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Red's Tyler Riggs is very coveted for the Milan/Paris Shows FW08

At the women shows I look at the models. At the men's shows, I come with a magnifying glass seriously trained on the clothes. The clock's counting down to the FW08 men's presentations in Milan and Paris and this very specialized market-that of high end designer menswear - is in a very transitional place right this minute. Time was you knew what you would be getting well in advance when it came to "The Shows" . And what entertainment these shows would provide, Tom Ford's flagrant Gucci vs Miuccia Prada's highminded men's line. Raf Simons's art gallery perfect wauldrobe vs Galliano's flamboyant bucaneers. And then the piece de resistance. Hedi Slimane's rock inflected couture level work at Dior Homme. What clear identities they had then.
So what are the shows with the best advance billing right this minute? After being eclipsed by the perverse streamlining at Dior, the Prada suit has a lot of lost ground to cover. Oddly enough Ralph Lauren's return to Milan this season has high expectations building for the glimpse of some kind of spectacle, if not in terms of the looks which are sure to be conservative, then in terms of the show's production values. The revamp of Ferre, as previously mentioned on TI has the label whores (like us) drumming the thumbs in suspense.

Still from "Demo Crazy" Francesco Vezzoli

How the hell does he do it? The roll call of Hollywood and fashion world doyens who have been seduced into involving themselves in Vezzoli's art escapades ranges from Donatella Versace to Helen Mirren, Miuccia Prada, Cate Blanchett, Milla Jojovich and now in his German show at Pinkakothek der Moderne Sharon Stone. The new video "Demo Crazy" focuses on a fictional election campaign spearheaded by Madame Stone and French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy. Who can possibly be next in Vezzoli's pantheon? Hilary Clinton?

Pinkakothek der Moderne
Barer Strabe 40
80333 Muchen

Nov.16. 2007-Feb 17th 2008

TI's secret hideout this week

Damien Hirst's $100 mil Man vs Ezra Pound's High Mind

Have you been having a good time with the massive ...errr...ad buy behind Djimon Honsou's Calvin Klein underwear ad ? On every phone booth, and on every corner in NY the ubiquitous Djimon looms just in time for the 25th anniversary of Calvin Klein underwear. It was a very persistent in-house casting director for Calvin that fought like her life depended on it , who made this all happen. If you want to measure person against picture then inflitrate Calvin klein HQ (205 W 39th St) on Sept 5 circa 9.00pm. Oh and Hilary Swank's co-hosting. Again, cocktails are par for the course but Calvin Inc hopes to retain its snob appeal with its tightly edited dinner party at The Gramercy's Wakliya. But you already have your invite.

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week S/S 08

While trawling the agencies all week (its not as seedy as it sounds) to scan the scene, TI picked up on a strange frequency. Apart from a faint enthusiasm as to what referential/vintage road Marc might go down next, there is not, in general, a sense of excitement at the modeling agencies regarding the upcoming shows. Of course there is the customary dread as to the 17 non-stop days of booking between now and the end of the NY shows. There is the bracing for the daily abuse that is sure to come from stressed out, harried casting directors screaming “What do you mean Calvin has her exclusive? How about if I don't book a single one of your models then?” And then there are the endless after-parties that one is obliged to trot your prize girls around as if NY had become one massive pony show. So make that 17 non-stop 17 hour days. And the windfall from all that? Obscure designers who pay in trade, offering unwanted clothes to the models in lieu of cash. An off-skelter schedule toe-jammed with shows which means major conflicts every day. Clients switching around casting directors with reckless abandon. Casting directors taking shows that pay a grand total of $4,000. And the compensation to the models is still “trade” which means said casting director is expected to solicit top girls for next to nothing while being paid next to nothing. It is not as glamorous a living as you'd hope to think.