Don't Let A Broken Foot Cramp Your Style

This guy didn't let a broken foot cramp his style while waiting for someone on the steps in front of Bryant Park. I loved the way he propped his crutches together to make a temporary rest for his foot.

So do you let anything or anyone cramp your style?

New York Fashion Week: The Models

These two photos were taken minutes apart at the Anna Sui fashion show at Bryant Park yesterday evening. Both photos focused on different aspects of the show based on the camera's shutter speed. The top photo was taken at 1/50 second (higher shutter speed), which was perfect for the model who had a spotlight on her but not so great for the front row audience (low light). The bottom photo was taken at 1/30 second (lower shutter speed), which caused the model to look blurry and overexposed but perfect for the front row audience.

So which photo do you prefer? The focus on the model or the audience?

N.B.: I did another double-photo post a couple months ago using different ISO's.

Pretty Girl

This beautiful girl is a host of a Russian fashion TV show, I think. She taped a series of segments in front of Bryant Park with a small crew (director, makeup person and camera man) and spoke in a language that I could not recognize. I knew it wasn't French, Spanish or Italian. No, I don't speak all those languages but I can identify them if I listened long enough.

So how many languages do you speak?

The Devil Wears Prada

This is Anna Wintour, the Editor-in-Chief of US Vogue and one of the most influential people in US fashion. She has a reputation of being a tough boss who insisted that junior staffers not speak to her unless they are spoken to first. The book and movie, The Devil Wears Prada was written by one of Anna Wintour's former junior assistant and the plot was (allegedly) based on author's experience working at Vogue.

If you were to write a memoir or a novel, what would it be about?

NB: Sorry for the cut-off-at-the knee photo of Anna Wintour. She came out of the tent at Bryant Park and dashed into a waiting Mercedes. I was lucky to get this photo because she DOES NOT stop for photos.

New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2009

New York Fashion Week began last Friday and will run through till next Sunday. Yesterday evening, I attended the Anna Sui runway show at Bryant Park courtesy of a friend who knows someone who works for Anna Sui -- talk about networking, huh?!? Because of the low light inside the tent, most of my photos didn't come out great. I gave up after a dozen or so shots and decided to just enjoy the show instead.

So do you network much? I'm not good with network and meeting new people especially in a crowd. I do better one-on-one.

NB: For more photos of the runway show, click on the companion blog, The Making of New York City Daily Photo.

Fashionable Bike

This photo was taken a couple weeks ago during New York Fashion Week. It was one of a number of bikes that have been spray painted in neon orange and parked all over the city. What ai love about this one is that someone added a fringed scarf around the handle. How cute is that?

Do you remember your first bike?

Red Hair Is The New Black

This beautiful lady was handing out free stockings to guests at the New York Fashion Week. When I asked for permission to take her photo, she graciously posed for me. And NO, I didn't get a free pair of stockings.

So do you know anyone with red hair?

The Sartorialist 2008

So guess who I saw at the New York Fashion Week on Sunday afternoon? It was Scott Schuman or The Sartorialist. He was gracious enough to let me take his photo. And he has a really nice camera with him.

So what kind of camera do you have? How long have you had it?

New York Fashion Week vs. Super Bowl

New York Fashion Week is here again. The twice annual event at Bryant Park showcases the latest fashion by over 100 designers for Fall 2008. Here is a photo of the entrance to the show tents.

I apologize for the tardiness of today's post. After spending the afternoon shooting photos outside the tents of New York Fashion Week followed by a Super Bowl party in Brooklyn, I finally got home after midnight. When I tried to post a photo, blogspot was acting up so I gave up and went to bed instead.

So if you had to choice of attending the New York Fashion Week at Bryant Park or the Super Bowl game in Arizona, which would you pick?

Faces From New York Fashion Week

Scott Schuman a.k.a. The Sartorialist

Glenda Bailey, Editor-in-Chief of Harper's Bazaar

Grace Coddington, Creative Director of US Vogue

Jeanne Becker, Editor-in-Chief of FQ Magazine & Host of Fashion Television

Judy Licht, Host of Full Front Fashion

The only reason I recognize these faces is because I read A LOT of fashion magazines. But my favorite magazine is the New York Magazine. I anxiously wait for it to arrive every Monday and then immediately do the crossword puzzle found inside on the last page.

What is your favorite magazine or reading material?

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful

Yesterday, I posted a photo of a cute guy. Today, we have the cute girls from the New York Fashion Week.

So what is your most attractive feature?

New York Fashion Week Spring 2008

The most fashionable event in New York City is here again. The Spring 2008 New York Fashion Week began last Wednesday at Bryant Park and will last through next Thursday. During this time, over 75 international fashion designers will be showing their latest collections under the tents or at other venues across the city. This twice-a-year event generates a huge amount of revenue for the city.

Can you guess who is this tall gentleman?

Answer: Nigel Barker from America's Next Top Model.

New York Fashion Week: The End

New York Fashion Week finally ended yesterday following 10 consecutive days of fashion shows by 77 designers/brands from around the world. Most of the shows took place inside the Bryant Park tents, but smaller showers were held in other showrooms around the city.

For international fashionistas, New York Fashion Week is only the beginning of the Fall 2007 season. Next Monday, London Fashion Week begins (Feb 12-16) and it is followed immediately by Milan Fashion Week (Feb 16-24) and Paris Fashion Week (Feb 25 - Mar 5). I hope our friends in London, Milan and Paris will post at least one photo from the events.

The gentleman in the first photo is Tim Gunn from the Bravo Channel television show, Project Runway, hosted by Heidi Klum. I waited for him to finish a conversation with another fan before asking for permission to take his photo. He was quite popular because after I was done, two more fans wanted to have their photos taken with him.

The gentleman in this second photo is Cresencio from Operations, a two-year old New York based designer label. The photo was taken at the showroom/store in SoHo.

Starting tomorrow, we will go back to normal programming, i.e. no more New York Fashion Week photos.

New York Fashion Week & The Models

Aside from the clothes and celebrities, another popular target of photographers at the New York Fashion Week are the models. However, this year there was a controversy surrounding the weight (or lack there of) of girls walking down the runways after a young Brazilian model died from eating disorder.

Unlike the steps taken by Milan and Madrid recently, where models were weighed in and required to meet a certain BMI (body mass index) criteria, New York City instituted its own non-binding requirements for the models: girls under 16 will not be allowed to walk the runways, and no alcohol or cigarettes are allowed around the models.

According to Diane von Furstenberg, President of Council of Fashion Designers of America, the aim of the program was to bring awareness of eating disorders to the people working in fashion. When asked what she thinks of mandatory weigh in of models, Ms. von Furstenberg said, "Over my dead body!"

The first (blurry) photo above was my only shot of a model walking towards the tents at Bryant Park. The paper bag she was holding is from PAX, a deli around the corner from the park. So is that her lunch??

The second photo was a series of lighted advertisement panels near the subway station in Bryant Park. They were sponsored by the New York Times newspapaer.

So what do you think of this controversy about super skinny girls? Should fashion shows have a minimum weight requirement for the models?

New York Fashion Week & The Tents

The New York Fashion Week has been held at the Bryant Park since 1993 where huge makeshift tents are erected to house three showrooms, cafes and bars, bathrooms, a business center and an exhibition space.

Each showroom has a catwalk/runway with special seatings for guests and a section for the press. The showrooms, called The Tent, The Salon and The Promenade, range in size from about 5,000 sq feet (455 sq meters) to 15,000 sq feet (1,394 sq meters).












The first photo (above) was taken late in the evening. You can see the tents have taken over most of the park. The second photo was taken earlier during the day. The generators (over a dozen of them) pipe heat into the tents because the temperature outside is below freezing.

New York Fashion Week & The Press

Photographers and television crews from around the world are here for the New York Fashion Week. Most of the major news agencies have special access to film and photograph the event from inside the Bryant Park tents where the fashion shows are held.

A few independent television crews and paparazzi who do not have access into the tents (including people like me) are left to wait outside for a chance see celebrities and models arrive and leave the shows.

These photos taken outside the Bryant Park tents show a young lady taping a video segment for her show (first photo) and a group of paparazzi (second photo) eagerly waiting for some celebrities to come out of the tents.

Although I was not able to get inside the tents this year, I did go to a couple of shows (Luca Luca, Lacoste) two years ago with my neighbor who works in the fashion industry. I have since moved to a new apartment and she is no longer my neighbor.

If you are interested to see some of the photographs from the fashion shows, click here.

New York Fashion Week & The Crowd

According the the Mayor's Office, the biannual New York Fashion Week generates 150,000 jobs for more than 15,400 businesses in the city, especially those involved in the hospitality, garment, transportation, entertainment, and service industries. The economic impact of the fashion shows alone is estimated to be around $177 million annually. That does not include the additional millions of dollars generated from wholesale apparel merchandising that takes place after the shows are over.

These photos examplify the fashionable crowd that congregate outside of the Bryant Park tents before and after the fashion shows. Only invited guests and fashion industry people are allowed inside the tents. The rest of us, mere mortals, have to wait outside to see what everyone is wearing.

New York Fashion Week & The Sartorialist

New York Fashion Week, the biannual spectacle of expensive clothes and beautiful people, descended on Bryant Park this past weekend. For the next 10 days or so, every local and foreign newspapers and television shows will be reporting on who and what is being sent down the runways. This event is a huge contributer to the city's economy, as well as a major tourism advertisement for the city.

So this week, I will be bringing you photographs from the New York Fashion Week.

The gentleman in this photo is Scott Schuman, the professional photographer/blogger who writes The Sartorialist. He is also a regular contributer for GQ magazine and Style.com. The brilliance and originality of Mr. Schuman work is that he photographs regular people (well, okay...beautiful people) on the street who examplify fashion and style around the world.

I was standing outside the Bryant Park tents, where the fashion shows are being held, when I spotted Mr. Schuman walking up the street . I snapped this paparazzi-style photo before running up to say "HI!! I'm your biggest fan!" I asked and he consented to a couple more photographs but none of them turned out as well as this first shot. He is definitely a snazzy dresser.

So what is the most expensive piece of garment you ever bought for yourself?