Offsite: Vivienne Tam Turns Into a Mosh Pit

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Vivienne Tam will return to showing in the tents next year; we make this prediction based on our observations of the havoc which was yesterday evening's presentation at her Soho boutique. We actually arrived a little late, and yet people were being held outside in the rain.

When they did finally open the doors, it was like a cattle stampede of girls in heels and photographers with gear tripping over each other to get to the models. Except, there were no models on display as Vivienne Tam herself was still arranging them. Everyone was visibly frustrated and the small boutique space became quickly overcrowded with fans jostling for photos. Add to this that the "blogging station" was nothing more than four HP computers hooked up to the internet, which one girl promptly used to update her twitter. We can do that just fine from our phone, thank you very much, as we're here for the clothes.

Ah yes, the clothes. When the models did finally climb up onto their stools and shuffle into the correct order, we loved it. Purple, red and black luxurious fabrics were worked and tailored so exquisitely that we wished we could have had a moment with them, instead of being distractingly jabbed in the side by a Japanese photographer shouting Italian into a cell phone. The inspiration, the Chinese character for "nothingness," appeared on almost every garment and we kind of hoped that Tam wasn't showing depression with this collection.

Speaking of feeling bad for Tam: from the moment she finished adjusting the models, she was absolutely set upon by fans rabid for a picture with her. She almost attracted more of a flurry than the clothing, and it is because of all this that we predict this to be her first and last in-store Fashion Week presentation.