February Fashion Week |NYC
This February Fashion Week was a sourcing trip. The pursuit of textile books, world magazines, fabric, notions, vintage dresses, etc.
After pounding the pavement, I landed in Around The World Bookstore at 148 W 37th St, New York, NY 10018. From academic guides to global magazines, Around The World is an in-and-out-style bookstore.
The most satisfying part of this Fashion Week was Paron Fabrics at 257 W. 39th St., which has been in business since 1940, H.M. Fabrics (next door), and Better Choice Fabrics Inc., at 260 W. 39th St. All three stores were scheduled to close in the days ahead. Learning of their closures after years of business was heartbreaking, but the staff I spoke with were encouraged. I discovered most of them had been sewing for years with enough clients to support them until another opportunity came. One Paron cutter was going to Mood Fabrics, and some were taking time to see what else was out there.
Meeting other creatives who meet the adversity of the fashion world head on is empowering. I did learn from those conversations that landlords who owned the commercial space each store operated out of did not renew their leases because restaurants are the new cash cows.
September Fashion Week |NYC
The best part of this Fashion Week was sitting in on a discussion where Nigel Barker was the speaker. Assuming he'd be as intense as he was during his time on America's Next Top Model, it was the exact opposite. He was above funny, while transparent about his thoughts on people pursuing careers in fashion.
His advice, so I heard it: take risks! In approach, he encouraged us to learn if we suck as an artist through trial. Why spend years in practice, struggling to move beyond your current level? When the truth is, you suck. Or maybe you don't suck, but your counterparts are just better.
The learning here was that even though I'm attending notable NYFW shows with people who look the part, some of these individuals will never aim to be anything more than a guest at a show. The fear of rejection keeps them terrified or stuck.
Out of all the shows, I enjoyed the Venexiana MBFW show the most. She had a well-presented design aesthetic.
September Fashion Week |NYC
My first [official] NYFW week was this September 2013. I won the opportunity through a grad school writing competition. The prompt: how is social media impacting fashion?
The experience was life-changing. The shows I attended were not sidecar attractions but productions scheduled on the NYFW roster. Though, that was not the life-changing part of this experience. The intensity behind the attendees wanting to show off their curated ensembles; while not caring about the actual fashion show was disappointing yet interesting.
For years I imagined my first official NYFW to be some highbrow merge of Mahogany and The Devil Wears Prada. It was nothing like that. Instead, it was constantly walking with stampedes of people conversing about growing their social media followers, people looking for bloggers to pose for, or influencers (longstanding & emerging) appearing annoyed they “had“ to attend.
Even when the lights went down, a few front-row girls filmed shows with their phone, never looking up at the runway because they were too busy talking the entire show to the person next to them.
I remember thinking, what is all this about?
After the last show, it hit me that social media has made fashion less seductive. The mystery is gone because social media has made fashion accessible to everyone; we are all it girls.
