new york fashion week 2011

Among the oddball indicators of the economic future, hem lengths are one of the more popular. Urban lore says short skirts reflect a bullish stock market and hems drop when people get down on their luck.

New York Fashion Week officially wraps up today and, one of the take away messages is longer hems are here to stay. Ne fret pas: That doesn't mean we're in for another meltdown. In fact, the industry has been showing signs of a turnaround. Nevertheless, hems lowered in the middle of the downturn and longer silhouettes seem to be having a lasting effect on fashion.

Except for a nod to the '70s last season, Marc Jacobs has been flirting with a more demure, sophisticated look for a few seasons now. For fall, he showed grown up silhouettes ever-so-slightly reminiscent of Dior's New Look from the '40s in futuristic materials such as a metallic rubber, fur and cellophane.

Looks for the boardroom are what Donna Karan does best, and she was clearly enamored with '50s silhouettes for today's all-business woman. Bloggers mentioned Tippi Hedren and Grace Kelly as a way to describe the Hollywood glamour Karan managed to add to her working girls.

A highlight of Fashion Week is the Fall/Winter 2011 Collection created by Fashion Designer Jason Wu before a packed house during New York's Fashion Week this afternoon. Anna Wintour, the British-born Editor-in-Chief of Vogue, was seated in the front row along with Hamish Bowles, the European Editor at Large for Vogue (see photo gallery below). Jason Wu was the designer of the white ballgown worn by Michelle Obama to the inauguration festivities.

"I aim to make clothes that look great on women and make them feel beautiful," Wu told Luxist. "They are timeless. These are wardrobe pieces. These are pieces that can be kept for a lifetime. And that is always the way I have done it. I have never been the trendy person. I really want to make clothes that are truly desirable for women."

For his Fall/Winter 2011 Collection, Wu told Luxist he was inspired by the beautiful photos taken by Robert Polidori in his book, "Parcours Museologique Revister", which documented the detailed restoration process of Versailles over a period of 25 years. The theme of contrast runs through the photos and the collection.

Wu explained to Luxist (see video below) that the juxtaposition between the rough undersurface revealed during renovation and the opulence of the decor inspired a mixture of luxuriously embellished fabrics with his signature American sportswear elements. The collection included sharp tailored pants, ascot shirts and charcoal flannel coats. Accents included colorful embroidered Swarovski elements, burned out features and lace detailing. The color palette was restrained with lots of black, white and nude throughput the collection highlighted by shots of bold colors including cerise pink, chartreuse, ultra violet and antique gold.

"This season the color choices was really about working with a restrained color palette," Wu told Luxist. "It is an austere mood that is brightened up by these embroideries and the embellishments and details that were so delightful to me and such a joy to work on."

Raul Melgoza, the Creative Director at Luca Luca whose Fall/Winter 2011 Collection debuted at New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center featured designs that were inspired by the adventures to be discovered in the deep woods-the beauty, the color, the fantasy. A bevy of supermodels sat in the front row of the show, from Carol Alt and Petra Nemcova to Irina Pantaeva (see photo gallery below). New York socialites were also in attendance including Tinsley Mortimer and Valesca Guerrand-Hermes.

Carol Alt talked to Luxist about her devotion to the fashion house. "When I was out of the fashion industry because I was doing movies for 10 years and I really wasn't around they immediately invited me back to the front row, "says Carol Alt. "They were really mensches. When someone is good to me, I am loyal for the rest of my life. You really have to slap me in the face for me not to come back here."

Melgoza's told Luxist his inspiration for the Fall 2011 collection is the story of a woman who is a running through the woods as she discovers the beauty, the color and the sanity that exists in the woods. The collection was presented at Fashion Week on Thursday, February 10 at Lincoln Center in New York. (See video for a backstage interview with Melgoza).

"As she starts her journey, she is in very tailored, equestrian-inspired silhouettes," he told Luxist. "She is wearing a lot of laces and transparent and sheer fabric as if she is shedding her very layered looks as she ends her journey."

The Heart Truth's Red Dress Collection 2011 Fashion Show kicked off Fashion Week at Lincoln Center in New York last evening. The celebrity-studded affair celebrated the national awareness campaign for women about heart disease. Celebrity models included Ann Curry, Audrina Patridge, Camila Alves, Denise Richards, Dita Von Teese, Eve, Gayle King, Giuliana Rancic, Julianne Hough, Laila Ali, Linda Gray, Natasha Bedingfield, Patti LaBelle (see photo above and video below), Suzanne Somers (see photo below) and several others (featured in slideshow below). Watch the full video of the show on MyDaily.

There were plenty of celebrities in the audience to watch the presentation, including actor Matthew McConaughey and Apprentice-winning Bill Rancic, who were both there to cheer on their significant others (Camila Alves and Giuliana Rancic, respectively).

Many of the participants have a personal connection to heart disease, which motivated them to become involved in the show. "It turned out to be a lot of fun---now that it is over," The Today Show's Ann Curry, who was stunning in Carmen Marc Valvo (see slideshow below), told Luxist. "It wasn't so much fun leading up to it because I was kind of nervous. I have never done anything like this before."