I know I’ve already touched on how much I love the experience of fashion week, but today I’m going to explain the why. I was inspired to write this after the Pamella Rowland show I attended this year at NYFW, and the Gucci FW18 presentation is what is fueling my thoughts as I type this. Something that people don’t understand in fashion (cue my Devil Wears Prada Miranda schooling Andy on blue cerulean sweater moment) – is it is more than just the clothing. It is the inspiration - the thought- the craft – and the artistry that goes into a presentation or collection.
One thing I learned fast after getting into the industry, is designers aren’t designing their lines willy nilly. It takes months- sometimes YEARS for their inspiration for a collection to come to life. When I was a teen, I had dreams of attending fashion week. I remember it was actually my parents who put the bug in my ear about fashion week, on one of our NYC trips for my mom’s treatments at Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center. I was always enthralled with fashion from watching my mom get ready for events, so the thought of a “fashion week” made me giddy. As I grew older and started to really understand style even more, is when the dream came alive.
When attending <or even streaming> fashion shows, even if you don’t necessarily love the designs of what are in the presentation- it’s the theme, the inspiration behind what they created that means something. What people don’t understand, is fashion designers are not only showing off their clothing. They are creating a full on production by something that has inspired them and made them who they are- and that is seriously amazing. As someone who always has their mind open to finding inspiration in anything, seeing what others find inspiring is what I live for.
When I saw the concept for the Gucci FW18 show, I literally stopped everything I was doing to stream it live. From the outside, it seemed weird, but once explained, it was genius- the operating room of the creative mind. The runway was designed as a hospital operating room and the models wore dramatic styles, shapes, and carried props such as a baby dragon, their own heads, and snakes. It was the coolest and most inspirational and creative show I have seen, and I’m still thinking about it days later.
The point I am trying to make here, is that style isn’t just clothing. It comes from an inspiration that someone is able to artistically translate into clothing and accessories for us to wear. To me, style and fashion is the coolest form of art, as we wear it day in and day out and we can each put our own personal touch on it to express who we are.
For my NYFW Day 3 look, I expressed myself though the look above which incorporates my fave color of pink with sparkles; and packs some sentimental value through my vintage sun belt that I wear as a necklace, which was my moms. She inspired me so much through her style, and I love wearing vintage pieces of hers that I've kept to remind me to stay strong and classy, just like her. My friend Marisa of DC Style Factory helped me to create this look, when I was stumped on how to pair this dress. She also is the one who gave me the tip to wear the vintage chain belt as a necklace!
Get the look:
While NYFW is over, I urge you to stream some of the shows for Paris Fashion Week, which is starting tomorrow, Feb 27 – March 6. While I’ve attended NYFW, next on my list of goals is to attend Paris Fashion Week. While I’ve heard how hard it is to attend PFW, I too thought NYFW would be out of reach at one point. So, here’s to dreams- although they may seem unattainable, you never know what you can accomplish until you try – this goes for style, and for life.
Photos by Maxey Greene
XOXO
Blonde in the District