The glamour! The glamour! The glamour?
Not so fast.
As many of my readers will be well aware, Feb. 2 to 9 marked New York City's Fashion Week, showcasing a bevy of world-class designers' fall and winter collections. Not only did your resident fashion guru attend several of the shows, but I also obtained a three-day internship with Factory Public Relations, one of the firms in charge of orchestrating fashion shows throughout the week-long extravaganza.
I began my Fashion Week stint Monday the 5th by cabbing it to Manhattan's Chelsea district to help out at the Jeremy Laing show.
Laing, a Toronto-based designer who studied under Alexander McQueen and attended London's Westminster University, was debuting his second fall collection at an off-site New York loft.
My job: to dress the models. Pleased, to say the least, I immediately got to work probing the look-book, memorizing the exact way Laing envisioned his earth-tone garments to fit the selected group of predominantly Eastern European waifs.
In addition to belting my assigned girls -- Jessibell and Erika -- into their silk tulip dresses and latex pantsuits, I looked on as the girls took advantage of the Council of Fashion Designers of America's (CFDA) newly implemented backstage food tables -- a move to remedy the issue of underweight models. These girls happily chowed down on crackers and fruit cups as a team of makeup and hair artists worked its magic.
Quite typical of the fashion world, Laing's show began 30 minutes behind its scheduled 11 a.m. time slot, lasting just nine minutes.
Nonetheless, audience members seemed generally pleased with the collection, which could be likened to Prada's more recent offerings in both color (grays, navies and chartreuse hues) and the ruched fabrics.
The Laing show completed, it was back to Factor PR's Soho office to work on the seating arrangements for the following day's Pegah Anvarian runway event.
Unlike Laing, Anvarian is well known (and well funded) enough to show in Bryant Park, the main location of New York Fashion Week. Moreover, several celebrities were rumored to be attending, including Nick Cannon, Kim Kardashian, Camilla Al-Fayed of the Harrod's empire and a throng of notable fashion editors from all the big-name publications.
And because fashion loves drama, it was my public relations firm's job to seat the newly split Cannon and Kardashian adjacent to each other at the show.
Day one of my Fashion Week internship completed, it was off to the Peninsula Hotel to meet some friends for drinks, before heading to The Waverly Inn to stargaze over dinner (unfortunately, there were no stars in sight tonight).
Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. found me on the F-train to Bryant Park to pick up press credentials for the Anvarian show that night, then back the Soho headquarters to finalize the seating charts. At around 3 p.m., our team of 12 head over to the tent to prep for the show.
And if you (like I) thought runways shows were all glitz and
glam, then kindly think again. After all, before there can be a glamorous show, first must come the toil of organizing the venue.
From setting up 300 seats, to placing seat numbers and gift bags, this process was in no way an enchanting task. In addition to a shortage of masking tape and chairs, we were faced with tardy models and the news that Camilla Al-Fayed would not attend after all.
Still, the show must go on, and it certainly did. At 8 pm, the show's scheduled start-time, attendees were still filing in, including both Nick Cannon and Kim Kardashian, who both arrived with their respective entourages and caused quite a shutter fest among the papa razzi. The latter is especially true for Kardashian, as her sex tape with singer Brandy's brother Ray Jay was recently released to the public.
At 8:15 the lights were dimmed, the crowd quieted, and the runway came to life with a procession of lanky models donning Anvarian's monochromatic fall collection, a color palette keeping with the overall theme of this winter's Fashion Week.
Three techno songs later and the catwalk was cleared, with the celebrity guests of the evening escorted backstage to conduct interviews with television crews and make quick wardrobe changes before heading to their next destination.
Kardashian swapped her black mink trench coat for a form-fitting purple dress, accessorized with Jimmy Choo sandals and a Gucci clutch.
Following a quick debriefing from Factor PR's president, I was amicably discharged, free to meander the tents in search of free swag and, of course, the renowned Bryant Park Mo91t Bar.
And so went my 48-hour stint as a behind-the-scenes member of New York Fashion Week. And while working the shows may not be as glamorous as simply attending them, the experience taught me some valuable information: models eat, PR officers scheme, and celebrities are smaller in person than one could possibly fathom.
