Adrover’s new leaf, Calvin Klein’s old friends

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NEW YORK -- Miguel Adrover returned to NY Fashion Week Sunday night with a presentation that was as brilliant as anything we’ve seen in a long time. You will remember Adrover at the top of the fashion food chain for his deconstructed pieces, made from Quentin Crisp’s discarded mattress and old Burberry trench coats among other things. He was a consummate showman, once putting models on the runway in traditional Islamic dress with live sheep.

But like it is with so many designers, brilliance wasn’t enough to stay in business. So four years ago he returned to his native Majorca. Then one night at a local bar, he met Wold Luedge, the CEO of German apparel company Hessnatur, the two threw back a few tequila shots and decided to collaborate on a line.

The pieces Adrover presented last night in an art gallery were all about raising the profile of the eco-friendly brand, which recently launched an e-commerce site in the U.S. that will eventually sell more basic pieces by Adrover.

For the event, Adrover played on the eco theme, presenting a ‘philadendron’ dress of brown stitched wool and organic batik that resembled a giant fall leaf. The ‘liana’ was made of alpaca ropes that radiated from the mannequin like tendrils.

As for Adrover, he was working the room while using a giant flat leaf as a parasol. He said he hadn’t slept in three days because he was finishing the pieces and cried tears of joy about being back on the scene.

Then I headed uptown to Calvin Klein’s 40th anniversary extravaganza. The fashion house erected a large, minimalist cube of a building on 10th Avenue that was party central, and installed a garden path to preview the High Line municipal park extending due east that is due to be completed this year. People strolled past hundreds of white roses and admired the city lights around them. There was a huge star contingent, but my favorite thing was seeing Brooke Shields in jeans. Even after all these years, nothing comes between Brooke and her Calvins.

This morning, while waiting for the Peter Som show to start, I bumped into Merritt Elliot, half of the L.A.-based denim design duo Current Elliot that has put Reese and Katie in baggy jeans. She was in town for a meet-and-greet with shoppers with Barneys on Sunday where she said she witnessed two women get in a fistfight over a pair of her jeans. Security had to be called.

Forget the Calvins and bring on the Current Elliots!

-- Booth Moore

. Credit: Paul Gadd. Middle: Adrover’s ‘philadendron’ dress. Credit: Paul Gadd. Bottom: Eva Mendes at Calvin Klein’s 40th anniversary party on Sunday night. Credit: Courtesy of Patrick McMullan.