“Hello Garance!  Happy fashion week!”

“Oh, well hello there!  Hey!”

I’d never really heard that before, but here, I get it all day long.  I’m wondering if it’s a new thing elsewhere too, some new expression, but I must say, it’s a nice little greeting to hear from everyone I’m going to be seeing on a daily basis for the next… what?… month or so?  It’s a little like that giddy first-day-of-school feeling.  Cooool!

Ah la la!  I feel weightless.  I love New York.  And I’ll say first off, some of it’s because nothing could quite match up to this light, and man, has the sun been coming down here in NYC.

Oh la la.  I have so many things to tell you I dunno where to start.

Okay, start at the very beginning, and with the somewhat personal question I kept asking myself over and over before getting here : yes, fashion week is calm.  A lot less international press than back in September, a good amount of runway shows are just presentations and on the inside of the shows just as on the outside of the shows, there just isn’t the same amount of hoopla.  I’ve even seen a few people come to shows in Vans and no one really says anything.

No worries.  The atmosphere is cool.  It’s as if the sort of dread that everyone was feeling in the face of the financial crisis during the last fashion week has lifted, and its place, a certain super smiling resignation.

I guess it just means that in the midst of runaway shows that are rather a tad boring, people seem to show up with a nice hot coffee in hand rather than the last it-bag, and when there is something new and exciting on the runway, people are quick to pledge allegiance.  

Preen showed some coats that make you want to plunge back into the dead of winter, Boy by Band of Outsiders with a presentation that was a lot nicer than a number of the runway shows with a really inspirational style, Onhe Titel, a must see, and Wang… Umm…  With a party-of-a-show as always, as it-girled up as ever, with a model star in hand, Sarah Jessica Parker, and a show that I really wanted to love.  Except for that… Ugh.  Maybe it’s just that my little romance with this sexy girl stops here.  We can talk about it again later if you’d like.  I would love to know what you think.

In the meantime, I’m finding some new fashion icons and many many ideas in the fashion world to share with you.  I’m having more and more of a desire to cinch my vintage coats, to mix neutral colors and prints, to roll up my sleeves, to get out my shoes from two seasons ago (but no lies, I do that all the time),  to add a touch of crazy like Dianna’s tights up top, and wear it all with a big smile, and take my giant bag and replace it with a giant coffee.

I did it again today, and compared with last time, all seemed to go smoothly.  You could say that the state of the economy is making us all a little more creative!

I send my affection to all and here you go, it’s officially spread from here!  That is to say, Happy fashion week!

Translation : Tim Padraic Sullivan