NYFW

When my boss asked me to attend New York Fashion Week, I was over the moon. And if you think that I celebrated with champagne then you are obviously wrong. Forget celebrations, I had to burn the midnight oil for the entire month of August, in preparation for the gala event.

I reached New York in the first week of September. Two Indian designers: Ashish Soni and Sabyasachi were featuring in the fashion week. Shooting backstage with Ashish topped my agenda.

Sabya came with his crew from Kolkata and even got his mother along for moral support. One of the most interesting people I met was Sabya's show producer, Kelly Cutrone, her client list included Nicky Hilton. For the unenlightened, Nicky Hilton is Paris Hilton's sister.

As part of the strategy for Nicky Hilton's show, Kelly decided to ban Paris from the show so that her presence did not overshadow Nicky's creations. Interesting bit of information I thought. Kelly is a follower of Shri Aurobindo and has spent lot of time in Pondicherry, she told me, “I am a Pondi girl, I love India and you can shoot Nicky Hilton backstage.” Well I love India too.

VENUE: While some shows happened in Bryant Park (the main venue for the Fashion week) other designers including Zegna, DKNY, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger decided to have off-site shows. Y-3 had an interesting show in a car garage, the music began with the sound of a fake thunderstorm and fake rain.

PEOPLE: If Bollywood rules the ramp back home, in New York you have the Hollywood A-listers scorching the runways. Demi Moore, Samuel L Jackson, P Diddy, Boris Becker and Donald Trump Jr, to name a few. Celebs aside, almost everyone at the Fashion Week looked super trendy. The outfit that defined every woman on the street or at fashion week was the Little Black Dress.

Almost every second woman had the most amazing pair of legs which stood tall on four inch high stilettos. I was told that workout is a part of everybody's daily schedule. That's it, I resolved, the first thing I will do after reaching IGI airport is to enroll at a GYM.

FASHION SHOW: The most interesting and unusual show was that of Marc Jacob's. He had a reverse show! He opened the show with a farewell wave, ended it with the first look walking off, set to an unnerving classical soundtrack.

STYLE EVERYWHERE: Everyone is fashion conscious in New York, irrespective of caste, creed, colour and species. In this city, people love to dress up their dogs like their children. There are stores for dog clothes, ribbons, dog shampoo, grooming and manicures. So some people actually prefer dogs to having babies. Dogs are synonymous with endless love and loyalty and are not demanding. Many are not willing to take the responsibility of children as alcohol and drugs pose a problem. Strange isn't it?

FASHION, ME, MY CAMERA PERSON AND NEW YORK: Well this was my first visit to the city. I loved the high-rise skyline and the shopping area of Madison Avenue. I had read a lot about Soho and Meat packing district but it did not leave much of an impression. To be honest, I did not give the city a fair chance as work took precedence over sight seeing!

My biggest regret is that I could not shop, so towards the end of my sojourn I convinced my camera person to go to Saks Fifth Avenue. I had precisely 30 minutes as the store shut at 8 PM.

We stayed in a hotel in Times Square, so that was a blessing as we were shooting incessantly and never got the time to discover the city. One fine morning my camera person disappeared. I sat outside his room and waited for an hour. He came and gave me an envelope. No, it was not his resignation letter but a certificate from the local hospital stating that he had food poisoning. It was a lobster allergy - a discovery he made in the Big Apple.

Quote, Unquote
Tommy Hilfiger does not like wearing socks with his leather shoes in summer. I asked him why and he said: "Because I feel hot. You know where I would rather be (he was backstage- his show was meant to start in 45 minutes) I'd rather be in Chandini Chowk, walking barefoot on the streets."

Great sound byte ...I thought!