Menswear designer John Varvatos describes his new store at 315 Bowery as a "cultural space" — a generous term for what was once the dirtiest, punkest club in the East Village. Kids looking for where the Ramones played may be surprised by the coats and shoes, but they’ll be somewhat mollified by the pinball machine, the old audio equipment, and the in-store performances. Take a video tour with New York's Tim Murphy.

Punk ain't what it used to be.Photo: Getty Images

Alas, it was all a disappointing game of operator. So disappointing, in fact, that we, along with the entire audience at Viv’s show, sat with bated breath long after the last model had disappeared. The Grande Dame of punk, we were sure, was about to hit us with a one-two-punch finale — Kate, Naomi, the Queen Mum? As we waited, our collective imaginations raced.

Rachel Zoe, not at Marc Jacobs.Photos: Getty Images

Rachel Zoe was seen screaming and cursing because she couldn’t get into the Marc Jacobs show. She tried to fight her way in through the bouncers, but they pushed her back. She ran off to her Town Car while the other celebs enjoyed mini-bottles of Moët and an on-time show inside.

Related: How Marc Jacobs Started (Almost) on Time, and Why Rachel Zoe Was Late [NYM]

We had a lot of downtime backstage at the Sean John show, which gave us a good chance to hang out with the male models and drink Bellinis (we know, life is hard). Nearby was a makeshift "stage": bright lights and a backdrop, evidently where Diddy had been doing his interviews earlier. There was also a fake bar set up to advertise Ciroc vodka, the sponsor for the after-party. The male models, done with hair and makeup, goofed around this area, pretending to mug for the camera and flashing what appeared to be very faux gang signs. Eventually they disappeared into a dressing room and then … Diddy appeared, camera crew in tow. He appeared to be filming some sort of reality show. Before dropping trou (yes, we saw Sean Combs take off his pants — we'll never be the same), he approached the fake bar for a Bellini. He poured pink liquid into two glasses. "This isn't a Bellini. This is grapefruit juice," he said. Then he ran across the room to another bar, apparently for take two. "You ready to go, man?" he asked the cameraman, who was perfectly positioned for whatever shot it was they were trying to get.

After this artistic moment was captured, Ellen Pompeo and Helena Christensen wandered into the area. Was Helena wearing any Diddy-designed clothes? "No, I'm wearing Marc Jacobs," she said, opening her coat to show us. "I'm trying to keep it under wraps." —Amy Odell

It's impossible to choose a lyric to quote here.Photo: Getty Images

As we waited for the show to start, the D.J. played Soulja Boy's "Crank That," and we were a little thrown off, since that's not the usual Fashion Week soundtrack (sample lyric: "superman dat ho"). But any shock we were feeling was replaced by sheer giddiness when Salt-N-Pepa plopped down in the front row, and we noticed Fabolous holding court across the runway. There was no shortage of dudes going up to him and trying to impress him with their rap skills. Not something you see at every presentation. —Amy Odell

It's so obvious he'd be into fashion.Photo: Getty Images

On the runway: Cynthia Rowley

Maria Cornejo has the cure, and this is it.Photo: Imaxtree

After the show, we could barely get near Cornejo for an interview. She was enjoying Champagne — from a modest plastic cup, no less — and a shower of the most earnest praise we've seen all week. There were no glittery celebrities dropping air kisses, just excited friends. You know, the real kind. And? Cornejo is the only designer who we've seen hug and kiss each and every one of her models good-bye. We left Bleecker Street not just lusting after her clothes, but kind of wanting to be her friend, too. —Amy Odell

Browse a slideshow of the Zero Maria Cornejo collection.

Haven't you always wanted to wear Cousin Itt? Photo: Imaxtree

Once the show started, the fur literally went flying. As the models glided by, tufts of the soft stuff floated off the creations. The collection went over well with Lipstick Jungle star Brooke Shields, whose hands were aflutter with little claps as she kept saying, "Love it; LOVE IT." The rest of the time, she was wide-eyed with her mouth agape — we hope she didn't get any errant pieces of chinchilla in there.

The Upper East Side crowd mobbed the designer after the presentation, showering him with the requisite fabulouses and geniuses. "I love your skirt," one stiff-haired dame said to another. Upon learning that the skirt wasn't Basso, she replied, "Ugh. But it's faaaabulous."

After receiving flowers from another fan, Basso tossed them at some guy and ordered, "Just put them on the floor." —Amy Odell