FUR A KORS: As far as protests go the one organized by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Wednesday afternoon near Michael Kors’ SoHo store was fairly lackluster. A handful of members of the animal rights activist group held anti-fur signs and trailed the “Grim Reaper,” a scythe-carrying man dressed in black wearing an oversized characterlike head that was meant to resemble the designer.
A PETA spokeswoman said, “Although PETA has contacted the Michael Kors company numerous times in recent years to let him know that minks, foxes, crocodiles and other animals are electrocuted, bludgeoned, and skinned alive, he continues to use fur and exotic skins in his designs.”
Executives at Michael Kors did not respond to requests for comment.
While the occasional shopper stopped to see what was happening, numerous passers-by snapped photographs or film the character dragging a few furs and a handbag covered in fake red blood. Two security guards stood at the lower Broadway store’s entrance and two NYPD police officers sat in a nearby cruiser. Added reinforcement was called in due to recent protests at Canada Goose’s store at 101 Wooster Street, according to a NYPD community affairs officer. “As long as people are respectful, they

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From the scene and clothes to who’s in the front row.

The vivid colors of the sunset as seen from his beach house in Costa Rica inspired Carmen Marc Valvo’s fall collection. Bright tones of orange and pink veered into darker shades of brown and black, giving the sense of the sun slowly disappearing below the horizon. Plissé gave a dynamic feel to the flowing maxidresses, including floor-length tunics and waisted gowns showing elegant, hyper-feminine silhouettes. The collection also included chic separates, such as a plissé top matched with coordinated flared pants, as well as a brocade trenchcoat worn with a skirt crafted from the same fabric. A silk coat with metallic threads worked in an abstract pattern perfectly reflected the collection’s inspiration with its dégradé, shimmering effect.

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Things change at Dennis Basso each season. Especially since he began really designing ready-to-wear and giving it as much importance as his furs. At least in the context of his shows, he is far from just Dennis Basso the furrier. In some seasons, one category is stronger and more innovative than the other. For fall, there were some great long evening looks, combining both dresses and furs. The best were the simplest, as some of the fur looks were overwrought — car wash skirts, high slits, crocodile added to broadtail and sable. His lighter touch was more successful, as he also showed some beautiful sable jackets and coats, including an embroidered ermine capelet and a lynx belly wrap. Basso cleverly used ivory fishnet turtlenecks throughout the show, adding a cool touch to both furs and rtw, for instance, under both a dark gray velvet cocktail dress with a Hazaar vest and a hand-embroidered, map-print mid-calf skirt. Basso knows how to have fun with his collections and sometimes that means more experimenting than staying safe. For this collection, he did it all.

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In the 15th collection he designed for Coach 1941, Stuart Vevers returned to his starting place, the shearling. He revisited some favorite sources of inspiration, such as Terrence Malick films and the Great Plains; in fact, the set, with a broken-down house frame with tumble weeds and prairie grass, referenced his first runway show near the then-under construction High Line (and Coach headquarters).
This time, though, he did a style mash-up by mixing prairie with Eighties hip-hop, inspired by the book “Back in the Day.” The tomboy was also a reference point — think Tatum O’Neal’s character Addie in “Paper Moon,” to be exact. But with the Smashing Pumpkins’ “1979” playing throughout, and a voiceover from “Badlands” spliced in, Vevers’ prairie-hip-hop combo took on a grunge feel.
The brand is keen on a lifestyle, but specific categories stand out and currently, outerwear is king. Shearlings were distressed with raw edges and floral and eagle embroideries all over. He pushed the shearling idea even further with a dyed hoodie style with intarsia floral designs and a full-length topper coat that was dyed several shades of brown. The bomber and parka took on gargantuan proportions, the former in an allover embroidered floor-length, black-satin version; the latter, a brown, floral style reminiscent of a mattress design.
His house

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“She was feminine but spoke her mind.” Tory Burch referred to Katharine Hepburn as Tracy Lord in “The Philadelphia Story,” George Cukor’s witty send-up of that city’s late-Thirties high society.
Yet this was no ode to screen queen power glam. Rather, inspired by the indomitable Ms. Lord, Burch created as her fall muse a young woman whose surface haughtiness belies the regular gal beneath. The reference provided a touch point that allowed Burch to draw from her own tony Philadelphia upbringing decades later. “It’s about familiarity, things I know,” she said backstage. That led to an invariably charming lineup. And if it was wanting in surprise, it offered appealing fare for girls not bitten by the streetwear bug.
This young woman projects a cool reserve that has nothing to do with reticence. She loves the notice-me calm of a winter white coat, such as the show-opening twill topper marked with a big, swirling “TB” in gold cord embroidery. And she’s always game for a good graphic mix: Fair Isle sweater with plaid pants; large-scale plaid for a shearling over silk plaid shirt and skirt. She also loves her classics, incorporating a varsity cardigan, baseball jacket or checked blazer into her wardrobe with

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