Fashion Week Diaries: Expose And Walter

There was no way I was getting into Marc Jacobs. So when I got the chance to go to Expose—a suite that showcased new talent—I jumped. Yeah, I wanted to get the lowdown on the up-and-comers so I could dish the dirt and we could all score pieces before prices go through the roof. But let's be honest, I also signed up hoping that newcomers would play fast and loose with the giveaways, trying to endear themselves to editors.

The big white room looked like the fashion version of a college fair: each designer sat at a little table flanked by racks of clothes or a tower of accessories. Neither Anna Wintour nor her minions were anywhere in sight. The “Editor with the Highest Profile”  award (at least while I was there) went to Dana Avidan, In Style's Market Editor, with an editorial assistant from Seventeen and an editor from Accessories, a trade mag, at a safe distance.

While many of the designers have already been featured by major mags (Vogue, Harper's, etc), part of the “emerging” thing means that most don't have stuff available on the web. (Prices, on the other hand, have already… er, emerged.)

Still, here's one designer I have my eye on:

Australian designer Yeojin Bae loves dresses, and creates dresses I love. Floaty tiered dresses, beaded details, '20s inspired pieces… her new collection is gorgeous, and totally wearable. You can buy a few older styles here.

Next on my weekend agenda was the Walter show with SheFindsKristin. Now going to your first fashion show is sort of like going to your first day of high school. You know that people do it all the time–regular people–and yet you feel nervous and fumbly and kind of cool, all at once.

When we showed up at the Metropolitan Pavilion, my intent was to make a bee-line for the two front rows (the ones with the goodie bags on them) until I realized that all seats are numbered – and that I must get a number. I was not in the first two rows. My swag was two cookies and a single-wash packet of Tide laundry detergent. When the seats filled, it was obvious that the higher-ups had bequeathed their invites to grateful editorial assistants and assistant editors, who all wafted in wearing short, flowy silk dresses and open-toed shoes.

Show highlights included the rock-star floral prints , which are sure to show up everywhere come spring.