View from the Riser - My lowdown on NYFW continues

by Milisuthando Bongela, Fashion Journalist

Backstage

Having back stage access is second only to being on the front row. I’m willing to state that as a fact. The always-coveted All Access badge twice landed around my neck and I’m still not sure how but I got to go behind the scenes at what were to be my two favourite shows, Rag and Bone and Charlotte Ronson and I also got a pass to Chado Ralph Rucci. I can’t imagine how it would have been if I’d been around to see backstage at shows like Marc Jacobs, Oscar De La Renta and Michael Kors. Backstage is usually where the limited access pre-show party happens because there’s food, drinks and half-naked beautiful people being beautiful. It’s not very different from backstage at say SAFW…it’s just a little more fabulous when you’re a few centimetres from Andre Leon Talley or Sasha Pivovarova.

I was too nervous to go around taking pictures of hair and make-artists that I’d seen on an E True Hollywood Story or on The Style Network so I just stood and watched them work. I did get lots of snaps of Sasha though, she’s one of my favourite models and I just couldn’t help but act like those people who take their camera phones out when they see a celebrity.

The models usually listen to ipods and smoke while the stylist work on them and I find it fascinating how the different H&M artists are able to do the exact same styles on each and every girl. The H&M is usually done before the girls do their show run-through, which is usually an hour or so before the show starts. I got to see the designers and models being interviewed by Fashion TV and other TV stations and I looked for some last minute frantic sewing but I was disappointed to see the clothes arriving in sealed boxes, ready for the show.

View from the Riser - My lowdown on NYFW continues

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.

Look out for tomorrow's post about Backstage at New York Fashion Week.

View from the Riser - My lowdown on NYFW continues

by Milisuthando Bongela, Fashion Journalist

Pictures: Milisuthando Bongela

The Media and Celebrities

When the news of Alexander McQueen’s death broke out on the first day of fashion week, I was spot marking at Richard Chai’s Love show and in the next room, Anna Wintour had just ran out of the BCBG MaxAzria show after receiving a text of the news. This obviously created attention and by the time we got out of the show, the air in the lobby was thick with “Did you hear’s” and OMG’s! I was on a strict no lingering diet and had to dash off to the next show, but from what I could see and according to fashion week regulars, that first day was sombre compared to previous seasons. It’s always amazing to see people you always see on TV, magazines and newspapers, especially when you have a deep respect for their work. I was the first spot marker to arrive at the Chado Ralph Rucci show and had an All Access badge, meaning I could go anywhere in the venue. This kind of opportunity isn’t an every day occurrence so I was all over the venue like bubbles in bubbly. Please note that by day two I already knew the uniform: all black and a “I know what I’m doing” look on my face, so when I went backstage I was in my New York uniform…and secretly praying nobody would kick me out.


Sasha Pivovarova - Hair and Make Up Rag and Bone

Liz from Video Fashion - my producer.

Backstage at Rag and Bone. I saw so many famous hair and make-up artists I usually see on The Style Network and E! at this show.

The first person I saw a mere metre away from me was the towering Vogue Editor-at-Large, Andre Leon Talley and I proceeded to let out an audible gasp before calmly scurrying off in the opposite direction on realising that he may have seen my surprised glee. After returning to my marked Video Fashion spot, I also saw Patti Smith, Whoopi Goldberg, Martha Stewart, Nicole Phelps, Miss Jay from America’s Next Top Model and one of the most highly respected fashion journalists in the world, Suze Menkes.


Whoopi Goldberg - people wouldn't stop taking pictures of her.

Suze Menkes - She's one of these most respected (mostly by me) fashion journalists in the world. I wish you could see her hairstyle.

Martha Stewart - honestly the clothes in this show were for the older market.


Andre Leon Talley - Vogue's Editor-At-Large

The combination of celebrities and famous media personalities at these shows adds credibility to the designer as well as the newsworthiness that keeps the media and fashion mills running at parallels with one another. The most important is obviously the presence of the world’s best editors and journalists – these are the people who shape our perceptions of shows, trends and designers.

Look out for Monday's post about the The Shows: Models and The Runway at New York Fashion Week

View from the Riser - My lowdown on NYFW

by Milisuthando Bongela, Fashion Journalist

Pictures: Milisuthando Bongela

Rag & Bone. Picture: Style.com

Charlotte Ronson. Picture: Style.com

I was most fortunate to attend the Autumn Winter 2010 collections at New York fashion week recently, especially because it was the last time they were held at Bryant Park.

5th Avenue, day one of fashion week. I arrived early so had some time to mill around this famous street.

The Mercedes Benz Lobby. It was 9am and everybody was sooo dressed up.

My first show by young designer, Richard Chai. The news of Alexander McQueen's death broke out during this show.

In 2009, I won the Sanlam SA Fashion Journalism Award and my prize was to attend any fashion event in the world. I chose to go to New York Fashion Week but I didn’t just want to attend the shows as a journalist or a seated guest. I wanted to get closer to the processes behind a fashion show.

Lucilla kindly organised a week-long internship for me at Video Fashion, a 30 year old New York based media company that documents fashion shows during all the major fashion weeks in Europe and America – from back stage to runway to interviews with any designer and celebrity you can think of. My role at Video Fashion was to be a Spot Marker, which is as literal as it reads – I was going to be the person who marks the spot in which the photographer stands at the end of the runway or the Media Riser.

I would get to the shows 2 hours before they started, mark my spot with duct tape and a koki pen and sit on it my spot until my crew arrived. As menial as it seems, this role is very important as it’s the first cog in a very important machine. As many as 40 photographers (still and video) scramble for space on the riser – all with the intention of getting the perfect shot of the models as they first step on the runway!


X Marks the spot - I'd have to sit on my marked spot until my crew arrived 2 hours later

Pre Show at Chado Ralph Rucci, didn't know how popular he was until I saw the celebrities in attendance.

So this is what the riser looks like after I've moved from my spot! The collective sound of all those photos being taken is musical. They don't stop until the last model disappears.

Thought I'd take a pic of the most ubiquitous shoe in NY! These are called Winkle Pickers and they come in all sorts of shapes. Good for the snow, but also very "utilitarian chic"! I had to get me a pair.

I would get to see the magical process of how scores of PR people - chicly clad in black with insanely beautiful shoes – dress up a naked room to look like a designer’s dream platform for showing their latest collections. And here’s what I saw…


Public Relations

A PR Rep for Phillip Lim prepping the venue before the show.

PR people At Phillip Lim dressing up the venue. Please note how dressed up they are.

PR Reps Dressing the showroom at Charlotte Ronson. Again, she wore that dress and heels for about 12 hours.


Unlike it is here, each designer has a PR company that represents the brand and sometimes the actual designer. The PR agency is responsible for the guest list for the show, the seating arrangements, the goody bag preparation and allocation and evidently, the overall look of the show. They have to make sure that the brand signature is subtly but clearly embodied in the set design, meaning they work with lighting and sound technicians as well as the people who do the physical fixing and installation of the set.


Dressing-up Erin Fetherston. It was Valentine's day and all the guests got roses and champers on arrival.

Pre-Show at Charlotte Ronson. They were meticulous about the lighting.

Pre-Show at Lacoste. Everybody got one of these Lacoste books, even us spot-markers but I had to leave mine because it was too heavy. I read it before I left though and it's about the history of the brand.

Ready for the Show at Rag and Bone.


I don’t know whether they all sent a memo to each other, but all the PR people were always impeccably dressed in intimidating black outfits, stockings and vertigo-inducing designer shoes accessorised with handsfree walkie-talkies, clip boards and the authority to check guests in or tick them off. I’ve never seen so many pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes in real life. These were the first faces guests would see and they play an invaluable role in making sure a designer’s vision for his collection is realised. They are at the helm of deciding who is invited to the show, where they sit, who photographs them sitting there and the overall perception that the media and guests leave with after attending that show. There was also the IMG PR who were there to make sure each show is consistent with the standard and protocol of the sponsor and the overall fashion week.

Shoes...

More fabulous shoes!

Me at Phillip Lim...gasping at the shoes.

Look out for tomorrow's post about the Media and Celebrities at New York Fashion Week

Castings with DFC, DMClassics and Thunderstorm are taking place right now!

LB talks real fashion with Alexander Koutney

LB: What were the opportunities that came your way that you took and that you are glad about taking?
AK: It's hard for me separate the bad decisions from the good. Some decisions that seem to have been mislead turned out new opportunities down the road that I could have never foresaw and vice versa.

LB: Could you trace the significant steps of your development, beginning in SA to the present?
AK: Working for Marjan Pejoski, Saint Martins, Showing in London, Moving from flat patterns to Draping, getting in to my first showroom, every collection feels significant right now.

LB: What were your thoughts when you left SA?
AK: I was in a good space when I left South Africa. I just knew there was a marathon to be run that started in South Africa but was going to continue in London and so far has taken me to New York and who knows where it’ll end.

LB: Was it easy to get into St Martins?
AK: Getting in was easy, getting out proved much harder.

LB: What did it mean to study at St Martins versus an SA college?
AK: I never studied fashion in South Africa but I imagine the expectations would be quite different. Siant Martins is very competitive and packed with talent and that’s what makes the fashion world work as well so it’s a good proving ground.

LB: How many hours do you work a day?
AK: 14+

LB: If you do not have access to the fashion predictions, how do you keep up with trends?
AK: It's not just about trend if you want to strike a chord you have to tap deeper. One the skills you need as a designer that stays relevant and doesn’t drop the ball for a season is to have an awareness of what is happening around you in terms of design especially fabric, palette, silhouette etc but also have a knack for determining the cultural zeitgeist as it relates to forthcoming seasons.

LB: Where do you get your inspiration for your next collection?
AK: I’m playing with ideas all the time and I move through ideas quite quickly if something sticks then I develop it. A print, a silhouette, a draping detail or feel, fabric direction, palette, the collection ends up being the strongest of all the defined elements that come together together with an idea that creates the motif. Its quite chaotic but somehow democratic.

LB: What is the value of being in New York versus London?
AK: There are pros and cons. Some practical issues about the two cities, some a function of the 2 systems and underlying creative cultures. For one New York doesn’t have the government and corporate support platforms that London has among other differences. But at the end of the day I live in New York and its been good to me for the most part . This is where I have grow from. I try not to think of what ifs and just get on with it.

Victoria Secrets

LB: How did you get noticed by them?
AK: I made some conceptual accessories for a British Vogue editorial at the request of the stylist Charlotte Stockdale which was shot by Nick Knight. That went well and it turns out Charlotte was the Creative Director for the Victoria Secret Show and it snowed balled from there.

LB: How many garments did you do?
AK: 7 looks

LB: How will this influence the rest of your career?
AK: Well it allowed me to work with some amazing materials. It created awareness of the brand and the challenge is to build on that. I don’t think one show like that changes the game that much it matters more what you produce consistently season by season.

LB: What do you hate about this industry?
AK: Well it’s a conversation but that is very seductive if you feel for clothes and are invested in the power of style and the images it cultivates. But as with all conversations some people speak a lot of shit and that’s annoying to have to listen to.

LB: What do you love about this industry?
AK: It’s a real pleasure to get to make clothes and craft images it’s a real treat to sometimes feel you are contributing to the conversation.

LB: What industry support is there for designers like yourself?
AK: There are a number of platforms that can help your career in New York only one or two showcase events that are worth doing but its best to be well on your way as brand before you rely on these industry tools. At the end of the day you have to survive on your own and everything else is icing.

LB: Is it realistic for a designer to achieve success in less than 10 years in the International fashion industry?
AK: I’ve never seen it. But the press will try the damndest to make you believe the next overnight success.

LB: What are the South African Designers’ advantages?
AK: A different perspective helps.

LB: What are their disadvantages?
AK: Direct access to markets is an obvious but unavoidable problem. I think that Individuality is not recognised and systemically nurtured within an international strategy like many other smaller and somewhat remote countries have achieved.

LB: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
AK: Right here with bigger sales, a healthy balance sheet, better collections, inspired and motivated.