From The Front Row: Willow and Tibi

I have always loved going to fashion shows and last night I was lucky enough to be invited to two - Willow and Tibi. All the glitz and glamour - the towering heels, the sparkling jewelry, the daring outfits - all under one tent never seems to lose any of its unadulterated extravagance for me.

The Australian-based designer Kit Willow presented a cool, chic collection, perfect for the strong, modern woman. The strong embellishments, smart tailoring had me at hello, but all the shimmering metallic detailing on many of the pieces were truly special. The designer did a fabulous job of blending featherweight fabrics with intricate shimmering extras, creating pieces that are both opulent and wearable at once. Taking inspiration from the Great Barrier Reef, the collection is about a new relaxed dressing with a structured silhouette, drawing color and texture from the rare beauty of Australia’s protected natural wonder. Willow continues the strong shoulder trend from this fall with high-structured collars and defined padded shoulders to give jackets a fresh, strong silhouette.

Shining moment from the Willow fashion show:

Next up I had the honor of meeting some of the fashion and beauty industry’s top titans backstage at the Tibi New York fashion show -- makeup artist extradinaire Bobbi Brown and Tibi’s designer and founder Amy Smilovic. The scene was calm chaos as Bobbi applied electric shadows to the lids of the model.

I have always loved Bobbi Brown. I’ve grown up on her subtle shades so was curious how she would apply the candy-colored hues.

“They definitely wanted some bold strong color to go with the show,” Brown said backstage. “The collection is really about strong color.” On the model Bobbi applied a bold fuschia on the lid and yellow on the inside and under the brow bone and a very bright green under the eye. On the rest of the face, she used concealer foundation, a little peach on the cheek and a very sheer nude lip.

Bobbi’s tip to make the runway look more Main Street: She said to go with softer pinks like a muted sandy pink, but always with a black liner for added definition.

Makeup guru Bobbi Brown adds a touch of color at the Tibi New York fashion show:

Tibi’s designer and founder Amy Smilovic, who looked stunning in a black and white laser-cut dress, said the collection was inspired by lush gardens and abstract florals in icy pastels mixed with intensely saturated colors. The pieces were unabashedly pretty and feminine, but decidedly minimal and not too precious.

The collection was truly amazing and looked like a summer's garden walking down the runway. I'm sure the pieces will look just fabulous on your next exotic holiday. I especially loved the sweet, girly looks in tropical colors and vivid prints as well as a few in a striking black and white palette. I also thought the beautiful origami laser-cut dress and skirt were truly remarkable for its sharp design.

Sweet and colorful looks from the Tibi New York fashion show:

Stay tuned tomorrow for my takes on the Nanette Lepore's fashion show.