Spring Runway show 2008

The last three days have been an absolute whirlwind. I have so much to write, where do I start? I'll begin with Monday.

Monday I left superrrr early to meet Michelle from Dallas and Sharon from Toronto at their hotel on 34th and Lexington. I can't even explain how wonderful it was to see Michelle, I miss talking to her each day. She reminds me of being back in Austin. Sigh. The three of us hopped into a cab and drove out to the place where we were going to have our corporate meeting. The showroom was apparently insanely chaotic because of the runway show the next day so they set up a spot in an architectual firm that our VP of Retail's boyfriend owned. Ummmmmmmm it was GORGEOUS!!! They had a really long table set up for all of the area managers that was lined with bouquets of pink flowers and jars of candy beans, m&m's and red licorice. It was wonderful! It was a very open, bright space for us to have our meeting. The best part about it was this metal staircase that lead up to the roof of the building where they had set a large deck and chairs for the architects to hang out on during the day. It overlooked the Hudson river and you could see Martha Stuart's showroom right across the way.




We would go up there during little breaks to warm up in the sun and chit chat. The architect firm was a perfect example of a really motivating, enjoyable workspace. Natural sunlight, big windows, a place to wind down and relax...it was perfect design (it better have been...they're architects!)

Basically, Monday was one large meeting but we were able to get a TON covered. Around 4, we all headed down to SoHo to do a little competitive shopping and then we all met for dinner at this Thai Restaurant called Peep. It was fantastic, I completely stuffed myself. I wound up sitting next to our new VP of Retail and she kept eating calamari off of my plate. Talk about surreal! I kept giggling every time she'd reach over and steal another piece.

On Tuesday I woke up at a quarter to six again to head to Manhattan. Michelle, Sharon and I caught a cab over to the architectural firm for another meeting which lasted until about 1:00. They ordered vans to drive us to Bryant Park since it was raining. It wasn't just raining...there was a DOWNPOUR while we were sitting upstairs. I kept hoping it would blow over in time for us to go to the show and eventually it did. Luckily, my $7 umbrella came in handy!


(Michelle and I waiting to get into the van)

We drove in traffic for a good while and eventually made it to Bryant Park. This is my second time going to fashion week and I was feeling a little more confident since I knew what to expect. The photographers are always overwhelming! They were stalking Michelle and Sharon! Their outfits were amazzzzzzzing. You definitely feel like one of the cool folk' when you go to things like this. So many people are waiting outside desperate to go in, but we just flash our little pass and they let us right through. DEFINITELY cool.






(haha Kelly Osbourne was there! Too bad my camera hates things that move... it is so blurry!)



Eventually we got in and Michelle and I quickly ran up the stairs to find the best standing spot. Seating is usually reserved for people who are invited, press, celebrities, etc. I like standing because you can see the shoes...but when the guy sitting in front of us offered us the two seats next to him, Michelle and I jumped on that! We climbed over the chairs in our dresses and sparkly shoes and enjoyed the show while resting our feet. The clothes were absolutely amazing. Her things are really going back to ORIGINAL Betsey design. We talked about it for a very long time today at the showroom. They brought all of the pieces from the show out on rolling racks and we edited it down to things we thought were truly special and sellable in the retail stores. I feel really passionate about the approach they're taking with the line, they want to get back to basics and really focus on what makes Betsey Johnson different from other designers and how we can appeal to the entire market, not just prom girls. It is all veryyyyy exciting. I feel incredibly lucky to be part of this company...and this week was so inspiring. I've been so caught up with trying to get the store on track and getting adjusted to New York. I put aside why I moved here in the first place --- for the FASHION!!

I'm waiting for the runway videos that I took on my camera to finish up loading on Youtube, but until then...here are some pictures that I took this morning in the showroom ;)


The Hallway leading to the showroom.





The pieces we edited down to production from the actual runway dresses.





EDIT!!! Here are the two videos I shot on my camera! One is of the opening of the show, Betsey and her grandchildren. The other is of the very end of the show!!