NEW YORK — The middle of the afternoon isn't a time you'd normally find an audience of glamazons in skin-tight dresses who look like they're in a big-time search for a party. But when it's a Hervé Léger fashion show, most anything can happen.
The standing-room-only crowd that jammed into the largest tent at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week were as well-turned out as the models on the runway. A front row of celebrities, from Nicki Minaj to Giuliana Rancic, added to the excitement, particularly when Minaj's bodyguard, who is built like a Mack truck, chased away persistent photographers with a scowl that Schwarzenegger would envy.
Minaj's bodyguard, who is built like a Mack truck, chased away persistent photographers with a scowl that Schwarzenegger would envy.
Designers Max and Lubov Azria, who purchased Hervé Léger in 1998 and expanded the brand to upscale stores like Neiman Marcus (Lubov Azria brought the collection to Houston twice last year) and a stand-alone boutique in Dallas, continually look for ways to update the famous bandage dress that Legér pioneered.
They duo added flared skirts to some of the looks, as well as a definite S&M vibe, with wide black leather corsets lined in gold zipper detail over body-hugging dresses, tight motorcycle jackets and two-piece bathing suits emblazoned with hardware that had some men in the audience literally panting.
"That's hot," one man behind me kept saying whenever a model turned the corner toward our seats.
The Azrias also use the graphic lines of the fabric in geometric prints in shades of black, blue and blush to accentuate the waist, breast and rear. The stretch fabric looks unforgiving, but I've been told it's actually quite comfortable, like wearing a Spanx dress.
The Herve Leger show featured tight dresses and bathing suits with corsets, harnesses and gold zipper detail.
