Meet the New Yorkers Who Make Fashion Week Happen

By Victoria Floethe on January 24, 2013 8:48pm

<p>Fashion Illustrator</p>
<p>Lives: Bushwick<br />
<br />
Richard Haines, a New York fashion illustrator, has an uncanny ability to capture the form, fabric and personality of clothes with an economy of line and often on the fly. He spends his days documenting the fashionable man-on-the-street for his hugely popular blog, “<a href=

What I Saw Today.” (He stops groovy-looking gents and asks if he can sketch them.) He also creates designs for clients such as Prada, J-Crew and Calvin Klein. In 2012, Prada commissioned Haines to create drawings for a book, app and T-shirt collection, which are in stores now. During Fashion Week, you’ll see him seated front row, sketching for magazines and blogs that hire him to record the nuances of the collections that cannot be captured on film.

Victoria: What do you normally do? And what’s your role during Fashion Week?
Richard: My role? An observer, a flaneur, a recorder of moments...sometimes for myself, sometimes for The New York Times.

Q: What makes you want to stop someone on the street and sketch him?
A: It’s usually guys who have put themselves together in an interesting way, and that happens a lot in Brooklyn, which is why I love living here. I saw a guy on the train yesterday who must have been 6 feet 4 inches tall, in a tiny Barbour jacket, red knit cap, chinos...he looked like a drawing come to life. Alas, he was moving too quickly, so I didn't get a chance to approach him.

Q: How long have you lived in NYC?
A: I’ve been here since Christmas of 1975, so that’s like, what, 38 years! Most of it was in Manhattan, and I moved to Bushwick about four years ago, and I have to say it revitalized me, gave me a new perspective on the city that I didn’t think was possible. I just read that Bushwick has the highest rat complaints in the city, but I’m so grateful to live here, at this moment. Me, the artists and the rats!

Q: What’s your favorite store in Bushwick?
A: That's a good question. There really are no stores here aside from dollar stores and bodegas, which is a great relief from the hyper-consumerism of the rest of the city. I think Bushwick is more about restaurants and coffee bars — Roberta’s, Little Skips, Swallow Cafe — more about meeting places than shopping. If I’m looking for clothes I go right to Acne and Saturdays Surf. They're my go-tos at the moment.

Q: What do you find most compelling about the neighborhood you live in?
A: I guess it’s the old “SoHo” — cheap, abundant space attracts artists, then the restaurants and shops follow. When I moved here, I just loved being in a space that was filled with artists, musicians; so many ideas. There’s an element of experimentation and freedom here that I love. As I was changing my life from one of a designer to an artist, this was the perfect spot for me.

Q: What do you wear for Fashion Week?
A: I like to get it down to a uniform — keep it as comfortable and no-fuss as possible. I can't imagine having to plan out a wardrobe. But of course I'm grateful to the people who do that — they're the ones to draw!

Q: What do you like best about the style you see on the street in NYC?

A: I think there’s a certain swagger and edge here that other cities don’t have. I have this theory that the democratic grid of the city encourages the flow of ideas — like a huge circuit board. Other cities are chic but more static. There’s a vitality here that I’m hooked on.

Q: As a teenager, who did you think was the most glamorous person in the world?
A: I always wanted to wake up one day as Mick Jagger. English, louche, sexy...still waiting.

Q: Who do you think is most glamorous now?
A: Hmm. I don't know if I think in terms of glamorous any longer. I've seen too much behind the scenes to take that on. I do think that Kate Moss still makes me want to move to London, smoke cigarettes, stay out all night, so I guess it's her.

Q: What was it like doing a book with Miuccia Prada?
A: In a word, heaven. It became a real collaboration of ideas, of context, which for an artist is amazing. And Prada’s vision to push boundaries and try the unexpected is just extraordinary.

Q: Describe a good day at work.
A: The coffee’s just right, Pandora is streaming perfectly, I'm doing some really good drawings, seeing some amazing-looking people on the street and drawing them, having a lovely meal with friends, maybe at Smile on Bond Street, then maybe going to a club or party and seeing more gorgeous, inspiring people. Some job, huh?

Q: Describe your look in two words.
A: Maybe “American artist” or “classic artist.” I think I have a look, but I'm very understated, low key.

Q: What are three things you want right now?
A: A boyfriend. The coins to buy a space in the city or a shack in the country where I can paint. For my daughter to get into a good college. And some Acne jeans.

Q: What’s a look that you used to love that you don’t anymore?
A: I'm pretty consistent on what I love. I grew up on images of the Stones, Jane Birkin, Marisa Berenson — that period of louche, thrown-together chic, so I never loved a look that's matchy or all one designer. After seeing people on the streets for New Year’s Eve, I don't want to see another woman in a pair of ginormous platform shoes. That got played out in a not cool way.

Q: Who are illustrators you admire?
A: There are so many, from Christian Bérard and Eric in the ‘30s, to Antonio in the ‘60s and ‘70s, to Jean-Philippe Delhomme. I just saw a show of drawing at the Morgan, and I have to say a good drawing — a pure, honest line, makes me weak in the knees.

Q: What is your definition of cool? Or how do you define chic?
A: I guess I'll go back to louche or scruffy. There's a kind of guy I see around the Morgan stop of the L train — the bad boy/artist/musician that pretty much sums up what's happening for me now.

Q: What do you think of dandyism these days?
A: I think the world can never have enough art, beauty, creativity and love. If dandyism comes along with that, that's great. I do think there is a huge shift in men being much more in touch with their sexuality, and a comfort with playing with style. I know it because I draw it, and I love seeing that happening.

Q: Describe the perfect suit. And do you prefer English or Italian?
A: I love that the Italians are Anglophiles, the do such amazing things with an English look, but add the Italian sensuality, and I would have to say Italian. I just got a charcoal grey cashmere jacket from Public School that I'm really loving.

Q: Who’s your tailor?
A: My tailor days are behind me. I ordered a custom suit and blazer at Brooks Brothers, but that was about 100 years ago.

Q: What’s something that men should never wear?
A: Capris.

Q: What do you notice first about someone?
A: The way they stand, their innate style, the mix of pieces that's unexpected.

Q: What get’s you out of bed in the morning?
A: Fresh ground coffee, and knowing that I'll see someone on the street who will make me want to make a new drawing!

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2 of 9

Fashion Illustrator

Lives: Bushwick

Richard Haines, a New York fashion illustrator, has an uncanny ability to capture the form, fabric and personality of clothes with an economy of line and often on the fly. He spends his days documenting the fashionable man-on-the-street for his hugely popular blog, “What I Saw Today.” (He stops groovy-looking gents and asks if he can sketch them.) He also creates designs for clients such as Prada, J-Crew and Calvin Klein. In 2012, Prada commissioned Haines to create drawings for a book, app and T-shirt collection, which are in stores now. During Fashion Week, you’ll see him seated front row, sketching for magazines and blogs that hire him to record the nuances of the collections that cannot be captured on film.

Victoria: What do you normally do? And what’s your role during Fashion Week?
Richard: My role? An observer, a flaneur, a recorder of moments...sometimes for myself, sometimes for The New York Times.

Q: What makes you want to stop someone on the street and sketch him?
A: It’s usually guys who have put themselves together in an interesting way, and that happens a lot in Brooklyn, which is why I love living here. I saw a guy on the train yesterday who must have been 6 feet 4 inches tall, in a tiny Barbour jacket, red knit cap, chinos...he looked like a drawing come to life. Alas, he was moving too quickly, so I didn't get a chance to approach him.

Q: How long have you lived in NYC?
A: I’ve been here since Christmas of 1975, so that’s like, what, 38 years! Most of it was in Manhattan, and I moved to Bushwick about four years ago, and I have to say it revitalized me, gave me a new perspective on the city that I didn’t think was possible. I just read that Bushwick has the highest rat complaints in the city, but I’m so grateful to live here, at this moment. Me, the artists and the rats!

Q: What’s your favorite store in Bushwick?
A: That's a good question. There really are no stores here aside from dollar stores and bodegas, which is a great relief from the hyper-consumerism of the rest of the city. I think Bushwick is more about restaurants and coffee bars — Roberta’s, Little Skips, Swallow Cafe — more about meeting places than shopping. If I’m looking for clothes I go right to Acne and Saturdays Surf. They're my go-tos at the moment.

Q: What do you find most compelling about the neighborhood you live in?
A: I guess it’s the old “SoHo” — cheap, abundant space attracts artists, then the restaurants and shops follow. When I moved here, I just loved being in a space that was filled with artists, musicians; so many ideas. There’s an element of experimentation and freedom here that I love. As I was changing my life from one of a designer to an artist, this was the perfect spot for me.

Q: What do you wear for Fashion Week?
A: I like to get it down to a uniform — keep it as comfortable and no-fuss as possible. I can't imagine having to plan out a wardrobe. But of course I'm grateful to the people who do that — they're the ones to draw!

Q: What do you like best about the style you see on the street in NYC?

PHOTO CREDIT: DNAinfo.com / Patrik Andersson

THUMBNAILS

<p>Model, Blogger<br />
<br />
Lives: Greenpoint<br />
<br />
Age: 26<br />
<br />
While in the middle of a successful career working as a fashion model, Jenny Bahn started <a href=

jennyblovesyou.com, a blog of comedic tales about the industry and the highs and lows of traveling internationally for work. Bahn has written for V Magazine and online publications The Aesthete, Selectism and Base Magazine. She’s also been a regular contributor to Flip Collective and its online magazine, Cartel. Along with managing freelance writing projects, she’s currently editing two books and wrapping up the writing of her first TV pilot.

Victoria: What do you normally do? And what’s your role in Fashion Week?
Jenny: I’ve been modeling for almost 10 years, so I’ve done the whole Fashion Week circuit. Now, I’ll do a few [runway] shows, but that frantic, 12-shows-a-day schedule is for the 16 year olds! I started writing for a fashion and lifestyle site called The Inside Source where I’ll be doing coverage during Fashion Week.

Q: What gets you out of bed in the morning?
A: An 8-cup French press waiting for me and a healthy amount of never-ending anxiety.

Q: What’s your favorite neighborhood shop?
A: Greenpoint does OK with shops, but Williamsburg does a bit better (though I’d hate to live there). Bird is an amazing shop, on par with anything you’d find in the city. To fill my closet with even more black items of clothing, I’ll head over to OAK.

Q: Your DO and DON’T of fashion week?
A: Do wear flat shoes while running around. Keep a pair of heels in your bag. Don’t take pictures at runway shows with your iPad. Unbelievably irritating.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about NYC fashion?
A: When I first moved here in February of 2010, it was absolutely freezing cold, and I was wearing this horrible puffy coat and an ugly pair of boots. This girl comes parading past wearing the most beautiful, non-functional coat with tights and boots and — man — she just looked gorgeous. Totally freezing, but completely gorgeous. That’s what I love about fashion in New York, the unwavering, silly dedication to it.

Q: Describe your style in two words.
A: A bit boyish

Q: Who was the most glamorous person when you were a teenager?
A: When Angelina Jolie first appeared on the red carpet for the 1999 Golden Globes wearing that Randolph Duke gown. Huge moment.

Q: Who is the most glamorous person now?
A: Cate Blanchett can do absolutely no wrong. What a muse. Same goes for Tilda Swinton...maybe not glamorous in the traditional sense but so inspiring. In terms of the “new guard,” Diane Kruger and Jessica Chastain are killing it.

Q: What’s a piece or a trend that you’re seeing for fall that you want to wear now?
A: Structured purses: Proenza Schouler PS11, a Celine box bag, a Givenchy Obsedia Crossbody. I want all of them.

Q: Have you ever had a behind-the-scenes catastrophe at a fashion show? What happened?
A: No, but I’ve had plenty of “wardrobe malfunctions” on the runway.

Q: What are three things you want right now?
A: I want to travel to Vietnam. I want to sell my book and screenplay, and get a regular column somewhere. I’d like to have a place in LA by the end of the year. I’m very demanding of the universe, apparently.

Q: What is a style that you liked once but no longer admire?
A: For five seconds I was into the Isabel Marant sneaker heels. All the stylists were wearing them in the showrooms and around Paris and New York...always with the same Celine purse. Now, they’re everywhere, and, after a couple months of use, they look like sloppy dishrags tied to feet.

Q: What would you never wear?
A: Ironic 90s clothing. All of that was great when I was in second grade. I don’t feel like re-living floral spaghetti straps.

Q: How did your blog start?
A: In 2008, I was doing a runway show in Chicago, and someone stole $300 out of my wallet (I had been garage-sale shopping with my boyfriend that weekend, otherwise I’d never carry more than $60 in my wallet.) Anyway, I wrote a piece on the plane ride home called “Letter to a Thief.” I was totally furious, but whenever I feel any extreme, unpleasant emotion, it translates into humor. That’s the only way you can get through life: make a joke out of it. When we landed, I read it to my friend, who died laughing. I went home, signed up for WordPress and started writing every day.

Q: What’s a new street style that has caught your eye lately?
A: It’s hard to pick. I sort of love everything that’s going on in street fashion right now. Anything goes.

Q: Describe a good day at work.
A: Since I’ve essentially got two full-time jobs, I’ll break them down separately because they’re totally different. For modeling: a makeup artist who cleans her brushes, a client who doesn’t intimidate you for no reason, a good vibe with the photographer and crew, healthy food, good money. For writing: creating something that means something and that was truthful and connects with people, submitting new work to magazines, finishing what I started out to do in the morning.

Q: Describe your perfect evening.
A: I’d meet up with three or four friends and spend a whole dinner laughing. Then someone would get a random invite to a party, and we’d end up somewhere totally bizarre, surrounded by people we don’t know, dancing by ourselves.

Q: What is the sexiest look of all time?
A: Anything Kate Moss has done, been in or worn over the last twenty years.

Q: Is one born cool, or is it something that can be learned?
A: Oh, boy. Cool people are to be avoided at all costs. Cool can mean disconnected, surface, self-consumed. I want real people. If those real people happen to be stylish, all the better. Style, however, is something that can be learned. There are definitely people who are born with it, but I wasn’t one of them.

Q: What blogs do you follow?
A: I’m so busy with my own work that it’s hard to follow other blogs. For fashion, I do love Tommy Ton of Jak & Jil. For intelligent, hilarious writing, I’ll check out McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. For music, blog aggregator hypem.com is a must.

Q: What’s your advice to young women getting into modeling?
A: Take risks and take them while you’re young. Travel the world. Find the good people and stay away from the bad. Be smart with your money. And, most importantly, if it doesn’t come easily enough, do something else. Go back to school and contribute to the world in a bigger way. There are so many bigger things to do with your life; modeling is just a little drop in a very pretty bucket.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
A: “You should be a writer.” Said to me by a photographer.

Q: What was your first year of modeling in NYC like?
A: I was here for the summer of 2007 working. It was pretty brutal. I got stuck in a closet with a Brazilian chick who kept saying “bay-bee bay-bee” and would roll her eyes whenever I couldn’t fit into this one particular dress.

Q: What are your favorite books that take place in NYC?
A: Bret Easton Ellis’s “Glamorama.”

Q: Do beautiful people know they’re beautiful?
A: Of course they do. They’ve likely been hearing it since they were children. It doesn’t mean they’re nice people though!

Q: What’s the typical “model” outfit you see girls wear?
A: Oh, the uniform. That’s easy. Black jeans, drapey top, leather jacket, boots. Always with no makeup, undone hair, and a little canvas tote for their portfolios and shoes. You can spot them a mile away.

Q: What’s something people would be shocked to know about the fashion world?
A: Fashion can be a lot like cozying up to the beautiful mean girl at your high school. If you were smart — and you may very well be — you’d steer clear. But you’re just dying for the day when she tells you she loves you and makes you her best friend. It’s sick, really. I’m a victim of it, too.

" />

<p>Makeup Artist<br />
<br />
Lives: Upper East Side<br />
<br />
Age: 31<br />
<br />
Misha Shahzada attributes her career in makeup to the early childhood experience of watching her mother get ready for parties:

Bottega Veneta and mega brands like Victoria Secret. This year her Fashion Week shows will include BCBG, Herve Leger and Jeremy Scott, among others. She says she learned what exhaustion is when she worked her first Fashion Week. It's a marathon.

Victoria: What do you normally do? And what's your role in Fashion Week?

Misha: I am a makeup artist based in New York City. My role during fashion week is to make people pretty.

Q: What gets you out of bed in the morning?

A: A giant cup of coffee or being so nervous about a job that day that I can't sleep!

Q: What's your favorite neighborhood place to shop?

A: Food for Health. It's a small health food market, sort of like a mini Whole Foods but better in some aspects! They carry all kinds of organic foods and supplements, and they even have an amazing juice bar.

Q: Your DO and DON'T of Fashion Week?

A: Do put effort in your outfit, hair and makeup — it's the whole picture that matters. Don't act like you're all that because you're wearing the most current pieces. It's obnoxious.

Q: What do you love about fashion in NYC?

A: I can walk down the street and feel like I'm getting a glimpse of a fashion show. Even people with no money know how to put an amazing outfit together for under 20 bucks!

Q: Describe your style in two words.

A: I consider my style timeless classic — when I make the effort.

Q: Who was the most glamorous person on earth when you were a teenager?

A: Sofia Loren. I use to lock myself in my mother's bathroom and wear her makeup like Sofia Loren.

Q: Who do you think is glamorous now?

A: I am obsessed with Christina Hendricks.

Q: What's a makeup trick that works for everyone? Favorite products?

A: If you're feeling washed out or tired, rub a little lipstick on your cheeks — this makes a world of difference. I love sheer tinted lipsticks by Laura Mercier, as well as Rouge Artist Natural by Make Up For Ever. They're versatile and light enough to apply on cheeks!

Q: What are the makeup trends on the runway?

A: Healthy-looking skin with a fresh glow.

Q: What are makeup trends on the street?

A: This isn't really a new trend to me, but has been popular in the last year or so. I love that women are contouring and highlighting their own skin. It's not that difficult, just takes some practice.

Q: Have you ever had a behind-the-scenes catastrophe at a fashion show? What happened?

A: Nothing too crazy, but one time there was confusion about what look the model was going to be wearing, and both looks were pretty extreme. She ended up having the wrong makeup on, and the makeup artist had about four minutes to remove everything and re-apply before the show. There were three of us beating this poor girl's face at the same time. It was pure teamwork.

Q: What are the three things you want right now?

A: Continued success, a puppy and to buy my mother a new house!

Q: What is a style in makeup that you liked once but no longer admire?

A: Lip liner that was slightly darker than the lipstick (this was in eighth grade)!

Q: What would you never wear?

A: Crocs!

Q: Who was your favorite designer to work with?

A: Dana-Maxx. She's an up-and-coming contemporary clothing designer and is crazy talented.

Q: Describe a good day at work.

A: Being happy with the outcome of my work. I can be my own worst critic.

Q: Describe your perfect evening.

A: Cooking dinner followed by a great film with my boyfriend.

Q: What is the sexiest look of all time?

A: Just refer to George Michael's "Freedom" video.

Q: Do you think one is born cool, or is it something that can be learned?

A: I think a little bit of both. Obviously things you do in life can make you "cooler", but I feel we are a product of our environment, and the life we are brought into plays a major role.

Q: What's the best piece of advice you ever got?

A: The best advice I received was to never compare myself to others. It's great to set the bar high, but at the same time, everyone's situation is different, and comparing yourself is completely useless.

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<p>Doorman / Promoter / Stylist<br />
<br />
Lives: Chinatown<br />
<br />
Age: 35<br />
<br />
Paris native Simonez Wolf styled fashion shoots before he became the gatekeeper to New York's most exclusive clubs and creator of in-the-know pop-up parties. He first worked the door at the fabled Beatrice Inn and hosted a weekly Sunday fete there. Soon he was creating parties at the <a href=

Bowery Hotel, Madame Wong's, Westway, Le Baron and Le Bain. He says his job is part art direction, part judging human nature. This Fashion Week he’s hosting his annual Chinese New Year dinner party. If this is the first you’ve heard of it, you’re probably not on the guest list.

Victoria: What’s your role during Fashion Week? Do you go to any of the shows?
Simonez: Front of the house. Sometimes.

Q: What’s your favorite store in your neighborhood?
A: The Chinese Hispanic grocery.

Q: What’s most compelling about Chinatown?
A: It still has that real gritty New York look to it.

Q: Your Fashion Week DO and DON’T?
A: Do eat well. Don’t overrun myself.

Q: What do you like best about NYC style? How is different than London, Paris, or Milan?
A: New York has more of a street style, a mix of hip-hop and skate.

Q: Who was the most glamorous person in the world when you were a teenager?
A: James Bond, Bruce Lee, David Bowie.

Q: Who is the glamorous now?
A: Dasha Zhukova.

Q: Best outfit/article of clothing you’ve seen on a partygoer during Fashion Week?
A: A long cape on a tall-legged model.

Q: What is your definition of cool? Or how do you define chic?
A: Slick.

Q: What’s the best party you’ve ever been to?
A: Paris Opera House for a YSL soiree.

Q: What party would you like to create? Who would come? Where would it be?
A: A Chinese New Year celebration in a Chinatown temple. Guests will include all the Victoria's Secret angels plus Andre Saraiva, Jeff Koons, Alessandro Twombly, KAWS, JR, Joakim Noah (French NBA player), Tom Hardy, Demi Moore, M.I.A, Jay-Z.

Q: What do you notice first about someone when they approach you at the door?
A: The shoes.

Q: You won’t let a guy in if he’s wearing...
A: Square-toe shoes, sweatpants, flip flops.

Q: You won’t let a girl in if she’s wearing...
A: Square-toe shoes, tracksuits, flip flops.

Q: What are your NYC spots?
A: Jack’s Wife Freda, Dudley's, The Leadbelly, Nom Wah, Panade Puffs & Pastries.

Q: Is night life still French-centric? What’s next?
A: Yes, still a bit. Chez André TriBeCa.

Q: What was the reading material for the class “Dance, Music, and Nightlife Culture in New York City” at Yale, where you gave a talk?
A: “Nightclub City,” by Burton W. Peretti; “On the Make: The Hustle of Urban Nightlife,” by David Grazian; “Steppin' Out: New York Nightlife and the Tranformation of American Culture,” by Lewis A. Erenberg.

Q: What’s the most idiotic thing someone’s said to you at the door?
A: Do you know who I am! And then he googled himself on his phone to show to me.

Q: What is the most extreme length you’ve seen someone go to get into the party?
A: Getting a room at The Standard so that he could get in at Le Bain.

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<p>Model<br />
<br />
Lives: Wiliamsburg<br />
<br />
Age: 24<br />
<br />
Sarah McSweeney grew up in New York, moved to Connecticut with her family as a teenager, and then at 16, hightailed it back to the city to live with her older sister, Leah. She was spotted by a model scout while tying her shoe on Mott Street. She’s since worked with Marilyn, Next and <a href=

New York Model Management, and is the face of her sister’s streetwear label, Married to the Mob. McSweeney pursued her passion for cooking at New York’s International Culinary Center (founded as the French Culinary Institute), and divides her time between modeling and working as a personal chef, which take her all over the world. During Fashion Week, it is castings, shows and maybe a few parties with the Mob crew. Like her sister Leah, she says what she thinks: “The fashion industry is so f**ked, it really can suck the life out of you. I’m constantly battling myself to stay in reality, ‘cause it’s very easy to get sucked in.”

Victoria: What do you normally do? And what’s your role in Fashion Week?
Sarah: I am a model with New York Model Management, and during Fashion Week I’m running around to castings and participating in shows.

Q: What gets you out of bed in the morning?
A: New adventures and money.

Q: You live in Williamsburg. What are your favorite Williamsburg shops?
A: Le Grand Strip [vintage shop] and Handsome Dan’s Snocone and Candy Stand.

Q: Your DO and DON’T of fashion week?
A: Don’t over Instagram! Do hydrate!

Q: What’s your favorite thing about the fashion in NYC?
A: My favorite thing about Fashion Week is the energy and how the city gets taken over by 17-year-old glamazons. It’s a sexy and hectic moment in New York.

Q: Describe your style in two words.
A: Simple and sleek.

Q: Who was the most glamorous person on earth when you were a teenager?
A: The Olsen twins in my tween days.

Q: Who is the most glamorous person now?
A: There is no one more glamorous than Obama; I’m still not sure if this is a good thing.

Q: What’s a piece or a trend that you’re seeing for fall that you want to wear now?
A: Wearing a mix of different prints.

Q: Are you doing a show this year? Where or when?
A: I never know until the last minute what shows or presentations I will be involved in.

Q: Have you ever had a behind-the-scenes catastrophe at a fashion show? What happened?
A: Behind the scenes at a fashion show always feels like a catastrophe could be around every corner. There are so many “what if” moments. I’ve been lucky enough to never have any major catastrophes. But I’ve witnessed girls wiping out, fainting, and last year a head PR girl for one of the shows I was involved in broke her ankle less then 10 minutes before the show. Talk about a dramatic moment.

Q: What are three things you want right now?
A: A loft in TriBeCa. An adventure in Thailand. A personal shopper.

Q: What is a style that you liked once but no longer admire?
A: I used to be into over-sized boyfriend jeans. I can still appreciate the right pair on the right lady, but they aren’t for me anymore.

Q: What would you never wear?
A: I never say never.

Q: What is the perfect setting for a perfect meal you’ve made?
A: The setting isn’t as important as the company, but a villa in Ibiza never hurt!

Q: What’s a new street style you like?
A: I’m a little late on this, but Isabel Marant sneakers have been staring at me nonstop. It’s time for me to own a pair.

Q: Describe a good day at work.
A: Meeting people I connect with, getting a great shot and making money!

Q: Describe your perfect evening.
A: A long dinner on a summer night.

Q: Is one born cool, or can it be learned?
A: Cool can’t be learned. It’s attained with life experience and [being comfortable] with yourself.

Q: Who are your most official bitches?
A: My most official bitches are the women in my life that love and support me.

Q: What’s your advice to young women getting into modeling?
A: My advice to young women starting out in their career is to think of modeling as a business not a lifestyle.

Q: Best advice you’ve ever received?
A: Do what’s right for YOU! Don’t try and make everyone happy. It’s cliché, but it’s words of wisdom I try to remember every day. Modeling gives you thick skin, but also turns you into quite the people pleaser.

Q: What was your first year of modeling in NYC like?
A: That year was filled with lots of castings, travel and meeting all types of personalities. It was a learning experience and definitely a coming-of-age moment in my life.

Q: What’s the typical first NYC boyfriend of a model?
A: Adam Levine, apparently.

Q: Do beautiful people know they’re beautiful?
A: I think beautiful people are pretty aware of their beauty, but I’m not so sure how many beautiful people actually feel beautiful.

Q: What’s the typical “model” outfit girls wear?
A: The typical model uniform right now is tights/leggings or leather pants, a tank, riding boots or biker boots, with an over-sized Chanel or Marc bag. Models in general have a pretty simple style while on the job, because you want to be a clean canvas for your clients.

Q: What’s something people would be shocked to know about the business?
A: People would be shocked at the amount of work and the extremes that the fashion world goes to to keep this industry thriving.

Q: What is the sexiest look of all time?
A: Confidence.

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<p>Designer, Founder and CEO of “<a href=

Married to the Mob” a street-wear line for girls

Lives: Financial District

Age: 30

Leah McSweeney seems pure sweetness and light, until she opens her mouth. She gives voice to young women who believe in living boldly, making fun of followers and reclaiming pejoratives. McSweeney grew up in New York City, where she attended Convent of the Sacred Heart; moved to Connecticut for high school; then returned to Manhattan, to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). In 2004, tired of seeing guys have the coolest gear and brands, she created her own female clothing line, “Married to the Mob,” featuring a T-shirt tagline “Men are the new women.” To kick-start the venture, McSweeney used settlement money won from a lawsuit following an incident involving a police officer outside a club. This episode became a part of the mystique and identity of her brand. Mob has since worked on projects with an impressive list of collaborators, including KAWS, MCM, graffiti artist Fafi, Kangol, Reebok, Nike, Lacoste and Burton. Mob collaborated with French avant-garde boutique Colette on Reebok lip-print sneakers (which sold out online in 23 minutes) and on a commemorative T-shirt for Barbie’s 50th anniversary. Open a magazine and you just might find Lady Gaga in a Mob T-shirt or Rihanna wearing a “Supreme Bitch” hat.

Victoria: What’s your role in Fashion Week?
Leah: My role is to throw a good party.

Q: What gets you out of bed in the morning?
A: My beautiful daughter Kiki.

Q: What’s your favorite place to shop in your neighborhood?
A: Hermès and Duane Reade.

Q: Your DO and DON’T of fashion week?
A: Do show up if you RSVP. Don’t wear 6-inch heels you can’t walk in, especially at 8 a.m.

Q: Your favorite thing about fashion in NYC?
A: Making fun of people.

Q: Describe your style in two words.
A: The ‘hood meets Madison Ave.

Q: Who was glamorous when you were a teen?
A: Lady Miss Kier.

Q: Who is most glamorous now?
A: Lady Miss Kier.

Q: What’s a piece or a trend that you’re seeing for fall that you want to wear now?
A: I think trends are bullshit.

Q: What are the three things you want right now?
A: I want to be in a chalet in Lech with my daughter and sister, drinking a hot chocolate, on a chinchilla rug in front of a fireplace.

Q: What is a style you liked once but no longer admire?
A: Enormous jeans.

Q: What would you never wear?
A: Open-toe shoes in the winter.

Q: What is the perfect setting for the clothes you make?
A: I’ve seen women rocking Mob in a classroom and on a beach in the Maldives. Mob is everywhere.

Q: What new street style is in?
A: The 80’s are back. I’m not digging it.

Q: Describe a good day at work.
A: Coming up with that concept or idea that when it hits you you’re like, “YES THAT’S IT! THAT SHIT IS HOT!” Best feeling.

Q: What is the sexiest look of all time?
A: This might sound cliché, but when a female feels confident and it radiates. Nothing gets sexier than that.

Q: Do you think one is born cool or is something that can be learned?
A: Born of course. Natural.

Q: Who are your most official bitches?
A: The women who take the road less traveled without fearing the consequences.

Q: What’s your advice to young women?
A: Follow your bliss — Joseph Campbell.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
A: Listen to your gut.

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Style.com

Lives: West Village

Style.com Editor-in-Chief Dirk Standen is not one of those fashion-world luddites who finds technology suspiciously unchic. He has an eye for images and objects that elicit the most desire, and he presents them so that an online audience can find them, efficiently and obsessively. It’s hard to stop clicking at Style.com — images of runway shows are posted seemingly simultaneously from the catwalk. During Fashion Week, Standen oversees Style.com’s show coverage. That means attending runway shows during the day, going to dinners and parties at night, then editing reviews and writing headlines until early morning. He does the same thing for 30 days in a row. This year is his fifteenth fashion show season.

Victoria: What gets you out of bed in the morning?
Dirk: Coffee.

Q: What’s your favorite store in your neighborhood?
A: Casa [in the West Village] has the best selection of magazines in the world, and if they don’t stock [what you want], they’ll help you track it down.

Q: What do you find most compelling about the West Village?
A: Even though they keep insisting on putting up fancy new glass buildings, it still has a human scale.

Q: Your Fashion Week DO and DON’T?
A: Do try to enjoy every moment. Don't take it for granted.

Q: Who was the most glamorous person in the world when you were a teenager?
A: Debbie Harry.

Q: Who is the most glamorous person now?
A: My wife.

Q: Who in the fashion world do you admire?
A: Sarah Andelman from the Paris store Colette has an unerring eye for cool design, and she's incredibly gracious and unpretentious. Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, the stylist, truly knows fashion but also knows how to have fun with it. She's a force of nature. My team [members] at Style.com are the ultimate professionals. They get the job done, and they don't get caught up in the bullshit.

Q: What Fashion Week shows are you especially excited for this year?
A: I'm intrigued to see Alexander Wang's debut at Balenciaga and Hedi Slimane's sophomore collection at Saint Laurent.

Q: What do you think of dandyism these days?
A: Most of the usual subjects you see on the street style blogs aren't dandies. They're just overdressed. They used to say you didn't notice what a well-dressed man was wearing until after he'd left the room.

Q: What’s your favorite movie based on style?
A: "Performance."

Q: What’s your favorite way to wear the Standen scarf?
A: The beauty of these scarves, which my wife Susan designs and sells in places like Barneys, is that you can wear them any way you want and they look good.

Q: What post on Style.com has gotten the most traffic of all time?
A: The Chanel show invariably gets the most page views, something like 2.8 million the first 24 hours last season.

Q: How soon after the shows do you post the images you've captured from them?
A: We now post most of them instantly.

Q: What’s the best Fashion Week party you’ve been to?
A: The best parties happen when you're not expecting them, which usually means outside Fashion Week.

Q: Is it true that brands make their money on perfume and handbags, and not the clothes?
A: Yes.

Q: List your top three picks for emerging talent.
A: I could tell you, but I'd like to hold on to them a bit longer before someone poaches them.

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<p>Fashion Designer<br />
<br />
Lives: Chinatown<br />
<br />
Age: 26<br />
<br />
In person, Katie Gallagher seems at once ethereal and tough. One gets the sense she knows what she likes and doesn’t bother with the rest. Gallagher grew up between a farm and forest in Western Pennsylvania and studied fashion at the <a href=

Rhode Island School of Design, where her first creation was a dress constructed from handmade metal springs. It was subsequently borrowed for photo shoots featuring Daphne Guinness and Lady Gaga, and before Gallagher graduated, she caught the attention of fashion observers. She launched her eponymous label in 2009, and her dark, futuristic clothes — characterized by body-conscious lines and geometric cuts — are among the most exciting to have come from a young designer in years. Gallagher says she relishes the flurry of interaction at Fashion Week, because the rest of the year the design process is a solitary job. She believes fashion is a vehicle for personality, story and attitude rather than an end in itself.

Victoria: What's your favorite place to shop in your neighborhood?
Katie: The Sweet Life.

Q: Your DO and DON'T of Fashion Week?
A: Do go out! Don't ride the subway, Fashion Week, or not.

Q: What's your favorite thing about the fashion in NYC?
A: I'd like to think that people that strike me in the city are one of a kind.

Q: Describe your style in two words.
A: Ever evolving.

Q: What's a piece or a trend that you're seeing for fall that you want to wear now?
A: I don't follow trends!

Q: Are you doing a show this year?
A: Yes! One in February (Fall/Winter 2013) and One in September (Spring/Summer 2014). I show with Milk Made at The Standard.

Q: What was your inspiration for this season?
A: My upcoming collection is called “The Winter Froze You Away.” The concept is about becoming one with the atmosphere in which one lives; fading away and disappearing but still being physically present in space...the idea of becoming a part of the place where you have lost something you loved. The clothing and accessories create lines that move into each other and also disappear into space. Inspiration bits are mourning jewelry, David Lean’s “Dr. Zhivago”...a very Nordic and cold feeling.

Q: When you were a teenager, whom did you consider the most glamorous person in the world?
A: Fiona Apple followed by Kyoko Fukada.

Q: Have you ever had a behind-the-scenes catastrophe at a fashion show? What happened?
A: Various. Nothing too disastrous. Things ripping, models refusing to wear shoes, pretty normal things. I’m very regimented with the show prep, so everything is usually pretty thought through and worked out pre-show. I work very hard to create a relaxed, anti-stress backstage atmosphere.

Q: What are three things you want right now?
A: A Tokujin Yoshioka Cloud Couch, a clove cigarette to go with my coffee and a black Maine Coon cat.

Q: What is a style that you liked once but no longer admire?
A: Menswear on women. No.

Q: What would you never wear?
A: A fedora.

Q: How do you get dressed in the morning? Does it depend on a mood, a look you've got in your mind, or for the place or situation you will be in?
A: Well, usually I'm just in my studio/apartment working, and it's just me. So, I'm usually just in a T-shirt and underwear until or if I have go out to meet someone!

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<p>Photographer<br />
<br />
Lives: Bushwick<br />
<br />
Photographer Patrik Andersson took the portraits of our Fashion Week Insiders - but he is also one himself, working at various fashion weeks over a long and distinguished career. He has worked with world leaders and celebrities, models and megastars. His rolodex of clients has included Bill Clinton, Kate Moss, Jennifer Lopez, Muhammad Ali, Whitney Houston and Mick Jagger. Swedish-born Andersson has been in New York City since his 20s, and lives in Bushwick.<br />
<br />
Victoria: What makes you want to stop someone on the street and photograph him or her?<br />
Patrik: I think people echo things from other experiences. Other than striking beauty or great style, I tend to be drawn toward people that give a feeling of a memory that I can’t really place.<br />
<br />
Q: Where do you live in New York?<br />
A: Bushwick — they call it Bush-hip these days.<br />
<br />
Q: What’s your favorite store in Bushwick?<br />
A: <a href=

Skytown has a great organic Skybowl — five different always-changing ingredients — they need to serve it on the weekends again.

Q: What do you find most compelling about the neighborhood?
A: That I can live spaciously without having to run the rat race.

Q: Your Fashion Week DO and DON’T?
A: Do keep looking for new and inventive ways of visually interpreting the fashion show — it can be done. And don’t eat too many of those snickers bars lying around backstage.

Q: What do you like best about the style you see on the street in NYC?
A: That most everybody here knows that clothing is a form of communication, they're not afraid of expressing themselves and don’t fall into dressing like a stereotype — there is often a personal twist to even a classic look.

Q: Who was the most glamorous person in the world when you were a teenager?
A: The fictional character Stalker from the Russian movie with the same name, for his emotional intensity.

Q: Who is the most glamorous person in the world now?
A: The Dalai Lama — because he has made it clear to everybody that it is the inner evolution that is really the thing that shines.

Q: What was your favorite shoot of all time?
A: I took two months off and shot one frame a day with a 20x24-inch camera just for myself — I traveled in a big circle all across America.

Q: Describe a good day at work.
A: It is when people bring you their creativity in such a way that you get to say: “Thank you, that is more amazing than I expected.”

Q: Describe your look in two words.
A: Selective utilitarian.

Q: What was it like shooting Kate Moss?
A: Kate had it all right at the beginning — the whole register from innocence to high glamour.

Q: What is your definition of cool? Or how do you define chic?
A: I think the original cool is somebody who sees that conventional society is a kind of fraud, so they become rebellious and step outside the norm. And from that we get most of our icons. Then I think there is a deeper level of cool when somebody keeps looking at their life and finds more meaning and comes back from this rebellion and gets to work.

Q: How do you break the barriers and get a truthful photograph?
A: By being as open and truthful yourself. Depending on the person I meet, my response will differ.

Q: What do you notice first about someone?
A: How settled they are in themselves.

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