by Milisuthando Bongela, Fashion Journalist
Pictures: Milisuthando Bongela
The Shows: Models and The Runway
Sasha Pivovarova - my favourite model in the whole world!
Lara Stone and another model backstage at Rag and Bone. There were so many faces from FTV at this show! They all loved the clothes they were wearing for the show!
Before I left for New York, Lucilla had told me that a New York Fashion Week level fashion show isn’t just a pretty dress party - the runway is the trade floor in which various stocks are sold and exchanged between the different stakeholders. This means that the most important factor is how sellable the clothes are and that depends on which models wear them and how they do so. The models walk tall with uniform speed and style yet each of their personalities is subtly conveyed with every step and turn they make on the runway.
What I enjoyed the most about fashion week is the fact that a considerable number of shows were offsite – I got to see some really special places as a result. Peter Som, Erin Fetherston and Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B show were all held at the famous Milk Studios (where I shared an elevator ride with Kirsten Dunst) and each of them were able to balance their transformation of the space with the modest, chic and slick look of the studios.
Lighting played a pivotal role in how the clothes looked on the runway, for instance the off sight shows were more intimate and the clothes were visually attainable whether the lighting was bright or a little dim and it was easier to see different fabrics and cuts. The bigger shows however, needed pristine lighting in order for people in further rows to see. This wasn’t the case at the Arise Africa Show where very dim lighting was the only lighting on a beautiful navy, grey and shimmery taupe runway. Standing behind the last row, I didn’t see the clothes very well but soon forgot the disappointment when I bumped into fellow South Africans Jackie Burger and Pnina Fenster and milliner, Albertus Swanepoel after the show.
Pictures: Milisuthando Bongela
The Shows: Models and The Runway
Sasha Pivovarova - my favourite model in the whole world!
Lara Stone and another model backstage at Rag and Bone. There were so many faces from FTV at this show! They all loved the clothes they were wearing for the show!Before I left for New York, Lucilla had told me that a New York Fashion Week level fashion show isn’t just a pretty dress party - the runway is the trade floor in which various stocks are sold and exchanged between the different stakeholders. This means that the most important factor is how sellable the clothes are and that depends on which models wear them and how they do so. The models walk tall with uniform speed and style yet each of their personalities is subtly conveyed with every step and turn they make on the runway.
What I enjoyed the most about fashion week is the fact that a considerable number of shows were offsite – I got to see some really special places as a result. Peter Som, Erin Fetherston and Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B show were all held at the famous Milk Studios (where I shared an elevator ride with Kirsten Dunst) and each of them were able to balance their transformation of the space with the modest, chic and slick look of the studios.
Lighting played a pivotal role in how the clothes looked on the runway, for instance the off sight shows were more intimate and the clothes were visually attainable whether the lighting was bright or a little dim and it was easier to see different fabrics and cuts. The bigger shows however, needed pristine lighting in order for people in further rows to see. This wasn’t the case at the Arise Africa Show where very dim lighting was the only lighting on a beautiful navy, grey and shimmery taupe runway. Standing behind the last row, I didn’t see the clothes very well but soon forgot the disappointment when I bumped into fellow South Africans Jackie Burger and Pnina Fenster and milliner, Albertus Swanepoel after the show.
Look out for tomorrow's post about Backstage at New York Fashion Week.
great to read all your posts on NYFW - so lucky to be able to go backstage
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