Celebrities overshadow the clothes at New York Fashion Week

Can we talk? Another New York Fashion Week is drawing to a close, and we’ve been paying more attention to the celebrities on the front row, backstage and on the runway than we have the clothes. Shame on us.

Designers paid emotional homage to the late Joan Rivers. Her funeral on Sunday — attended by many from the fashion world, including Carolina Herrera and Michael Kors — coincided with the start of Fashion Week.

Designer Dennis Basso opened his show Sunday with a moment of silence for his friend and fellow QVC designer. Basso, known for his beautiful coats, told one reporter that he had made “dozens and dozens” for “Fashion Police” host Rivers over the years and was touched to hear that one of his faux-fur blankets was taken to her in the hospital.

Other highlights from the week that displayed fashion collections for spring:

Two days after winning the U.S. Open, Serena Williams made her runway debut, showing off her new line for HSN. She describes her pumped-up casual wear of slinky minidresses and leopard-print leggings as “toned-down Dior.” She gave fellow tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, whom she beat for the Open title, a front-row seat. Williams gave the coveted role of last model on the runway to a plus-size woman.

“I felt like our line caters to a lot of women, but we don’t limit ourselves. We also want that lady who is a little larger to wear clothes and feel great and not be limited to just Lycra,” Williams told The Associated Press.

In yet another bid to distance herself from the Kardashian circus, budding supermodel and Kim Kardashian’s half-sister Kendall Jenner has dropped her famous last name to become “Kendall” for business purposes.

Statuesque Kendall walked in several shows this week, including those of Diane von Furstenberg, Tommy Hilfiger and Donna Karan. Kendall held her own alongside veterans Naomi Campbell, Victoria’s Secret model Candice Swanepoel and others.

Then model Charlotte McKinney rained on the Kendall parade in an interview with Fox411 by suggesting that Kendall used her famous last name to break into the tough modeling industry. Meow.

Miley Cyrus demonstrated that during Fashion Week, what you don’t wear is as important as what you do. She showed up at an after-party with designer Alexander Wang without a shirt, wearing only ice cream-cone pasties.

She also debuted a collection of neon-colored sculptures, “Dirty Hippie,” during Jeremy Scott’s runway show. The pieces are made from items she collected on tour. (Anything from Kansas City?)

“I just sit around and smoke weed anyway, so I might as well sit around, smoke weed, and do something,” she told V magazine. “And this is me doing something.”

As for the clothes, Donna Karan paid homage to the “NY” part of DKNY with bright patterns and lots of texture, from black mesh skirts to oversized wool sweaters. A gold-plated nylon quilted bomber jacket was paired with a black viscose stretchy tube skirt.

Victoria Beckham called her spring/summer collection a redefinition of her line and showed lots of stripes, a conservative palette of tan and taupe, and sleek coats, boxy dresses and pantsuits. Hubby David Beckham was at the show.

Nanette Lepore conjured a glamorous beach feel with embroidered caftans, tent dresses and colorful halter-top dresses.

“It’s about beautiful colors of the sky and the sea and the bright sun,” she told The Associated Press. “It’s fun, beachy places. I’m really trying to play up that fresh, feminine cool vibe.… I used to go to California every summer as a kid. So I’ve always had really fond memories. And I love visiting the south of France.”