After being nearly crucified by the Prada bag toting fashion set for keeping his audience waiting over two hours a few seasons ago, Marc Jacobs has turned over a new leaf. Or maybe he’s gotten a personal time manager. Anyway, the show for the Marc Jacobs (not to be confused by the Marc by Marc Jacobs or the Jacobs by Marc Jacobs for Marc by Marc Jacobs or was that Jacobs by Marc for Marc Jacobs, nevermind) Spring 2009 Women’s Collection started early by fashion week standards. The lights went down around 9:15 p.m. on the 9 p.m. show. It’s pretty routine for everything to start at least 20 minutes after the scheduled time.

The first looks set the scene with lots of shine and shimmer and a great ladylike silhouette. Waists were cinched with those Kimono-style belts that have loose rope ends. Skirts were below the knee and tailored to fit the body. Wrap shirts stopped just below the waist and featured little cap sleeves, worn over long sleeve shirts. All the lady’s wore wide brimmed hats cocked to the side with irridescent sheen and a squashed top.

The fabulous set had tall thin mirrored panels shooting up along the middle of the runway. The models entered and exited from tall mirrored glass swinging doors and exposed lightbulbs hung from the ceiling. As the models walked the runway, there were a thousand points of light to really play up all that shine. It was positively dazzling for anyone (like me) still fascinated by shiny objects.

The music was Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” Jacobs said that he wanted something that people would know from the jazz period but he didn’t care if it was something they could name off hand. And his sound maestro chose an excellent selection. The theme song from musicals past, Warner Brothers’ cartoons and American Express card commercials was something everyone seemed familiar with, yet few could name.

After the show, I hung around to see what happens after the near capacity, fire hazard-sized crowd crushes out the doors of the Armory and the soldiers stationed there start to trickle out to loiter in the aftermath. I got to see Jennifer Lopez again and was startled by Lauren Hutton who snuck up on me, OK maybe she was just sneaking out. Then Jacobs (who wore a skirt to the precedings, check him out at the tail end of the video) was holding court on stage and so I walked on up into the fray. I felt very official with my junior league camera and was able to horn in on the questions of others. Then someone got wise and politely asked me to leave.
Jacobs said that his collection was full of brocade-inspired pieces that look opulent because of the sheen and shine, but he called it “deceptive” because he rendered the look of brocade onto cottons and jersey fabrics that are perfectly suited for day wear, if (like me) you are still fascinated by shiny objects and what to wear them every day. He said that he wanted the looks to bring elegance into the daylight.

Celebrity sightings: Jennifer Lopez, Lauren Hutton, Martha Stewart, Wynona Ryder, Elijah Wood, Nicole Richie, Rachel Zoe, Anna Wintour and daughter Bee (both were fresh from the U.S. Open earlier that evening. How do I know? Tivo’d the game), also Vogue’s resident extrovert editor-at-large Andre Leon Tally. There was also “some rapper” who raised a bit of drama outside by storming a wall of guards. The only thing that kept this mystery thug and his crew from getting beat to hell by the burly security entourage was the fact that one of them recognized him and let the celeb gate crashers in (How do I know? The friend I was trying to sneak into the show witness the brouhaha.)

Shaky camera work by Debra D. Bass | Post-Dispatch