Fashion Week: Five Questions With Erin Fetherston

As Erin Fetherston celebrates the one-year anniversary of her contemporary collection, the California native tells TIME about her inspirations for the Fall/Winter season, the Oscar-nominated actress she'd like to dress next and what she loves most about New York City.

What inspired your new collection?
I was really inspired by imagery from nature, and I wanted to show the tension between elements that felt organic and elements that felt really electric. You'll see soft, ethereal fabrics like crinkled chiffon and really airy printed chiffons, as well as metallicized fabric and bright sequins. (MORE: A Brief History of New York Fashion Week.)

What's your favorite piece?
I'm pretty excited about this marabou feathered jacket that we have, and I love the printed dresses of the collection. There's one I'm especially attracted to: the body of it is matte jersey and really slim fit, and then it has a cape-sleeve on it that's almost like a cocoon cape around the back. The cape part is in this metallic chiffon, and there's something about it that looks so modern and directional.

You've collaborated with Target and Juicy Couture. Are there any brands or celebrities that you'd like to work with next?
I share the universal adoration for Michelle Williams. I've always thought she was so cute, and I also think she's an ideal Erin girl because she's just charming, beautiful and sexy without being overtly so -- she's always feminine. I think she's definitely the most exciting person to dress right now.

What other shows are you looking forward to seeing this season?
Calla Haynes. We were actually students together at Parsons in Paris, so we've known each other for a long, long time, and she's designed prints for me in the past. I'm so excited and proud of her -- her stuff is so beautiful.

You're from California. What do you miss the most about the West Coast, and what's your favorite thing about New York?
I miss the weather the most about California, because I'm a total warm weather person. It's been better this year, but it's still hard. What I love about New York is the excitement, the activity and the glamour -- there's always something to do and interesting people to meet.

PHOTOS: New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2011

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Fashion Week: Five Questions with Tommy Hilfiger

One of the few designers to show both a men's and women's collection each season, Tommy Hilfiger has reinvented classic American cool for more than 25 years. He talks to TIME about this season's inspirations, why he loves Karl Lagerfeld and which deceased celebrity he would have liked to dress.

What inspired the men's and women's collections this year?
[The] military played a big part. We did a military-cadet theme for men, and for women, town and country is a big theme with the sporting life as an undertone. The inspiration is really the heritage of classic sporting life -- it's Greenwich, Conn. meets Park Avenue. Sporting life infused with sophistication. (MORE: A Brief History of New York Fashion Week.)

You celebrated the 25th anniversary of your label a couple years ago. How do you stay inspired year after year?
It's always iconic, classic American somehow. If you look over the years, you see a lot of the preppy heritage coming through. This year is no different, but this is just more sophisticated. I also believe people enjoy the sporting life and the outdoors, so it always has something to do with that. Over the years, these themes present themselves, but they're done in a different way every time.

Is there a celebrity you'd like to dress who you haven't worked with yet?
That's quite a question -- do you want alive or dead?

Both!
I always thought Jackie Kennedy was pretty cool, and I would like to have dressed her because I think she had great sporting lifestyle, and she also had great heritage and was from a very interesting family. Today, it varies. A lot of the young stars are dressed by stylists, so they don't have their own taste. If you look at some of the girls like Nicole Kidman -- she has a great sensibility. Gwyneth Paltrow also has great style of her own. Brad Pitt would also be on top of the list -- I think he's pretty cool. (PHOTOS: New York Fashion Week 2011: From Sketch to Runway)

What other shows are you looking forward to this season?
I would say Karl Lagerfeld has the most exciting shows in the world. I've been to a couple of his shows, and if I were to choose another show to attend, it would be Karl's, whether it would be for Karl Lagerfeld or Chanel. Karl is the showman of the world.

What's your favorite part about New York?
Classic stories about New York Fashion Week. We were at Madison Square Garden once, just before show time, and Naomi Campbell had a skirt on which the zipper broke. We had the seamstresses practically chasing her down the runway, but she made it down the runway and back without anyone helping. She was moving like a real pro and the audience was not interested in looking at the zipper, but at Naomi Campbell [instead].

PHOTOS: New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2011

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Fashion Week: Five Questions with Model Liu Wen

A regular both on the runway and in fashion magazines, Chinese model Liu Wen made history when she became the first person of East Asian descent to be featured in an Estée Lauder cosmetics campaign. She talked with TIME about her favorite part of Fashion Week, how she celebrated Chinese New Year and why she's obsessed with Facebook as much as everyone else.

Do you have a favorite part of Fashion Week?
I have two, actually. One is the fittings because I get to see the new season's clothes and I'm the first one to see them. The second part is when we're actually on the runway -- the hair, makeup, clothing, people watching you -- that's an amazing feeling.

Is there a show you are particularly excited to walk this year?
Every season of Fashion Week is totally different, so I cannot really choose one. I really like to work with Asian designers. I really like Alexander Wang, also Jason Wu and Anna Sui. But every season of a collection is very different. (MORE: A Brief History of New York Fashion Week.)

How did you feel about being the first East Asian face of Estée Lauder?
I felt very, very excited -- and surprised. I remember when I was younger and living in Beijing, I saw lots of Estée Lauder posters on the subway. I wished one day I could be a part of that. Now I'm living my dream.

Did you do anything fun for Chinese New Year this year?
No, I was so sad. I've missed Chinese New Year for four years. Usually Chinese New Year is in February, but February in New York is Fashion Week and my first season doing fashion week was 2008. And this year, it changed because Chinese New Year was in January, but I was in Paris doing couture, so I missed it again. But in Paris this time, I was with my best friend, and we had Chinese New Year dinner. It was very good, but different.

You just recently joined Facebook and enabled Timeline and subscribers. Do you use it for your work, or just for personal stuff?
For everything. For my job, for my friends, just talking. I do put up a lot of my job pictures, but some pictures are just of me having fun. If I eat great food or I see an amazing place, I just share it with my friends on Facebook.

PHOTOS: New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2011

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