Fashion Week opens in New York City.

(From AFX Europe (Focus))

NEW YORK (AFX) - New York Fashion Week opened with more substance than style Friday.

Instead of Kenneth Cole leading the seasonal previews as he usually does with his celebrity-packed show, menswear brands John Bartlett and Perry Ellis were the first to present their spring 2007 clothes in quiet, almost subdued runway shows, followed by BCBG Max Azria, which dotted its front row with starlets, including Carmen Electra and Kelly Rowland.

The clothes were wearable -- no wild shapes, no big gimmicks, no too-bright colors. However, it remains to be seen if these are the trends that will be carried through the full eight days of …