I didn't speak one word today. I'm afraid I'm guilty of partaking in the individualistic societal way of life commonly found on campus: everyone going their separate ways, paths crisscrossing, but never looking up from their Blackberry long enough to make eye contact or have a conversation. My first-year enthusiasm for making friends has been jaded. We all have our own agendas now; it's sad.
In the wake of Paris Couture, New York Fashion Week commences this Friday but you'd never know it by the understated amount of PR. I can see why advertisers/the media are showing a suppressed interest this season (even the website looks gloomy); so many designers have cancelled their shows due to economic instability. It's just not worth the time, effort, and finances. With major names pulling out, this leaves windows of opportunities for lesser-known labels to make their debut. Designers are also cutting their guest lists to the bare minimum (mainly buyers and editors) and forgoing the usual glamorous parties. I have mixed feelings about this. We are now focusing on the clothes and the industry, and not frivolous appendages but isn't that what the industry is all about? The exclusiveness of it all. Where are all the celebrities?! You know times are hard when McDonald's is the official sponsor, Marc Jacobs axes his annual soiree, and Vera Wang, in an attempt to nullify the fee to rent the tents/lighting/production, moves her show to her small Soho boutique.
Something to look forward to in 2010, however, is the transition of Fashion Week from Bryant Park to the bigger and classier Damrosch Park in Lincoln Center. Near Chelsea and the West Side, this location is seemingly perfect for attendees who have to rush from show to show. Some designers, on the other hand, are less than pleased. Bryant Park was within walking distance for many studios so garments could be patched up and quickly messengered if something were to go wrong. I guess they'll have to take durability and quality into consideration next year, hmm?
A few weeks ago, I suffered from a terrible "I have nothing to wear" crisis. With my friend waiting for me to meet her at her apartment, I unsnapped an ostrich feather trim from the hem of a Trina Turk dress and hand-sewed it onto an American Apparel racerback tank literally five minutes before I walked out the door. It was quite possibly the sloppiest sewing job I've ever done, but I must've been onto something because Riccardo Tisci, the ingenue behind the house of Givenchy, showed a similar feather-trimmed piece in his couture show.
Givenchy Couture '09
Trina Turk feather hem, American Apparel tank, Vera Wang necklace, Lorick dress, Wolford tights. Classy theater bathroom setting.
