As I stood in line for my first ever New York Fashion week show, I felt extremely out of place. I looked down at my thin faux leather skirt and black boots with a brown paint stain near the seam and curled inside of myself. Next to me, a man wore a Burberry jacket, and the women is front of me was wearing shoes worth more than my entire wardrobe. I was not supposed to be there among the celebrities and Instagram famous bloggers. However, among my anxieties, was excitement. I grew up watching and worshiping Project Runway, and I was about to see Leanne Marshall’s fall/winter show in New York City. If you told 15 year-old Emily this, she may have fainted from disbelief. Nevertheless, there I was, standing alone on a busy street of NYC, cameras flashing around me.
I checked my phone about 1,000 times, hoping it was time to enter the building to take my seat. Time seemed to go by slower than normal. Suddenly, the woman next to me asked for the time, and we began to chat. My shoulders became less tense, and I was falling into my element, hoping she couldn’t tell my hands were basically shaking.
At last, the doors opened, and the line filed in the building. I wish I could have seen my own face at that moment, because I probably looked like an idiot with my mouth wide open in awe. Entering the gallery it finally felt real that I was at an actual NYFW show. The stark white walls, cameras flashing, people with headsets running around; I was home. I was escorted to my seat, second row unbelievably, and the moment was finally here.
The lights went up, and the room filled with an electric pop sound. My hands shook as I held up my camera, a common theme for the day, and I could barely focus my lens I was so mesmerized by the models. Bright yellows, greens and blue filled my view, with cut out necklines and flowing silhouettes, the models looked elegant. Before I could even take in the beauty of it all, it was over, and the crowds were filing back out into the cold air. My first NYFW show was done, and I was amazed.