Five minutes with Anna

Front row at fashion week: Anna Wintour praises Marc Jacobs and big-jeweledHouston women

Anna Wintour takes in the Vera Wang show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images
Wintour thought the Marc Jacobs show was magical and loved the oversized hats.
Photo by Peter Michael Dills/Getty Images
Wintour believes the chic Carolina Herrera collection will be popular with thehigh fashion Texas customer. This great-looking red suit is from the fall 2012collection shown at fashion week.
Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

NEW YORK — Anna Wintour's presence on the front row at fashion week is so valuable that a designer would willingly hold a show for her last-second arrival. Instead, the Vogue magazine editor comes in right at the announced start time for every show even though she knows that the way fashion time is kept, it likely won't start for another 40 minutes. I've always admired her for not pulling rank in this regard.

However, the most powerful woman in fashion can be intimidating. She rarely talks to reporters during this time before shows; a burly security guard waves off anyone who attempts to approach her.

"There were a lot of jewels for 12 o'clock in the morning. It was very impressive."

But at some point during every fashion week, she tells the guard to let me by and we spend several minutes together. I think it's the Houston connection. She regularly visits the Bayou City with steady squeeze, Shelby Bryan, a Houston native who lives in New York, but has family in Houston.

Before the Vera Wang show started, we had our little talk while Academy award nominee Viola Davis, on Wintour's right, and tennis great Maria Sharapova, on Wintour's left, looked on.

CultureMap: You were in Houston right before Thanksgiving (with Neiman Marcus fashion director Ken Downing at a luncheon for top customers). What were your impressions?

Anna Wintour: There were a lot of jewels for 12 o'clock in the morning. It was very impressive. I was thrilled to meet them all. They couldn't have been lovelier. Ken and I had a nice little talk and we showed the (January) issue. I was trying to think of something different that would be fun for them to look at.

CM: When you are in Houston, where to you go to eat? Is there any special place that you like?

AW: Yes. There's Smith & Wollensky.

CM: You could do that in New York.

AW: (laughs)

CM: On the runways for fall, designers seem to be highlighting a "bad girl" vs. "good girl" way of dressing.

AW: That comes from Miuccia Prada's influence. She's the one that really believes in that for a long time. And of course we're honoring her at the Met in May (at the Costume Institute gala). So they might have that on their minds.

I think it's been a great season. I thought Marc Jacobs was magical. Those Dickens' hats were amazing. Maria was saying she should have one in Russia the next time she's there.

CM: For the Houston customer, what excites you about fall that you might recommend?

AW: I thought Carolina Herrera's collection was beautiful, with all that very chic navy at the beginning and lots of color. It seemed very much that customer. Oscar (de la Renta) is very popular in Texas. But it's early in the season.

CM: What about for the younger Houston customer who is fashion forward?

AW: I loved the Alexander Wang show. Unfortunately it was a little dark (the way it was lighted) but his attitude, his street style is not looking backwards. So many designers look at references or are inspired by the mass. It just seemed to me this is a girl of the time.

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A Clear Choice

Texas handbag brand Consuela debuts clear collection for stadium use

Photo courtesy of Consuela

These bags fashionably comply with stadium rules.

Transparency is key for this new stadium-friendly product line by Austin handbag brand Consuela. The new line recreates the brand's top-selling silhouettes in a clear material that makes them easy to carry at venues with long security lines.

This is the first time Consuela has produced clear bags, press materials say.

It's certainly possible to pack any small bag and spend a minute on a security check at the gate, but if attendees want to carry more, sometimes venues require a clear bag; at Reliant Stadium, for example, a non-see-through bag can only be four-and-a-half inches by six-and-a-half inches or smaller.

Conseula clear bags You don't have to put bags in the "tool bag" silhouette.Photo courtesy of Consuela

Each clear Consuela bag has a bit of personality thanks to a printed, opaque strip of material across the top and a colorful strap that's interchangeable for different carrying styles: wearing the bag crossbody, on the shoulder, or as a clutch. Leather accents also elevate each piece, which contains interior pockets, a credit card holder, and a removable piece that gives the base structure or, when it's removed, allows the bag to collapse.

With three shapes and three patterns or colorways, there are nine distinct bags in the collection. The largest style is 11 inches by nine and a quarter inches, with a three-inch depth. Two smaller styles are more clutch-sized. The top material can show off a colorful paisley-like design, leopard print, or an understated cream leather to match the rest of the trim.

Conseula clear bags Grouping items in smaller cases can make a clear bag look neater.Photo courtesy of Consuela

The new collection ($125-235) is available now at consuelastyle.com. Shoppers can also check the bags out in person at Consuela's Katy store at 23501 Cinco Ranch Boulevard. Other retailers selling Consuela bags can be found through the brand's store locator.

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