Buzz, yes. But fashion week needs more.

Runway shows such as Daniela Corte's at Sel de la Terre at the Mandarin Oriental brought in the crowds during Boston Fashion Week. (Essdras M. Suarez/Globe Staff)

Sam Mendoza had every reason to be beaming in his Nehru jacket last week at the Liberty Hotel. The 22-year-old Boston University grad and fashion designer had more than 500 people RSVP to see his Bombay! Bombay!-themed spring 2009 collection. He sent models down the runway in a smart collection of India-influenced dresses, complete with miniature cowbells tied about their ankles. He received an enthusiastic standing ovation and after the show darted around the aisles with the agility of a hummingbird to deliver quick kisses to his fans.

It was a big moment for Mendoza. It was bigger moment, however, for Boston Fashion Week. After the identity crises and lackluster responses of the past, this year's Boston Fashion Week finally felt like fashion week. Parties were mobbed, shows were crowded, and the city's fashionable set was warming to the idea that Boston Fashion Week can be more than a punch line.

"From what I've seen, the week is experiencing a comeback," said Pam Santorelli, co-owner of the South Boston boutique Habit. "People in Boston are sophisticated and interested in fashion. It seems natural we would have an active fashion week here."

Designer Daniela Corte, who hosted a crowded power lunch/fashion show at the newly opened Sel de la Terre at the Mandarin Oriental, also noted that this year's Boston Fashion Week felt less like a high school couture project and more like a week for local style professionals to mingle and network.

But hang on a minute, Boston Fashion Week. Before you get cocky and run out and buy yourself a pair of congratulatory Christian Louboutins, we have a few matters to discuss. Last week may have generated some much-needed buzz and good press, but there's still plenty of room for improvement. As someone who's sat through more runway shows than any one man should be allowed, I have some unsolicited advice on how to make the week even more successful. I chatted with Boston Fashion Week founder/organizer Jay Calderin about these suggestions, and he confessed that he'd already had many of the same ideas.

1. Find a single location to stage runway shows. In the same way that New York has the Bryant Park tents, Boston needs a fashion hub to anchor the week. If the mayor was interested in promoting Boston designers, he could solicit corporate funding and provide, say, an elaborate tent on City Hall Plaza. Or, one (or two) of the new luxury hotels opening in Boston could graciously provide a home to the week. One evening, there were simultaneous parties and shows happening in the Theatre District, Allston, Back Bay, and the Financial District. That's a lot of running around, especially for those who were tipsy in stilettos. A central location, or perhaps a pair of venues in the same neighborhood, could cut back on the craziness. A central location could also provide a proper runway for shows that were crowded. There were fantastic pieces at the Fashion Exhibition at Avanti salon, but the space was too cramped at times to properly survey them all.

2. More shows and fewer parties, please. Everybody loves a party, but Boston Fashion Week needs more substance to balance out all that revelry. With just a handful of single-designer shows on the schedule, but parties at every turn, there were times that the week felt like it was more about fizzy drinks than fashion. One reason for the limited number of runway shows was the expense involved in staging them properly. Hair, makeup, models, lights, a sound system, and a venue do not come cheap. Corporate sponsors, time to splash your name on the event and offer some help to these local designers.

3. Bring in the big names. Because of Boston's proximity to New York, we miss the big fashion and trunk shows of Dallas, Miami, and Los Angeles. A reporter at the Dallas Morning News tells me that designers such as Nicole Miller and Malan Breton have shown during Dallas Fashion Week, and this year they will have a Rodarte fashion show. Big American designers regularly descend on these cities and restage their New York shows. Boston may be only be four hours from New York, but demand to see the clothes is high in New England. Nanette Lepore was in Boston last week, but sadly not as part of Boston Fashion Week. The week can be a showcase for local and national designers, plus visiting style mavens, which would add cache and excitement to the proceedings. A show of top Israeli designers at the Israeli Consulate added a boost to this week's offerings, but before fashion week pulls in the big global names, it needs more national ones.

4. Keep designers on a schedule. There were events happening every night last week, but many shows were set up as all-night parties. It was next-to-impossible to visit multiple events within the same night. Designers would benefit by cutting the preshow cocktails and post-show parties, allowing fashionistas a chance to hop from runway to runway instead. Diforo Designs fashion show ran four hours, but much of that was consumed by a martini tasting. Now that I mention it, designers could easily chop the length of their shows. Runway presentations are best kept to 15 minutes or less. Editing down a collection makes the clothes on the runway more captivating. Samuel Vartan's runway show at the Hotel Marlowe featured some very sexy dresses - and lots of men in the audiences appreciated them - but I have to confess that after the 25-minute mark I was glancing at my watch.