Outside Jason Wu, Varick St, New York

NYFW Street Style: Mademoiselle Yulia, outside Jason Wu

There's a passage in Don Delillo's novel White Noise that has always resonated with me. Delillo describes "the most photographed barn in America" as a tourist attraction in the middle of the country with so many signs advertising it on the way there that people are almost almost unable to see it once they finally arrive. People come to the "most photographed barn in America" for one simple reason: to photograph it. Why? Because it's the most photographed barn in America. 

There's something of a similar phenomenon going on at Fashion Week. The street style photographers come from all over the place to take pictures of those people who have their pictures taken most often: Natalie Joos, Miroslava Duma, Aimee Song, Rumi Neely. We know these people are worthy of having their pictures taken because we've seen so many pictures of them already. We've been primed to see them as photographs. Under such circumstances, it is almost impossible to know whether such subjects are intrinsically photogenic, or simply appear to be so, because we've already seen so many pictures of them. It's easy for one's judgment to become clouded. Am I taking this person's picture because they look amazing, or do they look amazing because I've seen so many pictures of them?

That's why it was something of a relief for me to see Mademoiselle Yulia strolling up Mercer St before Jason Wu. Sure, I'd seen pictures of the Japanese DJ and musician before, on Koo's site, for example, and Le 21ème, but there is no question that I would take her picture no matter where I ran into her and no matter who I thought she was. For me, she is like a street style archetype: one part high-fashion, one part Harajuku, one part hip-hop inflected streetwear. The woman just oozes attitude. 

And then the crowds parted and out from them emerged... Notes from Day Two at New York Fashion Week

Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, outside Jason Wu

My favorite thing about this photo, apart from it being a shot of the elusive Anna Wintour staring right at my lens, is that none of the photographers are looking at her. They're too busy checking their last shots. Wintour, who is like the great white stag of Fashion Week, usually travels with an entourage and seldom walks through the crowd of photographers, so she caught most of us off guard, hiding in plain sight. Note to self: keep your eyes off your LCD screen and on the streets!

Anya Ziourova outside Jason Wu

If there was a theme to New York Fashion Week Day Two, it was crowds of photographers, getting in each other's way. But more than each other's way, we got in our own way. It's so easy to over-think your shots, or alternatively to follow the lead of the crowd instead of your own intuition. Here's Anya Ziourova, a Russian couture buyer and style star who's famous for some reason or other, working the crowd on her way to Jason Wu. This time, the photographers were paying attention, for a moment at least, before we got distracted by someone else.

Michelle Harper outside Jason Wu

Brand consultant, business woman, and skilled street-style photographer manipulator Michelle Harper seemed so over the whole street style thing, as she stomped by both in and out of Jason Wu. She stopped only for Tommy Ton. Isn't that, like, biting the hand that feeds you? What is Michelle Harper famous for if not being photographed by street style photographers?

Zanita Morgan, outside Jason Wu

I saw blogger, photographer, and former model Zanita Morgan walk briskly by and failed to stop her for a photo. Then she promptly stopped, posed for a couple of shots, and came back towards me. "There's Zarina," I said to Dee from Racked.com. "Who?" she asked. "Oh, Zanita." Good thing I hadn't already called her by name! I got it right when she passed by the next time. This Fashion Week I knew far more peoples' name than last years and used them whenever I could. My name recall is nothing compared to the seasoned vets of Fashion Week, though.

Karlie Kloss, literally stopping traffic on Mercer St.

Model Karlie Kloss attracted the biggest crowd of the day as she attempted to cross Mercer Street to get to her next show. Cars were honking, dudes were yelling. We all ignored them. I love how the lady in the pink hair is just staring at the shots she's already got as Karlie stands right in front of her. A few shots later in my role, she finally seems to take notice again and resumes shooting.

My itinerary for Day Two: Started the day at Peter Som at Milk studios, then headed to Kate Spade on 22nd, followed by one of the biggest shows of the day, Jason Wu on Mercer St in Soho. I then tagged along with Dee to shoot backstage at Rebecca Minkoff, back at Lincoln Center, but we were so late that the models were already dressed, and it hardly seemed worth it. I ditched out, got a late lunch, shot Lincoln Center for a while, then hit Rag + Bone on 33rd St, before shooting backstage at Helmut Lang on 22nd St. Good times. Lots and lots of images to come. Once again, I'm saving my best shots from the day for their own posts.