I love pretty clothes. I love America.

Therefore I love New York's Mercedes Benz Fashion Week.

Need more of a reason? Fine-- how's this? I love New York's fashion week because it sort of gets you out from under the oppressive shadow of the classic French and Italian design houses. That's not to say that Givenchy and Bottega Veneta aren't flawless-- but I can't help feeling that some of the younger design houses that show in New York (think Zac Posen, Cynthia Steefe, and Marc Jacobs) have modern takes that are far more inviting to fashion newcomers than what we see in Paris and Milan.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think that the exclusivity cultivated by the fashion industry exactly puts it in a position to succeed in today's economy. I think that the modern approach fostered by New York's fashion week is less exclusive in a way that allows it to reach a wider, and perhaps less experienced audience. To me, that's awesome. It means that more and more people get excited about the clothes they are wearing, and that subsequently, the design houses cultivated in Bryant Park's wake are going to do a lot more for today's fashion business than some of the classics whose approach is to pander to a narrow, exclusive audience and then ignore everyone else.

In addition to the designers I mentioned before, I'll be looking forward to some other collections-- Michael Kors, Tibi, Hervé Leger by Max Azaria*, Badgely Mischka, Caroline Herrera, and my personal favorite, Christian Siriano**.

The festivities start tommorrow, folks. Heads up.

* Footage above is Hervé Leger's fall/winter collection. I have mixed feelings about it but it's worth a gander.

**God, I love this little man. He's just such a delicious little slice of bitchy fashion genius. Actually, if you check out his official twitter, you'll get not only a nice look at his personal prep process for the big show, but also a maddening teaser picture of his obviously-going-to-be-flawless spring collection.