In the Tents: Cesar Galindo Goes Futuristic at M2 Ultra-Lounge !!

Nancy Lichtenstein manages to get to the best shows– and has the best inside scoop!

Besides getting the inside scoop on hair and makeup, one of the most fun things about going backstage at Fashion Week is gossip. Here’s the scoop on Cesar Galindo–he’s a sweetheart!

image courtesy of Wireimage.com
He presented every one of the girls in the show with a beautiful gift box that matched the flocked wallpaper in the club. Inside were jeweled rings in the shape of daisies. The models, who included Shiloh and Belinda Baillou, squealed, “We love Cesar, he’s just so sweet!”
This tender moment offset the fact that the air-conditioning was set so low the girls were freezing. In spite of repeated appeals to the operations people to fix it, half of them were walking around in trench coats and cable-knit fisherman’s sweaters, not the usual attire backstage.

A very cold model wearing a leather jacket backwards because it’s frigid.
Backstage was one level up from the runway, which made for a dramatic stairway entrance at the beginning of the show. If I had to sum up the collection in a few words, I’d call it bitch goddess–strong, glamorous, Bond girl, and retro-futuristic.
Standout looks for me were an asymmetrical black and white print one-shouldered halter dress

image courtesy of wireimage.com
and a short hot pink cocktail dress with a ruffled bodice that literally looked like a cocoon bursting open.

Image courtesy of wireimage.com
Amidst all the cool details of the collection (his construction is impeccable and his lines are imaginative), the thing that had the most impact was the risky but brilliant use of white.
Cesar Galindo made his reputation as an eveningwear designer, and white + eveningwear can skew as bridal. In this case, it was anything but–it was stark, fresh, and tough, which is just the mood I’m in for fashion right now. Apparently I wasn’t the only one, because when the designer came out to take his bows, the crowd went wild, cheering and cat-calling. The response was more like a rock concert than a fashion show; it’s been a while since I’ve seen this much enthusiasm at New York Fashion Week