By Jennifer Bakken
10 Observations from NYC Fashion Week
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
1. Pulling together a show is a CRAZY amount of work.
This could possibly be the understatement of the year, but for those of you that have never been to fashion week, but watch shows like "Project Runway" the final episodes when they're at the tent only begins to tell a fraction of the story. A show in the tent at Bryant Park (and beyond) is as involved as a Broadway production but unlike Broadway the "show" really only lasts for about 15mn, (not counting the hour you wait for the show to begin at least as they never start on time). Here's a little video of Zac's show that does a pretty good job of showing some of the prep: videos.nymag.com
2. You get what you pay for.
It was clear to me, (and now to my husband after me pointing it out), between the 3 shows that I saw this season and shows I've seen in the past you get what you pay for when it comes to talent, (i.e. the models). Because unfortunately the performance on the runway by those models does influence how your audience will interpret your work. We were at one show that clearly had a small budget so the designer was forced to use models that were probably good at commercial/catalogue work, but were not trained for the runway and many of them just looked nervous and anything but graceful on the stage. Runway models are meant to be essentially clothes hangers for the designers, so their lines need to be sleek and their movement needs to be steady, smooth and extremely confident. Mr. Posen on the other hand used amazing girls for his show, many of which I recognized from other runway shows by top designers and a couple I recognized from Vogue spreads, (you too possibly if you watched the video). If it were me and I was casting for my big opportunity at the park, I would take a less is more approach and invest in a few killer girls because they do make the clothes look that much better, which could mean millions to a fashion designer.
3. I'm loving the trends that I saw happening for spring.
I must admit that I'm a fall/winter fashion lover at heart, but what I saw at two of the shows in particular really made me excited for what's to come in a couple seasons. At the Academy of Art show I really loved the student's use of fabrics and knits in a beautiful array of muted peaches, yellows, blues, purples and pinks. Everything that I saw coming down the runway felt really pretty and happy. Modern geometric shapes influenced the designs as well as bold patterns, while traditional madras plaid inspired some of my favorite looks.
At Zac Posen's show he too applied similar trends in his use of bold patterns and geometrics, but his palette overall was in much bolder hues. Zac gave a very noticeable nod to the 40's in a lot of his work and I love his playful introduction of colorful fur for spring – very San Francisco appropriate! The gowns of course were out of this world with sequin detail to die for, and the sculpted silk pant that he designed (featured below) was not only fabulous, but it looked wearable – as did 99% of the clothes I saw go down his runway btw. I want to note again how prevalent fine-gauge knits are going to be for spring and I couldn't be happier. Although we're all going to assume that these knit pieces are going to look perfect on the models, I am confident that this style (ala Missoni) is one that really will work on everyone. It moves with your body, flows over your curves and wears much better than others.
4. Chanel is still the "it" bag.
Now this may seem like common sense to some of you, but to me it was a bit of a surprise. Sure, it's Chanel, so of course anything by the label will be 1. Extremely high in quality and 2. Timeless/ageless in style, but I guess I don't think of it as a bag that I would carry to a show as a statement piece or the must-have accessory to pair with my look. Seems I was sadly mistaken because at least at NYC fashion week, Chanel was the bag to carry.
5. Anna Wintour and Rachel Zoe look exactly the same in person.
I had to put this in here because these are the two that I saw at Zac Posen's show that I got the most questions about. What were they wearing, how did they look, etc…? The one bit of dirt that I will share is that I was about 12 inches away from Donna Karan in a restaurant; she did not look the same as she has looked in mags, TV... And let's just say, to be kind, the woman could use a very long nap and possibly a little tutorial while in the hair and make-up chair.
6. Choose your battles.
It became clear to me pretty early on that although all of us attending the shows would love to be in couture from head to toe, in this economy it's just not the possible for the majority of us. Women are now "choosing their battles" in that they're making choices about what key pieces they're investing in, and they're mixing those pieces in with affordable yet fashionable items. For example, at The Academy of Art show in the tents that we attended on Saturday I sat next to a fabulous woman that was wearing a ring that was easily $20,000, yet her outfit was quite plain, black layers, no labels to speak of. At the Zac Posen show I noticed some of the same, I saw a woman that was dressed in Zac but sporting a very affordable, but very chic, Alexander Wang bag. And at both shows I noticed several girls confidently wearing denim paired with a form-fitting blazer, but their bags were clearly where their money had gone, as they were some of the best of this season. I too practiced this philosophy, (see pics below); I went to 3 shows and at each wore a mix of high and low. On the far left I'm wearing a Trina Turk fur bomber, over an Ann Taylor satin sheath dress, a wide faux diamond necklace from Neiman's, (the designer's name escapes me…), Prada pumps and Prada bag. In the middle shot I'm wearing a Zara denim biker jacket, over a Rachel Roy dress – (her exclusive line for Macy's is fab – check it out!), bag and accessories from a no-name favorite shop in Chicago, and grey Louboutin pumps. Last but not least, on the far right I'm wearing an M by Missoni dress, Marc by Marc jewelry, paired with Prada boots and bag.
7. Act like you know what you're doing and people will think you KNOW what you're doing.
That was the vibe we gave off when we were at the shows and because of that we were offered better seats, invites to next year's events, as well as interest from designers. Confidence is everything, especially in NY and especially while navigating fashion week.
8. Watching a show at Bryant Park is something that anyone that loves fashion should do.
Seeing the excitement and anticipation on my husband's face as we were waiting to get into the Academy Show was really amazing. I had been to shows there before so I think I forgot what it felt like to go for the first time, the rush you get from the eye candy of a tent full of people dressed incredibly, (most of them anyway), that are there because they have a shared passion for the industry or the scene itself, is pretty invigorating. And the show itself, especially the first time, always exceeds your expectations. The experience, (albeit extremely quick), is also truly inspiring as you see such incredible craftsmanship parade in front of you and you think of the months of work that went into every stitch.
9. NYC (more specifically Manhattan) is the only part of this country that truly lives and breathes fashion, period. I have traveled to, lived in, and almost lived in, the most cosmopolitan cities our country has to offer and every time I go back to NYC, (and not just during this particular week), I am always in awe of the appreciation that both men and women have of fashion and the time they take to actually "dress". And by "dress" I mean taking the time to pull together a look for whatever they're doing; going to work, going out to eat, going to the gym – it doesn't matter, New Yorkers are doing it in style.
10. A girl (i.e. this girl) can only be glamorous so many days in a row.
Before I left SF I told my Mom over the phone that I was going to NYC to "play dress-up" for a few days, and that's what I did and it was great, but by day 3 of heels and make-up and "dressing" – I've got to tell you I was ready to come back to CA to scale it back a bit. In California it seems just about anything goes, (this is both good and BAD), but I have to tell you it's pretty nice to have the option to wear just about anything at just about any time of the day; and stepping out of the airport to the smell of redwoods in the air, well that didn't hurt my feeling about being back home either.
Jennifer Bakken is a San Francisco based wardrobe consultant.
For more information: cabinetdenvie.com.
This could possibly be the understatement of the year, but for those of you that have never been to fashion week, but watch shows like "Project Runway" the final episodes when they're at the tent only begins to tell a fraction of the story. A show in the tent at Bryant Park (and beyond) is as involved as a Broadway production but unlike Broadway the "show" really only lasts for about 15mn, (not counting the hour you wait for the show to begin at least as they never start on time). Here's a little video of Zac's show that does a pretty good job of showing some of the prep: videos.nymag.com
2. You get what you pay for.
It was clear to me, (and now to my husband after me pointing it out), between the 3 shows that I saw this season and shows I've seen in the past you get what you pay for when it comes to talent, (i.e. the models). Because unfortunately the performance on the runway by those models does influence how your audience will interpret your work. We were at one show that clearly had a small budget so the designer was forced to use models that were probably good at commercial/catalogue work, but were not trained for the runway and many of them just looked nervous and anything but graceful on the stage. Runway models are meant to be essentially clothes hangers for the designers, so their lines need to be sleek and their movement needs to be steady, smooth and extremely confident. Mr. Posen on the other hand used amazing girls for his show, many of which I recognized from other runway shows by top designers and a couple I recognized from Vogue spreads, (you too possibly if you watched the video). If it were me and I was casting for my big opportunity at the park, I would take a less is more approach and invest in a few killer girls because they do make the clothes look that much better, which could mean millions to a fashion designer.
3. I'm loving the trends that I saw happening for spring.
I must admit that I'm a fall/winter fashion lover at heart, but what I saw at two of the shows in particular really made me excited for what's to come in a couple seasons. At the Academy of Art show I really loved the student's use of fabrics and knits in a beautiful array of muted peaches, yellows, blues, purples and pinks. Everything that I saw coming down the runway felt really pretty and happy. Modern geometric shapes influenced the designs as well as bold patterns, while traditional madras plaid inspired some of my favorite looks.
At Zac Posen's show he too applied similar trends in his use of bold patterns and geometrics, but his palette overall was in much bolder hues. Zac gave a very noticeable nod to the 40's in a lot of his work and I love his playful introduction of colorful fur for spring – very San Francisco appropriate! The gowns of course were out of this world with sequin detail to die for, and the sculpted silk pant that he designed (featured below) was not only fabulous, but it looked wearable – as did 99% of the clothes I saw go down his runway btw. I want to note again how prevalent fine-gauge knits are going to be for spring and I couldn't be happier. Although we're all going to assume that these knit pieces are going to look perfect on the models, I am confident that this style (ala Missoni) is one that really will work on everyone. It moves with your body, flows over your curves and wears much better than others.
4. Chanel is still the "it" bag.
Now this may seem like common sense to some of you, but to me it was a bit of a surprise. Sure, it's Chanel, so of course anything by the label will be 1. Extremely high in quality and 2. Timeless/ageless in style, but I guess I don't think of it as a bag that I would carry to a show as a statement piece or the must-have accessory to pair with my look. Seems I was sadly mistaken because at least at NYC fashion week, Chanel was the bag to carry.
5. Anna Wintour and Rachel Zoe look exactly the same in person.
I had to put this in here because these are the two that I saw at Zac Posen's show that I got the most questions about. What were they wearing, how did they look, etc…? The one bit of dirt that I will share is that I was about 12 inches away from Donna Karan in a restaurant; she did not look the same as she has looked in mags, TV... And let's just say, to be kind, the woman could use a very long nap and possibly a little tutorial while in the hair and make-up chair.
6. Choose your battles.
It became clear to me pretty early on that although all of us attending the shows would love to be in couture from head to toe, in this economy it's just not the possible for the majority of us. Women are now "choosing their battles" in that they're making choices about what key pieces they're investing in, and they're mixing those pieces in with affordable yet fashionable items. For example, at The Academy of Art show in the tents that we attended on Saturday I sat next to a fabulous woman that was wearing a ring that was easily $20,000, yet her outfit was quite plain, black layers, no labels to speak of. At the Zac Posen show I noticed some of the same, I saw a woman that was dressed in Zac but sporting a very affordable, but very chic, Alexander Wang bag. And at both shows I noticed several girls confidently wearing denim paired with a form-fitting blazer, but their bags were clearly where their money had gone, as they were some of the best of this season. I too practiced this philosophy, (see pics below); I went to 3 shows and at each wore a mix of high and low. On the far left I'm wearing a Trina Turk fur bomber, over an Ann Taylor satin sheath dress, a wide faux diamond necklace from Neiman's, (the designer's name escapes me…), Prada pumps and Prada bag. In the middle shot I'm wearing a Zara denim biker jacket, over a Rachel Roy dress – (her exclusive line for Macy's is fab – check it out!), bag and accessories from a no-name favorite shop in Chicago, and grey Louboutin pumps. Last but not least, on the far right I'm wearing an M by Missoni dress, Marc by Marc jewelry, paired with Prada boots and bag.
7. Act like you know what you're doing and people will think you KNOW what you're doing.
That was the vibe we gave off when we were at the shows and because of that we were offered better seats, invites to next year's events, as well as interest from designers. Confidence is everything, especially in NY and especially while navigating fashion week.
8. Watching a show at Bryant Park is something that anyone that loves fashion should do.
Seeing the excitement and anticipation on my husband's face as we were waiting to get into the Academy Show was really amazing. I had been to shows there before so I think I forgot what it felt like to go for the first time, the rush you get from the eye candy of a tent full of people dressed incredibly, (most of them anyway), that are there because they have a shared passion for the industry or the scene itself, is pretty invigorating. And the show itself, especially the first time, always exceeds your expectations. The experience, (albeit extremely quick), is also truly inspiring as you see such incredible craftsmanship parade in front of you and you think of the months of work that went into every stitch.
9. NYC (more specifically Manhattan) is the only part of this country that truly lives and breathes fashion, period. I have traveled to, lived in, and almost lived in, the most cosmopolitan cities our country has to offer and every time I go back to NYC, (and not just during this particular week), I am always in awe of the appreciation that both men and women have of fashion and the time they take to actually "dress". And by "dress" I mean taking the time to pull together a look for whatever they're doing; going to work, going out to eat, going to the gym – it doesn't matter, New Yorkers are doing it in style.
10. A girl (i.e. this girl) can only be glamorous so many days in a row.
Before I left SF I told my Mom over the phone that I was going to NYC to "play dress-up" for a few days, and that's what I did and it was great, but by day 3 of heels and make-up and "dressing" – I've got to tell you I was ready to come back to CA to scale it back a bit. In California it seems just about anything goes, (this is both good and BAD), but I have to tell you it's pretty nice to have the option to wear just about anything at just about any time of the day; and stepping out of the airport to the smell of redwoods in the air, well that didn't hurt my feeling about being back home either.
Jennifer Bakken is a San Francisco based wardrobe consultant.
For more information: cabinetdenvie.com.
