NEW YORK, September 07, 2007 – Which front-row guests at Jeremy Laing’s spring show had the media lining up to interview them? Not celebrities and not magazine editors, but Laing’s parents, Robert and Theresia.

It was the first of their son’s shows they’d been to since the rising Canadian star’s graduation presentation at Ryerson College in Toronto. His mother wore a silk dress from Laing’s fall collection. “It’s one of the perks,” she said. His father joked, “I keep telling him to make me something!”

It’s a wonder that more starlets (actress and fellow Canadian Sarah Polley is a fan) haven’t caught on to Laing’s line, which only improves each season and always offers truly original, cool dresses, like spring’s colorful silk frocks (with firework prints made by Laing’s friend the artist Karen Azoulay), which any young woman looking to stand out would covet. When those girls do take more notice, Laing’s parents may have some competition for the spotlight at next season’s show.

Source: www.style.com

By Jane Herman and Catherine Piercy

NEW YORK, September 08, 2007 – Kirna Zabe’s Beth Buccini and Sarah Easley were in complete agreement. “It was the best show we’ve seen so far,” they raved while waiting in line to congratulate Thakoon Panichgul.

What made it stand out? The clothes, no doubt. Full-skirted day dresses, preppy tie-dyes, painterly prints (again!), and slouchy parka jacket it was all beautiful and concise. But there was more to it than that.

At Eyebeam, a massive gallery space in west Chelsea, the runway was laid out so that the models could weave through the crowd. Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” was the only song that played. It all had a fairly hypnotic effect. “I was trying to tell a story with this collection about a girl with a lot of color who escapes her everyday routine,” said Panichgul backstage. “It’s more than just travel and leisure. It’s about a real transformation.”

Backstage Beauty Note: As one of six young designers to pair with Aveda during Fashion Week, Thakoon embraced the beauty company’s “Three Steps to a Greener Fashion Week” campaign backstage. In addition to swearing off fur in his spring collection, the designer abstained from offering bottled water, and gifted each model, hairstylist, and volunteer with her own sleek and refillable aluminum thermos. There was also an organic, locally sourced buffet with gourmet chicken burritos, fig and goat cheese baguettes, and fresh fruit that demanded no sacrifices in the way of flavor. “I’m loving this food,” declared hairstylist Eugene Souleiman, who let down each models’ tightly wound updo just moments before the show to reveal a cascade of soft, loose waves. “The hair should look as if it’s floating as the girls walk down the runway,” he said.

“It’s hot in here,” wailed a beleaguered publicist to no one in particular of the sweltering backstage area. Certainly the arrival of actress Kate Bosworth, wearing a clingy, electric pink sheath and sky-high Prada pumps on her way to greet the designer, had something to do with the sizzle.

Photos: Dimitrios Kambouris / WireImage.com