jessica’s guide to crashin’ fashion week

8 10 2008

Paris Fashion Week is over, and I have to say I’m a little relieved.

I know I sound like a spoiled brat. Don’t get me wrong — FASHION WEEK WAS EFFIN’ INCREDIBLE and getting to experience it on my own terms as a freelancer was the opportunity of a lifetime. It’s been a non-stop adventure hopping from show to show, rushing to edit photo and video and hustling to meet deadlines. But nine days and eighteen shows later, I am spent. I’m glad I got to get a glimpse into the world of Parisian fashion, but I’m also kind of glad I can retreat back into my own less glamorous (but just as exciting) life now.

I do want to impart one last bit of knowledge, though, and that’s how YOU can experience Fashion Week too. While I managed to snag invites to the shows based on my own merits, I got to observe a lot of the gate-crashers and came away with some pretty handy tips:

  1. Dress the part. Luckily, this means just about anything, from high heels and high fashion like the fashion editors to jeans and sneaks like the photographers.
  2. Tote the right equipment. A visible notebook and expensive-looking camera should do the trick.
  3. Find out if invites were just snail-mailed or sent electronically as well. You can fib that you didn’t have time to print yours out.
  4. Figure out the deal with assigned seating. Some shows seat by section (A, B, C, etc.), while others have more precise assignments (row C5, seat G-2-B, etc.)
  5. Arrive early to scout out the scene — it will make it a lot easier to figure out the answers to (3) and (4), and you might score a pity entry from the guards.

Hope to see you behind the velvet ropes!





iwaya for dress 33 @ cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine

8 10 2008

Iwaya for Dress 33. Label debut. Anxious PR. Japanese investors. Red lights. Front row. Oh my, the shoes! Paired with black lace socks. Victorian punk rock princesses. Pretty boys with slender ankles. Zebra. Floral. Mishmash.





collette dinnigan @ le carrousel du louvre

5 10 2008

Collette Dinnigan. Great PR. CHOCOLATE ON EACH SEAT! No one seems to be eating it. Do I eat it? Sit on my hands to avoid eating it. Collection is less than memorable. Crocheted shorts. Sequins. Bad lighting. No photos. Uneaten chocolate.





wunderkind @ le carrousel du louvre

5 10 2008

Wunderkind. Warm cocoon runway. Wunderful lighting. Country fair. Gingham and polka dots. Ten-cent clowns. Cloche hats. Straaaaaaange. Details. Faces.





elie saab @ le carrousel du louvre

5 10 2008

Elie Saab. Famous Halle Berry Oscar dress. Starts late. Photographers hiss and boo. Flash of light. OMG, MILLA JOVOVICH! Racing, swarming. Pop, pop, pops of camera bulbs. Collection is forgotten.





talbot runhof @ weber métaux

5 10 2008

Talbot Runhof. Gritty parking garage. Juxtaposition. Viennoiseries for breakfast. “I got rhythm, I got music.” Glitzy and glamorous. Classic movie stars. Volume. Blair Waldorf headbands. Love it.





alena akhmadullina @ le carrousel du louvre

5 10 2008

Alena Akhmadullina. Rich blues and purples and greens. Thickly braided pleat. Funny hair bobbles. Shocks of red hair. Tinkerbell. Floating through a fairytale forest.






andrea crews fashion project @ musée du jeu de paume

5 10 2008

Andrea Crews Fashion Project. Fashion as art. Fashion as activism. Young. Bold. Art collective. Outrageous models. Friends. Breaking boundaries. Making statements.





top off-the-runway fashion trends

3 10 2008
  1. Ankle boots, especially of the high-heeled patent leather variety.
  2. Opaque black tights
  3. Odd shapes and textures.
  4. Socks and open-toed heels.
  5. Dark-rimmed nerd glasses.
  6. Vintage 80s.
  7. SKINNY.




léonard @ le carrousel du louvre

2 10 2008

Léonard. Older crowd. Flash start. Florals. Resort wear. Capri. Nothing too earth-shattering.