It's the season of newbies at NY Fashion Week

[September 14, 2011]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Season after season, it's Anna Wintour on the front row and Marc Jacobs as the most eagerly anticipated runway show at New York Fashion Week. Enter: The newbies.

Tory Burch held her first model walk at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall on Tuesday, the sixth day of spring previews, followed by J. Crew's first appearance at the tents.

Later Tuesday, red carpet favorite Marchesa is scheduled for the label's debut seated show, at the Plaza Hotel.

"It's a lot more work, although I'm not sure why," Burch said backstage, a few minutes before her first model stepped onto the catwalk. "But I love doing it.

Until now, Burch has only done presentations, where models stand still wearing clothes in venues that don't involve a seated audience and lack the drama of a runway. J. Crew has staged other shows, but nothing with the magnitude of moving to the tents that serve as the hub of seasonal previews.

That fact didn't hit Jenna Lyons, the J. Crew president and executive director, until she arrived at the tents Tuesday morning. "I thought we were just moving our show, but then came the hype and excitement," she said. "I felt excited when I got here -- I felt like I was going to the prom."

Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman had some technical problems to solve now that the models would actually be moving. The dresses in the Marchesa collection are usually very elaborate and grand -- best complemented by skyscraper heels.

"The situation with the shoes was that they never had to be OK to walk in them," Chapman said by phone last week. "Now we have to make them work with the dresses, and now we have to think of the length of the dresses, too, so the models can move."

Much has remained the same at New York Fashion Week while the newbies settle in. The calendar doesn't change all that much. Vera Wang and Narciso Rodriguez, for instance, always show on Tuesday and stuck to tradition this time around.

Jacobs will close the eight-day run previews Thursday night. Don't forget to turn out the lights Marc!

Fashion week moves to London on Friday, followed by Milan and Paris.

TORY BURCH

Burch did more than move to a bigger space and add bench seats.

Judging by the turnout for her first runway show, she confirmed her status as a solid player instead of an up-and-comer.

Burch's collection was inspired by the seaside French resort of Deauville in the 1920s.

Backstage, as she checked on models with hair pulled into ponytails, Burch said she was drawn to that locale and period because it was the right mix of polished and sporty.

She opened with a silk dress that had cascading pleats in front, and a red-and-pink striped tie-neck blouse paired with a dot-print skirt.

There was a little bit of everything, from a striped swim skirt to a billowy blush-colored gown, and that's surely the appeal of Burch's label. It's not breaking new ground, but her fans can count on it to hit the trends -- with an uptown interpretation -- and make them wearable.

RODARTE

Kate and Laura Mulleavy used to the newbies. Not anymore.

For their Rodarte this season, they present a sunny day but also some starry night purple in a lavish homage to Vincent van Gogh.

A sunflower print was everywhere. Colors were bold: Marigold, aqua, night purple, and of course, midnight blue.

"Van Gogh's brushstrokes infused pretty much everything we did," Laura said after the show. "Our color palette, the embroidery, the designs. Every decision we made, we asked: Could this be part of a van Gogh painting?"

The popular label drew an A-list crowd to a Chelsea gallery, among them Beyonce, the Vogue editor Wintour and the Fanning sisters, Dakota and Elle, who hugged the Mulleavys afterward.

VERA WANG

She covered all the bases -- some things for the red carpet, some athletic-inspired silhouettes and some high-concept fashion.

Wang's show pretty much mimicked her front row: Beyonce and Kim Kardashian. Serena Williams. And, yes, Madeleine Albright.

"Vera believed in empowering women," said Albright, the first woman to become a U.S. secretary of state. "When women are politically and economically powerful ... there is more stability."

Wang opened with featherweight layers of white, including a sleeveless peplum coat with an oversized hood worn over a slip dress. She then moved into more color than usual: hot pink, purple and mint green, all of which have emerged as top shades for spring.

Cindy Leive, editor in chief of Glamour, found herself drawn to Wang's psychedelic-print skinny pants, textured fabrics and tough shoes "you've come to expect from Vera."

Overall, though, Leive said next season seemed a bit of a departure for Wang, who despite her background in bridal gowns, has favored darker, somber looks.

REEM ACRA

Acra is known for luxury -- lavish, embellished gowns perfect for the red carpet.

For her spring ready-to-wear collection, she wanted to bring the riches of her fancier clothes into her more casual ones, and she's done it with prints: A vintage jewel print, for example, on a silk sheath dress. Or a mineral print. Or a kaleidoscope print.

"It's all about the prints this year," she said backstage.

The show began with an oxidized animal print on a one-shoulder dress -- something Wilma Flintstone might have worn if she had a superb tailor. It went on to mineral prints, such as one on a silk charmeuse sheath with a jeweled side clasp. And a kaleidoscope design on a pencil skirt.

This being Reem Acra, materials were sumptuous. One of the lovelier numbers was an impeccably draped lavender silk crepe strapless gown, paired here with a baby ostrich shrug. Other luxury looks: A golden vanilla silk one-shoulder dress, or a baby ostrich bolero.

One of the best short dresses was in royal blue: a striking strapless bustier dress.

MARIA CORNEJO

Cornejo knows her clients: Many are working women. They're not at the beach all summer long.

So for her spring/summer line at Zero + Maria Cornejo, the designer went for "fresh and summery but not beachy," she said backstage.

"These women work, they have jobs," she said. "They may be lawyers, like Michelle Obama. Or actresses, like Tilda Swinton." (Both have worn Cornejo designs.) "Or many other things. They may not have to wear a suit, but they need something that's not for the beach. Something more structured, more urban."

Cornejo's colors certainly had the feel of summer heat: lots of bright yellows and shades of orange to reflect the sun, and blues to reflect the sky. But some of the nicest designs were of a pure, bright white.

Dresses or tops often billowed like sails -- almost always in an extremely flattering way. Many seemed fitted when they were actually comfortably loose -- the effect of artful placement of a simple belt, perhaps, to add structure.

A so-called "sail dress" in bright yellow was just that, fluttering nicely down the runway.

BETSEY JOHNSON

The highlight of Johnson's show always comes at the end -- and it has nothing to do with the clothes.

The 69-year-old designer does a cartwheel on the runway and brings down the house. She added a split this time to huge applause from a crowd that included Nicki Minaj.

The first model on her runway was daughter Lulu, if you don't count her granddaughters who entertained the crowd before the lights went down with their pink-streaked hair and little dance numbers on the runway.

At the end, Johnson encouraged her models to smile, normally a no-no for the catwalkers.

As for the collection, it was an eclectic mix of tongue-and-cheek (really, more cheek) prom-ready sequined dresses, lace babydolls and other assorted lingerie-inspired looks, and tough-girl tight outfits with skull and X-ray motifs.

[Associated Press; By SAMANTHA CRITCHELL]

Samantha Critchell tweets fashion at http://twitter.com/ap_fashion.

AP National Writer Jocelyn Noveck in New York contributed to this report.

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