On Saturday (Valentine's Day), I trekked up to Lincoln Center to take some photos outside for day 3 of NY's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week! Despite freezing my ass off for a little over 4 hours, I had a great time.
Last year, I went for the first time with a small group of people. We didn't stick around for too long because it was painfully cold. Luckily it was in the 30s on Saturday, which is warm compared to the windy ass days that followed. I was able to stay outside longer this year, and I took a lot more pictures (over 500... lol).
Despite not having a ticket to any of the shows (cuz I ain't got money for that) - I really enjoyed loitering outside near the fountain and playing paparazzi. It was basically like a giant gathering of beautiful people (from all over the world) - all ready for their close up. As a matter of fact, I think most of the people I photographed weren't native NY-ers. I really enjoy portrait / fashion photography, but haven't had the opportunity to do any lately - so this was a lot of fun for me!
(Click on any of the photos below to enlarge)
Caroline Harper Knapp - in my favorite pattern candy of the day: jumpsuit by J. Crew, paired with a bag by Chanel
Karolina Gliniecka wearing Vogue eyewear - pretty convinced she's Taylor Swift's long lost twin sister
Jackie Miranne wearing a coat by Zara with a sweater by H&M, makeup by Hard Candy + W3LL PEOPLE
Kier Mellour wearing DVF - hot pink contrasting with cheetah print
I didn't recognize anyone I knew, but channeled my inner Sherlock Holmes the following days on Instagram and was able to identify some of the people that I had gotten photos of. I feel like other people don't do this for street fashion blog posts, but I was curious who I had gotten photos of, and it was fun in a twisted sort of way lol. I wasn't able to match up everyone, but did have a lot more luck than I thought I would. I also tried my best to figure out what everyone was wearing. It was definitely a scavenger hunt of sorts, haha. With millions of photos tagged to the NYFW / MBFW hashtags on Instagram, I am really surprised I matched up as many as I did. If anyone who reads this can help me identify any of the unidentified - please leave a comment below and help a girl out! ;)
Being that it was Valentine's Day, there was an overwhelming amount of red, pink, and pastel themed looks to drool over.
Nora Kobrenik wearing a coat by Vika Gazinskaya Loubs, paired with a vintage clutch
Eun Bi wearing ROCKET X LUNCH (sweatshirt + skirt), visiting from Korea for her first NYFW
these Diors definitely win the "craziest shoes of the day" award
Sammy Riley wearing shoes by Topshop and jeans by 7 For All Mankind
no idea who this is, or what she's wearing, but her sense of color was on point!
I saw lots of people spending their day with their Valentines (and Galentines, too - haha).
Sara Lynn Wardell (L) in French Connection / Botkier + Megan Mitchell (R) in Celine (sunglasses) and Zara (coat)
There was an overwhelming amount of fashionable ladies, but there were a few men who set the swag meter off the charts, too:
Mariano Di Vaio wearing coat by Alexander Nash #mancandy
Elegant Men Style - the sharpest male group of the day!
Even the fluffy fashionistas made an appearance (and basically stole the show) ;)
Sammy Riley wearing a coat by Zara and a watch by Swatch with Anthony Rubio's fluffy fashionista "Kimba"
This little guy was sporting a Pup Crew sweater and some fabulous boots (brand unknown)
I stumbled upon a photo on Instagram where I spotted myself in the background looking
rather hobo chic. My eyes are also closed.
#totalbabe
After a couple hours went by, I started to feel the effects of standing in the cold.. lol. I couldn't feel my fingers because I wasn't wearing gloves, so I decided to step into the gift shop to thaw for a bit. I went back outside to snap more photos - and ran into a creepy nerdy Asian photographer who definitely was trying to hit on me. He asked to take my picture, and I couldn't for the life of me understand why. I wasn't dressed to impress - that's for sure (lol). Real talk: I was wearing $20 pants from Uniqlo, hiking boots from Kohl's, and an old pea coat from a place that just declared bankruptcy - #iaintnotopmodel. I was there to take the photos, not to model and be in them. ;) He told me "nice camera" and guessed that it was a D90 (like it would impress me or something) - even though it says "D90" on the front...
We parted ways, but then he approached me again... and he complimented my camera AGAIN (lol). So awkward. He asked me if I was Chinese and what dialect I spoke, and I told him that I couldn't speak one ounce of Chinese. He then proceeded to say something in Chinese to me ... (God knows what). I repeated that I couldn't speak Chinese at all... and we stood there in awkward silence for a minute. I was officially creeped. We parted ways again, but then I noticed later that he snapped a candid shot of me taking a photo of someone else.
While I should have been flattered, it felt stalkerish and weird - despite the fact that it was fashion week and photos were being taken of everyone everywhere. I decided to hit up Starbucks after that, hoping he'd be gone by the time I returned.
There was a tiny ass Starbucks across the street that must have been raking in the cash like nobody's business. The line was out the door, and I saw so many people there that I had taken photos of outside. It was weird seeing them all contained together in this tiny space. I ordered a small peppermint hot chocolate, skipped the cardboard sleeve, and let the heat thaw my poor fingers, lol.
I went back and my creepy stalker seemed to have left, thankfully. I decided to hang out closer to the street for a change of scenery and I regret not doing so earlier. It was snowing at this point, and it seemed like less people were hanging out outside. However, I did manage to capture some nice shots while standing there. It was fun watching people get out of their ubers / taxis, cross the street, and enter the line of photography fire by the fountain.
one of my personal favorite shots I took near the street
is her hair perf, or is her hair perf?
I packed my camera back into my backpack when the snow really started to pick up, but then spotted two girls holding giant bunches of Valentine's balloons. I rushed to whip it back out, because I couldn't pass that photo op up.. haha. ;) I later learned that they were giving the balloons away - to literally "spread the love" and promote the idea that it's important to love on all days - not just Valentine's day. It was a really cute idea, and I loved the extent they went to pull it off. The full face makeup was incredible. It was the perfect way to end the day!
(L to R) Ksenia Lambert, Saida, and Elena Albrant spreading the love for Twenty Five Hundred, makeup by Anastasia Durasova
Elena Albrant modeling for Twenty Five Hundred, dress by Kate Spade NY
Overall, I am really glad I went and stayed for as long as I did. Not only was it a great photo op, but it was also a great networking op - which is something I didn't really realize last year. I noticed that over the span of the 4 hours that I was there - many of the same people would come and go. I think it's safe to say many of them went to take thawing breaks at that Starbucks and headed back out to do it all over again. People were handing out their business cards (bloggers, models, photographers, etc), and I even took home a few.
Unfortunately, this is apparently the last NYFW being held by Mercedes-Benz at Lincoln Center. I don't know all the details, but I do hope they find another venue and sponsor to continue holding the shows in NY. I really enjoyed the experience of shooting street style, and hope to do it again next year and for the years to come.
It took me awhile to get this post together. I have been working on it since Saturday - trying to link up as many people as I could. There were a lot of photos to edit down from, and some extensive research was done to gather all of this info. I hope you enjoyed reading. :) Let me know who your favorites are in the comments below!