Everything was in place at Threeasfour. Boosted by its collaboration with Yoko Ono, yielding dot prints and a soundtrack, the show had A-list buzz. Fashion’s artiest turned out in droves, including painter Tauba Aurebach, Casey Spooner, model of the moment Martin Cohn, Interview’s Glenn O’Brien (with the face of a Roman Emperor), Lorenzo Martone (not so arty, but always worth mentioning), and enough asymmetrical haircuts to fill up a Haircut 100 music video. All of them paid their respects to Yoko and Sean Lennon, who were planted front-row center.

The premise of the show was a recreation of Cut Piece, Yoko Ono’s iconic 1964 performance where audience members silently cut away parts of the artist’s clothes. A sole model took her place in the middle of the runway, holding a pair of scissors in each hand, and the rest circled her, snipping away parts of her outfit, while in the background Yoko wailed a song from her upcoming CD. The effect was poetic, ceremonial…for about the first five minutes. At around minute ten, the crowd began shifting in their seats. By minute twenty even Glenn O’Brien was looking antsy. Someone readjusted her make-up, a flustered guest tried to escape, a baby cried. This may have been part of the effect, but grueling soon turned to interminable, which is a shame since the clothes were probably some of the trio’s prettiest efforts, particularly the silk kimonos, spiral dresses and three-dimensional bodysuits.