My Time at Fashion Week.2

This past Thursday, my friend and next-door neighbor, Jessica and I went to Bryant Park to attend Isaac Mizrahi’s Fall 2010 fashion show.

On the morning of the show (which was scheduled for noon) Jessica and I woke up at around 9:00 convinced that we needed approximately two and a half hours in order to be presentable to the fashion world. Jessica knocked on my door to make sure I was awake and I made coffee for us both while we discussed possible outfits. Drinking coffee on any other day would normally be a fine and necessary choice in order to get the morning going, however in our case it only created more anxiety – cue 20 minutes later while we frantically and barbarically ripped apart our dressers trying to find something to wear. Needless to say after about an hour of this we finally did discover something “worthy” enough for fashion week. I wore a pair of black harem pants, a vintage black top, and the highest pair of high heels I had ever seen - they were Jessica's and also black. From underneath a mountain of clothing, Jessica found a pair of black boot cut pants that tied in the front, a grey blazer, and a simple white top. She completed the outfit with a pair of grey boots her mother had sent her a week before.

The morning continued as we did our makeup, I believe we both wanted something along the lines of “casual yet chic.” I straightened my hair, the little I do have, and we both finished our coffee. After this all commenced the time was 10:30. It would seem that we had given ourselves a little too much time, huge surprise. But we were problem solvers, and Jessica and I agreed that we would instead leave then, which would allow us some extra time to look around. My suitemate who was sitting in the kitchen during all of this, immediately looked up at Jessica and I as if we were crazy. “You both need to calm down,” she said. “And Veronica, breathe, you’re shaking.” We both nervously laughed. Let me repeat that coffee was a terrible decision.

We did in fact leave not soon after that. We walked out of the dorm towards the subway stop, in extremely painful high heels, getting halfway down the street before deciding that we should split a cab; wouldn’t it be better if we showed up in one anyway. So we got into a cab and headed towards Bryant Park. Maybe it was because of the nerves, but both Jessica and I felt nauseous; and the cab driver’s abrupt stopping did nothing to help ease our stomachs.

Ten minutes later we had arrived to an enormous crowd surrounding the steps outside the tent’s entrance. We left the cab and walked as gracefully as we could while wearing 6 inch heels towards the building. From what we could tell, that upon entering you needed to show some sort of pass to the men guarding the entrance. These individuals were large. So large that it wouldn't be ridiculous to assume that they doubled as heavy weight boxers when they weren't guarding fashion shows. Conclusion: we were terrified. While we had our names on a list we did not have any sort of pass and it would appear that that list was inside. Quick thinking, we acted as if we had done this many times before and walked up to doors. Fortunately, it seemed that we had convinced the security guard that we had in-fact done this before and he let us walk through, saying, “Bring it next time.” Jessica and I held in our laughter as we walked through the doors. If we knew it was this easy, I think we both would have attempted this before.

When we got inside, we headed towards the end of a reasonably long line that appeared to be heading towards the main tent, which is where Isaac Mizrahi’s show would take place. A woman with a note pad came up to our section of the line and began asking people if they already had their seating assignments. Knowing we were on the list I quickly got her attention, told her our names and we were able to immediately enter the main tent. Based on our luck it would seem that we were made to attend fashion shows.

Once inside, Jessica and I were overwhelmed by everything. For one we both agreed that there were many people who didn’t exactly look like they belonged at Fashion Week (which was a little disappointing). Basic blue jeans, plain t-shirts, and ugg boots are fine for normal day wear but this was NOT a normal day! On the other hand there were others, who not only dressed the part but also were recognizable figures in the fashion world, specifically writers for Vogue.

The tent’s setup was particularly beautiful in a simplistic way. Large drapes hung from the ceiling that had treetops painted on either side while the runway was made out of a concrete like material. Jessica and I found our seats indicated by our name cards. Not only were we excessively excited by the fact that we even had name cards but we were pleasantly surprised to find that we had good seats for being “nobodies.” After 20 minutes of talking about whom we recognized and the outfits of those around us the lights dimmed, recognizing that the show was about to begin.

The show began as a live band played music while the models dressed in Isaac’s designs walked down the runway. Jessica and I would grab eachother’s hands whenever there was a particular piece that we liked or if we were just excited in general. As the program indicated there were several chapters within the show, each chapter highlighting a particular part of his collection. The final chapter was the most exceptional as the room was transformed into a winter wonderland. Faux snowflakes slowly fell down to the floor as models wearing glittery dresses elegantly strolled across the runway. But then - as quickly as it had begun it had ended. The show itself only lasted for about 15 minutes. The models collectivley walked out, presenting all of the beautiful outfits we had just seen. Everyone was clapping, it was fabulous. Isaac came out about two minutes later. He quickly walked down the runway smiling and waving before heading backstage. I was upset that my special moment had finally ended but was glad that I was fortunate enough to experience it at all. Everyone began to get up to leave and Jessica and I looked at eachother and exchanged sad faces. We both knew that reality was waiting for us right outside the exit doors. “I suppose we have to go back now,” I said. Jessica agreed and we headed towards the doors. However, not before grabbing our name cards.