A live band, Wild Cub, cranked it up
Somewhere in the world of labels and trends, people have forgotten the fact that fashion is about expression. What you wear can reflect who you are, what you do, or even something as simple as how you’re feeling that day. My own style has changed multiple times over the years, sometimes reflecting what’s “hot” and sometimes not. Along the way, I learned that fashion is not about the looks people give you or what they think when you walk by; it’s about how you feel in your own skin—and how you feel in what covers it. And I have to say, wearing a cheetah-print KUT jacket and Liverpool jeans while sitting in the third row at Nautica’s first-ever appearance at Lincoln Center for Fashion Week, watching some of the most gorgeous men I’ve ever seen stalk down the runway, I felt comfortable, like I belonged there just as much as someone in Chanel or Ralph Lauren couture.
and the Rebecca Minkoff presentation took off. Models in a mix
futuristic silhouettes and comfy textures... of
Photographers and video crews waited outside Lincoln Center, snapping candids and halting anyone whose outfit was deemed blog worthy. Inside, members of the press, fashion gurus, buyers, bloggers, and celebrities alike milled around the central hub of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, visiting the kiosks of sponsors such as Maybelline, Style.com, and Aveda. But the real action was in the tents, where the fashion industry’s top designers showcased their looks for the next season. The lights dimmed as the paparazzi retreated from taking shots of Anna Wintour and found their spots at the end of the runway instead. A live band, Wild Cub, cranked it up, and the Rebecca Minkoff presentation took off. Models in a mixture of futuristic silhouettes and comfy textures that made me seriously excited for fall began striding along the U-shaped runway, around two rows of VIPs seated in the middle. It hit me. This wasn’t just a celebrity-studded event to market another multibillion-dollar industry. It was a mecca, a destination for artists of all types to become inspired, to be excited for the future, and to connect with others who were doing the same thing. All of us—the magazine editors watching from the front row, the band performing, the designers, the photographers, the hair and makeup teams, and even the models—were there to share an artistic experience and to draw our own conclusions from it. Because that’s what art does; it makes people think differently, and not everyone will think the same thing about a piece of art, just as not everyone will want to wear the same thing next season.
NAUTICA BLACK SAIL COLLECTION Photo by Frazer Harrison / Getty Images
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