Valentine’s Day cometh early in the tents at the Heart Truth show. Tim Gunn introduced the charity initiative, and then gave the show as a valentine to the audience. Aw, cute. But enough with that — there’s only one reason we go to Heart Truth: the celeb action.
The models must have had more fun than the overworked designers: they waved, danced, and shimmied down the runways. Amanda Bynes restrained herself, opening the show in a too-short (we saw cheek) Swarovski number with oversize crystal belt and strutting to the tune of “Single Ladies.” Tori Spelling suffered an ever-so-slight trip when she strutted out in her Betsey Johnson dress. Perhaps her shoulder shimmies were a little too aggressive?
Vivica A. Fox redefined working it, embellishing her walk with a heavy dose of fierceness. She literally gave us chills. Olympian Nastia Liukin walked in Max Azria, whose spring ad campaign she stars in, to boisterous cheering. Amanda Beard also took a turn down the runway, but the silence of the crowd suggested they perhaps forgot who she was (do rumors about Michael Phelps’s love life mean nothing to anyone but us?). But 75-year-old Cicely Tyson got the loudest applause. She took her time catwalking, her specialty being exaggerated running-man arms, though she looked amazing. Young hearts run free, indeed.
And then there’s Christian Siriano, who took a short break from finishing his fall 2009 collection to design a dress for Valerie Bertinelli. “I’m so stressed!” he told us. “They asked me to do this and I’m like ‘ugh, I’m so tired.’” But the dress for this show came together very quickly. His namesake collection is another story. “We’re really far along. I don’t like a lot of embellishments, but there are a few showpieces that are taking a long time.”
