'm becoming confident with the decisions I have to make. Hopefully, the result is in the clothes."

During fashion week, a typical model might work up to 18 hours a day, running from castings to fittings to shows. For all the long hours and constant chaos, though, most models don't get paid.
Because new designers often lack funds, models many times work for "trade," meaning that they will receive clothing from the designer in exchange for their work, or for "image," meaning that they receive nothing but the addition to their resumes. Douglas Perrett, a casting director who worked for designers Benjamin Cho, Vena Cava and Verrier this New York fashion week, estimates that of over 200 shows each season, only 20 might pay with actual dollars.

Marc Jacob's reputation for theatrical openings surprised even his audience last night when the designer took his bows before showing any clothes.
The show then ran backwards, opening with the parade of looks, then moving into evening dresses and daytime wear. The collection's theme was an off-kilter, shattered glass perspective featuring gowns with unfinished skirts, suits with sheer panels and dresses missing sleeves.

Oscar de la Renta's spring collection stayed true to the designer's reputation for elegant and sophisticated womenswear. Daytime looks evoked the early Givenchy dresses that Audrey Hepburn made famous, while evening gowns were refined, glamorous and ready for the red carpet.

Proenza Schouler's Spring 2008 collection drew a packed crowd to the Armory this past Friday night. The A-list crowd included Anna Wintour and her daughter, Bee Shaffer, actresses Demi Moore and Kyra Sedgwick, beauty executive Aerin Lauder and photographer Terry Richardson.
For their newest collection, designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez contrasted masculine detailing such as bold uniform buttons, samurai leather belts and closely cut vests against cinched-waist jackets, short bubble skirts, metallic mini-dresses. The military-inflected show harnessed a tension between sharp men's tailoring and flirtatious female silhouettes.

Narciso Rodriguez's Spring 2008 collection turned away from the figure-skimming gowns that established his brand towards sporty dresses and frocks that move the body. The women's collection featured kimono-inspired cuts, loose jackets and sheer dresses that turned structural elements into ornament.

Column dresses inspired by ancient Rome. Skirts with mid-century New Look volume. Chunky jeweled necklaces over sheer gowns. These are some of the looks Vera Wang sent down the runway. See the video report.

While much of the attention- and pressure - surrounding fashion week is focused on the designers and their clothes, the week can be just as defining a moment for models. And few assignments signal a model's success like walking the runways at New York's fashion week. But it's a long, competitive process the leads up to the first stiletto hitting the catwalk.

The work of the fashion photographer might seem glamorous, but during the most-watched fashion event of the season, the work is grueling, chaotic and occasionally even boring. We take a look behind the scenes of Fashion Week as photographers rush from one show to another, and prepare to take on Fashion Week's biggest assignment: the Marc Jacobs show.