Saturday, September 30, 2017

Glitter, Glamour, and Gams

Some sights from the 2017 New York Burlesque Festival. Thank you so much to Jen Gapay of Thirsty Girl Productions for having me!

















Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Miss Manhattan Hangs Out...with Sydney Sadick

Sydney Sadick doesn’t wear flats. Mostly. She has a pair or two at home, but prefers a good heel, like the strappy black stilettos she’s wearing today. She clicks up and down the stairs as we head backstage for actress Eva Longoria’s new fashion collection. Sydney is the Associate Editor of The Daily Front Row, where she covers fashion and celebrity and wherever the two meet. Accordingly, she recently interviewed Longoria about the new collection and is heading backstage to say hello. The two smile and hug and pose for my camera. We then head to the front row and the show begins, a stream of comfy yet stylish sweatsuits and floaty dresses making their way down the runway. The show’s invitees record on their iPhones while a pit of photographers emit a flutter of clicking and camera flashes at the end of the runway.

Today is the last day of New York Fashion Week, and by the end of the day Sydney will have seen over 30 shows in seven days, at least four per day, in and out of cars and in heels the whole time. She has been at The Daily Front Row for almost a year and a half, and in that time has interviewed the likes of Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, designer Jonathan Simkhai, Don Lemon, and countless others. She has also become a television fashion expert, with appearances on Amazon’s Style Code Live, NBC New York Live, Fox5, and more.

We pull up to The Park, a restaurant in Chelsea, where Sydney meets up with a friend, Instagram influencer Joey Zauzig. Over salad and pasta, they chat and gossip about the fashion industry, none of which gets repeated, of course. After lunch and some street style shots, the two say their goodbyes and Sydney goes to check out the latest edition of Story, a constantly changing department store whose current theme is Beauty. A crayon box of nail polishes—literally, the polish is sponsored by Crayola—leans up against one wall while a conglomeration of makeup makes a 3-D collage on another. Sydney debates a few purchases, but soon it’s time to head uptown.

We arrive Rockefeller Center for a whirlwind Juicy Couture viewing, which features models wearing the next season’s collection while blowing bubbles, lounging by a small pool, or fanning themselves on this strangely humid mid-September day. We’re out as soon as we came in, having to run downtown again for the Marchesa show at Skylight Clarkson Square.

Backstage is a swirl of activity, with cameras flashing at celebrity visitors, models changing, dresses undergoing last-minute reviews. We find our seats and soon detailed, elegant gowns come down the runway, each model looking like a high-fashion wood nymph. Post-show, we book it to the Lexus line, a free car service provided by NYFW to top editors, bloggers, and other fashion folks to drop them off at a location of their choice. Sydney sighs in the backseat and relaxes, her heels still strapped to her feet.

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