Last season Charlotte Ronson’s show was overshadowed by the media frenzy that ensued when Lindsay Lohan plopped down in the front row. But these are more sober times, and this afternoon at Ronson’s fall 2009 show, there wasn’t necessarily a frenzy over Lohan so much as keen interest. We spotted her perched in the fortress that was the D.J. booth before and after the show, where she was protected from ravenous photographers (though a couple managed to stick their cameras in her face from the steps below). The crowd rubbernecked to see her, but it was nothing they hadn’t seen before, so they calmly turned away after a good sidelong. We spotted Samantha Ronson up there with LiLo, wearing headphones around her neck. We don’t know what exactly Samantha contributed to the music. Neither did Mark Ronson, whom we overheard asking Charlotte backstage if Sam “picked the songs or just D.J.’d.” We couldn’t hear Charlotte’s response, but it made Mark wince.
As for the clothes, Ronson said the collection, inspired by the late thirties and forties, was for the “deco girl.” It included leather accents, lots of cut-outs, zipper vents, and a mostly black palette with a smattering of plaid and floral prints. Ronson said she imagined a girl who’s “reappropriating through war,” likes to dress up, and borrows her boyfriend’s coat. “I think everyone has a darker mood, and I think the collection goes with the sullen, somber times,” Ronson told us when asked how the economy influenced her design process this season. “It’s not so cool to be so excessive. And people don’t want to buy a showpiece dress that they’re only going to wear once. They want more wearable things.” She also considered the affordability of her pieces. “I’m in it as a business, and you want to sell.”
This was Ronson’s second show in the tents, but she’s not sure where she’ll show when Fashion Week moves to Lincoln Center. “That’s just strange and weird,” she remarked of the move. “It’s sad — Bryant Park’s, like, a staple. And it’s so much more convenient.” (Her office is across the street.) No word on whether she’ll have Sam back to D.J.
