Photo: Patrick McMullan

Who knew Alexander Wang was so in touch with his inner-bro? The designer threw a frat party on the Westside Highway last night, and we do mean a real life frat party.  There were actual bathtubs full of Budweiser, bartenders in USC football tees, beer pong tables, video games, neon signs and hot dogs on the grill—of course, the crowd veered more hipster than Kappa Sig. Odd Future performed and the MAC-provided glow sticks brought out everyone’s inner raver. We spotted Hanne Gaby Odiele dominating the Wii games while Wang himself treated the hanging blow-up dolls like pinatas. Meanwhile, across the street, Barneys was feting their fall collaboration with Carine Roitfeld at Westway, the former strip club. The dress code was a bit fancier: we spotted loads of Christopher Kane and a few stellar vintage frocks, but the party will go down in history for one major reason: Valentino hopped on stage to do karaoke to Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” Needless to say, the crowd went wild.

Photo: New York Models

With her sophisticated demeanor, a subtle space in her front teeth and a diligent work ethic, 19 year-old Cris Urena kicked off her first New York fashion week with Peter Som’s Hawaiian themed show at Milk yesterday morning followed by Band of Outsiders and Ruffian. Fortunately, the Dominican-born, Massachusetts raised beauty has a smart personality to match her sweet looks. The former nursing student sat down to chat Christopher Kane, suspenders, and sneezing on the runway.

Photo: Getty Images

TV ruled over today’s Fashion Week festivities. From the crane camera swooping above the seats at the Project Runway fashion show, to the bevy of reality TV stars making appearances (Kelly Bensimon, Ramona Singer, and not one but two Mob Wives), to onetime reality TV stars presenting their latest collection (Ally Hilfiger, of NAHM), the boob tube was ever-present. Malin Akerman gushed about the power of television while waiting for the Project Runway show to begin: “American Idol is one of my big ones. The one that Sharon Osbourne is on, America’s Got Talent, that’s a great one, too. I like those kinds, with performers, people who actually get to show their talent and make something out of their talent. I think it’s great.” Jennifer Love Hewitt, herself no stranger to the small screen, is already looking forward to the TV catch-up time she’ll have post-Fashion Week. At Project Runway she explained, “I have [this season] on my TiVo because I’ve been traveling—I get to do a marathon when I get home, which I’m excited about.”

Photo: BOFFO & Nicola Formichetti

If Nicola Formichetti had it his way, his new Walker Street pop up would stay pretty much empty throughout its two week run. “I told everyone yesterday that I don’t want anyone in the store because it looks really beautiful when there’s only one person!”  He’s right, because the space is made of broken mirrors, and it’s kind of dizzying to add people into the mix when vintage Versace‘s reflected in a hundred different mirrors. “I’m not overhwlemed,” he promised. “I just want everything perfect. And it’s never like that.” The shop, which opens with three sets of TV screens playing Formichetti’s collaboration with MAC, the building of the pop-up shop, and a retrospective of his work, offers racks full of Mugler as well as mannequins draped in Haus of Gaga looks and shelves lined with everything from massive platform shoes to one of a kind skateboards featuring Rico, the entirely tattooed model who’s become a Mugler regular. In fact, Formichetti’s had trouble editing down the wares. “The first thing I thought was, ‘How am I gonig to make a shop with all of the things that I like?’  I have a whole building in Soho full of stuff that I have to bring in somehow. I don’t want to bring everything because I want it to look quite nice—and I don’t want to have a jumble sale—so everyday I’ll bring in something new.” So what then wasn’t right? “Everything! I’m never satisfied,” Formichetti sighed, admitting that he starts thinking about next season before this one’s even hit the runway. He is, however, thrilled with the way the space turned out. He says he didn’t even need to listen to BOFFO’s pitch, he was sold after one look at their rendering. As for whether they’ll be appointed architects of Mugler’s stores? “Well I haven’t asked them yet…” On our way out, between the teeth-plated bracelets and bondage corsets, we spotted what looked like a vial of blood. It’s not real, but Formichetti promises the Swarsovski-covered rings are “real zombie pandas.”    Something for everyone!

Photo: Nick Axelrod

During New York Fashion Week presentations, models have to stand for a really long time, like a whole hour sometimes. Luckily, the crew at Wes Gordon found a way to keep them hydrated. Gotta keep that skin looking dewy!

Elisha Cuthbert, Louise Roe and Jordana Brewster. Photo: Getty Images

New York Fashion Week kicked off fashionably early today with BCBG Max Azria’s show at 10AM, but Jordana Brewster isn’t complaining. “I got up at, like, 5:45. I’m an early riser, so I’m used to it,” she said from the front row, moments before Arizona Muse & Co. took to the runway in sporty-meets-ethnic, sherbet-hued dresses. Why that early? “Because I actually wanted to drink coffee and meditate before I got my hair and makeup done,” explained the actress, whose starring in next summer’s Dallas re-make. Happy Endings’ Elisha Cuthbert (seated by Brewster), meanwhile, is having an early evening, with no Fashion’s Night Out plans. “I’m actually heading back to L.A. tomorrow, so I won’t be doing anything of that sort,” she explained, before adding, “I’d like to catch a bit of tennis before I leave—that will be my after-party. Hopefully a Federer match!” Brewster is sticking around for a bit longer—she’ll be at Rebecca Taylor tomorrow—but BCBG was high on her list of must-sees because she loves “the color-block that [Max Azria] is doing on the dresses. It’s really cool.”

It’s the first official day of New York Fashion Week! Ekkk!! While most people are well-rested and prepared for a week without sleep and constant running around, we already hit that point about a week ago, so the next seven days are going to feel extra intense. The past few nights we’ve been working well past 1am, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to let up anytime soon. It’s amazing the amount of work that comes up last minute when preparing for these shows! This includes finding out we need pipe and drape (and that it’s not supplied by the show production team), waiting on the show sponsor delivery, organizing logistics with the hair and makeup team; the list goes on and on… Our main focus over the past few days has been our model fittings; we are almost finished, and everything is looking great. We couldn’t be happier with the product this season. I am so excited to show it to everyone! There is no doubt in my mind that this has been the best collection yet. The hardest part has been deciding which model should wear what. And because it is a runway show and each model has a change, we must decide the order of the garments not only based how they look, but also how much time the model will have to change in between her looks, which makes it a lot more difficult.

A still from Kanye West's Runaway.

We’re going to need a flow chart to keep track of the rumors around Kanye West’s fashion collection. There’s been a new factor every few months for what feels like years but it sounds like this season, the rapper really will have something to show for all that work. To recap, the latest news involved Louise Goldin, a Central St. Martin’s trained knitwear designer who’d been hooked up with West through CSM professor Louise Wilson. Goldin was said to be helping West with the women’s collection, while Giuseppe Zanotti was handling the shoes and Christine Centenera, who’s Australian, would be styling.  Rumor also had West poised to show the collection at New York Fashion Week—which starts today. But now, thanks to tweets from @hisssquad (seriously) it sounds like editors will have to wait until Paris to see what West’s cooked up. They say, “Which ultra-power stylist is now playing in Kayne’s camp for his blue chip Paris showing. And it IS a Paris showing kids!”

Kristen McMenamy and Stella Tennant at a Chanel dinner. Photo: Olivier Zahm

The British Fashion Council announced their nominees for the British Fashion Awards 2011 this morning. And though we’ll have to wait until November 28th to learn the winners, the roster of nominees is worth getting excited about a couple of months early.  Not so surprisingly, two of Kate Middleton‘s favorites, Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen and Erdem, are in the running for Designer of the Year alongside Christopher Kane. Meanwhile, Victoria Beckham was nominated for Designer Brand of the Year for the second time in a row and she’s in masterful company, competing against Burberry, Stella McCartney and Tom Ford. Nineteen year old Georgia May Jagger has stiff competition for Model of the Year: Chanel muses Kristen McMenamy and Stella Tennant, both in their forties, have had a brilliantly diverse year betwene them. “This year’s nominees demonstrate the breadth and creativity London has to offer,” said Harold Tillman CBE, Chairman of the British Fashion Council. “The fashion brands and designers that are based here set the trends across the globe.” Click through to see a complete list of this year’s nominees.