New York Fashion Week is here in NYC, and the city is buzzing with excitement. Everyone is dressing up a little more, and people from all over the world are flocking towards the West Village and Lincoln Center to see hundreds of designers present their Spring/Summer 2016 collections. Although I was lucky enough to receive several invitations to some events and fashion shows, because of classes, I could only go to two, both on Saturday.
The first show I went to, Osklen by creative director Oskar Metsavaht, was absolutely incredible. I woke up early, dressed my very best and took an overpriced Uber to collection presentation in the Meatpacking District (I should have taken the subway because it’s much, much cheaper). I was one of the first people in line (the show started at 11, and I got there around 10:45), which got me a good spot in the front row of the standing general admission crowd and hoards of photographers and journalists. Everyone was pushing and shoving to get the perfect Instagram, Snapchat, panorama, front page picture. Because I am only 5’2 (5’4 in my heeled booties), I struggled a bit at first, but soon found my designated, respected spot.
The collection was inspired by Metsavaht’s trip to the Amazon rainforest, where he visited the Asháninka tribe. In the show’s exposed, brick-filled warehouse space, there was a giant projector showing exquisitely filmed scenes of the Asháninka people and their daily lives, as well as various photo prints laid out on the floor.
You could clearly see how Metsavaht infused his inspiration into his 28 piece collection. Each model wore woven, fringed sandal-like sliders in black and nude colorways, and several models carried tasseled, woven or printed clutch bags that I am currently dying over. The collection had a lot of screen printed pieces, included a white maxi dress with a leopard, a white midi wrap halter dress with a boa constrictor, a sheer midi dress with the landscape of the Amazon as the whole fabric, a black and white maxi with the face of a young Asháninka girl, and several red and black maxi pieces that appeared to be enlarged prints of feathers and rainforest plants.
I had so many favorite looks from this collection. I loved Metsavaht’s use of oversized, white boyfriend shirts (a personal favorite in my own wardrobe), the plunging necklines in his jumpsuits and little black dresses, the tight dress with flowy pants combination, sheer panelling, slits, halters, and boxy, boyish silhouettes contrasted with several bodycon pieces.
Because it wasn’t a proper, traditional runway show, the army of models came out several times and rotated so everyone could get a good picture and get to the front row. Once you saw the show, you could mingle with other guests (including Edward Norton and several writers from Vogue Magazine) and drink Vita Coco coconut water or water from Osklen-branded bottles (which was very helpful considering I’m claustrophobic and it was boiling in the crowded warehouse).
After mingling for a little bit and watching the footage of Metsavaht’s trip to the Amazon, I took the subway back to Third North, saved $15 by not taking Uber, and looked over the pictures and videos I took. These are some of my favorite shots!