Good morning readers! As promised, here is a recap of Day 2 of my New York Fashion Week experience. Day 2 started, the way all my days start, with a hunt for good coffee. We were staying mid-town and so I woke up and went on a hunt for quality coffee. I ended up at Rockefeller Plaza where they have a Blue Bottle coffee location. I’ve gotta say, this is some of the best coffee I have ever had.
Once caffeinated I headed down to Skylight Galleries (where the majority of NYFW runway shows and presentations were held) for my first runway show of the day – Runa Ray.
I really liked Runa Ray’s spring/summer 2018 collection because of the artistry of it. While many designers this year have opted for structured pieces (there have been more statement shoulders than one could possibly imagine) Runa Ray’s collection embraced a more ethereal vibe. Gauzy, flowly fabrics with what looks to be handpainted detailing are the heart of this collection. In the last photos below, you’ll see my favorite piece from the show – a white blazer with purple flowers that have a ‘painted by hand’ look. It’s such a gorgeous piece!
Next up for me was the Banana Republic NYFW Presentation. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this, as it was not a traditional presentation. Rather, Banana Republic this year decided to simply hold an open-to-the-public event at their flagship store in NYC to showcase the new Olivia Palermo x Banana Republic collection that just launched.
This event had a bit of a rocky start. I arrived and stood in an area with other media personalities and bloggers outside the store itself. A massive stage was set up on the sidewalk out front and models wearing the new collection came from the store and walked up to stand on this stage. It looked really cool – and was definitely a unique concept.
Unfortunately, a protest broke out within minutes of this ‘show’ starting. From what I understand, a group of individuals focused on protesting cruelty to animals came to protest Banana’s use of real furs. Now, I am not going to get into this heated issue at all (though I personally don’t wear real fur) as I am also not even sure if it is true that Banana uses real fur. I leave this topic to the experts.
It was quite scary for a few minutes as some protestors tackled a model and police had to step in and make some arrests. The individuals in charge of this event ushered the few of us media people who were still outside inside (many were already inside) and the event continued in store.
Onto a more positive and lighthearted note – the fashion!! I loved so many of the pieces in the new Olivia Palermo collection. The red winter coat is hands down my favorite and I will be wearing it all winter long. One of the coolest things about this unique presentation is that unlike with most NYFW shows where collections wont launch for months; all pieces launched that day and we were able to shop in store.
It was also really cool because Olivia Palermo was present to answer questions and talk with fans. Kelsey and I were there together and we were lucky enough to speak with her and compliment her on the new collection. It was really great to see her interacting with people and basically being a normal person.
After the Banana Republic Presentation I headed back to another runway show – the Julianna Bass show. This was probably my most favorite runway show of all of them. I loved the Julianna Bass pieces. With her collection we see again the masculine/feminine dichotomy (clearly this is going to be huge in spring/summer 2018 fashion!!) and we also see a bit of a throw back to 70s style. There were tons of prints, high waisted pants and a general vibe that made me feel like I was hanging out in California in the mid-70s.
The one thing I have to say I did not love about the Julianna Bass collection is the number of pieces in the new shade “Millennial pink”. This color has been taking the fashion world by storm – you will be seeing it everywhere over the next year. I, personally, just cannot get into it though. … And this is coming from a huge lover of pink. The shade is just weird – it reminds me of pepto bismol. #NotAFan. Otherwise though, this collection was one of my favorites! You can see some of my favorites below (and some shots of the millennial pink items so you can see what I’m talking about).
After the Julianna Bass show I headed back to the hotel to get ready for the evening’s parties! Day 2 I had to parties to get to – the RewardStyle party and the Shop Lulu’s party.
First up was the Reward Style party. This was a great event held at La Sirena restaurant. What I loved most about this event was that I got to meet so many bloggers who I know via the internet; but have never met in real life. I got to hang out with the lovely Hollie (from Fashions of Fancy) and Kat (from KatWalk SF) who are both just the sweetest in real life. I also got to meet one of the bloggers I have been following for ever (and am totally in awe of) Brooke (from KB Styled).
I would have loved to stay longer at La Sirena meeting people, but had to head out to the Shop Lulu’s party. Lulu’s is
one of my favorite affordable online retailers, so I was excited to see
what they had in store for their NYFW party. The party was great! The
venue was really cool (and thankfully there were great drinks and appies!). They also had makeup artists on site to do our makeup,
and, we got to pick out one dress from some of the new Lulu’s dresses to take home with us!
And that was it for day 2! Come back tomorrow for a recap of day 3… the busiest day (by far) of my NYFW experience!
linking up with: confidnet twosday // style swap // on trend tuesdays
