{runway} New York Fashion Week - Men's Edition

I attended the recent men's collections held during NYFWM and overall, really enjoyed the atmosphere and networking far more than I ever did at the women's shows. While there was some peacocking here and there, and a few dramatic egos seen [can't say I ever saw a female leave a show after being assigned a seat in the back row, GASP!], it was much more civil, calm and engaging, and the men met IRL that I only engaged with through Instagram were even nicer in person than expected. Cheers! 

Since I already did trend-specific recaps [for Cotton, here and He Spoke Style, here], just going to focus on the details from a few of the shows, including Public School, Joseph Abboud, Todd Snyder and Siki Im. 

photos: Robin West

XO.

{on the street} NYFW + LFW's fringe effect

One trend that I myself have been a huge fan of IRL is the one that features fringe + tassels. This can be as simple as a subtle tassel detail on a bag... thin fringe on the bottom of a skirt... or go all out and succumb to the full-on 70's + rock that suede fringe coat you've always wanted.

images: Phil Oh for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Le 21ème

- XO

{on the street} Fashion Month Cold Front

This is the first time that I have been intrigued to follow the street style during Fashion Week(s)/Month for the Fall/Winter collections. In the past, especially last year, you had attention-hungry girls walking around during a blizzard in open toed shoes, bare legs, camisoles and no coats. Now, while we did still see a bit of that this year [only in NYC, of course. shame on you!], for the most part the fashion elite set out to the streets and created beautiful stories through impeccable layering of colors, textures and multiple pieces of outerwear.

And while I still crave the times that photographers didn't just focus on these elite and decided to highlight the lesser knowns that attend the shows in one's OWN clothes [yes, too many influencers and "street style stars" strut in borrowed pieces that are quickly returned], I am happy to see that many of the attention-seekers that treat Lincoln Center and other show neighborhoods like the Grammys [wearing fashion vs. showcasing one's own style] were cut from many roundups. 

images by Tommy Ton

- XO

{beauty} before the runway

It sounds crazy, and the atmosphere backstage is literally crazy, but it's still one of my favorite places to be during Fashion Week. While it's an amazing experience to view the final look walking down the runway [billowing fabric, the lights hitting the models just right, and legs after legs after legs], for me, there is nothing quite like seeing things being brought together. There are the moments that you can, depending on the designer, get up close and personal with the pieces that give you a view to certain details and construction that a camera just can't capture. 

With that, seeing the models is a somewhat calming experience [unless they are running late from another show and get herded around like cattle]. Considering they have people pulling at their hair, and probing at their faces, they always seem take it in such stride. And there are a few moments, like the one I shared of Olga, that always leave me a bit mesmerizing. Here are some of those very moments.

{runway} Eva Fehren Presentation

"Genius!"

There are a few ways you can look at presenting a collection during Fashion Week. You can have a "traditional" runway show... you can decide to showcase the clothes in a presentation where models stand there, allowing editors and buyers alike to view each piece a bit more closely... or, you can go the route of Eva Fehren and showcase your collection for what it is... art. 

It's not often that you see a presentation that stands out, especially this September where it seemed like nothing coming down the runway was a new idea [if I see one more sheer dress/skirt silhouette with visible high waisted under garments, which wasn't even new last season,  I WILL scream]. A woman after my own heart [I have actually pitched this idea a few times over the years, wanting to see something like this], she went the route of displaying her jewels as a gallery.

Pieces of jewelry hanging perfectly in marbled frames, accented by a perfectly placed spotlight that created the most beautiful sparkles. Models, spending hours [and I mean hours] getting their hands and faces perfected by masters, so when it was time to walk behind the white sheet and carefully put their hands and heads through the strategically placed slits, they became the art. 

Looking at the images now, there's something about the emphasis on the models' beautiful faces that remind me of the 'hall of heads' in Return to Oz. Without that creepy factor, of course.

photos: Robin West

Eva Fehren Presentation, NYFW

{beauty} Ola Rudnicka at Jason Wu // NYFW

Every year there is one single image from backstage that I fall madly in love with when going back into my camera, and this year is undeniably the beauty that is Ola Rudnicka. Her perfect [and I mean perfect] fair complexion, blue eyes, that platinum blonde hair, all complimented by that mustard sweater... I feel like it speaks way more than 1,000 words, no?

photo: Robin West for Deborah Lippmann

Spring Studios, Tribeca NYC