NYFW Revelation #3: Shooting Street Style at Fashion Week is Like Fishing with Explosives

Street style is the art of picking out the sartorially distinctive and quietly unique from a crowd of strangers. It is a solitary practice, and sometimes a lonely one. You walk the streets or stand at a corner, sometimes for hours on end. You watch. You seek inspiration. You train your eyes to recognize the posture, pose, or lingering aura of style from a hundred feet away. It takes keen observation to do it right and a quick response time to capture the shot once it finally comes your way. And like fishing in a rushing stream, it takes patience. Sometimes lots of it. Shooting at fashion week, however, is an entirely different thing. If street style in Philadelphia is fishing, shooting street style at NYFW is fishing with explosives. It's way easier, and you get way more, but it's also less satisfying of a challenge. At NYFW the stylish practically seek you out. You don't have to explain what you're doing to them. They don't even care what you're shooting for. They just want to be represented. The trick is not finding a needle in a haystack. It's finding the haystack at all. When everyone stands out, they all start to look the same. 

NYFW, Outside Badgley Mischka: Bryanboy

New York Street Style: Aimee Song, 18th St

Shot these images of Aimee Song of Song of Style outside IFBcon on 18th St. 

NYFW Revelation #2: Street Style Photographers at NYFW are Like Artsy, Better-Dressed Paparazzi

A street style photographer/blogger at Lincoln Center

The other day at IFBcon, I asked Phil Oh of Street Peeper where the line is between paparazzi and street style photographers like him. He laughed and told me that he feels like a paparazzi much of the time. It's no surprise. Like paparazzi, street style photographers hang out outside big New York events, wait for style icons to step out of their cabs, and then swarm around them like angry bees. "Turn around, Miroslava!" they shout. "Pose for me just one more time, Michelle!" They're more polite than paparazzi, no doubt, often say "thank you" after their shots, quite often, in fact, have personal relationships with the people they shoot. I saw, for instance, Eddie Newton hold a woman's hand to help her over a snow bank yesterday right after taking a picture of her. But, no doubt, street style photographers often lend the same sense of menace to the fleeing fashionista, attempting to escape a runway event unseen. The scene outside Milk Studios felt so seedy yesterday I just had to leave. I felt dirty. Exploitative. A hunter tracking his prey. So I wasn't too surprised when Miroslava Duma stomped by with a grimace on her face outside Thakoon. There are just so many photographers out there these days. It's overwhelming. And even street style darlings get photo fatigue sometimes.

A less than stellar shot of Miroslava Duma, outside Thakoon

Yesterday I took along my friend Shana of Aintnomomjeans on a street style shooting bender. Here was our schedule, not as grueling as most other street style photographers', perhaps, but grueling nonetheless:

• 8:19am - Amtrak from Philly to NYC
• 10:30am - Attended presentation of Nina Skarra at The Box, Lincoln Center
• 11am - Hit up Milk Studios for something or other on a tip from Big Rube of Street Gazing. Couldn't figure out what was happening there. Left. Got one cool shot of some dude with gold teeth on the way out. 
• Noon(ish) - Up the street 12 (or so) blocks to catch the crowd exiting Derek Lam. Scott Schuman was there, along with Phil Oh, Tommy Ton, Eddie Newton, and (gasp) Bill Cunningham, so we knew it was the place to be. 

Bill f@#king Cunningham!!!

• 1pm - Headed down the street another ten blocks for the crowd outside DKNY. Lots of photogs, but not much to shoot. Took more shots of Bill Cunningham.
• 1:30ish - Moved over to the corner of 26th and 11th, where Adam Katz Sinding, Youngjun Koo, Eddie Newton, Wataru Bob Shimosoto, all photographers whose work I admire, were attempting to get exclusive pics of editors exiting cabs. Didn't pan out. But I had a nice conversation with Adam Katz Sinding. He has left his job as a concierge at the W Hotel since I interviewed him back in July. It was getting in the way of his shooting schedule. Plus, he figured out he could make more money without actually "working." Got tips from him on where to go next and followed them. 

The cool kid photogs, outside Thakoon.

• 2:30 - Lunch
• 3pm - Up the street a couple of blocks to catch the crowd at Thakoon. Adam (the guy with the beard in the picture up top), Youngjun, Wataru and the other cool kid photogs were there. So was Yvan "Facehunter" Rodic. Once again, we figured we were in the right place, and were rewarded with pics of Miroslave Duma (above), Bryanboy, Michelle Harper (below), Susie Lau, and others. Most of mine were not good enough to post. I suspect some of the more experienced photogs had better luck.

Michelle Harper, outside Thakoon

• 3:45pm - Dashed up to Lincoln Center to shoot those heading in to Diane Van Furstenberg. The scene was swarming with photographers and posing fashionistas. I had more or less lost interest in shooting by this point.
• 4:25pm - Back to Penn Station to catch the train home, exhausted. Kept shooting pictures in my head all night long.

Photographer outside Diane Van Furstenberg

So what did I learn yesterday? Well, for one thing, street style photography — at least at Fashion Weeks — is a game of cat and mouse. Photographers chase down the style stars. The style stars pretend they don't want to be photographed, but pose anyway. Photographers then move on to the next venue. 

I also learned that the line between paparazzi and street style photographers is getting blurrier all the time. The street style set dress better, clearly. The "actual" paparazzi I've encountered so far tend to be schlubby middle-aged men in puffy black coats. There are few Doc Martens or designer trench coats among them. Their facial hair is not nearly so intricate. And they have little interest in shooting fashion editors or models. The other day, shooting at the backstage entrance to Lincoln Center, I heard one paparazzo talking on the phone. "No," he said, a hint of irritation to his voice," it's all just models here."

Photographer or stylista? Blogging all but eliminates that distinction.

Street style photographers also take more pride in the artistic craft of their photography. Their idols are Amy Arbus and Eugène Atget, not the staff from TMZ. They try to flatter their subjects with their pictures, capture them looking chic and mysterious. They try to instill in their subjects a kind of distanced, unapproachable glamor. And it is obvious looking at their photos that the aesthetics of them are valued at a premium. It's not just about getting a clear shot of a celebrity (and the non-fashion variety hold little interest for them anyway). It's about capturing something of the essence of that style star. They do portraits, not snapshots, per se. That's why they use portrait lenses instead of the paparazzi's telephotos, max out the background blur by opening up the aperture to extremes. 

Nonetheless, street style photography as a practice has a good deal in common with paparazzi activity. And it can feel just as morally ambiguous.

Today, I've got a street style hangover. I'm a little bit dehydrated. A little bit worn out. And a little bit grossed out by my day of chasing the stars. I'm looking forward, I have to admit, to getting back on the streets of Philly shooting ordinary people with an interesting look. But that's days from now. Tomorrow I'm heading back out on the means streets of NYFW to get some awesome shots of some over-the-top fashionistas. I'm looking forward to it too, in spite of myself.

Nina Skarra at NYFW: An Experiment

Nina Skarra was officially my first invite to a NYFW presentation. I was, of course, thrilled. I'm not sure how they knew who I was or even that I was at Fashion Week, and I don't know why they — or their PR firm — asked me specifically. I don't even have a press pass, after all. But it was a welcome invitation. I had a good time, and liked the work, especially its emphasis on sustainability and ethical production. Some of my pics from the event are below. So here's my experiment: Will posting these pics land me more invites to NYFW events? Let's find out.

NYFW Revelation #1: Everyone Takes the Same Pictures

Last Thursday was the first day of New York Fashion Week Fall 2013. It was also my first time at the event. As a street style blogger/researcher of street style blogs, it felt like my debutante coming out party, and I had all the nerves you would expect to go along with that. I didn't sleep well the night before, woke up at 4:45am rearing to go. I'd been at IFBcon (the convention for Independent Fashion Bloggers) all of the previous day, meeting other bloggers, taking photos, and gathering info about how best to infiltrate the events (I'll post more on that another time). Dee, a street style photographer who shoots for Racked New York and her own blog, http://peladopelado.com/, among other places, gave me some advice, and we planned on meeting up somewhere amidst the chaos of Lincoln Center. I'm not entirely sure what I was imagining. An occult society of elite bloggers moving through foggy city backstreets in Burberry raincoats. Secret handshakes. Back alley deals. Giant security guards barring access to everyone but Leandra Medine and Bryanboy. I was prepared to comb the grounds for hours prior to finding a good place to shoot. What I was not quite prepared for was how easy it all was. You just walk up to Lincoln Center with a camera and join the 50-150 other street style bloggers hanging out in the courtyard. I had no idea.

A blogger at Lincoln Center

All the big time street style photographers were there: Scott Schuman, Phil Oh, Adam Katz Sinding, Youngjun Koo. So were freelancers for the major style magazines and papers. And of course, there were also a dozen or so newbies, armed with Canon Rebels and bright, furry accessories. After doing this project for the last 11 months, the big name street style photographed instilled far more starstruckness in me than the certified celebrities who strolled by at various moments of the day. And yet, it was all rather chill. Everyone I met was laid back and cool. We may have been competing for shots, but there was an overall feeling of camaraderie, at least when there was no style icon strolling down the covered aisle. I can't say the same thing for the paparazzi, however, who sprang up, seemingly out of nowhere whenever a Sarah Jessica Parker or Drew Barrymore made an appearance. I got shoved out of the way for both those shots and Christina Ricci besides. I never had that trouble shooting Nick Wooster, Susie Bubble, or Rumi Neely. I couldn't back up without running into someone, of course, but at least I didn't feel in any danger of getting stepped on.

Phil Oh photographing Susie Bubble.

I got some great pictures. You'll be seeing a number of them in the coming weeks, plus others from the rest of NYFW. But here's the thing, even if you don't see MY pictures specifically, you will see them, more or less, on someone else's site. After all, we all took pretty much the same pictures of the same people. Our cameras differed. Our lenses were set to different apertures. Our reflexes operated at different relative speeds. And we all attempted to instill our photos with that singular vision that defines us as individual artists, that certain something no one else can duplicate. Or at least we hope no one else can duplicate. Because our brands depend on idiosyncrasy. Just check out the language in Refinery 29's recent Guide to NYFW's Top Street Style Photogs. It's a regular cult of personalities. Without those personalities, the best we can do is hope to get a shot or an angle no one else captures. Otherwise, we might have trouble convincing W, Vogue.com, The Cut, or whatever our preferred vendor happens to be, that we are not, in fact, replaceable. For perhaps, indeed, we are. It's just not that hard to get a good shot of super-star style consultant Nick Wooster. I mean, just look at the man pose while talking "indifferently" on the phone!

Nick Wooster

I've already encountered very similar pictures to my own on various Tumblrs that I follow. Dee photographed a number of the same people as I did on Racked (see them here) — but then we were hanging out together much of the day. I also checked The Cut first thing Friday morning and saw some familiar faces (and outfits) shot by Youngjun Koo. Nick Wooster, check. Leandra Medine, check. Kyle Anderson, check. Oksana On, check. Aimee Song, check. Girl with Russian fur hat and black and white print pants, who seemed to walk back through the crowd of photographers every half an hour, check.

This is not a criticism. I don't see any way around us all having similar shots. We're occupying the same square, eying the same fashion show attendees. And only so many people pass through. I found it easier, in fact, to pay attention to the motion of photographers than to spot stylish people. The real trick is spotting them first. That's when you get the best poses. I'll show you some of my first spots on another day. For now, here's another shot I share in common with Koo.

 

And finally (for today) here's the rest of the girl whose glasses are featured up top (along with the perfect accessory — a friend). I don't know who these girls are. But they certainly were dressed to get attention. That seems to be the name of the game at NYFW. It's silly. It's kinda dumb, but I gotta say, shooting NYFW is fun. If shooting street style in Philly is caffeine, shooting at NYFW is straight up meth.

Portraits of IFBcon 2013, New York City

Lilah of Part Nouveau

Valeria of V Luxe Image

Emily of E. Kammeyer Accessories

Gloria of The Guayaba Project

Aminta of ClothesandFashion.net

Zanita of Zanita.com.au

Hilary of Dean Street Society

Brittany of Lace and Dagger

Phil of Street Peeper

Jessie of Style and Pepper

Claire of Fashion Bomb Daily

Marta of Ms-Takes

Lily of Sorrelli Jewelry 

New York Street Style: Story Girl Sarah, 18th St

 Meet Sarah, Presentations Director for NBCUniversal by day, vintage style blogger by night (www.storygirlsarah.com). The hat was designed by a friend of hers.

New York Street Style: Susanna Lau (AKA Susie Bubble)

Thought I'd kick off my coverage of New York Fashion Week with a certified style star, Susanna Lau of Style Bubble, caught briskly escaping the first day of IFBCon, the semi-annual convention of Independent Fashion Bloggers in New York. Fashion blog readers didn't need that introduction. They already know who this is. Everyone else is likely clueless. And for those of you who fit that description, let me explain: the fashion blogosphere has its own stars, and Susanna Lau is one of its biggest. I shot several others today as well. Susie, for her part, was gracious and friendly, but no doubt eager to avoid getting stuck posing for a pack of voracious bloggers.  

I'll have plenty more to report on IFBCon and NYFW in the coming days. I'm too tired to say anything else right now. Stay tuned.