TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13th
7am. An early morning. Wake up and get ready to arrive backstage at 50 Varick Street by 8:15am. We’ll be meeting Full Picture PR who are escorting us behind the scenes before the Badgley Mischka show at Spring Studios.
8am. Grab a coffee at Grandaisy Bakery on West Broadway. Happy to be wearing semi-sensible shoes since today’s shows are within a few blocks of one another and we’ll be walking a lot.
8:15am. Meet the Full Picture team, who are escorting us backstage to the Badgley Mischka show, at Spring Studios. Grab a backstage pass, then head up to the hair and makeup prep areas to shoot the early AM high-energy scene and spot makeup pro Gucci Westman doing her thing.
8:30am. Film Gucci discussing her inspiration for the show (Pan’s Labyrinth, cinematic), the essential foundation for a great face of makeup (take care of your skin), and the beauty tip to live by (always try new things). Something catches my eye on Gucci’s table of products: Renewal Eye Masks by Karuna. Coincidentally, I just bought two of these packs for myself. Score! Expert approved, I’ll add these to my skincare routine going forward.
8:45-9:45am. Snap a lot of of photos and BTS with Managing Editor Alaina. Catch two seamstresses putting the finishing touches on a regal red ball gown. Reconnect with someone from Full Picture who I haven’t seen in ages, who reminds me of my first job and that time I was going through piles of jeans at the then tiny Polo offices on Madison Avenue pulling for a shoot. Film Mark Badgley and James Mischka discussing their collection and what they’re known for. Watch models practice their walk down the runway in their own clothes, chatting on their phones and trying to wake up for their moment under the lights.
9:45am. Grab a seat and do the usual people-watching that comes with the waiting period before a fashion show.
10:30am. Show time. Give Alaina the go ahead: it’s time to start our live video of the show in progress.
11am.After the show ends, we book it to the elevators where the elevator operator asks me what I thought of the show. Looks like the whole team at Spring Studios is feeling fashion week. The plan is to head to the Alice + Olivia presentation next which is (perfect!) somewhere in the building. Wait, no it’s not. A security guard informs us that the venue has changed. Change of plans. Next stop: J. Mendel. Walk 3 blocks north to the pastel jewel box that is Ladurée Soho, the perfect venue for a showing of the J Mendel collection. All I can think about is… yay, more coffee. Good coffee. In a pretty, mint green coffee cup.
11:15am. At Ladurée, I start a live video, walking through the presentation trying to dodge guests including Glenda Bailey from Harpers Bazaar and my friend Pandora Amoratis from The Daily Mail so I can carefully capture the layers of tulle, fur, and silks on beautifully styled mannequins. Alaina snaps away. I make sure to capture the shop’s curtains, which pair perfectly with the pale rust orange and teal gowns before them. In the back room, a table is filled with treats: mini croissants, cream puffs, and a platter of signature bold-hued macarons sprinkled with metallic gold ones. Really chic.
11:45am.We sit down for our much-anticipated coffee while posting an Instagram story and planning our next three stops before heading to the office to meet a deadline.
12:15pm. In order to keep on schedule while jumping back and forth between the West Village and Soho, we hail a cab and head towards nearby Broadway and arrive at the Haney presentation. Former celebrity stylist and designer Mary Alice Haney presents her collection one on one, while we discuss what it’s like to be a female entrepreneur. I ask to see a long, bright yellow gown on her model, and Mary Alice explains that this particular style is a departure from their typical “sexy” look.
12:30pm. Jump into another taxi and head over to Industria Studios in the West Village to make the Alice + Olivia presentation before it ends at 1. As we enter up the ramp and into the venue, the Hilton sisters are exiting dressed to the nines in head to toe A+O.
12:45pm. At Alice + Olivia, Stacey Bendet gives an on-camera interview and the presentation is packed. Colors, elaborate set décor, a dj, and plenty of sparkle make for instagood photos, and people can’t seem to get enough snaps. (Outta my way, folks). The theme is women’s empowerment, and there’s a huge multicolored glitter wall at the entry of the presentation that makes the statement. Inside, I spot IMG model Megan Puleri, posing in black bell bottoms and a matching cap. (Megan modeled in Story + Rain’s very first photo shoot.)
1-1:45pm.. Outside of Industria Studios, the cab situation is bleak. We finally hail one and head back to the heart of Soho, close to our office, to the Newbark shoe presentation. On our way in, I bump into a fashion writer that I need to meet for coffee in a few weeks. At Newbark, I’m swooning over the striped eel skin style with chunky heel, and the styles in deep magenta velvet.
2pm. After Newbark Alaina stops to pick up lunch at Chop't (a Story + Rain lunch favorite) and I head back to the office to open up my laptop for the first time that day. Time to meet those deadlines!
