Being at Fashion Week is pretty surreal. When you walk into the tents every day, you have to get through a swarm of tourists and other on-lookers who stand around outside the main entrance, waiting to catch a glimpse of a famous person emerging. What they don’t realize is the front door is for the nobodies—the back entrance is where the action (and heavy security) is. Random photographers snap photos of fashionistas posing in their best looks. Security guards dressed in all black and outfitted with earpieces man all the doors.
Once inside, it’s a little disorienting at first—all the people rushing to and fro, the myriad of booths and kiosks and the flashing lights of the Mercedes Benz displays (they’re the primary sponsor). Freebie water, diet Starbucks coffee drinks, supplement drinks, diet Pepsi and wine are plentiful. Food? Now that’s a different story. Considering how much the fashion industry values thinness, it’s not really surprising that there’s not a lot of food available in the tents. And what you do find tends to be diet/low cal food. For people like me, there to work, the lack of food is less of an issue than you would think, since you’re too busy standing in line and running around to take time for a snack, much less an actual meal. I always used to shake my head skeptically when people would claim to “forget to eat,” but after doing that very thing for several days, out of sheer business, I know it’s truly possible.
And speaking of not eating, we’ve all heard the raging debate about how thin models are these days. I’ve flipped through more than my fair share of fashion magazines, so I know the score, but to actually see these girls in the flesh is still quite shocking. They’re just so thin. The fact that most of them are quite tall, as well, just makes them look even reedier. And it’s not just the women—the male runway models are almost as bony as their female counterparts. It’s just very odd to see up-close.
Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Fashion Week’s characters. These are the people you see everyday, and always notice because they look absolutely insane. People like Cognac Wellerlane (below, right), a Long Island gossip writer/television host who likes her hair tall and her shirts short. It's sort of like the tents are a small town, with the wealthy priviledged, the working class schlubs (that's me!) and then a town crazy, or ten. A (more fashionable) microcosm of society, if you will.
