Off Site: G-Star Pops the Collar

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G-Star Raw kicked of their Fall 2009 collection at Hammerstein Ballroom, drawing in a huge crowd which included a respectable assortment of celebrities—most notably Misha Barton, Natasha Bedingfield, and Miss Jay. To our surprise, few attendees were able to recognize Matt Prokop (he plays Zac Efron's character's understudy in High School Musical 3), or even Danielle Panabaker (she plays Jenna in that great new horror flick, Friday the 13th)—honestly, some people! Anyway, despite the ensuing celeb frenzy, the show started on time—clocking in about forty-five minutes behind schedule.

Up in the balcony we stood in the crowd, puzzled by the gargantuan three-tiered runway. (We should note that as the show began, the confusion only heightened—at one point, we swear the same model walked down each of the three catwalks twice). As for the collection, it played it safe at the outset, with men's and women's black and white tuxedo-inspired looks, which remained somewhat classic despite the cluster of zippers on the thighs of trousers. Dark grays and blues prevailed throughout the rest of the clothes, coloring the exaggerated popped collars on most of the utilitarian jackets for both guys and girls. Drop-crotch jeans in an array of washes also made their way onto the runway for most of the show, and a jaw-dropping slate blue men's faux fur jacket dwarfed its inhabitant towards the middle.

Throughout, models walked to the melodies of a live pianist, and at the end, a deep-voiced Benicio del Toro came out to recite lyrics from Joy Division's song "Candidate." Though this confused us, we've got to hand it to G-Star for putting on such a spectacle. After all, how often do you get to see Miss Jay and blue fur in the same night? Oh, bad example.—Jake Goicoechea