Day 2 from New York Fashion Week Fall ’14 from ThreadNZ’s reporter Iris Chan on location at NYC to bring us daily highlights, streetstyle, and backstage reports…
Day 2 from New York Fashion Week Fall ’14 from ThreadNZ’s reporter Iris Chan on location at NYC to bring us daily highlights, streetstyle, and backstage reports. Read her NYFW 1 Diary on Thread here and Behind the Scenes with MoroccanOil at Cushnie et Ochs here.
NYFW 2 – Diary
Soundtrack for the Day: Broadway Musical “Merrily We Roll Along”
If you’re following New York Fashion Week, you’ll see large outlets cover all shows. This is no small feat as there are multiple shows happening at once all over this city. So to be able to cover backstage, the actual show and at multiple venues requires a large network.
Here at ThreadNZ, there’s just me. So I will try to give you a taste, in words, pictures and videos, of what it is like here at NYFW.
I was up in the morning, emailing about upcoming spots, writing, cutting video, editing pictures… there is no rest. I got myself ready for the event I would cover today as official press: backstage with MoroccanOil at Cushnie et Ochs.
Watch our one minute video backstage here on Youtube.
Once again I would meet and speak to the lovely Antonio Corral Calero. He is swoonworthy. I was also excited to see the team from MoroccanOil PR; they are some of the nicest people in the world, let alone Fashion Week. And lastly, the show was at Milk Studios, which hosts MADE Fashion; they have a very exciting line-up of
designers.
Being backstage can be intimidating. There’s a lot of rushing around, scowls, disapproving looks… That’s why having the smiling faces from MoroccanOil always makes it so much more inviting. Calero is always gracious amongst the chaos. Editors and photographers follow him constantly. But, he is always there for his staff; giving them direction and approving any looks before it hits the runway. He can be lost in concentration while he sculpts the hair, but then he is talking to you with his most charming smile. Can you tell how much I adore this man?
But alas I didn’t get to speak to him directly. The conglomeration of press was far too big for anything more intimate then a shoving scrum. So I watched with fascination the pace of backstage before a show. Models coming in, being primped and prodded, escorted from one seat to another. Hair stylists working in tight quarters with surgical precision; yes, that might sound like hyperbole, but you try creating the hairstyle. And make up artists having to perfect a look within in minutes; there are no do-overs.
The collection for Cushnie et Ochs was hidden away from the press. It was a highly anticipated show as it’s becoming a large favourite amongst actresses. That didn’t mean we press didn’t try, but were rebuffed by swarms of people turning us away. Sadly, there was no invite for me to see the show. And as I eluded in my first diary post, invites are not easy to get these days. Someone I spoke to backstage said that for one of the shows, they were given only 3 tickets.
Of course it’s disappointing not to see the show in person. And the Cushnie et Ochs was one of the few shows that wasn’t going to stream it online. But truthfully, backstage is really where it’s at. I saw Karolina Kurkova stand one metre in front of me. Of course, I felt quite short and chunky, but I am now the envy of all of my male friends.
As I left Milk Studios, the backstage stress released as I walked into the streets of Chelsea. The sun was out and I thought about all I just witnessed. And I started to hum one of my favourite musicals set in New York City. This is fast paced industry in a fast paced city. You need a bit of Sondheim to help you through it.
Words and photos, Iris Chan
8 February 2014
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