Fashion Week Trendsetters

1 of 12 Getty

Singer Chrisette Michele sported a funky short cut at the African Collective show, where she was thrilled to see the one and only Grace Jones work the catwalk.

2 of 12 Getty

ESSENCE.com saw the fabulous Star Jones backstage at Dennis Basso’s show greeting the fur designer (right). “I’m a big fan and I own a lot of his things. Fashion Week is really not my thing right now with the economic decline, but I’m here to support my friend,” dished Jones, who, wearing a Basso design, told us she only planned to attend his show this season.

3 of 12 Getty

Only hard-core fashionistas come out to every show and model/actress Joy Bryant is definitely one of those girls. ESSENCE.com has spotted the stylish cover girl front row at Herve Leger, Matthew Williamson, Jason Wu, Charlotte Ronson, Max Azria, 3.1 Phillip Lim and that’s not even counting the parties and cocktail receptions held throughout the week! Just how does she keep up the pace? "Coffee, water, and Redbull,” she says.

4 of 12 Getty

Actress Aisha Tyler attends the Max Azria Fall 2009 fashion show wearing a lovely tie-dyed yellow wrap dress with white leather belt. Tie-dyed printed dresses and tops will be very popular this spring, so take a cue from this hot starlet.

5 of 12 Getty

Best-actor nominee for Sunday’s Oscars Mickey Rourke, left, sits next to Forest Whitaker and his beautiful wife, Keisha, at the Domenico Vacco fall 2009 collection. We watched as Mrs. Whitaker, who is known as a serious fashionista, motioned to her hubby which pieces from the Vacca collection she liked—and there were many! After the show, all the A-listers headed to the posh NYC nightclub Pink Elephant, where champagne was flowing all night.

6 of 12 Getty

Grammy winner Alicia Keys would wear a “Team Azria” T-shirt any day. The star, who calls Italian designer Max Azria creations “wonderful and passionate,” came out to show her support at the packed Max Azria fall 2009 show, where she chatted with Joy Bryant, who sat next to the “Superwoman”.

7 of 12 Getty

Model-turned-actress Nicole Fiscella from the CW’s “Gossip Girl” looked absolutely lovely at Nanette Lepore’s fall 2009 fashion show. Not one to be camera shy, Fiscella has graced the pages Elle, Cosmopolitan, Cosmo Girl, Lucky, and Self magazines.

8 of 12 Getty

A stylish Tamara Tunie, who’s starred in “As the World Turns” and “Law & Order: SVU,” gives the camera her best look at the Tracy Reese fall 2009 fashion show. The veteran actress will celebrate her fiftieth birthday this March, proving you can be sexy at any age.

9 of 12 Getty

Zoe Kravitz, daughter of actress Lisa Bonet and rocker Lenny Kravitz, showed of her hippie-chic style at the Erin Fetherston fall 2009 show. The young starlet definitely has a free spirit, especially when it come to her fashion choices, much like her famous parents.

10 of 12 Getty

Kimora Lee Simmons walks the runway with her daughters Aoki Lee Simmons (left) and Ming Lee Simmons at the Baby Phat & KLS Collection fall 2009 fashion show at New York’s Gotham Hall. Kimora describes the collection and brand as a “a lifestyle of extravagance.” We guess she’s still living in the world of “fabulosity.”

11 of 12 Getty

Lupe Fiasco, from left, Kanye West, Milla Jovovich, Kim Kardashian, Reggie Bush, Ian Thorpe and Veronica Webb are front and center at the Y-3 Autumn/Winter 2009-10 fashion show held at Pier 40.

12 of 12 Getty

Model Veronica Webb, left, and actress Aisha Tyler talk shop front row at the Tracy Reese fall 2009 fashion show. Tyler, who’s been working the scene during fashion week, told ESSENCE.com that she loved the colors used in Reese’s collection.