That Time I Was Backstage at a Fashion Show

At an hour that was way too early for a Saturday morning, my phone started buzzing. Usually I would sleep through something like that, but for whatever reason, on this morning I heard it. It was my supervisor at the PR agency sending a somewhat panicked text, asking if I could come help out at the Rebecca Taylor show. There had been a snowstorm (hardly, says the Canadian) and I imagined that some people they were expecting to help out had been waylayed due to the inclement weather. As much as I had been looking forward to sleeping in, it didn't take any convincing for me to agree to help out. I arrived a little while later and was assigned to backstage check-in with another person. For the hour and a half leading up to the show, press and photographers arrived to take photos backstage and conduct interviews with Rebecca Taylor herself. My job was to escort them up a flight of stairs to the hair and makeup area and connect them with one of the account execs who I work with. From there they would get their chance to ask the designer their interview questions. It was fast-paced and at times hectic, especially once things got a bit behind schedule. I learned that you have to be firm and authoritative but always polite, even when people are losing their patience and sound like they might pass out if they continue to sigh so heavily. The majority of people were understanding and very nice, as being behind schedule tends to be the nature of the beast (the beast that is a fashion show). I also had my first Aha! moment when I realized the Power of the Clipboard. Holding onto this little plastic board makes you look important people. And people then think you know things and know who everyone is and where they are at that given moment. I won't lie and say I didn't like the power the clipboard gave me because I did, but unfortunately it did not give me ESP so I usually couldn't answer the questions I was being asked.

The real fun came right before the show started though. I was a few minutes too late trying to get to the front of house to watch the show so instead I stood to the side of where the models line up before strutting their stuff down the runway. I have to say, any disappointment I may have felt about not getting to watch the show subsided quickly as I stood there and watched magic happen. It was different than anything I've experienced in this world so far. I still got to see all of the clothes, and probably in more detail than you can see on the runway because I was literally right next to the models. The moments before a show starts are extraordinary. Most of the models are stone faced and in the zone. A few were dancing and cracking jokes. It literally takes an army of people to get a model ready for her 15 seconds of fame. At one point, I looked over and there were FIVE people surrounding one model. One crouched down, zipping up her shoes, another rubbing lotion (maybe shimmer?) into her legs, one dresser wiggling leather gloves onto her hands, a hair stylist pinning and spraying her do into place and finally, my favorite, the person with the lint brush giving her sweater the final once over.

The show starts and finishes within a few minutes and my favorite moment was after the final walk. The energy that could be felt backstage as the models walked off the runway for the last time was infectious. The dressers and stylists all starting clapping and cheering and it was impossible not to join in. Many models wore ear to ear grins (maybe happy they didn't bail on the runway...oh wait that would probably just be me!). Others ran over to their stylist for a celebratory hug. Last fashion week, I talked about my favorite moment of watching a runway show as being when the designer comes out at the end of the show. Well, this time I got to see the moment right after that, when Rebecca Taylor came backstage after taking her bow. Her happiness was palpable as she posed for photos, returned excited hugs from models and received congratulations from every direction. It was an incredible moment to witness and be a part of.

Thanks to my internship for giving me this amazing opportunity, these are going to be moments that I'll remember forever!

j.

Chambray + Polka Dots

polka-dot chambray shirt {Macy's} - belt {Old Navy} - black maxi skirt {Joe Fresh} - 

tan boots {The Bay} - photo cred {Kiki, as always!}

I finished my first week of classes and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. There were a few classes that, based solely on their titles and heresay, I was not looking forward to. After attending them myself, I am feeling a bit better about them. There are two classes, in particular, that I am most excited about: social commerce and merchandising workshop. In social commerce, we get to learn all about social media and how it applies to businesses. In merch workshop, we basically get to create a brand and take it through all of the steps from inception to right before creation. 

This is a big week for fashion folk in NYC. Of course, it's the start of NYFW and it's also the IFBCon (Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference). I was lucky enough to be given tickets from my social commerce prof, so expect a little recap later on in the week...or next week if we're being realistic.

On a quick note about the above outfit I'm wearing. Is it possible to be wearing too many trends at one time? The answer is probably yes and I am probably guilty. Chambray, polka-dots AND a maxi skirt. Although I don't think I consider maxi skirts as much of a trend as the other two, so maybe I'm safe. What's definitely not safe, however, is wearing a maxi skirt sans leggings in the middle of winter in NYC. Just sayin.

j.   

Let's Talk About Tokyo

Arguably the coolest photo I have ever seen from any fashion week, ever.

Definitely my favorite show that walked the runway in Tokyo last week. Two models with unreal Afros from the Facetasm show.

From interpretive dancing (?) to unusual head pieces, Tokyo turned out things you just don't see in New York or Europe. Left is a model from the Jun Okamoto show and right is a model from Matohu. I'm officially obsessed with that yellow and white knotted necklace.

Again, Tokyo knows what is up. Troll doll hair and the reinvention of tie-dye are bringing me back to my childhood. In the best possible way. Female model walking for Shiroma and the male model is one for Phenomenon.

Tommy Ton was on the beat in Japan's capitol to bring us the best of what was happening off the runway. I loved that the majority of his street shots were of the opposite sex.

All photos via style.com, who's first time capturing Tokyo Fashion Week could be summed up as inspiring. I love seeing the differences between Fashion Weeks in different cities. London is usually a bit edgier and sort of grungy whereas Paris is all glam and avant-garde. Tokyo was out there, in all the right ways if you ask me, and really seemed to infuse it's street culture into the collections that came down the runway.

j.

My Homework Is Kinda Awesome

In case you were wondering the kinds of things I have to do for class. This is a small part of a big PR project that I'm working on right now. Now, I'm no cinematographer but...enjoy!

 

j.

Fashion Week

Hi Guys! I didn't really intend to take a week long hiatus there. I don't really know what happened. School, Fashion Week and interning happened, I guess. Some of you may remember that I had the amazing opportunity to volunteer at a show last Fashion Week. Well, this time around I did not get to volunteer. Instead, Bloomingdale's sent me to three shows. As an attendee!!! I was living in a dream while I sat in the third and first rows (yes, you read that right...FRONT. ROW.) to watch Jill Stuart, Christian Siriano and Anna Sui show their Spring 2013 collections.

I can't really explain the energy that a live runway show has. It's magnetic and all-encompassing. It makes me feel inspired in ways that I can't articulate into words. My favorite moment of the whole show is right before it starts. One second the room is crowded and buzzing with chatter and in an instant everyone is in their seats, cameras poised for that moment when the first model rounds the corner. The moment I live for is that instant when all is quiet, intense with anticipation and then just when you can't take it anymore the lights turn on and the music starts blaring just as the first model begins her strut down the runway. It's magical.

My second favorite moment is at the very end of the show when the designer comes out to wave and take a bow. The look on their face is one mixed with unfiltered joy and utter exhaustion. What took them months of all-nighters is what you just saw in two minutes. The feeling I imagine they get when they see their finished collection walk down the runway almost makes me want to switch my major to design. Almost.

Needless to say, it felt incredible to be in the audience at, not one, but three shows. I honestly did not feel like I was living my own life. A BIG thank you to Bloomies and the Fashion Directors who made this happen. 

j.

Five Faves of NYFW

I know I'm a little bit after the fact here but I had to do a whopper of a project for my Fashion Industry Profile class and I thought I would share just a snippet (I'm talking less then 10% of the project) with you all. After looking through hundreds of photos from dozens and dozens of runway shows during NYFW, I have selected my top five shows. For the most part, I was drawn to designers who shared my aesthetic - simple, chic, sophisticated - but there are two in here that were just so drop dead glamorous that it would have been a crime not to include them. I'm talking to you Marchesa and Badgley Mischka!

Arguably my all time favorite. Probably because I literally want to own every. single. look. Elie Tahari's ready to wear collection was effortlessly chic with a vibrant sophistication. I love love love the bottom middle look. I mean, come on, a fuschia leather blazer paired with red skinnies. What's not to love? Whoever said pink and red don't go together should be taken out back and shot (a touch extreme perhaps, but I feel that strongly about this look...).

Aztec, eat your little heart out! Christian Cota's collection is fit for a bohemian love story. Gloriously graphic and perfectly colorful, this collection was made for my bestie, Sasha Rae. Just the right amount of hip, in all senses of the word. A wee bit hippy chic. The perfect balance of urban hipster.

Meant to give a nod to ladies of the fifties who dressed up to go to the movies, Lyn Devon's collection was chic, sophisticated but, most importantly, quirky. I loved the color palette and especially the bold prints - those are love bird print pants on the top middle model. Huge bonus points for incorporating a four-legged friend into the presentation. Enough said.

Badgley and Mischka's collection was a display of pure elegance, sophistication and glamour. The silhouettes of each and every piece - from the form fitting gowns to the metallic denim and blazers - hit all the right notes, or should I say curves. Don't even get me started on the styling of the models. So much drama. So much love.

All images via style.com

Simply put, this collection blew my mind. Overtly feminine. Intricately and beyond gorgeously detailed. Marchesa's collection looks fit for royalty with it's supreme elegance and grace. Lost for adequate words to describe the majesty that is Marchesa.

There you have it. My favorite five for Fall 2012. I hope you enjoyed looking at some truly beautiful pieces of art up there. I truly enjoyed selecting them!

j.

Senses of the City: Runway Show

When I first arrived in NYC, I was a wee bit overwhelmed. Mostly in a good way. There are so many sights, sounds, smells, feelings and tastes involved in living here. One of my very first posts after arriving was, "Senses of the City" because that was the best way for me to describe what the first few days felt like. About a week ago, I had the opportunity to volunteer for an actual runway show. A real. live. fashion show. During New York Fashion Week. Needless to say, I was excited. It was an overwhelming, exciting, exhilarating and so many more adjectives that I will spare you, experience. Instead, I will share the senses of the show with you, with the focus being: seeing and hearing.

At the show, I saw:

• People running madly in all directions trying to get everything ready for show time
• Stacks and stacks of paper that had to be placed in the program folders - exactly parallel to the edges (we had the fear of god put into us that we took forever stuffing those programs!)
• Racks upon racks of garment bags
• Suitcase upon suitcase of beauty and hair products
• A fair amount of confusion as to why there was a group of six lost looking souls loitering in hair and makeup (apparently we were NOT supposed to get inside the elevator...)
• Numerous cans of red bull being consumed by the show's organizers (you gotta do what you gotta do!)
• Annoyed guests when their name (and their friend's name, then friend of a friend's name) did not appear on my check-in list
• An explosion of camera flashes as the first model emerged on the runway
•  An actual runway show! (totally unexpected, totally awesome.)

At the show, I heard:

• The stress in peoples' voices as the minutes crept closer to show time
• Hundreds of people talking at the same time
• The shuffling of papers as we stuffed, restuffed (when the missing pages arrived from the printer), then restuffed once more (to staple the papers together...true story!) hundreds of program folders
• Hairspray being spritzed out of aerosol cans
• The barking orders of an organizer as she yelled out seat changes very, very quickly (it was like playing bingo for the very first time....in a foreign language)
• The lightning fast snaps of camera shutters as an army of photographers fired their weapons at the same time
• The deep rythmic bass of the music as the models marched down the runway
• The steady stomp of stilletos as the models expertly strutted their stuff
• Two hundred people stand up at the same time and barrel toward the exit as soon as the 8 minute show concluded

It was incredible to be a part of a fashion show. Especially during NYFW. Sort of a dream come true, if I take the time to think about it. The biggest thing I took away was how much work and planning goes into a show that probably costs upwards of a million dollars and literally lasts no longer than ten minutes. That is one. zero. And that would be considered long!! Now that is cray-zy!

j.

NYFW is the Perfect Valentine

Happy V-Day friends! What's left of it anyways. I spent mine hanging out in Lincoln Center with my uber-fashionable roomie, Maria. We may have fibbed our way into the lobby of fashion week. No. Big. Deal. We also may have snuck walked purposefully into "The Box", which turned out to be a showing of a designer's collection. Very cool, despite the miserable looking models (Hey! They had been standing there for an hour and a half - who could blame them?). It was really neat to be a part of the fashion week buzz, even if we didn't actually get to see a show. There was lots of people watching to keep us busy. And styles and clothes that even the craziest imaginations could not have believed.

 

beige & black cropped jacket {thrifted via AuH2O} - rose shirt {Jacob} - red skinnies {Forever 21} - beige suede booties {Dolce Vita via Century 21}

It was the perfect way to spend a "single" Valentines Day. The first in five years. Gulp. It also helped that I have the best girlfriends in the world. I woke up to a phone call from one Ky Mariah, who I haven't spoken to in ages (she's a social media phobe but we still love her). And I got some Facebook loving from the other two, Sand and Sasha Rae! Those girls are really the best besties a girl could ask for. Love you ladies!

As mentioned last week, I did actually get the amazing opportunity to volunteer at a runway show on the weekend. So check back in the next couple days for some stories and photos from that adventure.

j.