Curiously, amid knee-high boots, neon, cut-outs, and body-con dresses, some designers were thinking of present packaging for their Fall 09 designs.

Behnaz Sarafpour, Badgley Mischka, J Mendel and even Christopher Kane worked ribbons into a few of their looks - A touch that seems rather girly for a season that also saw three pairs of actual pants from Marchesa, no?

The New York Fall 09 runways saw a curious mishmash of trends - More “downtown” ideas like neon, cut-outs, and what could only be referred to as hooker boots, alongside more “uptown” looks like fur, cascading ribbons, and peplums.

Behnaz Sarafpour, Chris Benz and J Mendel all worked in that last one, which makes us wonder, was Pretty Woman on everybody’s inspiration board this summer?

We dragged our ragged selves out of bed this morning to make it to the Tents by 9am for the J Mendel show (oh yeah, it started much closer to 10) armed with Wellies at the advice of Weather.com (more on that later).

And it was worth it - It was our first time seeing a particularly fur-centric designer, which we totally forgot when we asked the security guard why he needed to look in everyone’s bag before entering (the woman in front of me actually had to take her peach out of its plastic bag to prove that the round object with an unusually long stem was, in fact, fruit.)

The clothes were as elegant and high quality Banana Republic-ish as you would expect, but the best part was the closing dress. A strapless, metallic, silk moire gown (which haven’t been much of a force this season) with pleated tulle, massive ribbons, and a back that floated to give the dress a sort of ghost train. It set off our favorite part of Fashion Week - Instant and genuine applause from a grateful crowd (a Fall 09 first)!

For your pleasure, my makeshift video (images after the jump) of the closing dress on its final round.

When the economy started its downward spiral, we guessed Fashion Week would pass with a few less tote bags and water bottles.

Which was fine, as long as there were still macaroons.

Now WWD reports a surge in planned presentations, instead of runways, which we’d actually love. Both Vera Wang and J. Mendel are allegedly exploring runway alternatives while DKNY has gone ahead and penciled in a February 13th presentation date.

This comes exactly one month after the announcement that Donna Karan Collection would forego a model-fronted ad campaign in favor of “re-interpreting” her runway images and that DKNY’s ads will no longer feature Vlada, an established model, but it-girl Harley Viera Newton. While we can’t know the details of Harley’s contract, it’s highly unlikely she can demand as much as a well-recognized model.

So when you throw it all together, it appears as though Donna’s brands are making some major cuts obvious to the outside world - so who knows what’s happening behind the scenes. Unless of course she’s just being overly cautious, which might not be the worst thing.

Though we hope no one copies her ad idea, campaigns are way too much fun.

In case you haven’t heard, Liz Hurley’s the new face of Blackglama, the (in)famous line of furs.

The ad itself is kind of silly. She crouches, she pouts, she wears nothing but her mink, but it’s her presence in general that’s worth discussing.

In the past, women like Catherine Deneuve, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland and Elizabeth Taylor have posed for the fur house and Liz Hurley, as PETA and Animal Aid point out, isn’t quite of their caliber.

Who is?

Someone like Gwyneth maybe, but she’s spent the past week apologizing for getting caught under a fox stole in this season’s Tod’s ads, which means that aside from the obvious reasons, she’d probably say no to a Blackglama campaign. In fact, she’s the only really glamorous potential-face we can think of that might have posed for a house like Blackglama.

So what does this all mean? That PETA’s scary and sometimes dangerous tactics are working. That they’ve finally thrown enough pies and bags of flour and held up enough dead-baby-animal posters to make a serious impact on the way fashion, and the celebrities who wear it, feel about fur so that now even the most reputable fur house can’t get an equally reputable face attached.

We don’t expect J.Mendel to actually close, but at this rate, it’s just a matter of time before all the good stores, celebs and designers refuse to work with fur and PETA jumps for joy.

So, could it be that PETA’s (distasteful) means justify the (intended) end result? Or is this just ruling by fear?

Gilles Mendel is looking for a combination Executive Assistant/Personal Assistant/Company Liaison!

If you are: Organized, patient, motivated, flexible, outgoing and French-speaking (just a plus though)…

And if you can: Manage Gilles’ schedule, supervise and select merchandise orders, do a bit of event planning, assist stylists, go back and forth regularly with international contacts, and handle countless breakfast, lunch, dinner and coffee orders…

Then you will get: A great boss! Growth potential! Health benefits! (Including Eyes and Dental!) Year-end
bonus! 401(k)! Great starting salary! Tons of experience!

E-mail Tess at Tessie.K@gmail.com if you think you can handle it. And make sure to congratulate Tess on her promotion - see? The “growth potential” thing is true!

(seriously and honestly, the book is cool - click below to see bunnies with carine, daria, and christy turlington.)