Snapped at NY Fashion Week!

I got street style snapped during New York Fashion Week in my Audrey Cantwell silk striped dress, Alexander McQueen belt, White Label leather gloves, and Lanvin silver sneaks. Photo: Elsa Lindström


What would you call a week-long event that describes positive havoc, sensory overload; requires boundless energy, and looks like the word "WOW" sounds?

NEW YORK FASHION WEaK. And I just got back from it.

With no time to blog while I was there, here's my lowdown, mostly via photos. This post can't possibly include everything I checked out but includes stuff from the days before my camera died! I'll start with the Independent Fashion Bloggers conference I attended and which I researched beforehand for my esteemed colleagues over at CBC Radio One in Toronto on a program called Q. 

The fabulous Diane Pernet and I before she went on stage as a panelist. 

The "Future of Fashion Blogging" was the best-moderated panel and had the heavy hitters; Bryan Boy, Tavi, and Susie debating the status of the celebrity fashion blogger and its impact on the fashion journalism industry. I had the chance to chat with Scott aka The Sartorialist for a while before darting off with Dustin Pittman to catch the stunning Halston presentation of their new Fall 2010 line. 

I met the bubbly Sarah Jessica Parker who recently announced partnering with Halston. Marios Schwab, the designer behind Halston, was present and chatty with the press. He told me the inspiration behind the clothes was 'liquid nitrogen'. 

I  loved the earrings by Jacqueline Rabun: elegant and bold.

Ran into Susie again and we talked about Dazed Digital. I wonder how long before she leaves the youth rogue online magazine; she seems disenchanted by it and expressed a desire to work on her blog more. Since she is "THE" blogger; the talented and hardworking helm of fashion blogging, it would be welcome to see her blog develop. Hearts to Susie!

I also ran into Editor-at-Large of American VOGUE, Hamish Bowles, whom I met outside of where I was staying in the West Village a few days earlier. We walked a few blocks together; discussing the sadness of Lee McQueen's death, the rise of online magazines, and his own unconventional sartorial savvy. Wikipedia says of Hamish, he is 'recognized as one of the most respected authorities on the worlds of fashion'. And yet, despite the grandeur of his position, he was sincere and likable. 

Me with Gaeun Joo, Editor of Korean VOGUE, showing off our matching silver sneaks. 

The shows at MILK and at the tents at Bryant Park, had me running between two totally different hoods; pining for better weather in my heels! Derek Lam, and 3.1 Philip Lim were too packed for me to pull out the camera, and by the time I tried to at Ralph Lauren and J. Mendel, it was clear that I wasn't going to get good shots, and I didn't want to! A fashion runway programme is over so quickly, I chose to focus on watching the presentations 

Other than when I have done fashion interviews for television, I've always found frontstage to be where the real action is. Backstage on the other hand is just a sea of hairstylists, dressers and MUA's swarming around iPod-fiddling models as they aimlessly get their hair yanked and eyebrows pulled. There's not much time to take in the artistry. While it is definitely special to behold the garments backstage before anyone else, in the end, the ideal place to view clothes is on display on an actual body; against the intended backdrop, to the beat of booming music on the runway. 

Nonetheless, backstage is where you'll find celebrities milling about. Backstage at denim wizards, G-STAR's spectacle, British model Agyness Deyn caused a near riot among paparazzi when she showed up in her dyed-black lid. Meanwhile, I chatted (en français!) with cute Garance Doré who posed for me while a froufrou-looking Kelly Osbourne was being interviewed in the background by MTV.

Random selection of photos I took of pals at a couple of the Fashion Week parties that I bothered to bring my camera to!

Other critical "New York Stuff: Seen and Heard" worth mentioning:

I frequented Tartine in West Village way more than one should in two weeks, and same goes for dancing at the SubMercer Lounge (but I blame their dope hip hop DJ's for that!). New York's most janky and not-to-be-missed institution is the Museum of Moving Image in Astoria. Here, the beautiful Biba and I found the most random (read: AMAZING) assortment of unrelated, dusty paraphernalia from sitcoms and films, including an odd Egyptian-themed screening room, game show signage, and a small sweater collection from The Cosby Show's Cliff Huxtable character.

Honorable art mentions: as usual, I hit the major museums and galleries. Gabriel Orozco at MoMa blew my mind as did Tino Seghal at the Guggenheim.

Meandering through the Lower East Side and Chelsea galleries was fun, particularly meeting up with my pal Jon at the Shaquille O'Neale-curated exhibit, "Size DOES Matter" ?! Crazytown.

Had a minute to peep my home boy, melody-making-hip hip-electronicist (!!) Nosaj Thing's gig at New York's Le Poisson Rouge with Daedalus and Jogger which, despite having seen him perform numerous times before, was incredible.

I'm thrilled that I didn't have too much time for shopping because I did plenty of it right before NYC. However, I had been hearing good things about Downtown Brooklyn and so I did do a run through it and had pleasant surprise; meeting fellow fashion blogger, Zana Bayne, at the store where she works as a sales assistant. She posed for me amidst Ann Demeulemeester pieces that it hurt to leave behind.

Just the week before, I had been discussing Zana with my lovely friend, clothing designer Audrey Cantwell after they did a swap of their wares. Happy coincidence.

And after two weeks of fun, fashion, work, and friends, I am back home in Montréal and excited to get back to work!

* All photos are taken by me unless I'm in them, in which case I wrangled an anonymous bystander to do the honors!!

In Bloom

I guess I'm supposed to provide the requisite explanation for my absence over the last many months? Here goes.... I took up a gig as a Host of two shows at CBC Radio 3, a station which explores indie music, I moved apartments, and well, accidentally overhauled most aspects of my life. If Voltaire had a whirlpool instead of a garden, I think my twenty-something mind would have a better grasp of what he meant. My life has been like a whirlpool spitting out whatever pieces of inspiration that are not being cultivated at the centre. Spit, cultivate, spit, cultivate, hit repeat. I have realized that some of the biggest (and best) changes have to be brought onto you, they have to happen to you rather than you seeking them out. How's that for a vague disclaimer?
Sightings:
Last week I was in New York again and in an art gallery I approached a bespoke woman speaking French whom I believe was Julliette Binoche. I told her she was beautiful. She asked if I could be paid to say that to her every day. I asked, how much? Vanity is so expensive. Someone asked to take my photo for a Swedish style magazine the other day and I must admit, I almost had the same reaction as my Madame Binoche.
Last month I went to Paris with friends and I smiled at a frazzled Stella McCartney in the 9th arrondisement. She looked at me like she had just finished telling a joke and trying to conceal a giggle.
Off to NY again for a fun fashion research trip. But not until I share something that Oxfam in the UK is doing which I think is ace!

(Image: Guardian. Models showing off designer pieces sold at Oxfam, and that's designer, Henry Holland, in shorts!)

Oxfam, a charity shop that has long been selling affordable second-hand clothes to raise money for international development aid is joining forces with young designers from the London College of Fashion. The students will be reworking clothes donated to the charity's new 'boutique' opening in the posh shopping quarter in Westbourne Grove, London.

It's no secret that I love my secondhand shopping. I've visited several Oxfam stores in the UK and I've always thought that they could use a face lift. There is no need for "used" clothing to carry the stigma of tattered out-of-date fashion, nor is there reason for "vintage" stores to be considered stodgy.

The injection of high fashion elements into the secondhand clothing industry is just one key step in changing public perception around sustainable fashion. And this is all for charity? Sheesh! Couldn't be better.
Link to original story in The Guardian.

A suit for jumping

My favourite thing about the jumpsuit is its completeness. Like a dress, this one-piece
can be rocked solo - thrown on without worrying about separates. I love layering as
much as the next lady, but the simple functionality of a jumpsuit is a welcomed reprieve.
I adore these two breezy, wide-legged jumpsuits presented at NYFW from Bruce (above
left), and Ruffian (above right).