Pink Tartan S/S 09: It's a Mad Men world

This is what I wrote down in my notepad while watching the Pink Tartan S/S 09 collection at L'Oreal Fashion Week:









- MAD MEN (in caps)
- 50's
- Scarves (wrapped around the head à la Grace Kelly)
- Jackie O sunglasses
- Hermès
- Short shorts
- Nautical
- Yellow
- Collars
- Pleated skirts
- Cardigans wrapped on shoulders
- A-line dresses
- Pearls
- Wasp waists

That was the collection in a nutshell. I felt like I had transported back in time to the 50s where women cared about the way they dressed and weren't afraid to show off their waists (or their Hermès arm candy.)

Speaking of arm candy, for a minute I thought I was watching an Hermès show because every model was carrying an Hermès bag (a crocodile Birkin drew gasps) and Hermès scarves wrapped around their heads. I am not exaggerating when I say that there must have been hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Hermès merchandise in that collection; definitely worth more than the entire Pink Tartan clothes!

The collection itself was beautiful, easy to wear and safe. I was hoping that the collection would stretch the boundaries a bit more and do something different but I found that it wasn't inspired; rather it looked like a copy of the costumes from the TV show Mad Men.

Perhaps Kimberly Newport-Mimram was thinking that she needs to sell her collection to the buyers in these economically troubled times and so played it safe, but it would have been more inspiring to see her take the collection to the next level. I think the Hermès bags got more attention than the clothes.

The upside of this is that Newport-Mimran's pieces are all wearable together and as separates. They are very classic; collared shirts and blouses in pale pastel colours, full pleated skirts, trench coats, big prints and thigh-skimming dresses.

My favourite pieces were the bathing suits; a modern twist of the 50s one piece suits but with ample breast popping out. They were very sexy but somehow modest at the same time.

The Fashion Week crowd was very stylish tonight- lots of leggings with either super high heels or booties; beautiful jeweled dresses, lots of hair pieces (I saw a man wearing a black silk twist of a hat that reminded me of something Philip Treacy would make) and brightly coloured coats.

The biggest (and best) change in the tent was that we weren't allowed to line up until about 10 minutes before the show was supposed to start. Last season people started lining up right after the previous show finished, which resulted in massive line-ups and the stress that you had to be first in line to get a seat. This way was much more relaxed and organized.

And I saw my first celebrity of the week: Monica Cruz, Penelope Cruz's sister, who is in town for the MANGO fashion show, which I did not attend. She is very beautiful and glamorous and I only got a photo of the top of her head.

They were also handing out copies of The Daily Front Row, which was a nice surprise and gave people something to do while waiting for the shows to start.

I saw the usual fashion people there and other media types: Jeanne Beker of course, Adrian Mainella of Fashion File, stylist Phillip Bloch and National Post gossip columnist Shinan Govani.

I wasn't in the front row, but at least I got a seat in the fourth!









And for good measure, a bad photo of Monica Cruz: