Last week New York City was flooded with models, designers, celeberities and boutique owners for Fashion Week. Alice Kim, owner of Trocadéro, a lifestyle concept boutique in the Old Market, frequented Fashion Week for years while living in New York and working as the accessories director for In Style magazine. Kim shares her experiences and thoughts on Fashion Week, not only in New York, but in Paris and Milan.

Why do people go to Fashion Week?

It is a way for buyers and press to view collections, to determine what to buy if you are a retailer and what to show in magazines if you are an editor. Then there are stylists who then find out what to put on their clients.

The shows you see in September and October are spring collections. The clothes in stores currently, the fall ’08 collections, those shows took place in February and March.

It [Fashion Week] is a way for designers to display their collections, but what is most important are the weeks that follow. Department stores, specialty boutiques and independent retailers make appointments with designers who then determine what to carry. The designers then figure out what to produce depending on retailers’ reactions.

As an editor going to these shows, what was your major task?

It was my job. For me, I was looking at all-encompassing trends, from head to toe. I was responsible for accessories coverage. As a stylist you need to understand everything including silhouettes, hemlines, the colors, the fabrics and even hair and makeup because it all tells a story.

What was the most dramatic situation you encountered going to shows?

There is nothing like trying to go to the Prada show. No matter how many seasons of complaints, the entrance door to the Prada show never improves. Everybody crowds around the door, there is no organization of standing room and assigned seating. You basically get pushed in by the masses. Going to Milan shows is definitely not for the faint of heart.

What was your all-time favorite show?

In terms of production, Alexander McQueen. You were literally going to the theater. He did a show one season that was modeled after a Sydney Pollack movie, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” The models were running around in circles at Salle Wagram, a very old Parisian theater.

Any trends stand out for Fall ’08?

This fall it’s all about jewel tones, menswear, patents, elaborate statement jewelry and the bootie. All trends start on the runway, and then they trickle down.

Now that you own a boutique in Omaha, do you miss going to Fashion Week(s)?

I was just thinking about that this morning. Even toward the end of my career in New York, I was never inspired by any of the New York shows. There is nothing about the New York shows that I miss. I don’t miss Milan, except for the food. I only miss the Paris shows, because it’s Paris.

I miss seeing McQueen, Dior, just to see John Galliano was always worth the pain of traveling for three weeks. He does a long, elaborate walk down the runway, posing and posturing.

He performs for the paparazzi and audience after he shows his collection. It’s just three minutes of pure genius.