Candace Bushnell: 1; Darren Star: 0

HONOR ROLE Bushnell Sex and the City auteur Candace Bushnell, on hand at an ungodly hour this morning to "cut the ribbon" and launch New York Fashion Week, scored a few style points—and a PR boost for her show Lipstick Jungle—by posing for snaps with honchos from IMG and Mercedes Benz, the main sponsor for the event. For the bleary-eyed press dutiful enough to record this momentous occasion, one thing was clear: The woman who invented Carrie Bradshaw is still, like it or not, relevant and apparently, in the eyes of the fashion community, more chic than ever. Of course Brooke Shields, the new non-Carrie, was there to help glitz things up, as were the two other chicks we've never heard of from the series. But this morning, rival rich-lady types from The Cashmere Mafia crew and producer Darren Star had to accept their position as fashion outcasts.