Jennifer Lopez makes glitzy NY runway debut

NEW YORK - Pop diva, actress and budding fashion designer Jennifer Lopez made her New York runway debut with an eclectic collection that showed she may be able to bring her star power to the world of haute couture.

The show, which was nothing short of theatrical, featured models in denim shorts and pants, cashmere sweaters, flowered babydoll tops, satin, crystals and lots and lots of fur.

Supermodel Naomi Campbell strutted down the catwalk in halter-topped jumpsuit with tiered ruffles running down the legs and an enormously wide-brimmed mushroom-like white hat.

"I was very pleasantly surprised," Jane Larkworthy, an editor at W magazine, said of Lopez's new "Sweetface" line. "I love satin pants and I love fur."

The show was divided into three parts meant to correspond to phases of Lopez's life: her start in the Bronx, her music career and her current red-carpet lifestyle.

In the background, yellow neon lights spelled out "JLo Story" during the first phase, then turned into two red turntables for the second, and then into a stretch limo and a velvet rope for the third.

During the finale, music from her upcoming album, "Rebirth," boomed in the background.

The hotly anticipated and celebrity-studded event capped off New York's twice-yearly Fashion Week extravaganza, which featured the work of more than 60 designers including Kenneth Cole, Oscar de la Renta and Ralph Lauren.

'A J.C. PENNEY RACK'

Actress Bernadette Peters, rapper Lil' Kim, music industry heavyweight Russell Simmons and model Tyson Beckford were in attendance.

The early pieces in the collection, which included casual items like jeans, belly-baring tops, striped scarves and zippered sweatshirts, did not seem to go over so well.

"As I saw those items, all I saw was a J.C. Penney rack," said Zandile Blay, an editor at Seventeen magazine.

Later in the show, Lopez offered more glamorous looks including crystal-studded skullcaps, a silk chiffon jumpsuit and a hooded floor-length fur cape in white.

"It's a step up from her teen-age, pop line. It's definitely more mature, and it's more of a replica of what Jennifer does," said Metanoya Webb, an assistant editor at InStyle Magazine. "It was a reflection of her, and I liked that."

Lopez may have some work to do before she earns her fashion business credentials. A number of die-hard fashionistas watching the event on television monitors outside of the venue booed her when she made an appearance at end of the show.

Lopez told Women's Wear Daily that her designer collection will have higher prices and a more limited distribution than her existing J.Lo line of clothing and fragrances, which had its debut in 2001. Last fall, she launched the JLO by Jennifer Lopez lingerie line.

"Better than the clothes was really the presentation of the whole show," Blay said. "She didn't break any new ground, but she certainly confirmed her star status."

- REUTERS