The Most Fashionable Friday during NYFW
It is currently Sunday evening in the middle of Fashion Week and I have a few broken ribs. It all went down after the Timo Weiland show when I slipped on black ice on the sidewalk. For an athletic girl to fall during the first night of Fashion Week is just such an outrageous concept, but here I am the unstoppable warrior doing my thing, platform boots and all.
I thought it would be a fun idea to share the details of my weekend, and what exactly goes on during a day in the life of a show-going diva like me. Why? Doing what a Real Housewives character does. “Life isn’t all diamonds and roses, but it should be!” Right on.
Friday: September 7, 2014.
7 AM Wake up. Dear driver, thank G-d you’re here. I tell him that I will need extra time and help to get in and out of car as I am an invalid. He doesn’t believe me. Head over to first presentation of the day at the Hub at the Hudson Hotel, Rebecca Vallance where the my favorite look from the Australian-based designer was a cool white and gold Jacquard sweatshirt and pencil skirt and an ivory funnel-neck sweater and flounce skirt. Ill take it all, please.
11:30AM I head over to the Degen, by Brooklyn-base knitwear designer Lindsay Degen at Industria Superstudio where I mingle with friends and colleagues that I don’t see very often. Catching up with friends is a really good thing. “Hi! How are you?” My reply? “Doing great, how about you?” All whilst thinking, let’s keep it to air kisses this season because if you hug me I will probably collapse.
Degen was cool and fun. The designer was on stage posing with her weavers actually weaving. The presentation was a sort of performance-art-cum-knitting rave with made-to-order Matcha tea in place of…well, other uppers gave us neon green-hued, loosely woven crop-top sweaters; thin, nineties-club-styled party tanks; as well as looks made from that same fishing line of VS suit fame. The idea was to visually replicate the trippy experience of working with unconventional knitting materials, such as the aforementioned fishing line and reflective yarn. This collection is for a very creative type—male, female, however you may identify—with a decidedly DIY bent. With a hashtag like #DEGENRAINBOW that glows when you take a picture, what do you expect?
Lunch break: 12:30pm. I grab a quick bite at KAVA Cafe, and then dash over to my all-time favorite shops, Owen to see what’s in store for Spring. Excuse me, but my fall 2014 head is currently wrapped around furs, blanket coats, and beanies.
I head over to Tanya Taylor where there was another DIY streak going on. The designer took Sharpie markers to luxe lambskin leather, and experimented with Manic Panic on shaggy Mongolian fur. It was quirky, yet playful and polished. Flattering fit-and-flare dresses were cut from either graphic floral jacquards or fluttery silks, for example, and thigh-grazing miniskirts came paired with pointy flats that felt fresh. She is one of my favorite designers based on everything including this dress.
2pm: Sally LaPointe nailed it. This was by far one of the most special shows during the weekend. Turtlenecks galore, furs, and from day-to-night to fur sleeves. The Sally LaPointe woman this season is strong and less harsh than in seasons past. Her magic touch is making clothes with precise tailoring, whether it was a pair of black tuxedo trousers in silk-wool georgette, a pencil skirt in cognac-colored lambskin, or an elegant black cocktail dress overlaid with a cropped top that was pleated at the bust. These are the kinds of clothes that make a confident woman look even surer of her appearance. And can we talk about the chunky cashmere-wool turtlenecks?!! Some were plain, others with panels of fox fur, for a hip, slouchy, deliciously cozy look.
3pm Cushnie et Ochs. I like the vibe at Milk Studios and I love to go on a Friday or Saturday night when it feels like the fashion crowd migrates together to see Indie designers with a little edge. Saturday night at Milk Studios is a fantastic opportunity to see newer designers like Calla, Costello Tagliapietra, Jonathan Simkhai and Harbison in an intimate setting. Each room hosts a different presentation, and you go from one to the other and wave at a lot of people in between. And this was no exception at Cushnie et Ochs. With an emphasis on cleavage, cowboy hat and jet black curves, that, in a nutshell, was the vibe at Cushnie et Ochs. How about Karolina Kurkova, as a hereto cowboy surely, opening the show in a ultra-tight bustier dress winking skin through black lace? Oh my!
At this point on a weekend night, most people are drinking but I’m just leaning on a friend glad to have made it this far. And when I dragged myself home after a long day, I watched the shows vicariously through my non-stop Instagram feed. And couldn’t resist laughing out loud at the Sochi opening outfits. What did you think?
Stay tuned later for more coverage!
