MBFW! FNO! NYFW! FRCW! PFW! MFW! NSFW! WTF!
Okay, those last two aren’t really fashion-y acronyms, but I haven’t had enough coffee yet.
Last week, I spent two days immersed in the self-congratulatory, über-glamorous and mega-hyped (and hyped up) whirlwind that is New York Fashion Week. It’s fun, but it’s exhausting. I didn’t take nearly enough pictures with my own camera. But I did get to do some serious people watching, which is always fun.
I had to do real work for most of Thursday (and it will pay off in some absolutely Gorgeous Fabrics shortly!), but after work I headed down to help my darling Emmett prep for the Fashion Installation at the tents next day. Chloe was there, and she asked if I would be her “date” to the FNO/Project Runway event at Lord & Taylor’s flagship store. Had I known in advance I would have brought another change of clothes. Or at least high heels. Ah well – next time.
Chloe and I made our way into L&T with her BFF, Ethan (who like Chloe, is a doll). During the evening, I made a couple of observations:
FNO is all about the party
And it was a party extraordinaire. New York is always hopping, but on Thursday night, it seemed the whole city had emptied out onto the streets. Seriously – the last time I saw a crush of people like this was when I took my kids to Rockerfeller Center at Christmastime. It was a veritable tsunami of people, everywhere. The cab ride from Nolita to midtown took about twice as long as usual because of the crowds.
FNO is all about the celebrities
Walking up to Houston Street from Emmett’s to catch a cab, I walked by Christian Siriano’s boutique. He was inside, posing for pictures, and there was a line of about 2 dozen people waiting to get in. The line remained that long all night, I hear. Good for Princess Puffysleeves!
When Chloe and I arrived at Lord & Taylor, the place was plastered with posters of Kim Kardashian. She was there to promote her new fragrance. Chloe turned to me and asked, “Do you want to go meet Kim Kardashian?” The look I gave her must have been something because she cracked up completely and said, “Okay, let’s go find the Project Runway Event!”
We did – after quite a bit of searching (there were no signs to tell you what was happening on each floor). It was a crush of PR Alumni and fans. We managed to cut through the crowd pretty easily. Lots of people wanted their picture taken with Chloe, so I became her unofficial paparazza. There were tons of people there waiting to have their pictures taken with the likes of Mondo, Peach, Nick, Chris, Gordana, Korto and others. That was just on the 5th floor in one corner. There were minor celebs (and one Kardashian) scattered all throughout the store.
FNO is not about shopping
Fashion’s Night Out started, four years ago during the height of the financial crisis. It was the brainchild of Anna Wintour and others, who wanted to try to kick-start retail sales. At the time, everyone was watching the values of their homes and stock portfolio plummet, and they were clutching their wallets for dear life. Retail was dying, and the idea of Fashion’s Night Out was to give people a reason to shop. This year? It’s not about the sale. At Christian Siriano’s boutique, there were people lined up to get their picture taken with him. His boyfriend and another fellow were standing at the register, but they weren’t ringing a lot of things up. There was a lot of champagne being handed out, and it was early in the evening when I was there, so maybe later the booze took effect and they did some good selling.
At Lord & Taylor, there was lots of music, lots of people, lots of dancing, lots of free alcohol, but not a lot of shopping. The sales clerks were enjoying the party, but they weren’t making sales. I believe the theory is that, while it may not bump sales that evening, it does get people in the doors, so it will (hopefully) draw them back when the crowds subside to do actual purchasing. We’ll see. It’s not a bad thing, and it certainly was a lot of fun.
Oh, and they had the dresses from the Project Runway episode for sale. You know, much as I like all the designers, and I do, I was underwhelmed by the quality of the dresses. Really Lord & Taylor? Really? I know you had a specific price point that the designers had to meet, but the fabrications were just dreadful. That’s not the designers’ fault, but it didn’t make me want to buy anything. IMO the best looking one was Christopher’s current-season winner.
Well, that’s enough navel-gazing for today. Until next time…
Happy sewing!
I went to NYC with my SIL yesterday and I agree on the Project Runway line. The fabrications are meh.
Sounds like you had a great night absorbing the atmosphere. I have head from many others who attended in other cities and their observations led to the same general consensus. It’s about the party, fashion is the excuse. Never the less, it is a good idea and I suspect some do return for purchase. It is as much to see and be seen, yes?
That’s awesome, sounds like a lot of fun. Fashion week is really exhausting. I went to a few shows on Sat/Sun, and another one last night. I have some posts about it on my blog if you want to check it out.