September

Courtesy of Vogue.com

September is like this fantastical time of creative energy.  I gather all the September issues of fashion magazines from my local Walgreens (where Walgreens lacks Barnes and Nobles provides) and immerse myself in what I love.

I remember when I was a kid we had this style/fashion channel on the television, all they would do was show runway shows and interviews with designers. I learned what art was from sitting there and watching that. I learned what art was from flipping through the pages of Vogue at 10 years old. Fashion, style, it’s more than just clothing. It’s art. It’s beauty. It’s sending a message to the world about who you are, whether that’s today or always, without speaking.

When it comes to fashion, there’s nothing more igniting for me than September. In magazines I have my two loves. Words and image. While some say that Vogue or Elle are littered with too many adverts, I argue otherwise. There’s a lot of thought that goes into those images, there’s a lot of thought that goes into placing them into the magazine, and they deserve more than cursory glance and a quick flip of the page.

Whoever says print is dead I challenge to sit with the September issue of Vogue and then repeat that phrase. You can’t feel the gloss of the paper from an Ipad. You can’t feel the varying thickness of pages from your Ipad. You certainly cannot rip out pages to place around your room for inspiration from the comfort of your laptop. Print is not dead.

The September issues are just the first stop on fashion month. Now while collections may be shown twice a year, the f/w collections debuted every September are the golden ticket.

I said that one day I’d be front row, and I still believe that dream will come to pass. Not one time around, but for cycles. I wonder what the state of fashion week will be when that day arrives. From Bryant park (oh how I wish those tents were back), to the Lincoln center, where to next? Artist are already abandoning the chaos of the centralized fashion week location for other avenues, look at Alexander Wang last year in Brooklyn.

They say bloggers are who are changing the game. Photographers riddle the streets at all fashion week locations, trying to get shots of the somebody’s to the well…the me’s. The kids who have a love for patterns, and textures, and how the combination of shoes and blouse can outfit into strength. The kids who just want to be a part of a world they’ve been internally member to since 10. As the influence of the blogger grows I wonder how fashion week will change. Let’s be honest RTW debuts have become a circus. If the designers, the clothes, lose focus to the attendees what’s the point? Fashion Week is fundamentally held to sell clothing, so if the editors and the buyers don’t like the circus that it has become, what next?

I just hope I’m there for next, I hope I’m there for next September.