Fashion Week

Designers Marc Jacobs and Sean "Diddy" Combs ended the New York Fashion Week hoopla with major statements. Jacobs, who is known industry-wide for his two-hour delays, started his show on time. And all of Combs' models were black to underscore a point. Celebrity-packed audiences viewed both these buzz-heavy shows at venues away from the Bryant Park tents. Arrivals at the Friday night shows included Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham, Kevin Federline and Ellen Pompeo. The Sean John collection offered Combs' return to Fashion Week after a five-year hiatus.

NEW YORK - For 17 years, New York Fashion Week in Bryant Park was just as much about previewing next season's styles as it was about balancing hot coffee through crowds, running in high heels on concrete, and crashing runway shows attended by celebrities. But insiders on the first full day of runway shows agreed its new Lincoln Center home - 30 percent larger than Bryant Park - was a sophisticated upgrade for the American Runway. Lincoln Center, on the Upper West Side, feels more like a residential neighborhood - where the streets are wider and taxis have more space to maneuver - than its midtown Manhattan predecessor.

There is nothing more Philly than booming music by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince and the city skyline as the backdrop. That's why business partners Kerry Scott and Kevin Parker set up runways Friday, Saturday and Sunday night in City Hall Courtyard for their second annual FBH Philadelphia Fashion Week(end) festivities. "There are so many hot designers out here in Philadelphia that don't have a venue to show their clothing," Scott, 25, said of the event showcased the week following New York Fashion Week, the top American must-go.

This Fashion Week, young designers are promising a languid and pretty spring. And if the vision they present finds its way into stores nationwide, it will be yet another sign of their growing impact on what we wear. Peter Som, Main Line native Behnaz Sarafpour, and Sari Gueron, among others, showed simple, oversized shifts with big shoulders and ruching. It was as if they draped fabric on mannequins, pinned it and tucked it where their hearts desired, and just let the rest happen.

Melanie Brandon is so close to fashion notoriety, she can just about pull it over her head. The title just doesn't fit her perfectly - yet. The Mount Airy native previewed her uniquely Philadelphia spring 2009 collection Monday afternoon on the rooftop of the Scandinavia House on Park Avenue. In addition to the silk chiffons and taffetas and English cottons from which Brandon fashions her airy dresses, her work also features chunky jewelry made from guns confiscated by the Philadelphia Sheriff's Department.

According to America's top designers, metallics are key to making next fall's drab shades sparkle. It could be a shiny golden jacket from Ralph Lauren, a glittery pencil skirt from Vera Wang or a silver ruffled cocktail dress a la Zac Posen. At Fashion Week, which wrapped up last Friday, nearly every designer had mixed something metallic into his or her runway wardrobe. "I saw pewters, silvers, and whites," said June Rau, fashion director at Nordstrom. "It's part of the decoration for the day. Fashion is still about mixing textures; we are still playing to that bigger trend.

Black is taking a back seat. Not to gray, which used to be the "new black," or navy blue, a former stand-in. No, next spring, rich, clear, icy jewel tones such as turquoise and chartreuse, as well as bold reds and oranges, will move from beachy daytime wear to lusty eveningwear. And every aspect of the design spectrum will be covered too, with diverse looks from miniskirts to cinched-waist dresses to wide-leg pants for women. No clear trend prevails. As Spring Fashion Week progresses, color continues to march down the runways.

This year, Main Line-bred Behnaz Sarafpour may have added volume to her hair, but she streamlined her womens wear collection. The 37-year-old designer has become well known for dainty, A-line sheaths, trench coats and cigarette pants - all with delicate floral and ruching details. But her fall 2009 grouping at New York Fashion Week featured 30 architectural pieces, including a color-block dress in emerald green and gray, as well as frocks fashioned from crepe de chine and flannel.

This has to be one of the darkest Fashion Weeks ever. Not only are the majority of clothes set in grim shades of black, gray and navy, but it looks as if the designers' moods are rather dreary. And can you blame them? Fashion houses are closing. Retail outlets are shuttering. Clothes aren't selling, and they still must produce. And then last Thursday at the start of the biannual festivities, their colleague, British designer Alexander McQueen, was found dead in his apartment, having committed suicide.

Menswear is getting manly again. Yes, it appears that designers are moving away from prepubescent male models showing low-rise, flat-front pants paired with brightly striped shirts. Maybe they finally realized that men have waistline issues, too, and simply can't fit into skinny pants. Or maybe they figured out that when men buy new clothes, they actually want to get dressed up - not look all slouchy in khakis and boring white button-downs. Whatever the reason, Fall 2006 Fashion Week began with Kenneth Cole, John Bartlett, Ralph Lauren and Altoona-based designer Michael Wesetly, among others, showcasing suits in spiffy grays and wide plaids, and tonal shirts.