New York Fashion Week
This September, I had the opportunity to be apart of one of the biggest displays of art, design and culture in the world - New York Fashion Week. It was nothing short of amazing, and I loved getting to have even the smallest hand in the production of NYFW SS20.
I arrived in New York City on Friday evening and began working shows on Monday. This meant that I had a full weekend to explore the city before the hectic part began. Let’s start with the shows and then I’ll get to the notable places I want to share too.
The Shows
The first show I worked was Sandy Liang, as a general volunteer, and I was assigned to gift bags and check-in. Between set up and check in, the volunteers didn’t have much to do, so we just got to sit back and watch the art director do her thing, which was really cool.
The photos above show the runway and seating. The runway snaked back and forth four times to go between the benches and the rolls of insulation on the inside. Essentially, there were six “front rows” across the runway as there were people seated on the benches and insulation.
This runway show proves that design doesn’t have to follow strict guidelines - and it rarely should. I loved the look the insulation and plastic cover created for the runway, and it provided a better view for guests, too.
The show was on the fourth floor of what I believe was a warehouse. The building is situated along the West Side Highway, so the photo above is the view of Hoboken from lower Manhattan.
After the Sandy Liang show on Monday, I began working with VNF Productions for the rest of my trip. Tuesday was production day and Wednesday was show day.
VNF Production Day
VNF Productions is a production company co-founded by three young professionals with experience in fashion, public relations and runway production. Vena, Noah and Floresca were the absolute best to work with. I loved every hour I spent working with them, and the end result, after two very long days, was five beautiful shows for some truly amazing designers.
Tuesday was very busy but rather uneventful. I arrived to the venue in Brooklyn a little early, though, so I walked along the water in Brooklyn Bridge Park and took in the great views of Manhattan.
Show Day
Wednesday was my favorite day of them all. My call time was 8:30 and shows began at 10am. Shows ran every two hours from 10am until 8pm. I was the content creator for the day - meaning I shot behind-the-scenes photos and edited them between shows to post on VNF’s Instagram page.
My little “office” was the coat closet in the front of the venue. I made plenty of friends with models, volunteers and photographers coming in and out and peeping photos every now and then. Here are a few photos from the day:
I was in complete awe of the work of these designers. The shows only ran about 15-20 minutes, and my favorite part was always seeing the models and designer come off the runway from their final walk with so much joy and relief on their faces. You can see every ounce of hard work in their faces as soon as they close the show.
This was just part one. Part two will include all the restaurants, coffee shops and other things I found to be notable!
xo, Emily
“Fashion is the most powerful art there is. It’s movement, design and architecture all in one. It shows the world who we are and who we’d like to be.”
