Hervé Léger by Max Azria needs to start showing in a larger venue. The Salon at Bryant Park was packed to the gills with people who’d apparently contracted a raging case of bandage-dress fever since February, and we practically had to promise the PR girls our first-born children to get inside.
Those who presumably were allowed to attend and keep their offspring included Maria Sharapova, who carried off one of those skintight frocks as easily as any of the models, and posed graciously with fans, including one who then asked us, “Hey, who is that?” Looking less sexy and more matronly was Zoe Saldana, who mistakenly accessorized her Leger with a weirdly demure diamond choker and a companion who we first thought was Seann William Scott. Sadly, we were mistaken, meaning we’re never going to find out what happened to the Dude, Where’s My Car? sequel.
We also spied show regular Joy Bryant, who managed to avoid a repeat of her nip slip from last season’s show by wearing a dress with a more modest neckline; Melissa George, who’s smartly toned down the makeup since we saw her at Nicole Miller; and actress Kate Mara, who splashed out in a pretty green number. The Gossip Girl requirement was filled by Michelle Trachtenberg, who was cheerful and chatty with the reporters, saying that she likes to mix a bit of Tar-jzey with her Louboutins, and confiding with a laugh that the best Fashion Week tip she’s ever learned is not to talk about her personal life with reporters. Not a bad piece of advice, if only because if we overhear it, we’ll totally tell everyone.
And a tip we learned today is that if you see a huge crowd of paparazzi waiting outside the Bryant Park Hotel, and you decide to hang around to see whom they’re stalking, you better watch from a safe distance or else you’re going to get trampled like you’re running with the bulls. One of us was almost killed when Rosario Dawson, of all people, emerged from the building to go to DVF and the assembled masses sprang to attention and bowled over every warm body in their way. We were saved by a friendly, burly guy who told us to stand behind him — he basically acted like the MVP of our offensive line, if we were some kind of celeb-spotting quarterback. We must confess that when this all went down, the one of us who was not seeing her life flash before her eyes may have screamed, “PEOPLE. It’s just ROSARIO DAWSON.” No offense, Rosario, but … seriously.
View backstage and front row photos of Maria Sharapova, Michelle Trachtenberg at the Hervé Léger show.
View a slideshow of the Hervé Léger collection.
Watch video of the Hervé Léger show.
Watch backstage video at Hervé Léger.
