Trend reports are normally based on what’s been shown on the runway. But the prevalence of a certain color or pattern doesn’t necessarily mean people are interested in it. Fashion will always be an industry for visionaries – creative people who push design ideas the mass market didn’t know they wanted until seeing them. That said, fashion shows and presentations are no longer industry only events. They’re part of the marketing mix to reach customers, and through social media the fan, editor, buyer and shopper can all contribute to the data that exposes where interest is highest.

That’s the idea behind our latest special feature on Fashion Week Trends. We crawled photos associated with nearly 200 shows, more than 5400 individual looks, and let the social media data tell the story. View the Top 25 shows from New York Fashion Week, as well as the Top 50 looks. Individual show rankings are available, with look metrics. The NYFW Runway Intel report combines all of the activity for a complete look at the colors, shapes and designers with the most interest.

It could be because designers (read: their publicists) are too pre-occupied with the Fall 2011 show season at this point to bother dressing anyone, but we have a different hypothesis: Hollywood stars dressed horribly for this yearâ€s SAG Awards because thatâ€s the only way they could get any press for their look. A simple, elegant gown that would garner much praise and a spot on all of the best dressed lists after the Oscars or Golden Globes would go largely unnoticed at the SAGs. Proof positive: Kyra Sedgwick wore a gorgeously understated black gown by Thierry Mugler last night, and hardly anyoneâ€s talking about it as far as we can tell.

Plus, if our theory does not hold true, how else would one explain Jennifer Lawrenceâ€s Pepto Bismol-colored Oscar de la Renta dress paired with stripper heels and a bow no one over the age of 10 should wear? Or Hailee Steinfeldâ€s orange Prada stripes? Andre Leon Talley praised Steinfeldâ€s look, saying her lack of jewelry and relaxed hair style were the perfect touch to ensure she wasnâ€t trying too hard. We have a question for ALT: if one should try not to look like one tried hard to impress on a red carpet, then where else should one wear one’s best jewels and finest hair style? We’d be tempted to give Steinfeld a pass because, at 14, at least she was dressed for her age, but she did the not-too-adult, but still subtly glamorous thing so well at the Golden Globes that we just have to say no to her latest look.

We loved Claire Danes’ bright pink lipstick, which would have looked decent in contrast to a printed Louis Vuitton number, but an awkwardly placed belt made her overall style a bit too casual for our taste as well. And speaking of ill-placed belts: Lea Michele. Her Oscar de la Renta gown was gorgeous, but the extra accessory seemed unnecessary. January Jones†Carolina Herrera embroidered gown was lovely, but overshadowed by an unflattering hairstyle, and, finally, Christina Hendricks, who normally takes a well-deserved place on every best dressed list, looked like she was wearing a bathrobe in her L’Wren Scott dress.

The one standout of the night was Mila Kunis in an Alexander McQueen dress designed by Sarah Burton that continued the red trend of the Golden Globes. The dress was the perfect color for her, and she looked stunning. Enough so that we’ll let the belt on this one off with a warning. Hillary Swankâ€s one-shouldered Versace dress was also quite beautiful but has been generating less press than Kunis†gown. For almost everyone else, better luck next year – or in the next few weeks when we hope everyone will lose the belts and go back to unhindered glamour.

While recuperating from a skiing accident, CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg took the time to support Oscar de la Renta’s criticism of the First Lady with the following statement:

Perhaps the First Lady should try this for the next gala. Bonus points if its made in China.

“CFDA believes in promoting American fashion. Our First Lady Michelle Obama has been wonderful at promoting our designers, so we were surprised and a little disappointed not to be represented for this major state dinner.”

Executive director Stephen Kolb adds “For a lot of designers, their ability to grow their businesses is going to be in the global marketplace. In some instances, thereâ€s really no growth in the U.S. and [these designers] need to do that to succeed. Thatâ€s important to us. So anytime that thereâ€s a stage or international setting that you can celebrate American fashion, itâ€s a good thing.” {the Cut/NY Mag}

Frankly, we’re surprised and a little disappointed that the CFDA and de la Renta are trying to position one dress, at one event as some sign that Michelle Obama is no longer a representation of American fashion, or has somehow crushed an American designer’s chances at succeeding outside of the country.

It’s been a while since any First Lady’s wardrobe has generated this much interest, so to some extent, we get the fuss. On the other hand, Mrs. Obama has – as the statement acknowledges, promoted American designers both emerging and established on numerous occasions. That includes her husband’s inauguration (Isabel Toledo during the day, Jason Wu in the evening), television appearances (Donna Ricco’s $148 black and white dress on an appearance on The View) and yes, even at state dinners (Naeem Kahn, Peter Soronen).

Plus, as the CFDA is surely aware, American design does not equal American made. In fact, browsing through a few garments by de la Renta, roughly half are made in Italy. A large number of von Furstenberg’s clothing is made in China. The New York garment district has gone from riches to rags, in part because the less glamorous, not as creative manufacturing jobs that once made American fashion a complete ecosystem have all but disappeared.

One of the more recent CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winners is Sophie Theallet, who lives and works in Brooklyn, but is from France.

CFDA member Marc Jacobs leads design for his own label, but also for a little French brand called Louis Vuitton.

At the worst, if this dress has as much power as everyone ascribes to it, it may encourage a European brand to focus on the United States as a market; the US, where Americans will likely staff stores and back offices. Maybe those people aren’t fashiony enough, but instead of politicizing the choice of a dress, why don’t we discuss ways to revive the image of the US as a fashion design and production country. China’s done it on the offer of being cheaper, Italy’s maintained their place on the offer of being highest quality. Meanwhile, the US scolds an adult woman who had the audacity to wear something she liked. Yes, that’s the problem with the American fashion industry.

Our point is that while yes, an American designer would surely love some portion of the $2.7 billion in publicity the First Lady’s fashion choices generate {the Cut}, American fashion isn’t totally American, and hasn’t been in some time. And thank goodness, because if the industry were that protectionist and fearful of celebrating talent beyond its geographic boundaries, a Dominican born gentleman and Belgian woman of Greek and Romanian descent may have never had a place in it.

While many – us included – think that the criticism was unwarranted in a fashion age where designed in America rarely means made in America, could the designer’s frustration stem from a similar dress of his own?

Compare this dress, from de la Renta’s Fall 2010 collection, to the red McQueen gown worn by Mrs. Obama. If you zoom in on the de la Renta dress, you’ll notice small black dots, but otherwise the color and print seem similar to the McQueen gown the First Lady chose.

While this wasn’t the first time de la Renta has snipped at Obama’s sartorial choices, it’s hardly the first time that she’s worn a non-American designer to an American event either.We still think the McQueen gown was both appropriate and flattering, but perhaps seeing a gown with so many similarities at such a highly publicized event was why this particular look struck such a nerve with the designer, who has yet to make it into Mrs. Obama’s wardrobe.

Critics have been weighing in on the red Alexander McQueen gown that Michelle Obama wore to the state dinner for China. For various reasons, they really should have kept their opinions to themselves.

First, there’s this quote from Oscar de la Renta: {via the Cut}

“My understanding, is that the visit was to promote American-Chinese trade — American products in China and Chinese products in America. Why do you wear European clothes?”

Then there’s one from political pundit Bob Colacello on Vanity Fair:

“My only criticism of the whole thing is of Michelle Obamaâ€s choice of designer and dress. I think it was absolutely wrong for her to wear something by a foreign designer, particularly at a dinner for China, with which we have a terrible trade imbalance. She really should be promoting American fashion. And I think the dress itself was all wrong, too. It made her look gigantic. She completely overshadowed President Hu, and even President Obama looked small next to her. I think sheâ€s trying too hard to be fashion-forward, and thatâ€s not really what a First Lady should be. Itâ€s too bad, because sheâ€s a beautiful woman—and itâ€s a beautiful dress, but just wrong for the occasion.”

To address Mr. de la Renta’s query, one normally wears clothes because they like the way the clothes make them look and/or feel. It’s part of why people look at what Michelle Obama is wearing in a way that they didn’t for Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton or Barbara Bush. She doesn’t dress according to a set of fashion rules, she wears things that she likes. Not everyone likes the same things that she does – and that’s fine, but people look at her clothes because they show a level of personality and daring that hasn’t been seen in a while. In and of itself, that’s doing more for fashion than sticking with safe choices that are universally acceptable.

To address the point of both his and Colacello’s critique that a British brand doesn’t have a place at an American state dinner, we have to ask that someone kindly remind both gentlemen that Americans have moved on from 1776. When it comes to de la Renta, don’t misunderstand us: in spite of being an established designer, his clothes are still beautiful and the label has shown forward thinking and modernity in accessories, its engagement on social media and in general.

Both critiques ignore the modern realities of the fashion industry, however.

An American fashion designer does not always mean made in America. Just ask Mayor Bloomberg and the committee fighting to save New York’s garment district. American designers frequently send production to Chinese manufacturers, and promoting American design alone – which Mrs. Obama has done on several occasions – won’t change that.

Colacello’s last point is almost too silly to address, but we will. The dress itself was a vibrant shade of red, which is symbolic to the Chinese. Mrs. Obama is 5’10”, so in comparison to a shorter person, other than amputating a limb or two for the occasion, she will stand out. President Obama is a slim man and he’s wearing all black; it doesn’t take an art degree to figure out that a red ball gown will stand out in comparison. Also, she’s 47 not 74 – matronly gowns that blend in with the curtains and osteoporosis to put world leaders at ease with their height are both a few decades off.

We’ve been keeping you up to date with the all the new technologies emerging left and right- along with the fashionable accessories designed to complement them!

The newest must-have gadget, the iPad, now has sleek, trendy and stylish accessories from major designers. If you don’t want to scratch your diamond studded iPad, Louis Vuitton has a case coming in 2011, Gucci’s taking pre-orders for their version now, and Hermes is putting together “special order” versions with matching headphone holders. {Fresh Mess} Oscar de la Renta, however, beat them all to the punch when he sold iPad covers on his website. Much to many of the viewers’ surprise, the cases, originally called iPad clutches, actually made an appearance on his recent resort runway fashion show. {Purse Blog}

Continuing to tap the fashion-technology market, a new collection of iPad cases in various colors and embossed patterns are now available at OscardelaRenta.com. For a sign of their popularity, the cases – pardon us, clutches, have their own link at the top of the site, right next to Ready to Wear, Accessories and Fragrances.

For us, the flap and nameplate cheapen the design and make it a bit too generic. The snakeskin is at a reasonable price though ($390 compared to $360 for Louis Vuitton’s single purpose canvas version), and we do like that the people over at Oscar de la Renta are thinking multi-purpose. How often is it that your laptop bag doubles as a large purse, or briefcase? While the iPad is designed to reduce some of the bulk of a laptop, space for a few extras is a welcome difference between the de la Renta clutch and other designer covers.