He also had famous fashion designers at his New York Fashion Week show on Tuesday evening, with friends Diane von Furstenberg and Valentino in the front row.

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But the fur-lined autumn and winter collections are a sharp contrast to Vaute Couture's presentation last Wednesday, which was billed as the first all-vegan independent fashion house to show during New York Fashion Week.

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Mr. Florio's new shows, which seek to get higher fashion into the trade-show environment, aim to lure New York Fashion Week regulars.

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Smith, who spent his first five NFL seasons playing for the New York Jets, recalls attending one fashion show.

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The rest was spent on creating their first show during New York's Fashion Week.

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But a year later Sandow Media bought the group, and Gen Art put on a terrific show Wednesday night for New York Fashion Week, featuring the Fall 2012 collections of Gemma Kahng, Samantha Pleet and William Okpo.

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The annual Consumer Electronics Show is geek heaven on Earth -- a Super Bowl, Disney World and New York Fashion Week all rolled into one for the techies who flock to Vegas to eyeball the newest gadgets from the world's leading manufacturers.

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The boom is good news for Dakar Fashion Week founder Ndiaye, who hopes the show will one day reach the heights of Paris and New York -- yet with a distinctly African style.

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