Twice a year, Fashion Week descends upon New York like a swarm of well-dressed bees. There are clothes! There are models! There are famous people! There is media attention! Here’s my brief brush with fame for the week: on my way to sketch night on Tuesday I was annoyed to find my path blocked by a herd of excited people staring at the door of the Belstaff store on Madison Ave. Uggghhh, I thought, get out of the waaaay. A small army of photographers were laying in wait with cameras at the ready, each of them dressed in black. Which celebrity was about to grace us with their anointed and highly-paid presence? And out sauntered a grinning David Beckham in a leather jacket, followed by a trail of lesser-known models, also in leather. It was a really nice jacket.
Anyway, for those of us not famous enough to be followed around by photographers, or not even fancy enough to snag invites to the runway shows at Lincoln Center, there are two ways to scope out the scene: crowd observation and fashion blogs. Last time I covered Fashion Week for the Art of Style I opted for the former, but this time I decided to peruse the actual collections and pick out a couple looks to draw about.
On the left is the literal gold standard of blazers from Versus Versace. It’s intimidating. I would not be surprised if it came with poison darts hidden in the pockets. I would absolutely not mess with anyone wearing this. (I want to be the person wearing this.)
And on the right is some kind of chiffon, possibly bridal confection by the delightfully batty Betsey Johnson. The model looks like a gauzy cupcake from the future. In the next century, all couples will dress up in high-fashion interpretations of their favorite desserts when they get married. I look forward to this brave new world of inter-cupcake romance.
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