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RSVIP: Mercedes-Benz NYC Fashion Week at Lincoln Center (Part I)

While it seems inconceivable that such a publication exists, RSVIP has been told by designers that a kind of fashion playbook can be bought each season that lists upcoming trends. Of course, the very best designers lead the march of fashion every season or even decades in advance. But, oddly enough, to play it safe, some simply present their version of items on the trend list.

RSVIP's first show at the new tents at New York's Lincoln Center was Christian Siriano, the "Project runway" winner on Thursday, September 9. Backstage, Siriano spoke of mixing cultures and ethnicities. But on the runway, we spotted several trends that would be hammered home again and again this season: tan leather skirts, jackets, and dresses in the style of the original "Planet of the Apes"; thin rope belts; big, fat double-clasp leather belts; sheer fabric as an overlay; colorful prints; mixing belts with ball gowns; and dynamic, arty prints. And while Siriano hit these notes, one couldn't help but feel that if the gigantic fluffy ball gowns that he ended the show with, right, had been made by Oscar de la Renta's tailors, they would have been a fashion editor's dream. Sand and taupe, by the way, are the new black.

At 6:00 p.m. that day at Milk Studios, on West 15th Street, a serious jaunt from Lincoln Center, designer Jen Kao covered the runway with mandala-like sand drawings. And the collection included sandy desert hues. The stringy sandal straps snaked up the legs of models. And we saw macramé, large leather patches sewn onto dresses, and much sheer tied on and sewn over sheer pants, sheer skirts, and flowing sheer shirts.

And while some of the clothes appeared overwrought in person, they photograph beautifully. RSVIP spotted Kelly Rowland in the front row, but it was tricky to chat before the show without disturbing the sand.

Tags: bcbg by max azria, charlotte ronson, christian siriano, New York Fashion Week, rsvip, zac posen