Sitting Front Row at NYFW

Last week for the first time I sat front row at New York Fashion Week and it was an amazing experience. The show I went to on Wednesday night was an interesting one – I was able to see the presentations of three designer’s in one hour; 7Crash, House of Byfield, and Mimi Tran, without having to move seats.  

The fashion show was in an old church at the Angel Orensanz Foundation Event Space on the Lower East Side.  I have never been to a fashion show that starts on time and with three designers all presenting at the same time the lights did not dim for the 7pm show until two minutes after eight. This delay allowed me to explore the venue, including the bar on the upper level balcony, and take a few photos before showtime. 

The first designer of the evening was 7Crash who opened  the 7pm showcase with their ready-to-wear collection.  I heard the ten pieces described as, “evoking the great vitality in nature” and “demonstrating the joy of children and the romantic visual senses” both of which had me shaking my head in confusion. None of the looks that strolled down the runway were my style but my seat was perfectly positioned at the end of the model runway, see below, and the standout looks of the ten:

The next designer was House of Byfield and she debuted the “Safari” collection and almost every single piece that went down the runway were variations on the same fabric.  It is also unusual to see a co-ed fashion show but there were a handful of men’s looks as well as ladies.  Of the few men’s pieces I one the crowd liked the most was a very comic inspired pop graphic coat that I thought it was quite interesting. 

The final designer of the evening, Mimi Tran, was my favorite. She had more pieces than both of the other designers combined – a great mix of long gowns, short dresses, and one stunning wedding down.  Her official press release described the show as channeling, “1920s Paris with a black palette of intricate beading, lace, lattice work and gold accents accentuating the natural beauty of the feminine form.”  These are five standout looks: 

One of the coolest things about being front row at a fashion show?  You are in other peoples snapshots of the evening, including these two looks from the Mimi Tran presentation!

With my trip to Florida and crazy work schedule I did not think I was going to make it to a show this season and was very happy to have been able to attend this presentation, especially that it was three-in-one. And for reference the ten end of runways shots were all used with permission from Getting Images located here, here, and here.  Thanks Art Loves Fashion for having me!