cecilia dean

>> Flora Gill and Alexa Adams say that their Fall 2010 collection resulted in a 300 percent jump in sales for Ohne Titel, but they're still attracting the art fashion crowd that has been with them from the beginning: pre-show, Cecilia Dean, wearing an Ohne Titel dress, tucked away a bicycle helmet into her bag, while Olivier Zahm arrived half an hour late — just after a curtain was dropped at the entrance — still stuffing change from a cab ride into his pocket. Carine Roitfeld, who's attended the past couple of seasons, was nowhere to be seen, however (It seems she had not yet arrived, as she was first spotted this morning at Derek Lam).

For Spring, Gill and Adams were inspired by the Japanese woodblock artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi — thanks to a Japan Society exhibit earlier this year — and sent out neoprene tanks (which will apparently be special order-only), Alaia-esque knit dresses with flared skirts, and oversized tailored vests, all on a womanly cast of models: Catherine McNeil, who opened, Cameron Russell in her first and only appearance so far this week, Emanuela de Paula (who hasn't walked a Fashion Week since Fall 2007), and Lakshmi Menon among them. The designers, who collaborated with the artist Tauba Auerbach on lucite and elastic-banded jewelry — marking her first time as a jeweler — also premiered their first handbags.

>> Baptiste Giabiconi was rumored to make his singing debut at the Chanel Soho store party in New York last night — Karl Lagerfeld is reportedly pushing him to be a pop star — but apparently he got cold feet. Instead, guests were treated to the redone store, cordoned off from the public by a LED display wall playing Chanel videos and brimming with editors (Sally Singer, Robbie Myers, Cecilia Dean, Amy Astley); models (Heidi Mount, Jessica Stam, Magdalena Frackowiak, Anja Rubik, Freja Beha Erichsen, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Erin Wasson, Shalom Harlow, Crystal Renn); and Chanel favorites like Poppy Delevigne, Caroline Sieber, Diane Kruger, Liv Tyler, Courtney Love, and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Alexa Chung, who was DJing the party, asked last night if she could buy the new Chanel Les Khakis nail polish (which came out today), but she was told she had to wait until this morning to pick it up. And before Lagerfeld arrived, publicists scraped graffiti stickers, posters, and fliers off the scaffolding by the red carpet. They even had box cutters to scrape off tape and remnants. But that wasn't the only prep done in anticipation of Lagerfeld's arrival: The Daily reports from sources working in the building that houses the Soho boutique that Lagerfeld also demanded his own private bathroom to use during the party, and thus, one was built.

Waiters stood by holding trays of Chanel-logoed spray paint cans which could be used to tag a LED wall near the store's entrance, and the gift bag held a silk scarf printed with a polar bear among camellias. Lagerfeld also took the opportunity to show off his new discovery, 19-year-old French singer Izia, who took the stage at the party (thus intimidating Giabiconi).

>> Lauren Santo Domingo, along with Chloe Sevigny and Dasha Zhukova, hosted the launch party for Derek Blasberg's new book, Classy, at Barneys in New York last night — with the likes of Zac Posen, Jessica Stam, Jack McCollough, Terry Richardson, and Lazaro Hernandez — before bringing the scene back to her house for a celebratory private dinner. But before Classy, there was Sassy. A number of pictures of Santo Domingo in the '90s hit the web recently, and today, more popped up of her modeling in the March 1993 issue of Sassy.

>> Ohne Titel's Alexa Adams and Flora Gill told Fashionista backstage that their Spring 2010 collection was their strongest yet, and they weren't kidding. Inspired by "the graphic lines, lush textures, and bold colors in Egyptian reliefs and sculptures," according to their show notes, Adams and Gill adapted their signature tailoring and body-con sensibilities to span an oxymoronic look of primitive modernity.  They elaborated to The Cut: "We looked at a lot of wall painting and sculptures, and so we’re kind of playing with taking those same kind of proportions and applying them on the body."

Lace-up heels, flats, and thigh-high boots done in collaboration with Cesare Paciotti are sure to have the shoehounds drooling, and the prevalent texture in the collection — including patches of multicolored hand embroidery — was exquisite. Alastair McKimm, who worked with Alexander Wang the last two seasons, styled, and both Cathy Horyn and Visionaire's Cecilia Dean appeared front row.

>> New York Mayor Bloomberg declared yesterday "Burberry Day," in honor of the lighting of the brand's logo atop its new US headquarters — watch a video of it going down here — and the weather complied with rain, appropriate for a brand known for their trench coats. "I was worried about the drizzle before, but now I love it," said Christopher Bailey, in town to celebrate. "It's all very English."

Christopher arrived to the unveiling last night with Lily Donaldson on his arm, who grinned and gushed about being "a Burberry girl" and "part of the [Burberry] family."  He went on to explain what an honor it it is to have the Burberry logo lit in the first place: "It's one of only six grandfathered buildings in New York where you can do that, so it's a big deal for us to be able to affect the iconic Manhattan skyline, which I love."

The excitement seems to have made him chatty — he covered a range of topics, from admitting that he dyed his hair blue once to discussing advertising fees — like Mario Testino's, which runs $140,000 a day: "You’re buying talent. And I think talent never goes away with the changing economy, and talent is something we all need to keep nurturing."

Models (Hilary Rhoda, Helena Christensen) mingled with editors (Kate Lanphear, who apparently has dyed her hair black underneath, Amy Astley, Cecilia Dean) and it girls (Byrdie Bell, Alexa Chung, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, Harley Viera-Newton), and the mix left at least one girl confiding that she didn't recognize Blake Lively — Lily Donaldson, who admitted: "I don't watch Gossip Girl. But you can't blame me. I don't even own a TV at the moment!"

The celebration seemed a success, except for skimping in one area.  An alcohol shortage kicked in around 9:30 pm, leaving one guest unhappy: "That's the driest party I've ever been to."  Same goes for Harley, Leigh Lezark, and Derek Blasberg, The Cut tweeted: "The party has run out of glasses, and the trio is displeased."

>> Although Gap is having a little trouble these days —the brand just cut their entire European design team and were overtaken by Zara as the world's biggest retailer — all bets are still on executive VP of design Patrick Robinson, whose first full Gap collection debuts this Fall. It is he who chose the likes of Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, Georgina Chapman, Cecilia Dean, and Scott Schuman to front Gap's Fall 2008 campaign, proving he really is trying to bring fashion back to the company. 

Can Mikael Jansson's shots of those four, Ryan McGinley, Karlie Kloss, Sean Avery, Jourdan Dunn, and more, plus Patrick's new designs, make the difference for Gap?  Only time will tell, but until then, enjoy the rest of the Fall campaign.