For the second year in a row, I have been privileged with the opportunity to work backstage during New York Fashion Week, my most favourite time of year!
It is a biannual event where designers, models, celebrities, photographers, fashion reporters and bloggers travel from all over the world to share their love for fashion in the Big Apple. While Lincoln Center may be the mecca for Fashion Week, there are runways dispersed all over the city, giving me the opportunity to run around from one show to another from Midtown to the Meatpacking District.
Although the subway may have been the wisest way to travel, I can’t help but feel like I’m missing out on the architecture, the people, and the zealous vibe.
Here are a few of my favourites sights of the week!
FASHION AND CELEBRITIES
For anyone who is a celebrity-sighting fanatic, Fashion Week is the best time to head to New York. From Hollywood celebs like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, to Canadian fashionistas like Coco Rocha and Jay Manuel, the hotels are filled with international stars invited to view designers’ upcoming collections.
While getting on the list for fashion shows may not be such an easy task, the streets of New York can guarantee you front row seats on a bench with a view of the most inspiring outfits.
Fashion Week has this amazing influence to awaken your inner glam gal and strut on the sidewalk in your most painful Louboutin shoes. For seven days people put aside their inhibitions and whip out their wildest outfits they had reserved for this particular occasion. Whether you decide to pay homage to a designer or create your own Avatar outfit, anything goes during Fashion Week!
FOOD AND SHOPPING
No matter how busy people may be during Fashion Week attending shows, snapping photos, and putting in orders and making deadlines, locals and tourists always find the time to eat, drink, mingle, and enjoy the skyline.
Although I don’t think it’s a coincidence that there were no shows to attend on the Sunday morning, I was glad to have the time to enjoy the city view from the Brooklyn Flea. As much as I love boisterous Manhattan, there’s nothing like a few hours in Williamsburg to keep you grounded. Every Sunday, local vendors set themselves along the water, offering passersby delicious food, vintage wear, handmade accessories, antiques, books, music albums, and anything else you had in mind. While shuffling through old memorabilia can be amusing, I usually head straight for the Pueblan cemitas and Japanese tacos.
Once I’ve had my fill of Brooklyn and feel the desperate need for air conditioning, I hop on the subway and head straight to Bloomingdales, a place where credit cards are used and abused. Summer sales were quickly replaced by collections of leather, fur and melancholic tones. Thankfully I had a couple of shows to head to and didn’t give VISA a chance to call me!
Although I may not have had time to fill my closet with the new fall collections, I did, however, manage to visit Mario Batali’s Eataly, a restaurant/supermarket stocked with Italian-only products and the best mozzarella I’ve had in America. The best way to keep the bill in the double digits is to grab some cheese, prosciutto, a fresh loaf of bread and head to Madison Park across the street for a picnic.
