As Nordstrom vice president/direct merchandise manager Laura Janney and Tricia Smith, our executive vice president of women's and designer apparel, emerge from the Diane Von Furstenberg presentation around the corner from the much-loved designer's landmark shop in the Meatpacking District, they're already dropping the D word. And the V word.

" That was very different," says Laura.

"Very," echoes Tricia, obviously pleased.

Tricia Smith (right) holding up one of the day's beautiful show invitations; the Gucci pocketbook is Laura Janney's.
All images by Olivia Locher unless otherwise noted.

It's Sunday morning, and we've booked ourselves into the backseat of our top Fashion Week team's Black Suburban for the day. For some appointments on the itinerary, we're just along for the ride; for others, we'll accompany Tricia and/or the crew inside. (No outdoor shows today, which is sort of a bummer because it's finally pleasant instead of broiling.) On the docket: four runway shows and three presentations-models in situ; no catwalk-and hopefully, a surprise or two along the way.

Our first stop is a big one: The debut of new DVF creative director Jonathan Saunder 's first season-the first time anyone other than Diane has held the reigns. Everyone is watching not just for what's changed, but what's the same. Fashion loves a switch-up, but it loves continuity and strong DNA, too.

While the decades-strong wrap dress is still a solid through-line, after the presentation Tricia tells us its new lines are "easier, less constructed." And the prints and color-blocking palettes-a specialty not just of DVF but of Saunder's as well? "They're more sophisticated, and really pretty," Laura remarks, noting that even though the animal-inspired patterns of past seasons are gone, there's a marked freshness and newness in all the fabrics, and DVF fans have lots to be inspired by.

See also: accessories. Tricia and Laura both loved Saunder's extras, including his handbags which hadn't been scheduled to launch this spring, but because the reception has been so strong already, there's a chance that will change.

From the DVF Instagram feed; the caption reads, "Thank you Jonathan for
your vision of DVF ... I am honored ! Love, Diane"

Laura and her team, who are responsible for the styles that hit our Individualist and Via C departments, will return to the DVF showroom later to go through the collection carefully and select specific pieces for in-store and online; the actual business of buying happens separate from the pleasure of looking and experiencing, but for now we're headed down to Cipriani in the heart of all the Wall Street action, where Victoria Beckham holds her show each season.

10:05am
On my mind on the way down: What music does a former Spice Girl play during her runway presentation? Returning to the Suburban after the show, Tricia answers: the music was pretty loud-but the two moments of silence for 9/11 victims, one before guests were seated and one before the first look came out, were a sobering counterbalance.

Beckham's spring is about "beautiful, saturated spring-weight velvets and lots of satin," Tricia says. And pleats, and tall boots that are half linen and half leather.

Tricia's front row snaps of printed leather and crushed velvet-and mixed material boots.

Taking out her phone, Tricia shows us the bold and pastel velvet sets. "I want that; it's so easy to wear," she says of the tomato-colored pairing, and then flips to a shiny black satin sportswear look (see iPhone image) that seemed to set the velvets off. She pauses also on wide-leg pants (see below)-"So much of this pant right now"-and printed leather-"we saw a similar treatment at DVF."

Tricia's front row snap from Victoria Beckham 11:15am

Any fashion week regular will tell you that it's important to see friends and do "nice things" as often as you can, and about the nicest thing I've done in a long while was tag along as Tricia visited with her old friend Beth Bugdaycay in her gorgeous home on Lispenard Street in Tribeca.

Beth is the jewelry designer behind the somewhat new brand Foundrae, and she's also a mother to two great kids, and a maker of terrific salads. We went straight up to the deck to take in the morning and the view, and then we all sat down together for a light family style lunch.

The realness and unhurried warmth of just that hour or so was enough to double-charge the rest of the day.

1:01p

Where preppy and edgy and bookish and zany all magically align is the realm of the Veronicas. Veronica Swanson Beard and Veronica Miele Beard are, collectively, Veronica Beard.

Having made a name (well, claimed their own name, I guess) for themselves with jackets and blazers that can be paired with the coolest layering dickeys, they've since evolved into the sort of line that you could seriously wear every day. And each season, they select an iconic cool girl or two to lead the way.

Just in time for NYFW, the brand threw open the doors on its brand new uptown shop on Madison Ave, and then they revealed their most recent cool girl: Cher. Yep. "The ultimate chameleon," Veronica Swanson Beard says when I ask her about the amazing image in the middle of their fold-out presentation notes (above).

Inside the townhouse-style shop, down star-spangled stairs to the party basement, models were draping themselves in banquets, hanging out in a multi-screen movie room ( Fast Times at Ridgemont High and the like), and shimming around the DJ booth. Each room, and each nook and cranny, was decorated in Americana ephemera and there were discoveries everywhere you turned.

"This is so much fun for us," exclaims Swanson Beard. It's a lot of fun for guests, too. The Veronicas make getting dressed fun, really. From Saturday afternoon tennis whites-suitable for brunching-to a nightclub jumpsuit-which, come to think of it, would be suitable for brunching too-"they just know how to create a wardrobe and it really resonates," says Tricia on the way back to the Suburban.

Tricia with the Veronicas

One of the most crazy-making things about Fashion Week is that you're driving (or walking, or running, or riding the subway) from one end of Manhattan to the other and back again all day long. It's a little like Groundhog Day meets the game show Beat the Clock meets ... I don't know ... maybe that old video game Frogger?

After racing down to Midtown to one of the most unlikely fashion locations-the New York City Bar Association-we unpack ourselves from the SUV and file into the book-lined, marble hallways just in time to see what is an exciting new brand for us, Sies Marjan. This is former Dries Van Noten crew member Sander Lak's second season, and the buzz is strong. And the clothes are beautiful.

We'll be offering Sies Marjan in our Vancouver and Toronto shops this resort season, and Jeffrey carries the line at his shop. And these, the brightest of brights and gorgeously crinkled pinks?

"Spring is definitely going to be a season of color," Tricia says with a smile.

Another crazy-making thing: Tardiness. It's very wide-spread and very understandable, but when shows run late, it makes the Frogger game even more challenging, but despite it all we make it further downtown just in time for another new-to-Nordstrom brand,

Yes, that J.Crew-at Nordstrom.

Inside a beautiful window-lined room in Tribeca, real folks-not models-wear a crisp, artful palette of khaki, pink, denim and blue strips in those archetypical J.Crew silhouettes and pairings: baggy cotton trousers with shapely blazers, long skirts with perfect tee-shirts, and preppy shorts-and-sweater combos.

From a look book J.Crew released an hour after their presentation; photographs were not allowed
inside the presentation.Check out J.Crew's Instagram for their images of real people.

The beautiful array of humans is made up of J.Crew employees, friends and family, which-along with the cheery color story-make the mood in the room even more fun and as bright as the sunshine streaming in. J.Crew is a brand that makes people happy; they're clothes you feel really, really good about wearing, and everyone in the room is feeling and looking really good.

A couple of seasons ago, Tricia had one of those meals that becomes a sort of staple, albeit the sort that you only get to enjoy once or twice a year. The Italian name of the dish is escaping me now, but her simple description will suffice: long, hollow pasta with lemon, olive oil and parmesan. This perfect entree was from Morandi, a trattoria in the West Village.

With-ironically, miraculously-a little wiggle room before the next show, we meet up with Jennifer Wheeler, our vice president of women's designer apparel, for an afternoon bite.

Tricia in Celine and Jennifer in T by Alexander Wang at Morandi

Last season, in February, Tricia was recovering from a shoulder injury and at the end of one long day-which happened to be Valentine's Day-she just had to get straight back to her hotel room and rest. So Jennifer stopped by Morandi, and picked up their favorite dishes and brought them back to the hotel room.

"Not romantic," they joke as they recounted the story, but memorable.

The Thread: So, you're just here for NYFW, you'll go home afterward and then, after about a week, you'll fly to Paris. How many pairs of shoes did you bring for this leg of the trip?

As we wait for the check, I move us into a seven-question speed round:

Jennifer: 12

Tricia: You brought 12 pairs of shoes? I brought seven.

Okay what's the weirdest thing you packed?

Jennifer: I brought everything that I had in my current rotation: the velvet Prada sandals I'm wearing right now, two pairs of Celine, two Gucci, Saint Laurent booties, Manolo Blahnik pointy-toe stilletos, my Superstars, and ...

Do you find you still need to put a lot of thought into traveling after all these seasons or do you know now, that, say, you need four pairs of pants and three sweaters and ... 12 pairs of shoes?

Tricia: My husband always slips a little gift in my bag and this season it's this cute little embroidered bear with a camera around his neck.

How do you do your fashion week shopping?

Tricia: I don't have a formula, but that's also because my itinerary is always a little different; some seasons I might do New York to Milan, or straight to Paris. I will say, there was one trip where my daughter took each of the looks I was packing and did a lay-down shot of each of them, with handbags and shoes and everything. It was so helpful, actually, and really great.

That's an interesting part of all this, isn't it-there are all these people, some you know, some you don't know, that you cross paths with day after day for these four weeks.

Jennifer: Well, you know you see the same people all month long so when I'm picking things out I really think about the pieces in terms of which city I'll wear them in. New York is pretty casual-and it's always so hot, London is really eclectic, Milan is artisanal but really nice, and in Paris, people are dressed.

What do you never leave home without?

Jennifer: I love New York in September because it feels like back to school; we get to see all our friends in the industry and catch up on what they did over the summer.

What do you miss most about your normal routine at home?

Tricia: I'm very serious about skincare when I travel and I always bring two items from SK-II: their eye masks and the brightening masks.

Tricia and Jennifer: Sleep!

Tricia: And of course of families-

What's one thing that you get to do during market weeks that you never do at home?

Jennifer: And our dogs!

Jennifer: I always catch up on movies on the plane-especially the ones I know my husband won't really want to watch.

Tricia: I do love discovering new restaurants and shops. Really, these are some of the best cities in the world, so it's been nice to be able to explore and really get to know them over the years.

One of the best things about Joseph Altuzarra's collections is that they really have the power to be dynamic and new from season to season. To a soundtrack of driving, tough-girl heavy metal, Joseph showed mixed-and-matched gingham and florals embellished with snake skin print, fruit, roses.

Seated courtside on the runway, Seattle-based Nordstrom customer Tamara Mussler sits next to Tricia, cooing, ooohing and aahhing about the 3D dresses. You can coo and ahh yourself; like many designers who are creating intimacy in their real world shows while also allowing for inclusivity in the digital realm, the designer live-steamed his show and is offering it on his site for a limited time.

Listen for that thick rock pummel at the four-and-half-minute mark.

6:07pm
Stop at Ace Hotel. Plug phones into lobby outlets. Answer emails. Decompress. Drink iced coffees. Get back in the Suburban and drive up town.

If there's an American brand known for high-minded high-jinx and inventive presentation formats, it's got to be Opening Ceremony. Anyone remember the choreographed "falls" of 2016? By all accounts-Janney's and Smith's, that is-tonight's show is maybe the most meaningful yet.

Tricia's image of Fred and Whoopie, and representatives of the
first 50 states to have immigrants enter the United States.

In creating a Pageant of the People (otherwise known as #pageantofthepeople) and calling in Whoopie Goldberg, Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen to master the ceremony and host the show, creative directors Carol Lim and Humberto Leon "use their voices through fashion," as Janney puts it, to highlight diversity and the American spirit, and to urge everyone to use this democracy for all its worth this November.

From OC's Instagram: custom embroidered jackets representing American immigration.

Models parade in front of the pageant, yes, and the looks are that OC-ideal- casually eccentric everyday uniforms -but sometimes it's good to let the larger message take precedence.

As we all step out into the city for the final time at the end of a long 9/11 day, it feels like fashion's heart is wide open and its will is strong-and as always, New York is a great place to be.

YOU ARE HERE: keep up with all our Fashion Week coverage and shop curated collections of our favorite designers at Nordstrom's Fashion Week Central.

-Laura Cassidy