Even though the backwaters of cable television have done everything they can to familiarize us wretched non-New Yorkers with the gritty details of.

The fashion industry  especially as regards the advanced rocket science it takes to pull together a runway show of next season's designs - viewers of "Kell.

On Earth" can be forgiven for never quite figuring out what Kelly Cutrone actually does for a living, except to spread bitterness and ill will.

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When it comes to red-carpet fashion, the Grammy Awards are known being the younger, hipper version of the Golden Globes. Fashions run the gamut from elegant to eccentric. So the red carpet at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night seemed right on target, starting with the flamboyant Lady Gaga. She appeared — more like maneuvered — in a Giorgio Armani Prive celestial gown spiraled with silver rings, conjuring up images of Saturn.

We've come to expect her fashion absurdities. Really, what would the Grammys be without a Lady Gaga to keep things interesting? (She later performed onstage in another space-age costume with the equally flamboyant Elton John.) But as the red carpet settled back to Earth, the fashion seemed mostly elegant — but there were still plenty of missteps. First, the good news:

Country singer-siren Taylor Swift was a standout in a topaz-blue, off-the-shoulder Kaufmanfranco sequined gown that played up the glamour. New mom and Grammy-winner Jennifer Hudson look sleek in a black Victoria Beckham dress. “I've been working on it,” she said about her post-baby weight loss.

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Actress Ashley Olsen, bold and beautiful in a bright frock complete with frills and strong shoulders, arrives at the InStyle and Warner Brothers' 67th Annual Golden Globes after party held at the Oasis Courtyard at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 17.

A circus vibe permeated Givenchy's spring-summer 2010 haute couture show on Tuesday, but this was the kind of circus where the tightrope walkers perform without a rope and the lion tamer regularly gets eaten.

Designer Riccardo Tisci, a regular of the dark side, sent out a sumptuous collection of beaded pantsuits and sheer organza dresses - often paired with variations on the ringmaster's long tail coat - that fairly seethed with foreboding of black events to come.

Looks that deserved a spot on the centre ring in Tisci's dangerous big top were the column skirt covered in minute emerald beads and a sheer silk top and a pantsuit and cropped jacket in electric blue beads that looked made for the world's chicest lion tamer.

The show, which had been edited down to just 22 looks, had plenty of the kinds of organza and sequin concoctions that in the hands of most other designers would have come off as fluffy or, at best, pretty.

But Tisci is able to imbue even the daintiest and sweetest of looks with a subversive edge that makes you take one look at the ingenue sporting his powder pink silk cocktail number and feel the need to check whether she's wielding a knife behind her back.

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Chinese supermodel Mo Wandan's 2010 is already shaping up to be a busy year. Recently walking for Dorian He in the Hong Kong Fashion Extravaganza.

At Hong Kong Fashion Week, the 23-year-old model is starring in a Japanese anime film, has her sights set on New York Fashion Week and hopes to keep riding the wave of success for as long as possible.

Mo Wandan shot to international fame with debuts in Armani Prive and Christian Dior couture shows in 2007.

She walked in all four international fashion weeks in 2008 including Emporio Armani, Chado Ralph Rucci and Valentino.

In 2009, Mo starred in Lorenzo Riva's Milan show and was invited to answer the curtain call with the designer."It was a great privilege for any model and I was the only model to achieve that in Milan Fashion Week," Mo told the Global Times.

The athlete-turned-supermodel began her road to stardom in 2004, winning the 10th China Model Star Contest. She then moved from Guangdong to Beijng to pursue her modeling career.

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Ah, Meredith, you have cannily stumbled on that interesting split-screen effect of the fashion world, the dichotomy ­between misogyny and empowerment.

Is fashion a cruel anti-female industry whose sole goal is to make women feel bad about themselves and force them to wear crippling, uncomfortable apparel?

Or is it empowering, ­allowing women to wear clothes that appeal primarily to themselves as ­opposed to men?

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Nearly 50 ready-to-wear and couture designers from 40 countries displayed sleek garments in the Thursday night show that ushered in the International Year of Biodiversity in the middle of the autumn/winter catwalk season under way in Milan, Paris, London and New York.

"We have chosen from the best in the world, the best in design, the best in ethics and the best in sustainable practices," organizer Christina Dean of the Hong Kong-based charity Green2greener told the Geneva audience.

Peter Ingwersen, a Danish fashion designer whose label "Noir" uses organic cotton fabrics from Uganda, said that consumers were increasingly concerned about the environmental and social impact of their retail purchases.

"Ten years ago it was enough to buy the latest 'it' bag. Today that's not enough anymore. You also want to know how it was produced," he said. "That is the biggest change that we've seen in our business since the hem-lengths went below the knee."

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There was a chill in the air both on and off the runway during the four days of Italian menswear for the fall/winter 2010-2011 which ended here Tuesday.

Much of the clothing was dedicated to the outdoors, from the bulky knits to heavy duty footwear, culminating in the D&G show dedicated to "life on the slopes," which wrapped up the short fashion week.

But if the styles jibed well with the damp fog that enveloped the city during fashion week, above all designers hoped the easily wearable outfits would help defrost the economic freeze which has hit the menswear industry. Sales were down 10 percent in 2009 over the previous year, the greatest loss yet for the male 'Made in Italy' label.

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The funniest fashion commentary of the night came from E!'s Jay Manuel who noted that Mariah Carey, in her chest-baring black gown, had brought her own "golden globes" to the ceremony.

Worst-dressed male? Hands-down Quentin Tarantino, who said he took part of a Japanese tuxedo and part of an American tuxedo to make his outfit. Hybrid doesn't work on the red carpet.

Second-worst-dressed male? Mickey Rourke. Duh. Sofia Vergara of "Modern Family" gave Latinas everywhere a good name AND outshone all the stars of the big screen in a gray Carolina Herrera gown with a bustle trimmed in crimson.

Tina Fey should have let someone else hold her umbrella, as many of the other ladies did. Because wearing a ghastly ankle-length dress that looked like it had a hoop under it and beribboned heels, she looked like Little Bo Peep when she held that umbrella over her head.

Jennifer Garner in a beaded Versace number looked smokin' hot. Chloe Sevigny in a Valentino gown with huge ruffles that threatened to eat her face did not.

So who cares that the guy who helped her onto the stage ripped her dress by stepping on it? And what was up with that high, thigh-baring slit in Jennifer Aniston's gown? With "Friends" like that, who needs porn?

This may be the year that plus size models make a real PR statement. Pleasantly plump beauties are gracing covers and getting lots of attention.

The future may hold that traditional paper thin models may receive threats when competing with plus size models.

The most buzzed plus size PR campaign is from V magazine who proves big is in and beautiful. The magazine features double digit dress size models in sizzling hot bathing suites, hip-hugging jeans and revealing only their birthday gifts (nothing at all!).

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