Nicole Miller & Erin Fetherston at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week
[ 9 September 2008 ]
So, for those of you who don’t know already, I’ve teamed up with My It Things & Inside The Tents to do a whole lot of coverage of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week! Inside The Tents is totally the site to watch for up-to-date coverage of the shows — there’s a live Twitter feed from the contributors, anything tagged #nyfw by us gets published on the site, so it’s super-quick & live live live! (It’s like evil, evil crack for fashionistas. You’re welcome!)
Friday was my first day in the tents & it was a pretty eye-opening experience. Fashion week in New Zealand & Australia have nothing on New York! The entrance to the tents is staffed by burly men wearing earpieces, & as you walk up the steps, cameras flash all around you. People on either side of the barricades stare at you, smile at you, talk to each other about what they can see. Inside, the tent is ringed by promotional booths where they happily hand out swag. (The queue for a pair of Havianas snakes around on itself.) The entrances to the shows are manned by brusque & (dare I say it) slightly self-important men in suits, who don’t look at you when they talk & expect the swarms of girls in stilettos to follow their arbitrary rules. “Did Julia write a number on your invitation? No? THEN I’M NOT LETTING YOU IN!” & the final nail in the coffin, in terms of the obvious differences between fashion week here & fashion week in the antipodes? The backstage entrances are guarded by police. Plenty of them.
I attended two shows on Friday — Nicole Miller & Erin Fetherston.
The Nicole Miller show had a bangin’ soundtrack which had most of us dancing in our seats (or grooving on our feet — the show was so popular that it was well past the point of standing room only). The collection was fresh & youthful, with lots of hats, elegant twisted draping & printed sun-dresses. A pair of tailored harem pants also made a huge impression (& were sent down the runway at least 3 times). Most of the models wore long necklaces ending with a bead & a feather. One of the things I liked most was a trenchcoat worn open & belted over a sweet summer dress.
Afterwards, I met with Yuli & after some judicious flashing of various passes, we ascended the stairs to the American Express Sky Box Lounge. The Amex Lounge is an amazing space situated above two of the tents, with covered glass on either side. As the shows begin, the shutters are opened, & you can see right down onto the catwalk. The view is absolutely incredible, & even better, while all this is going on, they offer you canapes & thrust alcohol at you.
It was sitting there that I did my first video experiment, completely off-the-cuff & unprepared, in case you couldn’t tell! Here I am introducing the Erin Fetherston show! (Please excuse the terrifying still!)
I filmed this with my teeny little camera, so the quality isn’t exceptional, but it does give you an idea of what happened at the show!
Erin Fetherston.
Erin’s show was amazing — I sat in absolute rapture as I watched it. Remember when we talked about dressing like a cupcake should feel? For anyone hankering after that aesthetic, Erin is totally your girl. She showed plenty of white & gold brocade, iridescent sequins (shiny!), baby pink accents, & lots of frills. Bjork’s infamous swan dress would have fit right in. Some of the dresses looked like what you might wear to bed in the 1960s, but it all added to the drama & there were some absolutely incredible pieces. I adored about 80% of it. Swoon! Lust!
Today I’m heading back into the fray — Betsey Johnson is showing this afternoon, & I’m really excited to see what happens (& to eyeball what the attendees are wearing)! Stay tuned for more madness!
Love letters & feather headdresses,
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You did an awesome job! Came very natural to you. ;)
I Love Love Love Betsey Johnson – jealous! Enjoy the show. I just got some sexy-sporty black gladiator-ish wedge Betseville shoes the other day.
I am rockin’ them like it’s no one else’s business.
Cheers!
Elana
I love Betsey Johnson too! Looking forward to reading your report on her show. I also appreciate your prettsy dress, tattoos and wooly hat combo. Very cute.
Becky x
How fun!! I absolutely adore Erin Fetherston, her stuff is always ridiculously cute. I wish I could afford her stuff, instead I bought practically her whole line for Target, haha.
wow, what a treat! i’d love to attend a bona fide fashion event, you’re a lucky lady! i’ll keep my eyes peeled for betsey, LOVE her!
did you spot any celebs??
adoration x
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I love Erin Fetherston, that’s absolutely fantastic you were able to go. What is the song playing in the background of the runway video you filmed?
Arghhh I’m so unbelievably jealous of you seeing the Betsey show!
Yay Gala! how awesome!!! ;-)
Elana — Thanks very much!
Voila Megan — Melissa George? Haha. She doesn’t count, I don’t think…
Ayesha — It’s a song by Sophie Ellis Bextor, called If You Go!
wow, this is super awesome! thanks for sharing!!
Great job! Fashion week is so exciting! I got to go to the Anna Sui show a few years ago when I worked in her Soho boutique and I am so glad I got to actually experience one of the tent show, it was awesome. I will be following your coverage. Have a great time!
Cool beans. You make a great correspondent!
You’re a natural in front of the camera! The shows sound like so much fun. Can’t wait for the next instalment!
Ooooh! Betsy Johnson!! I could only dream of doing something so classy and exotic as going to a fashion show, and a Betsy Johnson one to boot. Have a blast!
Thanks for sharing the political and logistical peculiarities of fashion week, Gala. So many reports stream in, but I’ve always wanted to know the nitty-gritty details like how the bouncers act, if EVERYONE gets photographed like mad, and do people really burst into tears when they’re not on the list. Love the inside scoopage!
I love Cocoa Krispies and Gala Darling in the morning.
You go, Gala! I wouldve choked at the camera in my nervousness haha. You did so friggin well!!
Thanks for sharing this with us Gala – it was amazing to see! Have a great time at Betsy… I’m looking forward to seeing more video :)
Oh Gala, you finally made it to NYFW! I knew it would happen really soon n_n.
I want to know all about the Betsey show.
Have fun.
Sounds (&looks) like you’re having a blast :D …the still isn’t terrifying…. you look very busy & important with that big ‘ol microphone. Have fun at the Betsey Johnson show!
Niiiiice.
Apparently Victoria Beckham is at NYFW. Have you seen her new haircut? It’s f**king GORGEOUS!! Keep your eyes open! Although I’m not sure she mingles with the commoners :P
how fantastic!!
looks like you’re having a really great time! great job Gala!
hey gala!man amazing for sure!!!!
what celeberities did you spot?how did you score such a fab opportunity?
Does anybody know if that song is on ITunes from Erin Fetherstone’s show? I can’t find it!!
You look fabulous Gala! I would have been so jetlagged and looking haggard. Instead you look amazing.
Enjoy reading your Twitter updates.
ss – if you want the song, email me (marixblog @ gmail dot com). I have it and will upload it for you.
Gala, for someone who had just gotten off an international flight, you looked outrageously glow-y.
NYC is so much cooler than Australia…I’m just about the most jealous ever.
=D
Thanks, cuties!
Joanne — No, I haven’t seen Victoria… Sad! I haven’t seen many celebs actually. Melissa George, haha, Kelly Osbourne, Anna Wintour & Andre Leon Talley are about it so far!
Shame, I feel like she’s probably being whisked about on a cloud, with a million burly minders on surrounding clouds.