Tommy HIlfiger knows how to throw a party.

To celebrate his 25th anniversary, Hilfiger showed his spring 2011 collection before the flashiest front row yet at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Sunday night. The all-star line-up in the tents at Lincoln Center included Jennifer Lopez, Bradley Cooper, Neil Patrick Harris, Mad Men's Christina Hendricks, Rumer Willis (Bruce and Demi's daughter), Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick, Jason Lewis and Rebecca Romijn.

Placing the front row celebrities directly across from where most fashion reporters sit probably wasn't the best idea, however, because we were so busy star gazing that the runway collection seemed secondary.

The verdict: Lopez, looking fashionable in over-the-knee leather boots and an off-the-shoulder sheer minidress, has flawless skin. Cooper, sporting a scruffy start of a beard, needs some manscaping while Harris's spiky hair could do with a little less gel. (Harris' boyfriend, David Burtka, sat in the row behind him.)

The clothes? Vintage Hilfiger, with preppy blazers and pastel pants for men; short cotton dresses, colorful long silk dresses and trench coats for women. A little lackluster, for sure, but they're the kind of best-selling designs that have kept HIlfiger flush for a quarter-century. Why mess with success?

"Tommy has such staying power because he really captures the American preppy aesthetic. He knows who he is and he doesn't try to be what he's not," said Vogue editor Anna Wintour, another fashion week front row fixture. "It's unpretentious, good fun American sportswear."

In recent seasons, WIntour has skipped a few fashion shows to watch her good friend, tennis star Roger Federer, in the finals of the U.S. Open. But she didn't have to steal away Sunday since Federer had lost in the semi-finals to Novak Djokovic the day before.

"There's always another tennis match," Wintour proclaimed, leaving no doubt about her tennis loyalties.

After the Hilfiger show, guests walked along a red carpet flanked by male models in navy blazers and slacks to the nearby Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center where the Strokes performed and Emanuel Chirico, CEO of Hilfiger's parent company Phillips-Van Heusen, told the crowd, "It's good to be us right now."

Earlier Sunday, the star power was nearly as dazzling at the Diane von Furstenberg show in the same tent. The front-row lineup included Anderson Cooper, Bravo executive Andy Cohen, Sarah Jessica Parker and Barry Diller (von Furstenberg's husband).

Once again, it was hard to concentrate on the clothes with so much star wattage. Parker, in a rose print dress pulled down at the shoulders, studiously watched each look on the runway for up to 10 seconds, swiveling her head as every model passed by. Cohen, in a black leather jacket and chomping on gum, simply seems overjoyed to be at the show. He took photographs and whispered with Cooper, who wore a black suit, white shirt and dark tie, and Parker throughout the show.

After wishing von Furstenberg well afterwards, the trio went out the back way and waited under an umbrella in the drizzling rain for a towncar while a crowd gathered around them and took photographs.

Unlike the Hilfiger show, however, von Furstenberg's collection — the first from creative director Yvan Mispelaere — offered plenty of competition to the star gazing. It was the freshest von Furstenberg collection I've seen in years, with lots of separates in dramatic colors — a purple pant with a sleeveless mauve hoodie was particularly eye-catching — languid gowns and bold geometric prints — and not a wrap dress in sight as Mispelaere reinterpreted von Furstenberg's vision in a fresh new way.

Dallas native Lela Rose also infused her spring collection with new energy. Rose said she was inspired by the surroundings of Lima, Peru, and it showed with such touches as woven metallic tweeds, embroidered tulle cutouts and shimmering ombre fabrics.

"I really love cultures that have a history of textile and embroidery and have that old world meets new world society. That's what's going on in Lima," she said. " I just wanted to take something like embroidery that used to be on broadcloth and really heavy fabrics and lighten them up and see how they would translate in a modern way."

The collection, which Rose will show at the first-ever Houston Fashion Week at the Wortham Theater Center next month, is also infused with color — coral orange shades, fluoride pink, silver yellows and turquoise — sure to appeal to Texas women who like to get noticed.

"Women like wearing color and we like giving it to them," Rose said.

She ls also continuing her partnership with Payless Shoes by creating five styles to go with her collection, including a towering wedge that will retail for about $35 a pair, due in stores in February.

"These are so comfortable," she said, pointing to the pair of green wedges she was wearing. " I think wearing wedges are about the most comfortable shoes ever. They're easy walking. You don't get caught in the subway grate. You just keep going."