show and tell

Whitney Port (and Her Crotch-Skimming Hemlines) Steals the Spotlight in Group Show

Whitney Port showed her Whitney Eve line for the first time at Fashion Week this afternoon in the tents at a group show, along with People’s Revolution clients Nicholas K and Mara Hoffman. So Whitney freelances for People’s Revolution for The City, yet she is also a client. Though a tip sheet announced Olivia Palermo, who now works in public relations at Elle, would attend, she was nowhere to be seen, which is unsurprising considering all the nasty glares she shot at Whitney last season. However, we spotted Whitney’s ex Jay Lyon waiting in line with all the normal people with a pretty brunette who appeared to be his date. Real nice, Jay — bring a hot date to your ex’s very first fashion show! Fellow City cast mate Allie also sat front row, looking pretty fantastic with an amazingly shiny curtain of long, dark hair.

First up in the three-designer show was Nicholas K, whose spring 2010 line included drapey casualwear paired entirely with flat shoes. Whitney followed. Out strutted a model in a silver jacket and flouncy miniskirt with exposed tulle, which looked exactly like something Whitney would wear. The miniskirt certainly set the tone of the show. Butt-cheek–skimming hemline after butt-cheek–skimming hemline followed in shades of black, floral, silver sequins, and even tie-dye. One mullet-hemlined minidress came up so short in the front we winced in fear of the model flashing her crotch as she walked. Another silver minidress with a scary-short hemline was tragically see-through under the runway lights, which clearly illuminated the model’s white thong underwear beneath. After Whitney came Mara Hoffman, a trippy mix of patterned and silver dresses, though we had a hard time getting our mind off that one Whitney Eve mullet dress.

Backstage, no less than three cameras circled Whitney and Kelly Cutrone. They were filming The City and determined to let no blank stare go undocumented! A brunette (who we’re pretty sure was Samantha) flitted in, on cue no doubt, to hug Whitney (we assume it was Samantha, because Kelly congratulated her on the Bergdorf sale — we have a hard time telling reality stars apart sometimes). We approached Whitney, standing next to Nicholas K designer Nicole Kunz, for an interview. “Hi, we’re waiting for Mara,” she said to us. Mara arrived, and we began interrogating Whitney about tips for wearing miniskirts. “This is like a waste of everybody’s time if we’re going to do one interview,” she told Kelly. “Are you trying to interview all the designers together or do you just want to talk to Whitney?” Kelly shot back at us. Everyone, we assured her, because it seemed like the right answer. Change of topics: How did the group show come about? “Well, we all work really closely with People’s Revolution and so that’s how it came about,” Whitney said a bit sheepishly. Whitney admitted she was stressed out, but said her line, which has been around for a short while now, was doing well. Kelly interjected, “We just started it. This is like her debut and launch of the collection.”

Nicole said they decided to do the group show for financial reasons. She showed with Mara last season. “We know the routine, and Whitney came aboard, so we were happy to help her out with the whole process,” she said. Before long, the many reporters from outlets like People elbowed us out of the way for their shot at Whitney. Nicole and Mara disappeared. We hovered, hoping for our shot at The City background fame. Eventually, we got to talk fashion with Whitney all by herself. “My inspiration was sort of, you know, playing off of spring and kind of Alice in Wonderland goes to a cocktail party,” she said. “Very fantasy-driven but also fun and flirty, having a good time.” Why did she decide to do a runway show this season? “You know what? I just — it kind of came into place really, really fast within the last couple weeks when I found out, and I just pulled it together really fast,” she said. “But I didn’t really think it through so much. I was just like, you know, I have this chance, this ability, and I might as well go for it.”

The line isn’t in stores yet, and Whitney’s not particular about where it lands. “Anywhere that wants to sell it. I’m open to everyone,” she said. She said she’ll be working “behind the scenes” at other fashion shows, but wasn’t sure which ones. The always-polite reality star appeared to be tired of us, so we left her alone. When we turned around, we overheard Kelly saying to a member of her staff, “No one was with the other designers?” The staffer said something about a call that had just come up. Oh well! And as we exited backstage, a lady with a clipboard thrust a release form in our face with a pen. “Can you sign this? You were in the background shots.” Score.

Whitney Port (and Her Crotch-Skimming Hemlines) Steals the Spotlight in Group Show