Perched on husband David's lap, and eliciting smiles from seatmate Anna Wintour, Harper watched the models process by and applauded on cue at the end of the show.
As the actress Tilda Swinton watched, the models, wearing fabrics like translucent Japanese silk or handcrafted 3-D silicone, almost entirely in black, created their own "music".
It began in a fairly innocuous way – Kanye sat a few seats down from the Guardian at the Dries Van Noten show, chatting politely to Diane Pernet as he watched the models indulge in their Midsummer Night's Dream fantasy.
"I like the idea of an unfinished outfit – a work in progress," said Silvia Venturini Fendi, as she watched the models, with their raw-edge pockets, walk in a continuous loop over a path of golden sand.
LAST January, as Eric Jennings, the men's fashion director of Saks Fifth Avenue, watched the models amble down the fall 2012 runways, he realized he had seen a lot of great crew-neck sweaters at houses like Jil Sander and Prada, and he should buy them for Saks.
At Carolina Herrera's show, Lebenthal watched the models strut the catwalk alongside such attendees as new White House Social Secretary Desirée Rogers.
Buoyed by quality champagne, I watched the models prepare for Fan Day and a four-hour meet and greet session (short by industry standards).
The voyeuristic audience watched the models become the focal point, in a sort of unexpected way, as their lips, teeth and throats were projected onto the canvas behind the runway in real time.
As I watched the models stride down the catwalk during the latest spring collections last week, my impression was that despite our raised awareness, this super skinny aesthetic has yet to change.
Then check out Lynn Yaeger's report on the Paris Museum of Fashion, read Suzy Menkes musing on the return of the pantsuit or watch the model Liya Kebede lead a "Velvet Revolution".
