The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but Barneys New York s Madison Avenue windows are currently an ode to the cool with a riotous British designer takeover of their January windows. "People always talk about holiday windows—it gets very competitive among the stores—but January is the perfect time to do something new," said Daniella Vitale, chief operating officer and senior executive vice president of Barneys New York, as she welcomed the stylish Brits of New York to dinner at Clement in the Peninsula hotel. Chief executive of the British Fashion Council Caroline Rush gave an eloquent address in a colorful dress by Saloni (a Brit-girl secret for breezy, chic dresses) that she had, in fact, purchased in Barneys that day.
British fashion has a reputation for bringing the new and arresting, and emerging names like eveningwear designer Alice Archer (in a scarlet beaded dress of her own design) joined the establishment such as Paul Andrew, Tabitha Simmons, and Osman Yousefzada to celebrate. After a successful London Fashion Week Men s, British _GQ _s Dylan Jones chatted with Diane von Furstenberg s glowing chief creative officer, Jonathan Saunders, who is just back from a holiday adventure camping in Australia where he d kept abreast of the shows. "Craig Green was beautiful. Martine Rose I loved; she s doing great things at Balenciaga men s. And J.W.Anderson—it was all so good," said Saunders. More accolades were bestowed amongst the Brit pack over fresh zucca and organic salmon. "It was so unexpected and cool," said a self-effacing Imran Amed of the Business of Fashion of the MBE he received in the Queen s New Year s Honours list. Good intentions and January sugar abstinence were set aside when the petit fours were served: a sweet end to an evening that celebrated the camaraderie and cadre of British talent.