Old NYC Tales - Fashion Show Experience

These stories are old, but I wanted to re-visit them in the spirit of Fashion Week. 

My first fashion week in NYC was Sept. 2007. I was working for Pat Field. I was not popular or seen as like, cool, or fashion forward.  I was just a worker bee. A co-worker was styling a (fashion) show and he invited me to the Peter Soronen show/presentation. A presentation is a low-key fashion show. 

It was low-key, but beautiful. I walked-in, checked-in and was given a ticket-slip that said I had standing-room spot. I was happy to be in the room. It was my first New York City fashion show! Very pretty stuff in a classy setting. It was held in some kind of fancy club on 5th Avenue South.

For my next show that afternoon, I arrived at the location and saw a pretty big line. I had RSVP’d but I was not on the list. I was panicked. I wanted to get in there so bad. I started seeing faces I knew, but no one could help me get past the people at the door with those clip-boards and walkie-talkies. Humiliation and anguish were feelings I was having as I stood in that line.

I got saved when my drag queen friend who barely knew me walked by in her tulle glory and grabbed me by my wrist and pulled me in through the doorway with her. Clip-boards be damned! We were marching in.

Miss Tobell is the drag queen who saved me from that line of sad, angry people. She immediately turned my sadness into anxiety when she parked us on the Front Row. I was not even allowed in the door- How was I going to last on the front row?!?! I just knew I would be found out and kicked out. I was freaking out that I would be not just kicked out, but kicked-out from the front row in huge room full of people. (Miss Jay from ANTM was there and someone talking about her brought this tangled web of a story to my mind today and I decided I should type it up.)

I was riddled with anxiety further when celebrities started taking seats near me. Puff Daddy walked down the runway and took a seat diagonally from us. I was so fucking scared of swift and certain public humiliation. I saw Jake Shears from the Scissor Sisters. I love him! I had no idea what to say, and was already walking the plank of ultimate embarrassment, so I just blew him a kiss. He caught it. I died.

This was before Kelly Cutrone was a household name, I think. She looked like a cancer patient (no offense to cancer patients) She had her head wrapped in a turban, her face was pale and haggard and she had the utlimate clipboard/walkie-talking combo. She was coming for me. Fuck!

She's helping Puff Daddy or whatever his name is today find a seat. I'm sweating bullets. Kelly came for me, and luckily, Miss Tobell tried to cover for me and I didn’t get kicked all the way out, I just got moved to the next row. I was moved so Nigel Barker could have my seat. I was still very scared this would repeat and repeat until I was standing against the wall in the back.

Lucky for me I didn’t get moved again. There wasn’t time, the show started! This show was major. Super bright lights, loud music, Jenna Jameson and Amanda LePore walked the runway- It fulfilled all my NYC Fashion Show Fantasies. I even got gift bags! As the show was emptying out and people were just leaving these cute canvas bags under their seats, I scurried and picked up at least four of them.

A montage of that Heatherette show - Remember, this is September 2007 and Heatherette is no more, I think.

A couple fashion weeks later, (that means about a year and a half) I went into a show as a gang with my co-workers, no problem getting in the door. We were very early and took seats on the front and second rows. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t last on the front row and I was right. A guy came with none other than Nigel Barker to deport me to the 2nd row. My friends went nuts because they remembered that time at the Heatherette show when Kelly C. removed me so he could have a seat.

He was very sweet and apologetic and gorgeous and he took this group photo with us. Fast forward several more fashion weeks. I had moved up at PF and started running her website. I had been working through events that the PR companies who manage fashion shows were also at, and now some of those clipboard door-workers recognized me and knew my name. Having a clipboard person know your name and motion for you to come in the fashion show feels absolutely fucking amazing.

Getting to go backstage and see the tables of jewelry and shoes lined-up is super fun stuff too. To be wearing a nice dress and not be working yourself also felt really good.

Here I was at that time. I look so confident! I'm actually star struck. This was my first up-close with Mr. Showbiz.  Sure, I saw Beyonce and all these other celebs but this one revs my jaded engine. 
I'm wearing a .99 thrift store collar necklace and a DVF pleated wrap dress. Some things never change.

I’m really glad I had my little time of going to fabulous stuff. I’ll never forget it!