If you had told us a few years a go that an excellent way to promote your luxury designer label would be to do a special collection for Payless Shoe Source, we would have thought you were joking. That would have been before the advent of Lagerfeld for H&M or Isaac Mizrahi for Target. Independent designers Lela Rose and Abaeté by Laure Poretzky have had remarkable success with this strategy, making very inexpensive footwear and accessory collections truly chic enough to send down the runway with their much more expensively priced apparel collections. The charm is working for the designers who both showed strong collections this week.
Sept. 5, 1 PM The Salon ABAETÿ
Laura Poretzky's inspirations this season were Gene Tierney and Miami Art Deco, which you might have been able to tell even if it hadn't been printed in the program. That is not to say that the collection was heavy handed. In fact, Poretzky knew just how far to take her sources, and if the mood of the season is crisp and tailored, then she is right on target with her clean lined color-blocked dresses and stacked banding details in the powdery colors of South Beach's historic district. 
A touch of camp made its appearance in elaborate swimsuits shown with shades and parasols that said vintage Esther Williams from the front and "Hello tushy!" from the back. Poretzky's tailoring skills were put to better use in the series of dresses that made the collection sunny and appealing.
CELEBRITY: Sophia Bush (One Tree Hill) who seems to be hitting Fashion Week hard this year.
SWAG: Nars lip gloss, Creative Nail Design nail polish
Sept. 6, 9 AM The Salon LELA ROSE
Texas born Lela Rose is frequently called a southern belle for her feminine touches, and fabrics with her signature robust patterns and textures in a slightly outsized scale were all in abundance as were happy clients Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue. She smartly keeps things current, with last year's trapeze shapes adapted into more controlled chemise silhouettes. Like many others this season, Rose has rediscovered the waist, but she also recognizes that women are not likely to be so quick to abandon the comforts of looser styles and she still loves blousons and bubbles.
She had a balance of easy volume versus fitted shapes, and added more Matisse-inspired peacock blue and bottle green to her usually soft color palette. A strapless cocktail dress in peacock laundered taffeta was a standout, as was the finale dress fit for a Texan debutante in yellow rose patterned jacquard silk.
CELEBRITIES: Mariska Hargitay, Brittany Snow and, yes, Sophia Bush. Also Tim Gunn who is approaching a Nigel Barker-like level of ubiquity.
SWAG: A generously stuffed gift bag from Beauty.com including Murad Intensive Wrinkle Remover, Ted Gibson Fix-It hair gel, Borba acaì powdered drink packets, Nars duo eyeshadow, and a full Caudalie firming regimen, plus a copy of September's House & Garden. The heaviest gift bag so far.
