NYFW: Chris Benz Spring 2011

So I went to the Chris Benz spring 2011 presentation yesterday and a reality television show broke out.  I'm teasing but only slightly.  Presentations are different from fashion shows in that the models stand on raised platforms and the guests walk past them to admire the clothes.  That is, if you can see them behind all the photographers.  Add in some celebrities and it becomes a bit of a mad house.  But it was worth it because the clothes at Chris Benz were really pretty, fun and flirty.  "It's time to have fun again with fashion," the designer declared. "I just wanted to make great clothes for going out."  I also love what Chris's website says about his style.  "The Chris Benz girl is an ageless sophisticate, a reckless preppy who desires nothing more than to 'keep dancing.'  Her style projects the collection's sense of perfect imperfection: the elegant tomboy with a feminine touch, equally at home at the Cafe Flore as she is in the Bowery, she is playfully imprudent and always precise."

On hand to help celebrate and congratulate the designer were many of his friends including Rachel Zoe stylist Brad Goreski who I was lucky to chat with amidst all the chaos.  I can tell you that he is one of the nicest people I have ever met in fashion.  Also in attendance were Kelly Osbourne, Jessica Szohr, Carmen Electra, Denise Richards, Susan Sarandon and her daughter Eva Amurri.  (You can see all the photographic eveidence on Twitter.) I can tell you that a good time was had by all and I can't wait for spring to arrive to wear these fabulous fashions!






Jessica Szohr, Chris Benz, Brad Goreski, Allison Pill, Mickey Sumner

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic