NEW YORK -- New York Fashion Week opened with more substance than style Friday.\nInstead of Kenneth Cole leading the seasonal previews as he usually does with his celebrity-packed show, menswear brands John Bartlett and Perry Ellis were the first to present their spring 2007 clothes in quiet, almost subdued runway shows, followed by BCBG Max Azria, which dotted its front row with starlets, including Carmen Electra and Kelly Rowland.\nMarc Bouwer then infused some glitz and more formfitting styles, but still there was nothing too fussy.\nThe clothes seen in the early shows Friday were mostly wearable -- no wild shapes, no big gimmicks, not much embellishment. However, it remains to be seen if these are the trends that will be carried through the full eight days of the designer previews, which run through Sept. 15.
BCBG Max Azria \nBCBG has become the secondary line to the Max Azria signature collection, but you wouldn't know it from the loose eyelet dresses that were topped with light cardigans and vests that breezed down the runway. One of the best looks was a vanilla-colored silk crepe de chine covered with fabric rosettes and a rope belt knotted at the hip.\nAzria, who co-designs with his wife, Lubov, did layers with a light touch, mixing short with long and not getting bogged down with weighty fabrics. He also played with volume by adding fabric panels that floated alongside garments instead of overdoing the top or bottom.\nThe brightest color was a lemon yellow. Pistachio green and dark teal provided an occasional pop, but the palette was mostly different versions of sand.\nAlthough this is a collection that always skews young, some looks would be hard for anyone of voting age to pull off, particularly the bubble baby-doll dresses and supershort rompers.
Marc Bouwer \nBefore the show started, Ivana Trump said she's been a fan of Bouwer's for 20 years, and although "you can't have big hips or a lumpy tummy to wear his clothes," the garments are sexy and travel well.\nAfter the show, Trump said she'd like to own a bright canary yellow satin dress with a plunging V-neck and a jewel at the waist. She also liked the jersey gowns with strategically placed cutouts.\nThe collection essentially broke down into four parts: graphic black-and-white stripes and squiggles, animal prints, tropical colors and lingerie looks.\nThe graphic group featured a lot of wrap styles, ranging from tops to gowns. A kimono-style top with batwing sleeves was a standout. The animal-print section featured one of the best dresses -- an Asian-style gown with jeweled closures. In the tropical group, a bright aqua-blue gown with an open halter front and flowing bottom was fresh, clean and modern.\nThe lingerie-inspired dresses were the weak link of the collection. Most looked more appropriate for the bedroom than the red carpet.
John Bartlett\nThe guy next door would look great in Bartlett's crisp and casual clothes, especially if he lives near the marina or yacht club.\nThe collection of tapered, flat-front trousers paired with loose linen shirts or short-sleeve sweaters with rugby stripes on the back had a whiff of sea air to it. Models wore rope sandals or boat shoes, although those in dressier suits -- including Bartlett when he took his bow at the end -- donned saddle shoes.\nThe dominant colors were beige, yellow, white and silver with touches of navy.\nInstead of relying on the increasingly stale cargo pockets, Bartlett put a smaller, slimmer pocket on the rear thigh, giving men a place for their keys without ruining the sleek line of the garment.\nHowever, the men who would wear these practical-yet-fashionable clothes probably would pass on the tight knit shorts, which were definitely a mistake.
Perry Ellis\nJohn Crocco, the new creative director at Perry Ellis, is targeting a cool customer with his almost entirely white and silver clothes.\nHis designs for spring, including the colors and slim proportions, are a homage to the late Ellis, Crocco said in his notes. The last model to come down the runway wore a V-neck T-shirt with a screen print of Ellis' face.\nBefore that, though, the models wore lightweight pants that were cut close to the body and had tapered bottoms. The pants were also a little short, indicating that men are expected to wear espadrilles instead of flip-flops next spring.\nOn these men, the trousers looked great, but not even the models could pull off the too-tiny bathing suits.
