Diane von Furstenberg's show has become the unofficial opening ceremony of fashion week, where socialites and industry types gather at the designer's headquarters for a high-powered Sunday-night happening. The front row this year included Susan Sarandon chatting with Ellen Barkin and tycoon husband Ron Perelman, Marisa Berenson, Cheryl Tiegs, and Jessica Alba with fiancé Michael Weatherly. Across the room, the Hilton sisters sat next to two of the Miller sisters, in a dazzling display of blonde socialite bonding.
There was plenty of commotion on the runway as well, as von Furstenberg once again pushed her identity past its wrap-dress roots. DVF's theme was "Crosstown Traffic," an homage to the energy and variety of city living. For uptown girls, there were still those pretty chiffon dresses, but roughed up with graffiti or splatter prints and torn edges. Downtown types, meanwhile, might prefer the wide-leg embroidered pants paired with a gold velour T-shirt or a satin baseball jacket.
As she travels in a new direction, von Furstenberg is bound to hit some roadblocks, like this season's odd knee-length harem pants or the Obi-sleeve black-and-green closing number. But von Furstenberg has been making smart, sexy clothes for too long to let the occasional pothole slow her down.
