Sunday afternoon at the Tents is always a scene. The climax is when legendary designer/aristocrat, Diane von Fürstenberg takes the stage. CFDA President-regnant; she is fashion royalty and attracts a fitting crowd:

Olivier Zahm from Purple magazine carried on with Terry Richardson…

"Could we get a word with you, Mr. Richardson?" we asked.

"No!" was the tart response.

All the same faces—no one fresh and inspiring. We're running out of options this Fashion Week. Clothes can't entertain and inform forever!

Ah-ha! Barbara Walters! She would be stupendous. The Observer stealthily began meandering past chic throngs of French editors and buyers. We weren't more than a few steps from our target when—"We're done!" snapped a KCD Gestapo.

Humph, back we dashed to our seat in A-6-1.

"A rendezvous is a meeting with suspense and expectation…" stated Ms. von Fürstenberg and creative-head Yvan Mispelaere. "Glamorous at a moment's notice, she is alive with anticipation," the program read.

The lights dimmed and Brigitte Bardot’s seductive voice purred sweetly. Out sashayed 48 ravishing looks: Parisian elegance worked in rich hues of scarlet, sea foam, lapis and glossy obsidian. Wrap dresses hugged the body with sophistication, but exuded a confident sexiness. There were DvF prints on crepe satin, including puzzle pieces, which had also decorated our invitations.

Was that a scowl from Cathy Horyn? We can't tell when she's pleased or horrified. But we love her and The New York Time’s, Eric Wilson (juste à côté), all the same!

While a few outfits would have been cozy on the dance floor at Studio 54, the majority of looks suggested an elegant femme fatale, who is a tad more timeless.

As applause filled the Tent, von Fürstenberg (guided by Mispelaere) greeted her guests with much aplomb, waving to her subjects and giving double-cheek kisses to her VIP pals...

Oh quelle chance, Lorenzo Martone!

“What are you wearing?” The Observer prodded, “is it vintage?”

“No it’s Marni,” the man about town laughed.

“Very nice! So are you going to Diane’s dinner at Indochine tonight?” (More like: can we be your date?)

“Yes…. I think I am!” Martone dished.

“Do you have a date?” we wanted to know.

“Yes I’m bringing my friend, she’s an artist…”

“What happened to Studio 54? Where is the Studio 54 of today?” we pressed on.

“I actually went to an event last year that recreated studio 54—it was great!”

…and no, we didn’t attend DvF’s intimate feast.

Photos: Patrick McMullan

We were standing in front of the titan of pop music at a party last night to celebrate artist George Condo's first retrospective, Mental States, which opens today at The New Museum. Condo is known for painting his subjects as wild-eyed gaping clown faces, cheeks and foreheads flushed with spiky brushstrokes that intimate explosion, and always featuring distinctive askew-splayed bucked teeth. The most famous of these subjects is Kanye West, whom Condo depicted in flagrante delicto on the cover of his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (another Condo was used as the official album art, however, after Kanye tweeted that the more racy choice had been "banned" by someone). 

Naturally his world-conquering muse did not miss out -- Kanye West was standing in a long back coat, gray shirt, and a gold chain to match the flash of gold grill jutting up out of his lower lip. There were crinkles under his eyes. He looked very tired.

When he was done exchanging quick conversation with a someone ("Is Jay in town, man?" "Yeah," Kanye said. "OK, I'll hit him up.") The Observer walked up to Kanye West and asked what he thought about the exhibit.

West's face, wide with a smile before, hardened as he clenched his hands on our shoulders.

"I don't talk to the fuckin' press!" Kanye West told The Observer.

With that we walked off, thinking incorrectly that we would not speak to Kanye West again that night.

Others at the party were more chatty than the hip-hop star. We ran into a be-stubbled James Frey coming down the extra-slim white hallway that took the art patrons to the main exhibition room. Marc Jacobs sauntered around pecking everyone on the cheek, allowing the stray whiskers of his fuchsia and aquamarine fur scarf to nuzzle against their noses.

"I love George Condo's art!" Jacobs told The Observer as we passed from a room of abstract impressionist Condo to a room of Condo portraiture. "I love George Condo, I love Anna Condo, I love the Condo girls, I love his paintings -- I love everything Condo."

And trailing Jacobs was on-again off-again boyfriend Lorenzo Martone, in a tan fur trench coat and matching tan fur boots. He was toting around a George Condo skateboard.

The artist himself was in a loud purple tie and carrying a laptop bag. Actress LeeLee Sobieski, whose designer husband Adam Kimmel has worked with Condo, had on svelte red sweater. She's also a big fan.

"Love it!" she said. "Love supporting George."

Are you tight with Kayne? You guys looked chummy earlier.

"We just met him tonight, uh, Adam did a collection with George and then Kanye did a collaboration with George as well so I think there's, like, a mutual fan thing going on."

Like Sobieski, The Observer met Kanye for the first time that night, when he informed us he does not talk to the fucking press. After that we stepped aside.

Then, seconds later, Kanye West wrapped his arm around our shoulder, pulling us into a warm embracing hug.

"Are you all right, man? Kanye West asked us.

We nodded, and then another member of the press walked up and pointed at The Observer.

"Don't trust this guy," the reporter laughed.

"Hey," Kanye West said. "I don't trust myself."

nfreeman [at] observer.com | @nfreeman1234

Click for Scandal Report: Champagne Mania Makes for A Boozy Golden Globes

But, alas, The Observer came away not quite convinced that the food and ambiance made the event something worth deigning a "supper." Instead, the fare consisted of the standard Fashion Week party set of hors d'oeuvres, albeit one of decent quality. Despite the lack of a proper supper, the crowd nibbled on sliders, mini red velvet cupcakes, bite-sized crab cakes, tiny cuts of smoked salmon on tartines, and a full table of shrimp (which was wonderful, but the clubby and classic feel of the place, with Jasper Johns and Frank Stella paintings on the walls, was just begging for a raw bar). 

To wash the "supper" down, the bar offered cocktails made with Jack Daniel's and Ketel One, and servers walked around with cans of Red Bull on platters.

Among those indulging in the snacks and drinks were Martone, Alan Cumming, and Lance Bass, who stopped by after many had already left.

We approached Mr. Cumming to see what he thought about this "supper" they were serving, but he declined to comment. "It's not a good time," he said, his think Scottish accent perhaps even stronger than usual. "I'm a little drunk."

"I saw you yesterday!" Mr. Talley said to us, looking up from the Apple device. He had indeed seen us yesterday, at the breakfast he hosted with Tyra Banks for America's Next Top Model. The fashion icon was also wearing what was almost certainly the same long black leather trenchcoat he wore at Marea the day before. But whatever—he's André Leon Talley, and he can certainly pull it off.

"I'm very excited to be in Lincoln Center," Mr. Talley went on. "I already feel the vibe, it's very good. The air conditioning is working, I think there's space. I already feel like it's going to be fabulous for fashion."

He couldn't yet decide whether the location is better than Bryant Park, but he said the move is "promising."

"It's a young moment for fashion to be at Lincoln Center," he said.

One-time Marc Jacobs fiancé Lorenzo Martone embraced Mr. Talley and sat beside him for the moment, to chat until the ushers informed bystanders that the show would actually be starting. Mr. Martone took his seat next to Gossip Girl's Amanda Setton.

The show was an exercise in precision and uniformity: every model had the same ultra-slicked hair, the same patterns of makeup, and marched to bulked-up remixes all in the same unyieldingly steady tempo. But the whole presentation was dynamic, too; it was at times militaristic, at times exotic, at times classic.

Mr. Martone told us that he was a fan. "It's very sophisticated, very elegant — like them," he said. "The vibrant prints will work well at parties."

He even had a favorite outfit.

"The gold jacket was the best of the collection," Mr. Martone said. 

Ms. Mendes had come to support her dear friend, Calvin Klein women's wear designer Francisco Costa, who was receiving an award that evening from the design school along with CK CEO Tom Murry and New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn.

"He's not only a very kind soul, which is very important to me, but he's also very good at what he does. He always makes me feel like I'm wearing a piece of sculpture. Like this," said Ms. Mendes, tugging at the side of her dress to show off the unusual texture and shape. "It's so feminine but it's also such a great little piece of architecture." (Ms. Mendes will be wearing one of Mr. Costa's creations to the Met Costume Gala on Monday, May 4.)

Ms. Mendes said she never had an interest in attending design school herself. In fact, she said she dropped out of college to pursue acting. "I just don't like saying that because I don't like other kids to get encouraged by that," she said. "It just worked out for me, but stay in school, kids!"

Mr. Costa was optimistic when the Daily Transom asked him to offer some advice to design students coming out of school this spring into a fashion industry plagued by folding fashion labels and poor sales. 

"I hope they'll be better than me!" he joked.  "My advice is very basic—it's being creative in the best sense. That's the greatest part about being a designer or being in a creative field because you can really manage the situation a little more freely, in a more fun way. We have an advantage because we're working in a creative business and designers have antennas on, they're connected to how people live and what they wear. My advice is just to keep that going."

The designer was coy when asked whom else he may be dressing in addition to Ms. Mendes come Monday. "We have a couple of people," he said.

Bergdorf Goodman fashion director Linda Fargo was also not too worried for today's young talent. "I might worry if my dream is to be a huge finance guy right now, but the world always needs beauty and creativity," she told the Daily Transom.

Parsons fashion dean Simon Collins said that his graduating students may actually have an advantage graduating at a time like this.

"I find them incredibly optimistic," he said. "They are smarter than ever and they know they have to be. They've seen which companies are falling and which are staying stronger, so they're trying to understand what keeps them strong and they're trying to adapt that themselves."

Phat Farm's Russell Simmons, who arrived with his girlfriend, model Julie Henderson, also seemed to have some helpful advice.

"A level of fearlessness is the most important thing for people so bent on achieving that next thing. You have to enjoy the process," said Mr. Simmons.

The rap mogul did not attend design school, but he said that so many of his executives have that he didn't really need to. Still, the Daily Transom wondered if Mr. Simmons made any clothing when he was just starting out that he would be embarrassed to show now.

"I actually make embarrassing clothes every season," he said. "Especially in my new Argyle collection. I'm reviewing it now and we've edited some of it. I saw some stuff when the samples came back and I was embarrassed that I made it. We had these puffy vests but they're made out of a seersucker. They're very light, but I think we just used the wrong fabrics."

Nearby, all the attention seemed to be turning on an odd foursome that had arrived minutes before the actual dinner and fashion show was about to begin: the socialite Olivia Palermo, Gossip Girl actress Amanda Setton, and Marc Jacobs and his boyfriend, Lorenzo Martone. And even as it was time for everyone to take their seats, the masses of flashing bulbs and eager onlookers hoping to meet Mr. Jacobs seemed to put fashion students, faculty and guests into a giddy mood. 

We attended the reopening of private hangout Doubles at the Sherry-Netherland.

At the Accompanied Literary Society Party, we examined the state of hipster-literature relations.

Publicist, socialite, and soon-to-be reality star Kristian Laliberte told us how the faltering economy was impacting the Manhattan social scene. 

We chatted with Marc Jacobs's boyfriend Lorenzo Martone at a VIPP and Helena Christensen-sponsored auction. 

Diane von Furstenberg is teaming up with the Andy Warhol Foundation to create a resort 2008 and pre-spring 2009 collections of swimwear and other pieces featuring the artist's prints. [WWD]

Eva Mendes is pleased that her topless video ad for Calvin Klein has been banned in the U.S. (And yes, click through to see the titillating video.) [The Sun]

Freshpair.com is taking its underwear campaign to Times Square tomorrow, featuring a fashion show and cocktail hour with host Lydia Hearst—who has a thing for being snapped in her underwear—and guest Tyson Beckford. [WWD]

Kate Moss is Naomi Watts's style icon. [Vogue UK]

Times UK explains why normal people shouldn't try to copy Agyness Deyn's pixie cut. [Times UK]