Kira Plastinina's Lincoln Center Debut; Up Next for NYFW Designers

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LINCOLN CENTER—Racked National checked out yesterday's presentation by Kira Plastinina, the Russian heiress who built out a fast-fashion label in NYC a few years ago only to disappear when the recession hit. She's back and trying for a more sophisticated angle with her new line Lublu Kira Plastinina, but our sister site wasn't impressed. "The line's colors were limited to reds, blacks, nudes and whites—bubblegum pinks were markedly absent from the collection. Styles ranged from a teenager's vision of clean adult lines and high style, to designs that were, well, overly revealing. Or to use a term we would have used, back when we were a teenager, 'kind of slutty.'" [RNA; Previously]

NEW YORK CITY—When New York Fashion Week ends, the editors and bloggers and hangers-on all flock to London, then onward to Milan and Paris. But what about the designers? Fashion business consultant and friend of Racked Jessica Gold explains the next step to curious fashion neophytes in her blog Truth Plus. Extremely short version: Basically, the next few weeks are for the market period, when labels try to sell their collections wholesale. There's a ton of money at stake, and it's a stressful time for both designers and their sales staff. (This is especially true for all those cool little up-and-coming brands, where the designer often is the sales staff.) More details, plus peeks into designer showrooms, this way. [Truth Plus]