Matthew Williamson began auspiciously this morning when we thought we spied the petite British couples counselor from VH1's intellectual tour de force, Tool Academy. Sadly, we were mistaken. But the venue was not completely devoid of life coaches, as evidenced by the fact that Desperate Housewife Eva Longoria Parker spent the entire show consulting with stylist Robert Verdi, with occasional backup from Rachel Zoe (sans assistants this time, but wearing yet another slouchy knit cap, this time in white).

Eva kept up a running commentary to Verdi, who seemed to generally be shooting her down: She'd gesture to something on the runway, and Verdi would subtly wrinkle his nose or shake his head. At one point, he actually said an empathic "no" to a frock he clearly worried would land her in Dutch with the fashion police. But it wasn't a total loss for Team Longoria Parker: She looked pretty adorable in a shimmery, multicolored coat, and both she and Verdi chatted up a storm with Rachel Zoe and Eva's seatmate, a casually dressed Joy Bryant, who was taking multiple pictures and waving at friends. Even Robert Verdi found something to agree on with his client. When a long, multicolored sequined gown emerged from backstage, he turned to her and said, "That's FIERCE." The dude wasn't wrong. Guess now we know why she pays him the big bucks.

Watch a slideshow of the Matthew Williamson collection.
See photos of Lindsay Lohan, Santigold, Heidi Klum and more at the Matthew Williamson store party.