Style & Fashion

The epicenter of New York Fashion Week is the many-roomed Skylight Clarkson Square. And something, for those who have been there more than once this week so far, has become very apparent about Gallery III therein: it’s too bloody hot.

Either this is a new fad collective weight-loss program, or something is wrong with the heating system. The air is thick with broiling fashionistas, swapping horror stories–as one I overheard–about the time a woman actually collapsed at one show because of excessive heat.

For Son Jung Wan on Saturday, the heat in Gallery III led to more complaints, and groaning pleas to seatmates for aircon. Fur hats quickly became fans, and then the clothes started appearing–very beautiful, immaculately tailored clothes–and the temperature only rose.

There was no overt politicking at Wan’s show, just piece after piece of beautiful tailoring, under the gaze of celebrities including Miss Universe Iris Mittenaere, the actress Kelly Rutherford, and–most exciting for any “Bravoholic” about to pass out from overheating, Kelly Bensimon, an ex-Real Housewife from New York.

First came some very fashionable things to wrap up in on cold days: plaid with fur detail, a turquoise velvet dress, and a patterned fur jacket (fur shame seems totally absent these days). Wan’s color palette trends dark–dark blues, browns, burgundy–but occasionally there were flashes of white and gold on jacquard jackets and pants.

The final looks were a men’s lamb white fur coat and a women’s dramatic white mohair coat. Worn a few days ago in New York’s snow-blitz, their wearers would have been very fashionably camouflaged, and warm–but probably not as warm as the poor, sweaty folk in Gallery III.