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Vena Cava, the editor-favorite and downtown-darling label, presented an artsy and ethereal collection inspired by the 1980s design movement, Memphis. (Always so high brow, that Vena Cava.) Models strutting in towering Vena Cava for TenOverSix clog platforms around Marisa Tesauro's geometric art installations hanging above the runway just added to the art-focused intellectual glamour.
As for celebrity appearances? It seemed like the attendee garnering the most paparazzi attention at the show was Samantha Swetra, otherwise known as Whitney Port's Bergdorf Goodman fashion buyer confidante from MTV's The City. Swetra was actually there under the guise of work, initially sitting in a third-row Bergdorf Goodman seat and wearing a body-hugging dark watercolor non-Vena Cava dress with ankle socks and sky high platform booties. We asked her if she was a fan of Vena Cava and she replied "Yeah, it's super cute". We were kind of hoping more of a dissertation on the cut, patterns and draping of the pieces since she's a Bergdorf buyer, but that'll do. Right before the show, sensing something wasn't quite right, a PR staffer moved Samantha down to an unoccupied seat in the first row.
Understandably, with the MTV exposure, Samantha was the most recognizable face there, compared to the downtown hipster, slightly obscure to the masses bold-names like, Eleanor Friedman of the Fiery Furnaces, DJ and recent NY Mag feature subject Harley Viera-Newton (wearing Vena Cava) and Mia Maestro (not sure what she's up to now, but to us she'll always be Jennifer Garner's half-sister/spy partner from Alias) all sitting next to each other in the front row and wearing somewhat blasé expressions the entire time. The Sartorialist was also front row near the start of the runway and Lynn Yaeger, looking edgy and fantastic as usual, was a couple rows back (travesty!).
· Vena Cava [Official Site]
· All Fashion Week Coverage [Racked]