NY Fashion Week: Wang and Rihanna

Here's the latest from the runways and beyond at New York Fashion Week.

ALEXANDER WANG, HEAVY METAL AND KANYE TOO
As Alexander Wang took his victory jog up and down the runway after his packed show on Saturday, he ran by a set of special guests and blew them some kisses: the Kanye West family, including Mom, Dad and little North.

It was two days after West's own high-profile show featuring his collaboration with Adidas, and he was relaxed and smiling as he sat between wife Kim Kardashian and singer Nicki Minaj. North, too, very hip in all black for a Saturday night out, was relaxed and happy, after fussing during Dad's show. Clearly it's much less stressful when someone else's designs are being scrutinized.

As for those designs: Wang offered his usual highly conceptual show, focusing on a theme of heavy metal - both in music, and in clothes.

"There's always a musical component to my collections, and we loved the idea of AC/DC and Kiss and Led Zeppelin," he said in a backstage interview. "And then we were extracting the idea of metal both in a literal sense, and how do we apply it to clothing - whether it's fabric or metal trimming or hardware, and also the mood of metal and the attitude."

What this all meant was black - lots and lots of it, almost exclusively - and studs or chains on almost every garment, whether sleek pantsuits or long skirts or heavy black boots.

There was also a nod to Victorian codes of dressing - articulated waists and corsetry - and, of course, some sheer chainmail. Because, noted Wang: "How can you have a metal collection without chainmail? But we wanted it to feel really slinky, so we finished the hems of skirts like T-shirts and gave some velvet to it, for sensuality."

Wang said that fall and winter clothes don't necessarily make him think black, black, black; Last winter, for example, he presented a colorful collection of heat-activated garments. But he said that people always ask for clothes they see in his collections to be made in black. "So this time we said, why don't we start the collection in all black?"

So everyone still wants black? "At least our customer does," he said.

In keeping with the heaviness of the theme, models had appropriately scowls and hair in their eyes. And speaking of the models, one of them had a special connection to the front row: none other than Kendall Jenner, half-sister of Kim Kardashian.

RIHANNA'S GOT IT IN THE BAG
Rihanna won't let Kanye West take the style spotlight at New York Fashion Week.

The Grammy Award winner introduced a new one-off bag she designed for Fendi at the brand's first store opening in New York on Friday.

She praised West's Yeezy Boost sneakers, rolled at the day before at a runway show that included Kim Kardashian, Beyonce and a crying North West in the front row.

"I think it was amazing. I love that he takes risks. I love that he pushes boundaries and it was very Kanye," she said of his effort.

Rihanna's Fendi baguette bag is part of a larger project in which five different women try their hand at accessory-designing for charity.

The five baguette purses will be displayed in Fendi's new flagship store until 13 March and will be up for auction. Proceeds will benefit five charities chosen by the five designers.