On the night of September 12, Alexander Wang will once again show during New York Fashion Week. Wang has staged two off-schedule shows in the last five or so years; the first in a heavily draped room on the Lower East Side with a distinctly David Lynchian vibe; the second in his SoHo store, which managed to be both intimate and frenetic. Yet this next show of his is more of a comeback than those; Wang was a designer who minted the idea of the show-as-event during fashion week, a maelstrom of attitude, celebrity, and just-do-it confidence.

The clothes were part of that spectacle, of course, but so were the models. Some 15 or so years ago, Wang minted the whole notion of the model-off-duty (and its associated be-jeaned, be-t-shirted, and be-It-bagged look, cigarettes optional). Yet he l

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