Television co-host and actress Kelly Ripa walks the runway Friday at the Heart Truth fashion show during Fashion Week in New York. Ripa wears a dress by designer Diane von Furstenberg.

New York ? New York Fashion Week opened Friday amid an international debate about too-thin models, yet the first major runway show of the event featured women of all shapes, sizes, ages and colors.

And the crowd loved it.

That first show on the catwalks at Bryant Park was the Heart Truth show, an annual event in which celebrities wear red dresses created for them by famous designers. Heart Truth is part of the Red Dress project, a federal initiative spearheaded by first lady Laura Bush, to raise awareness about heart disease.

It’s not a fashion show by traditional standards, but the standing ovation that tennis great Billie Jean King received might be a sign that fashion industry insiders are more willing to accept women who exceed the size 0s that have become the standard.

The Heart Truth show was attended by Bush, who wore a crimson Bill Blass skirt suit. She was accompanied by Blass designer Michael Vollbracht and Carolina Herrera.

After the Heart Truth show came the first real preview of the fall styles that draw editors, retail buyers and stylists to Fashion Week. Shows continue through Feb. 9.

Red Dress Collection: Most audience members had their eyes on the celebrity models – including Kelly Ripa, Lauren Hutton and Angela Bassett – but there was some real fashion on the runway, too.

Celebrity cook and talk show host Rachael Ray walks the runway Friday at the Heart Truth fashion show during Fashion Week in New York. Ray wears a gown by designer Donna Karan.

One-shoulder goddess gowns were worn by Kim Cattrall for Carolina Herrera and Rachael Ray for Donna Karan, while Marlee Matlin wore a sweetheart-neck strapless gown by Douglas Hannant. Miss Universe Zuleyka Rivera’s Gustavo Cadile dress paid homage to Rivera’s Puerto Rican roots with a fiery red color, tiered dance skirt and ruffled bolero jacket.

Paula Zahn’s V-neck draped gown by Bill Blass flowed beautifully behind her and Lauren Hutton was the perfect model for Narciso Rodriguez’s architectural gown with sheer short sleeves.

Kelly Ripa wore her Diane von Furstenberg beaded wrap dress well; race-car driver Danica Patrick looked like a modeling pro in her loose short-sleeve gown by Jovovich-Hawk that featured a heart embroidery at the center of its empire waist.

But the audience favorite did indeed seem to be tennis star King, whose outfit was designed by Gustavo Cadile. She shunned the high heels that most of the other celebrities wore in favor of Adidas sneakers – accented with red, of course.