Look there, in the front row of Diane von Furstenberg's runway on Sunday afternoon. Isn't that Oscar de la Renta? And Valentino? Ooh, and Bravo's dapper Andy Cohen sitting with his bestie Sarah Jessica Parker? And Barry Diller, Ms. von Furstenberg's husband was there, as usual. And then, wait a sec, Sergey Brin from Google?
What's he doing here?
Well, the line between artistic statement and marketing opportunity became blurry a long time ago at Fashion Week, especially at Lincoln Center, where the event is named after a car (Mercedes-Benz, if you need ask). So Ms. von Furstenberg did not seem to have a problem with putting Google products on her runway, specifically the Glass by Google. That would be those weird pseudo-glasses thingies that Google is developing to take us into the future and turn us all into walking surveillance systems. They look like something from “Star Trek,†with a tiny camera built into the frames and a little bitty monitor in the corner for all those people who are not satisfied looking at the world solely through their hand-held devices. Supposedly, they can give you directions to the nearest Starbucks.
Mr. Brin was wearing a pair with a turquoise stem that made him look as if he had stabbed himself in the eye with the straw of some tropical frozen cocktail. But that was not all. Some of the models wore them, in pink or white variations, and even Ms. von Furstenberg, who had nothing to do with the design of the glasses or the color choices, wore a pair when she took her bow, pointing at audience members to let them know that she could see them through her magic glasses. What's more, that footage will be turned into a short film that wi ll be shown online next week.
Given the hubbub over the glasses (the entire front row was trying to simultaneously tweet images of Mr. Brin), some of us barely noticed the clothes. Some pink caftans went by and a shorts and blouse combo in watermelon colors, I think, and insanely tall platforms that were presumably big enough to accommodate a global positioning system.
Model: In 25 feet, turn left at the end of the runway. Turn left. Turn left!
Recalculating.
My colleague, Cathy Horyn, stopped backstage and asked about the glasses and had a chance to try them on.
“We're super excited,†Mr. Brin said in the crammed backstage area, which was more frenzied than usual. He said he and Ms. von Furstenberg met at a conference this summer, and having the glasses in her show was a good marriage of fashion and technology. Her clothes, like the ultralight frames, were about style and comfort.
At least one onlooker seemed perplexed by the fuss.
“What are you supposed to see?†asked Fran Lebowitz.
Cathy had to admit she wasn't really sure.
