Well, where shell I begin?

The past 8 days of the NY fashion week involved excitement, exhaustion, fabulous fashion, talented designers and lots of champagne.

First Day started with BCBG runway, interviews with the fabulous Robert Verdi, iconic Rosemary Ponzo, Julia Allison and Mary Rambin, amazing Yigal Azrouel (which I did in English AND Hebrew), meeting Aaron Diaz of Haute Concept who interviewed for us J. Alexander of ANTM. Then chilling at the impressive AMEX Skybox lounge with fellow bloggers Jean V. Pratt of Style Observer and Gala Darling! We watched together Nicole Miller, Erin Fetherston and Venexiana shows, and later had a chance to interview the designer Kati Stern herself! What a day!

Second Day highlights included the Brazilian Rosa Cha, an exclusive interview with Chado Ralph Rucci at the fancy Mercedes Benz Star lounge. Alexandre Herchcovitch collection was fabulously weird, I couldn't describe it better than a Project Runway alum Jack Mackenroth who I met after the show. After catching up with the lead designer Michael Ball backstage at Rock & Republic, we watched his collection on the black runway. R&R gorgeous top model Chanel Iman shared few of her secrets with us after the show.

Day Three started backstage at Tracy Reese, where Pamela Pekerman from BagTrends.com got some makeup tips for us. The show itself was one of the highlights of the week, I myself was wearing a Tracy Reese dress which got lots of attention. It was great getting few words with the designer herself and one of her fans singer Brandy. The day continued with getting a glimpse of Eva Longoria at the M&M booth and the impressive DVF runway show. After the show Jean got to chat with always fashionable Philip Bloch and yours truly got few words with the one and only Tim Gunn! It was definitely one of the highlights of the week for me. The day continued with the hip Miss Sixty show, an interview with the designer himself - Wichy Hassan, few makeup tips from their lead artist and a chat with the hair styling guru Omar Lopez. Thuy debuted at the fashion week this season, and we were there backstage to catch the scoop (the coverage is still to come, so stay tuned.) Interviewing Richie Rich in the Mercedes Benz Star lounge was a nice ending of this long day.

Day Four included Diesel Black Gold, and a backstage chat with Juliette Lewis about her new movie! Then Luca Luca runway show, and quick stop at The Budget Fashionista party. The day ended with the most amazing GOTTEX show and feelings of rejection from not being invited to Marc Jacobs show (I guess I need unachieved goals for the next fashion week...)

Day Five started early with the launch of Mel B. Ultimo lingerie collection and Dash by Kardashians presentation. We continued our coverage backstage at IODICE with hair and makeup trends, modeled by the gorgeous Isabeli Fontana. Betsey Johnson didn't disappoint, as always putting together a fun show, which I watched together with Gala Darling. The day ended late at night with the fabulous Heidi Klum, who hosted a party for Stardoll.com and her new Jordache collection. Adrien Field had the most exciting (and scariest) moment of the fashion week interviewing Heidi on the red carpet!

Day Six started with Michael Kors at the tents, probably the most A-list event of the week. After catching Nanette Lepore we headed downtown to the hip SOHO studio of CUSTO Barcelona to get the first sneak peek at the designer's Spring 09 collection, get an exclusive interview and meet his top model Jaslene Gonzales (ANTM winner). Back to the tents for Carlos Miele and a short break before the late night parties. Louis Vuitton hosted a fabulous casino-themed party at their SOHO store, to celebrate Launch of Damier Graphite collection. Fellow bloggers invited to the event included Wendy from Nitrolicious, Anne from The Jet Set Girls, Aaron from Haute Concept, Gala Darling and Carolyn from The Daily Obsession.

Day Seven started at 8:30 AM (!!) with Malan Breton interview and followed by his glamorous show. Backstage I bumped into Sweet P, another Project Runway alum who covered Malan's show for MTV (how random!). Of course I didn't miss a chance to interview her! The day continued with the most amazing Vera Wang, and equally amazing Reem Acra, who we had an honor to interview after the show (video to come soon). At night it was all about Zac Posen and the eLuxury party at the swanky Thompson hotel. Some details of the party will have to stay private, but it was great catching up with Lesley of the Fashion Tribes, Nichelle of 55 Secret Street, Michelle of She Finds as well as meeting the new and hip CEO of the company David Asher. At 2AM, I could hardly put on a hanger my vintage Valentino, catch only few hours of sleep before the 9am Project Runway show at the tents.

Day Eight of the fashion week included the Project Runway finale - this year with not 4 but 6 designers debuting their collections at the Bryant Park ! Jerell, Suede, Joe, Kenley, Korto and Leanne all delivered interesting results, with one clear winner - at least for me... After the show it was time to escape the tents in order to keep the last pieces of sanity. I missed a lot few things: cheaply dressed people, normal sized food and lots of hours of sleep. I will spend the next few days catching up on these, and wondering how exactly all these things happened to me in one single week... 

I would like to thank our amazing team who worked so hard to bring the latest coverage - Adrien, Earlecia, Rebecca, Saar and of course my dear friend (hope she still is) Karen who run around with the video camera to catch every glimpse of the madness.

Another special thank you goes to Mike Pratt (of Gift Girl) and all the bloggers who joined our Inside The Tents initiative and provided an innovative fresh look at the most exclusive fashion event of the year. I hope to see you all again in February, delivering even bigger and better coverage for the next fashion week!

xoxo

Yuli