Scene at New York Fashion Week: Spring 2007 Edition I

JoJo before the Sass & Bide show. (photo by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine)

The masses descend upon the zoo that is the semi-annual New York Fashion Week, then become a part of the circus. Here is a look at what was seen, heard, passed along and claimed.

Celeb spottings: Actresses Mischa Barton and Kristen Bell (“Veronica Mars”) at the Jenni Kayne show; singer JoJo at Sass & Bide and Tracy Reese; fellow chanteuse Brandy at Sass & Bide; and model Carol Alt and Darius Kasparaitus of the New York Rangers at Dragana Ognjenovic (both also attended a pre-U.S. Open party featuring the now newly-crowned women’s singles champion Maria Sharapova a couple of weeks ago).

Not-so-fashionable behavior: A reported fight involving rapper 50 Cent just before the Baby Phat show, overcrowding at the Lacoste show that prompted security to call the area a fire hazard (what’s the point of an invitation?), and a Lacoste after-party that was too loud for the neighbors, one of whom was believed to have thrown a rock from a window that hit a person below.

Some Lager-feld to go with that cookie?: The Delta booth at the tents is distributing delicious, square-shaped cookies baked by Eleni’s, a bakery in Chelsea. It’s still slightly disturbing to see, on the icing, an edible image of Diane von Furstenberg strolling down a red carpet…that is leading away from a parked Delta airplane. However, the usage of celebrity images on cookies is nothing new for Eleni’s, who regularly custom-makes such goods. Don Cheadle cookies, anyone?

You smell like a dog: Companies take advantage of the hubbub around the tents to distribute free samples promoting their new products. One of these, Sexy Beast, bills itself as “canine style unleashed” and is a unisex perfume. “A blend of bergamot and vanilla-infused musk with patchouli, mandarin and nutmeg oils,” this perfume is “100% vegan, 100% safe and 100% sexy.” Well, guess what? It’s also 100% not for humans. A dog owner is to spray a portion into his or her hands, then work the fragrance into the dog’s coat – provided that the dog is not less than six weeks old. Does PETA know about this?