James Frey Brings His Daughter for a Playdate at Cynthia Rowley's Show

At Cynthia Rowley's show on Sept. 11 at a loft in Chelsea, three little girls ran around the runway, tugging at their parents' arms and climbing on and off the chairs in the front row.

There was 4-year-old Maren Frey, the platinum blond, adorable little daughter of Bright Shiny Morning author James Frey and wife, Maya. Tiny Maren was outfitted in a white dress, silver sandals, and a string of pearls for her Fashion Week debut. Gigi Clementine, a 3-year-old dressed in a tiny floral number, was the daughter of Ms. Rowley and husband, author Bill Powers (wearing silver sneakers), who was seated next to the Freys. The third girl, a brunette in a blue dress, looked to be around the same age and spent much of her time on the lap of actress Tatum O'Neal, who as far as we know has not given birth in the last five years. (Perhaps a niece?)

Mr. Frey's presence at the show was not surprising. When Daily Transom found the author in the front row of Ms. Rowley's show in September 2006, he insisted he was dragged to the show by his wife, who is apparently very into fashion. (When we caught up with the spouses in 2006, Mrs. Frey was in Hermes and Prada, and Mr. Frey was wearing Hanes, Adidas, and J. Crew.) To yesterday's show, Mr. Frey wore an untucked white polo shirt, khakis, and sneakers.

Ms. O'Neal was seated in the front row next to Julia Stiles and several seats away from author Candace Bushnell and actor Alan Cumming, who was (embarrassingly!) wearing the same plaid blazer as Mr. Powers. Across the runway were the Freys seated next to Mr. Powers and his little girl in the front row.

As the bleacher stands at Ms. Rowley's show began to fill up with editors and guests at 3 p.m. (the scheduled time for the show), the girls ran between the adults seated across the runway from each other, bumping into the photographers who were snapping photos of the front row guests. By the time the show began at 3:40, the girls seemed to have worn themselves out and all three settled into the laps of Mr. Frey and Mr. Powers. And once the models began to come down the runway, the girls watched with interest and when inspired, raised their heads to deliver their reviews to the adults.