With a little determination and a lot of luck, I was able to attend the Jonathan Simkhai fashion show at Milk Studios in the Meatpacking district of Manhattan. As I walked down the street, young women dressed in outrageous furs and colorful beanies waltzed down the sidewalk. They were met by about five street style photographers, but of course they pretended not to notice any of the cameras.
I walked into the studio where the runway show was being held. A few attendees had taken their seats, but many were greeting each other and complimenting on one another’s outfits. Photographers were circling the area and taking as many pictures of the action as possible.
The room was smaller than expected and had little decoration. The walls were white, the seats were white and the runway was white. My ticket said “Priority Standing”, so I stood behind the last row of seats. As I settled into my little standing area, I looked up and sitting directly across from me in the front row was none other than the editor-in-chief of American Vogue, Anna Wintour.
She was sitting quietly, looking bored and quite tired, waiting for the show to start. She faintly smiled at the passing photographers taking her picture, but mostly ignored the chaos that was ensuing around her.
Bloggers were standing in the middle of the runway getting their pictures taken with other vaguely familiar people I recognized from streetstyle photos on Vogue.com. At least four interviews were being recorded at the same time. Then, as if a there was some silent signal that the show was starting, everyone sat down and became quiet.
The lights dimmed and Baauer’s new song featuring M.I.A. and G-Dragon called Temple blared through the speakers as the first model strutted the runway. Jonathan Simkhai’s clothes were stunningly beautiful and feminine.
He mixed geometric patterns with fluid silhouettes that would flatter any woman’s body. Every look was black, white, navy or beige. After a quick ten minutes, Simkhai ran out, took a bow and left. Just like that, the show was over, and everyone rushed out of the venue to get to their next show.
It was so inspiring to see a runway show in person. After following New York Fashion Week online for years, to see it in person completely changed my perspective. Looking at the pictures online, I always pictured the room that the show was in being huge and roomy. This one was quite cramped and a bit utilitarian.
Seeing everyone interact with each other before made all of those pictures of front-rowers online seem so much more real. Nothing beats the excitement of runway show and I couldn’t be happier I had the opportunity to witness it first-hand.
