Lynne, with her delightful, insightful mother in the forefront.
Lynne O’Neill, the local girl who made it big as a fashion show producer in NYC, hosted a group of family and friends in the Ko’olani condo’s movie theatre for the premiere showing of “The Tents.” As you may recall from my previous stories, Lynne produces about 15 fashion shows each season during NY Fashion Week.
Directed by James Belzer, “The Tents” is a documentary following the history of the fashion shows in the tents at Bryant Park during their 18-year reign as NYC’s fashion nucleus. It’s a bit nostalgic for all those involved, as the shows segue from Bryant Park to Lincoln Center. In a way, really, it’s a history of the NYC fashion world since the ’80s.
“The Tents” describes, through the voices of fashion designers, journalists, stylists, photographers, models, buyers and producers, “How the shows happen,” Lynne said during her brief introduction. “It’s a behind-the-scenes history.” Since few of us will ever have the privilege of going back stage (or getting into a show for that matter), it provides a glimpse into a fascinating world.
Lynne is prominently featured during two interview segments and she is seen backstage with a lei on, which her cousin happened to bring her the day they filmed. Loud whoops came up from the audience each time she appeared on screen.
Among the designers interviewed are Betsey Johnson, Carolina Herrera, Zac Posen, Christian Siriano, Isaac Mizrahi, Tommy Hilfiger and Donna Karan. Fashion journalists are also interviewed, including Suzie Menkes, Teri Agins, Glenda Bailey, Joe Zee and Nina Garcia, who insisted she nixed the whole idea of a show called “Project Runway” when it was first proposed to her. Stylists Carson Kressley and Patricia Field were hysterical.
It was also fun to see local boy Roman Young talking about the selection of models for the shows. He is with the Wilhelmina Agency.
The theatre in Ko'olani condo.
Lynne and her husband Bobby were delightful hosts. They provided bags of popcorn, cups of chocolate covered raisins, bottles of water and red vines, the favored snacks of movie fanatics like me.
The cut of “The Tents” we saw is not quite the final cut. There will be a tiny bit of tweaking, Lynne explained, before it is released by Warner on February 1. After that date, you will be able to buy it on DVD. I highly recommend this film for anyone interested in fashion, Fashion Week and how a fashion show comes to be.
- Paula Rath
