NYFW is not what it used to be. There are less designers, less parties and less swag–especially when it comes to press people like yours truly! I still had a good time. Here are a few moments that really turned my head!
My favorite designer of the week was…Vivienne Tam! Here colorful flowing prints had the crowd going crazy. She took an eloquent walk down the runway at the end as most designers do and it brought on a standing ovation. I am grateful that she always invites me to her shows and always gives me a seat. At my advanced age, I don’t appreciate that 85 per cent of designers that invite me to their shows make me stand! A couple of other designers that give me seats are the talented Kevan Hall and Negris LeBlum.
There were a few fun booths in the lobby of Spring Studios just as you left the shows and they had some unique activities and prizes. The NYFW Capsule Collection by MailChimp let you use a special selfie machine that provided perfect lighting. It created a photo of me that totally eliminated my chicken neck. I wish that I could walk around with one of these machines all the time! After your selfie, you got to pick one of the five gifts on the wall. The floral pants were my favorite pick followed by the green scarf.
CashApp had this oddball display featuring beachy leisure wear that seemed to have an Hawaiian theme. The staff at the booth handed out bouquets of exotic flowers to all the ladies who visited. I was hoping for cash but the flowers were appreciated, LOL!
The final booth before the door was by Bluestone Lane who served up coffee in both Euro and American styles. I ordered a double espresso that kept me up until 2 am! It is hard to get through all the NYFW without caffeine to keep you going and Bluestone is the gold standard of NYC coffee chains. I think that I will be a regular at Bluestone Land coffee from now on!
My favorite “off campus” event for NYFW was something that I covered a little more deeply in a previous post–the Jane Morgan In My Style Performance Gown Exhibit at the 3 West Club at 3 West 51st Street. The exhibit was curated by the 98 year old Morgan herself with a bit of help from publicist Bonnie Bien of LaPresse PR. There were a lot of gowns worn on her album covers and a lot of personal memorabilia like thank you notes from major stars who came over to Morgan and hubby Jerry Weintraub’s homes for a bit of dinner and cocktails. This exhibit covers 70 years of gowns and it is interesting to see the evolution of evening wear styles all within one large showroom. I hope that Ms. Morgan is able to come in person to NYC some day and meet with her admirers. Check out her YouTube performances; she appeared on Ed Sullivan many times. I hear that the this talented lady has quite a remarkable fine jewelry collection and I hope that she puts together a show based on that in the near future.
It goes without saying that a lot of unexpected fun happens during NYFW. I accidentally stumbled upon the pink double decker bus dubbed the “Laneige Hydration School On The Go” in front of the Sephora store in Soho at the tail end of Fashion Week, climbed on board and had a blast! Guests got to spin a wheel on the way in (I won Laneige logo socks) and then on the first deck of the bus guest got to use a really cool selfie machine. Next up, guests tested products at different counters. When it was time to walk up to the top deck, you got a gift bag filled with a couple of Laneige samples and a nice size clear cube filled with Bright Pink Shimmer Sixlets, which are a fancy pink version of M&M’s. I cannot wait to try my sample of the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask because people are saying that it actually helping diminish lines at the corners of their mouths and also is plumping their lips!
I also enjoyed myself at the MCM “pop up” booth promoting the new fragrance MCM Ultra at Prince and Mercer Streets. It was great to meet the MCM Beauty Ambassador and take home a sample of this amazing fragrance. This booth was tiny and adorable and I remember when it was used to sell cupcakes! The folks walking by couldn’t miss the booth because it is covered in MCM logo wallpaper and there was a gorgeous glass showcase added to show off bottles of Ultra and other sensational MCM scents. Needless to say, there were long lines all day! Fragrance fanatics like yours truly could not wait to step up to the counter, talk about the evolution of the new scent with the adorable MCM brand ambassador and get a sample! This lovely women’s fragrance includes notes of apricot, red apple and cedarwood and it’s a knockout. Frankly, it is strong and woodsy enough to work for a man. Just FYI, the bottle for MCM Ultra is awesome–it is designed to look like a gold MCM logo backpack. This is my new “go to” fragrance and I love how long it lasts!
