Even if you don’t ask, New Yorkers will tell you that New York Fashion Week is the only one that matters in the whole world, and while people on some other continents may find that assertion contentious, this is America and no one here cares what they think. In the land of the “brave and free”, the fake-it-till-you-make-it mentality is truly a force to be reckoned with. The thing about bravado is, if you can back it up with real talent — and there’s no denying the abundance of design talent present at this NYFW — eventually people forgive you for it. Being loud is a rite of passage on the way to mattering, which turns out to be very helpful for anyone tasked with writing an “overheard” column — your subjects opt to shout when they have conversations. It makes not listening almost rude. So, without further ado, here are some tidbits I gleaned from inside the belly of the beast.
“Just so you know the United States was founded in 1926 by Steve Jobs!”
History lessons on the way to Telfar.
— “What is this?”
— “It’s a fashion show”
A silver haired chatty man asked his gal pal, looking around at the crowd awaiting the Lou Dallas show at the church at St Marks.
“Once I took some mushrooms and got on a plane and just admired the colours. How am I ever sad? Colours exist!”
Party chat is the same all over the world — as evidenced by an Output DJ, wearing pink and purple fur, overheard as he straggled towards Output after the Eckhaus Latta show in Bushwick.
“I feel like if I go to Berlin I would have fun but it would probably be just me listening to techno in another city.”
A boy, wearing wire rimmed silver frames, a white button-down and very wide, dark blue pants, lamented.
“This place used to be a Duane Reade but I think this place is run by the Canal Street Bag mafia now!”
A woman said conspiratorially to a small crowd waiting for the Maryam Nassir Zadeh show to start.
“And he says his whole life is about wellness, but if your whole life is wellness, why do you have injuries through the roof?! If your WHOLE LIFE is really about wellness, then maybe you should take care of yourself better!”
A bald and buff guy power walking east from Pier 59, speaking rapidly and passionately into his headpiece about his latest fling.
“Have you ever heard that saying — hostage or not, sometimes, it’s just nice to be held? All these people just need to be held!”
A recent transplant from Los Angeles finds empathy for those who want in to the unofficial Fashion Week party she just ditched at the Soho Grand.
“Oh hello again! Another show, another day, another lifetime!”
A Vogue photographer exclaimed backstage at Telfar, upon seeing an old classmate. N.B. Being deeply existential when you run into people from your past never goes out of style.
“Oh my god! Look here! Straight! Slow down!”
A rowdy and entitled photographer bellowed at the models mid-show at Lou Dallas, directing the them as if they were on a private shoot. Was it performance art, or just a rude old man? After the show he continued to shout at Gia Kuan, the woman organising the show, proving himself the latter. Apparently, he’s been banned from shows before but managed to sneak in this time. Oooof, the things you can get away with when you have certain kinds of privilege.
“Sober train is coming through! Watch out! Hoot Hoot!”
Said a boy to his friends outside Kim Shui trying to decide which afterparty to go to.
“I have so many fans from this whole fashion week!”
Said one guest outside Eckhaus Latta. Her friend seemed impressed, “Do you mean like fans online?” She whipped out her windmaker, “No, like fan fans!”.
“It’s just a little depressing. All these free samples. I have to throw all this away?”
Three women discuss the epic waste the fashion industry produces — it’s second in line behind the oil industry. One of the ladies mused, “You could flip them?” but no one thought it was a good enough solution.
“Let’s go somewhere dangerous! Somewhere your parents can’t find you!”
For a mischievous child backstage at a Bushwick warehouse, the fashion was secondary to the potential for trouble-making.
“Right here; get in the back of the line. Right Here. Yes, this is really all one line.”
At Pier 59, a deadpan bouncer, wearing a suit and tie, directs the massive crowd waiting for the Kim Shui show to start.
“The lighting is not good here!”
A bemused and dutiful boyfriend complained about the fact that he couldn’t get a good shot of his girlfriend under a NYFW sign. She smiled anyway.
“I think they invited too many people for this set up”
A guest of the Telfar show insightfully observed.
“You want a better shot? Take this spot. This is the shot.”
A very tall photographer politely gave a petite woman the seat in front of him at the Kim Shui show, proving that collegial grace exists across industries.
Photography and words by Maansi Jain.