Overall, New York Fashion Week kept to a very neutral palette, but when color was needed designers went straight for neon yellows and lime greens to brighten their quiet visions of spring.

We spotted it at Jonathan Saunders, Brian Reyes and Marc by Marc, of course. But Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi of Preen, Yigal Azrouel and Clare Waight Keller at Pringle all paired their bright yellows with dove grey for a pretty fresh look that even I (I never wear color) would consider working into spring.

About halfway through day two of Fashion Week, the rain showed no sign of letting up, but the nasty weather didn’t stop the crowds from pouring into Milk for the Preen show.

The beloved Brit label’s front row held Alexa Chung, Cory Kennedy, Leigh Lezark, Trish Goff and and a bundle of editors. And even though I chose to puddle-hop around town in flat boots, it’s pretty clear that nothing will come between the Vogue-ettes and their Proenza heels.

The show opened with a series of moody and monochromatic looks in black, gray, and white before including hints of neon yellow and hot pink - I loved the yellow shoes! - until they finally showed fully hot pink jumpsuits and dresses.

Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi had a ball with texture. It wouldn’t be a Preen show without some lace, but they used ruffles, rosettes, laces and coral-like poufs to build depth into their dresses.

It was pretty clear no one would see the sun today, but the brilliant colors at the Preen show made my day a little bit brighter.

—ALYSSA VINGAN

at jenni kayneLast night, what I’ve been calling day 1/2 of Fashion Week, was a whirlwind.

I left the office and ran to Jenni Kayne’s presentation in a tiny slip of a room in Soho. Models stood on one wall while editors and photographers stood six inches away on the other. The clothes were great, easy comfortable California-cool with neon yellow, slouchy khakis and my favorite, blue and white striped tops.

From there I ran uptown to the opening of the Merci.Gap pop up on 5th Avenue. Patrick Robinson sat in the corner amidst the carefully curated vintage and customized trench coats and editors shopped the charming housewares and one-off jewels. Then I walked (ouch, out of heel practice) to the Audi forum on 47th & Park to catch Mikael Kale - the Canadian designer favored by Rihanna and Beyonce. He hand sews each and every one of his intricate dresses and I was told to keep my eyes on the VMA stage to see more.

As Fashion Week approaches, we hear about all kinds of collaborations and sponsorships—some totally logical, some seemingly pulled out of thin air.

This one, though random, we’re kind of digging: Pret A Manger, a favorite lunchtime sandwich chain, is sponsoring all the backstage catering for Oscar de la Renta, Jason Wu, Brian Reyes, Preen, Tory Burch, and 3.1 Phillip Lim.

We’ve always frequented the one near Bryant Park, and over in the Garment District when on appointments, so it’s all the more handy to have them right backstage while we preview the clothes, hair, and makeup. We hear Oscar specifically requested the Turkey Club on his menu though we’re more chicken and avocado sandwich girls.

And, designers, we promise to be really careful not to spill, just like Raquel with her pie on that couture shoot in The September Issue.

Fashion Week invitations are flooding in and while some, like Michael Kors and Oscar de la Renta stick to their classic cards, others use their invite as a sneak of their upcoming collections.

The most orginal, so far, are a fan from Ports 1961 and a video invite from Rachel Comey.

Mulberry’s brightly colored invite means it’ll be easy to wake up on the morning of the 15th knowing there’s a room full of fantastical accessories to look forward to. And the invitation for Organic by John Patrick is actually a 1921 Cleo Throckmorton photograph, Krazy Kat Klub, recently hand painted by L. Mulero. Preen’s recycled paper invite boasts a mesh, fishnet pattern that’s awfully similar to last season’s collection and Christian Siriano’s dark mountainous image looks like a Rorschach test while Rachel Antonoff’s old fashioned, embossed invite bills her presentation as a performance hosted by Sarah Sophie Flicker at the Henry Street Playhouse.

Click for close ups!

The first solid details on the tentatively titled MAC at Milk shows we’ve been talking about since the cosmetics company decided to end its partnership with IMG leaving Maybelline to jump in as the official makeup sponsor at Bryant Park.

And the initial list of designers signed on for events at Milk Studios is very, very strong: Proenza Schouler, Alexander Wang, Peter Som, Threeasfour, Vena Cava, Band of Outsiders, Adam Lippes, Altuzarra, Barbara Tfank, Costello Tagliapietra, Erin Fetherston, Pamela Love, Preen and Temperley London.

Lace has popped up in a few different ways this season, but it’s at its best, and most interesting, when used in panel form.

It’s come in extremes - the black and very fine sheer lace dress from Preen isn’t for everyone, but the girl who wears it is the guaranteed center of attention. Stella McCartney’s version is a little bit sweeter. She cut strips out of her black, evening nightgown-dress and filled the holes with classic lace. And Christian Lacroix carved little lace windows in each side of his otherwise conservative black dress making Siri Tollerod’s waist look even smaller.

Pretty much anyone could wear a version of this trend - but it’s one that won’t translate well with poor quality fabrics which could inhibit its trickling down. Though you could always cut holes in your favorite dress and sew in your own strips of lace. Or not.

Beauty inspiration backstage can run the gamut from “English Rose” to “Post-Apocalyptic Bladerunner Chic.” But this season, it looks like the name of the game is mostly just rock ‘n roll.

Rock as an inspiration is nothing new - it pops up every season. But this time around things feel a bit different. Those that don’t take the “clean, fresh and simple” route are edging farther and farther into grungy, hard rock territory. Usually, Fall brings lots of retro-glam or Victorian-era looks to the runways, but the general feel from backstage is that this season is a lot harder and rawer than those past.

Hence the rock stars. There was boyish and British Quadrophenia hair at Preen, “Mick Jagger’s poet rock girlfriend” at 3.1 Phillip Lim, a gorgeous purple smoky eye at Miss Sixty, and the very fitting “street rock n’ roll” greasy hair and smoky cat eyes at Yigal Azrouël.

There was even a “walk of shame” theme at Carlos Campos, with models sporting pallid skin and a creamy, dark eye smudged off on the outer corners, as if someone had hurriedly tried to make the vampy eye look respectable for the light of day and the long walk home (been there, done that).

My favorites were the badass black and white eyes created by MAC’s James Kaliardos at Preen, and the ribbon-bedecked, “Seventeenth Century Rock Star” braids whipped together by Redken’s David Cruz at Abaete.

I for one am glad to see the Retro and Romantic Goth trends (with a few notable exceptions) phasing out. You can only see so many pin curls and “brooding” dark lips before you just want to hit the makeup artist over the head with your notepad.

Raw and deconstructed is so much more interesting than perfectly polished. Just don’t take it to Little J levels of raccoon grunge.

—MEGAN MCINTYRE

We’ll sum up the Miss Sixty show quickly - Stam opened, Coco sat front row next to Mischa Barton, Karlie death-walked, Sasha’s hair looked dirty, there were denim jumpsuits, Pretty Woman hats, slogan tees and this one red coat we really loved - because we need to talk about what American Express is doing to Fashion Week.

Let me preface this by saying that if I wasn’t lucky enough to be invited to fashion shows and had the money to buy my way in, I probably would. But the divide between those in the industry and those looking for a party in the tents is widening and making it increasingly frustrating for those needing to do their jobs.

Chelsea’s the indie version of the tents. Its small venues have housed Vena Cava, Band of Outsiders, Ohne Titel, Preen - all shows mostly attended by those who work in fashion (plus Kanye). Despite lines and small entrances, there is no pushing (ok, Rag & Bone doesn’t count), no grabbing, and no yelling because everyone will get inside, everyone will see the clothes and everyone will politely and graciously do their jobs.

In comparision, the tents are a battlefield. Just getting in line is a nightmare full of groping, shoving, attitude and foot stomping. At Erin Fetherston, we witnessed a girl try to scare an editor out of his seat by screaming, “I paid good money for this seat!” We’ve overheard AmEx customers speak to the frazzled PR girls like they’re twelve when unhappy with their $200 seats. The girls behind me at Herve (their bought tickets were a gift) laughed obnoxiously at the falling models. And if you dare block the elite skybox in the big tent, which cuts down the standing section considerably, you risk being escorted out by security.

It’s easy to forget that Fashion Week is, essentially, just a semi-glamorous convention. Everyone within a very small industry convenes in one place to discuss its changing nature and see what’s new. It is both exhausting and rewarding work made that much harder by those looking for a Devil Wears Prada moment.

Should AmEx stop their support of fashion week? No, but they should probably include an etiquette book with their ticket package.

In high school I depended on my car radio for new music, in college, boyfriends and now Fashion Week.

Its introduced me to bands like Beirut, the Virgins, She & Him and MGMT over the years and now that my iPhone’s armed with Shazaam and I don’t have to shamelessly harass the DJs everywhere I go, I was ready to walk away with a list of downloadable tunes.

Unfortunately, it’s just not happening. Instead, models are walking to instrumentals and old standbys like “Welcome to the Jungle” or “Electric Feel” (yes, again). At Erin Fetherston there was wind up doll music, at Preen electro beats, at Charlotte Ronson Sam played Etta James and Peggy Lee.

I’m sure it all relates back to the economy in some way - the season’s go-to scapegoat. Are older, well known songs and soothing instrumentals supposed to be comforting and reassuring?

I need tonight’s Chris Benz presentation to kill the trend.

To: Tips@Fashionista.com

From: LineSyp@Fall09.com

I was standing in line for Preen, when Kanye asked/had to ask Scott to shoot him and his entourage.

So they went outside and Scott shot them and then they went back in and exchanged numbers.

Thought you might like to know.

D

We witnessed a small exchange between Kanye and Scott outside of Band of Outsiders earlier today. Kanye strutting up to Scott, Scott not caring, then Kanye tapping Scott on the stomach like old friends. Still, no shot. For the record, Kanye was carrying a large camo duffel bag.

It was only a matter of time before we made it to a show with Kanye, right?

He rolled up at 11am sharp with an entourage of five boys and a hot girl, embraced Scott Schuman, got introduced to Garance and lingered for photo ops. I was waiting in line to get into Preen, with my pounding headache and a large Americano, and I’m pretty sure he gave my knee-high red suede boots a second look - that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Inside the Altman building, the audience unanimously agreed we missed Preen’s regular Espace venue and Faran declared, “Kanye’s so not the celeb sighting at this show.”

“Oh really?” I asked.

“Nope. Check out Philip Green.”

So I did. I said, “Hi Mr. Green. My name’s Britt and I write for a site called Fashionista.com. We’re huge fans.” (If he doesn’t actually read us, he’s very good at pretending.) “So what can you tell me about Kate’s new collection?”

“Nothing. But you can ask my guys, they’re all here,” he laughed.

“But it’d be so much better to hear it straight from you,” I prodded.

“Sorry kid,” he winked.

Ouch, especially considering Anne Christensen’s actual kids were playing on the plastic-covered runway. Anyway, this kid took her seat and watched Preen’s unusually colorful Fall collection parade by. There was fur, more cut-outs and some very strategically placed pockets atop Karlie KIoss’ nipples.

Meanwhile, one lucky member of Kanye’s entourage got to sit smack in the middle of the Vogue-ttes - click through for priceless, “What the fuck is going on?” faces.

Given: Kanye is supposed to be at Y-3 later today.

Given: But right now, he’s at Preen.

Hypothesis: That internship he’s been wanting will be revealed today…

Recent fashion news has often gone like this: Doom, gloom, a little more doom, some gloom deep-fried in doomsday, with a hologram of a Louboutin on top.

So we were a little surprised when we came across the Preen page on Net-a-Porter (ok, it’s in our Favorites) to see that the Power Dress now comes in two more versions - red, undoubtedly the Christmas / New Year’s / Valentine’s Day dress of choice for those with year-end bonuses of $1300 on hand, and a completely symmetrical version of the basic black.

The newest stock tally: Red is already sold out in large, and the original black is currently unavailable in x-small, medium and large.

Which begs the question, who’s buying this dress? You? Because with this fashion phenom clearly not going on sale anytime this year (or ever, which is our bet), it’s defying all recession / holiday sale logic, and coming out a winner.

Which must count as good news, somewhere out there.

No one can stop talking about how bad the retail outlook is. Everyone’s worried that no one will buy everything up this holiday season, and already there are reports that buyers are putting in much smaller orders for Spring 09 as compared to past seasons. So this fact might sounds strange: Online shopping is up. In fact, overall, it’s up 12% over last year.

WWD attributes this to consumers saying they can find better deals online, can do more comparison shopping, and that the price of gas has informed how much/far they’re willing to go for a party dress. Indeed, one could even attribute designers suddenly offering up previously unavailable e-commerce opportunities to their customers (Lutz & Patmos just launched a shopping component to their site, as well as Pucci, and Net-a-Porter continues to score site-exclusives from designers like Preen and Richard Nicoll) as an accommodation to this trend.

But we have another, not at all scientific theory to propose: Shame shopping.

Vogue UK got a sneak preview of the Preen exclusively-for-Net-a-Porter Resort collection, and a few details left out in the initial news:

The six dress-collection hits the super site this Wednesday, and will be “metallic black, blue and fuchsia,” including the Power Dress, at left.

No word yet on when Richard Nicoll’s collection goes up, but in the meantime, enjoy Preen’s half-page (Richard’s got one, too, so we guess his collection can’t be too far off either.)

Ok, obviously not, but if you’re into buying $1,500 dresses online, book it.

(Though offer does not include a Personal Pan Pizza - sorry!)

This just in from London via The Daily (the new version of the Daily Rubbish, not to be confused with The Daily here):