New York Fashion Week (my very first) has been an eye-opening experience. It was fun being an outsider and observing the chaos on the cusp of the next trends. I thought New York Fashion Week events would be filled with glamorous editors, designers and celebrities followed by models in post-show makeup -- and I was right. What I didn't expect to see were the streets flooded with people that weren't even invited to the shows and presentations being held. But somehow there was always a small crew of three to five people arriving at the shows to be photographed exactly ten minutes before the attendees emerged from the venue. How did they know? Did they have insider info? Did it just take them that long to get there because of the ridiculously-high, impossible-to-walk-in heels they were wearing? Maybe a little of each is true.
Regardless, they were photographed for street style slideshows being broadcast across the internet for your viewing pleasure. And I have to give credit to these characters and to the people that came to Lincoln Center daily at 1:30pm (sharp!). They hold the confidence to walk into the fashion world uninvited and say "Look at me. I'm a trendsetter." And, you know what, they are. Those glamorous editors and fashion designers I mentioned earlier look to the streets for inspiration, which is why blogs like Humans of New York, The Sartorialist and assorted other style blogs are so popular. They capture what people around the world are wearing and spot trends across the globe. It doesn't matter if these people are "somebody." In fact, it's probably better that they aren't -- I think it allows a more free and raw expression of self when there are no expectations. So I say, let the inspiration arrive -- no invite needed.