Inside The Fashion Week Tents: Take Two

Thursday night, thanks to my good friend and fellow PR maven Cyndee, I paid a second visit to the tents of Fashion Week at NYC’s Bryant Park.

After sneaking me into the chic W Hotels lounge, Cyndee headed off to work the swanky crowd on behalf of her clients. I sipped on a screwdriver while doing some people watching.

The View From W: Me in the chic hotel chain’s lounge

In the small world department, I ran into Erin, the twin sister of a former colleague who’s now working in Starwood Hotels’ corporate PR office. We talked about the downside for our industry of President Obama’s stimulus package -- discouraging executives from traveling -- and the need for people to travel and to spend, even if they don’t splurge, in times like these.

Around 8pm, Starwood security politely asked everyone to exit in order to make way for the celeb guests arriving for designer Zac Posen’s show.

I spotted Fox News anchor Juliet Huddy and Cheetah Girls singer Adrienne Bailon.

Cheetah Girls singer Adrienne Bailon posing for the photogs at NYC’s Fashion Week

Alicia Keys looked stunning in sleeveless black mini, flashing a million dollar smile as she breezed past. Like Alicia, super skinny Nicole Ritchie was surrounded by a phalanx of bodyguards.

Nicole Ritchie checked her Blackberry before leaving the Bryant Park tents

While I was taking it all in, I ended up chatting with aspiring fashionista and photographer Kyna Lantz.

Kyna and her delightful friend Lewis regaled me with tales from the shows they attended.

Kyna was all atwitter when she spotted Fern Mallis, one the planning masterminds responsible for launching Fashion Week in New York. I was relieved to see that this style powerhouse looked healthy and fit -- a departure from most of the skinny fashionistas roaming the tents clad in black and thigh-high boots.

On our way out, we couldn’t resist posing for pictures in front of the big Barbie display celebrating her 50th anniversary. About 500 dolls were lined up in the entry hall inside huge letters spelling out Barbie's name.

A Fashion Icon Turns 50: Me in front of the display celebrating Barbie’s 50th

I’m already looking forward to NYC’s next Fashion Week in the fall. Who knows? Maybe by then I’ll have someone special to gatecrash with.