Written by writer, editor and FCS mother Silva Emerian, Style Session is about fashion trends, style and Emerian’s connection with God. Published since 2015, Style Session returns to The Feather after a year-long hiatus. Style Session will be published bi-monthly and Emerian’s previous works can be viewed on her author page. Emerian also runs her own personal blog, On My Shoebox and can be reached via email.

Style Session is back and just in time! Put your studying and homecoming-float-planning aside because this is a very important time of year. It’s New York Fashion Week! I will give you a little breakdown in terms you may find more relatable. Here we go!

Geography

New York is arguably the world’s fashion capital. Fashion weeks take place twice a year. In September you have the fall shows, which feature the upcoming spring/summer fashions. So this week we’re seeing clothes that will debut NEXT spring and summer (2020). The autumn/winter collections are shown during fashion weeks in February. It’s a bit confusing, but it’s how the fashion calendar works. After New York Fashion Week (NYFW) there will be fashion weeks in London, Milan and Paris. Fashion week is actually fashion month, which is fine by me!

History

About 100 years ago, Paris was considered the source and inspiration of fashion around the world. But during World War II, Germany occupied Paris and the United States lost its access to all things fashion. A publicist named Eleanor Lambert thought this would be a good time to organize an event to highlight American designers and so she established “Press Week” in New York City in 1943. Fashion weeks continued twice a year until an unfortunate and notorious “the sky is falling” incident during a Michael Kors show that necessitated a new beginning for the shows under the tents at Bryant Park in 1993, creating NYFW as we know it.

Math

NYFW is actually only six days, but those days will be jam-packed with shows all over the city. More than 81 major shows will take place throughout New York City with editors, influencers and fashionistas scrambling to get from one location to the next in city traffic. A typical fashion show ranges from 5-20 minutes, so it’s usually in and out and on to the next presentation in a new outfit (obviously). That’s a lot of outfit changes each day, usually in the back of a taxi. Also, the average front row at a fashion show consists of 130 seats – hardly enough for all who want to see and be seen! Sometimes celebrities are paid up to $100,000 just to sit in a designer’s front row.

Physical Education

Aside from the logistical nightmare of getting from one show to the next – and looking fabulous doing it – Fashion Week is a marathon for the models walking in the shows. Top models walk anywhere from 10-13 shows per week, totaling up to 30 shows in four cities around the world in just one month. With each runway averaging 28 feet long, that’s a lot of steps for these young ladies (and some men).

English

One of the most important words at NYFW is the following: exclusive. The shows are super-exclusive and elusive. They are invitation-only and getting tickets is nearly impossible unless you’re a fashion insider or press. That said, getting photographed outside the shows is almost as important as getting photographed inside. Street-style photographers like the late Bill Cunningham made style stars out of those waiting on sidewalks outside the actual shows.

Spanish

My son, Silas, started high school this year and he is taking the Spanish elective with Marianela Aguilar. He wasn’t a big fan of this subject at first, but Spanish is a very important language and, in the fashion world, many of the biggest and most influential designers have Latino roots. For example, Cristobal Balenciaga (Spain), Carolina Herrera (Venezuela), Manolo Blahnik (Canary Islands), Oscar de la Renta (Dominican Republic) and Narciso Rodriguez (Cuba), among many others. Having basic conversational skills and being able to pronounce people’s names correctly will get you far in any industry around the world.

~ Silva

If you have questions or topics you’d like to see addressed in this blog, please email Emerian at [email protected]. You can read more from her at www.onmyshoebox.com.

For Emerian’s last blog from two school-years ago, read Style Session No. 15 – Polka dots, pastels and fanny packs. For more articles, read COLUMN: President strives for inclusivity or Seniors: Applications, tests, deadlines. Oh my!