Blog: New York's alternative Fashion Week

I should have realised that my hand written invites had not arrived in the post for a reason - I am a mere mortal

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Okay, I should have realised by last week or maybe a few months ago that the hand written invitation from DvF, Marc Jacobs or Zac Prosen hadn't simply disappeared in the post, but as a mere mortal of the fashion world you live in hope.

After all what would have stopped Anna Wintour from asking me personally to accompany her to one of the shows as we cheered on her good buddy Roger Federer in the US Open final? (Sorry Andy!)

So instead of re-enacting the scene from The Little Match Girl by H.C. Andersen outside the fashion tents in Bryant Park, watching all the beautiful people mingling and getting the low down on Spring 09, I opted to keep my pride and seek out some of the alternative shows.
 
The Ultimate Trunk Show 
Club Monaco and Smart USA put together a fleet of sassy little cars (ten in total) that have been reigning the streets of Manhattan for the last few days. The cars, imprinted with the distinct black and white logo of Club Monaco, and featuring images of the fall ad campaign have been changing gears at fashionable locations like The Mercer Hotel and Pastis in Meatpacking and the Conde Nast Building. Pretty things, dressed in the must haves of the season have been handing out freebies including sunglasses from the new range and the ultimate driving gloves. If you missed it, you can still catch one of the cars in the window at the Club Monaco store on 57th street.
 
Fashionable Brooklyn 
Last Tuesday FashionIndie launched their unorthodox fashion week by parading models dressed in outfits from New York Couture, Brooklyn Royalty, Zulema and Love Brigade on Brooklyn Bridge. With Manhattan as their backdrop these local designers showed that you don't need to spend $100,000 on a tent to create an impact. A cooler venue than Brooklyn Bridge and the cascading waterfalls is hard to come by. Shows are running until the 11th of September, so if you are in town, check out www.fashionindie.com/brooklyn
 
Imitating Art 
Tired of the catwalk, and maybe having to give the best seats to celebs, Spanish avente garde designer Miguel Adrover took over the Matthew Marks Gallery for the day and exhibited his range for Hessnatur, an organic German fashion brand that is making its New York fashion week debut. Entrance was granted to every Joe Blogg and for a moment you could almost forget that the invite never arrived. The eco minded (and artsy) crowd loved the mixed format show where dresses and beautiful shirts had been draped around trees rather than stick thin models. And the obligatory goody bag included a cute chemical free t-shirt.
 
But to top it all off, on my way home I stopped at Billy's Bakery, grabbed a delicious cupcake and spent the rest of the night in front of the TV watching the latest reports from New York Fashion Week. Something many fashionistas can only dream off.