A Front Row Seat To Tel-Aviv Fashion Week

Tel-Aviv is a city recognized for many things. It’s Israel’s New York City, a culture hub comprised of youth and liveliness and the Middle East’s prominent epicenter of nightlife. However, what it’s not known for yet is its budding fashion industry. I was fortunately given the opportunity to discover Israel’s unseen talents and attended its second annual Tel-Aviv Fashion week in nearly thirty years. To my great surprise, the country impressed me and many other fashion editors internationally.

Only a few days before missiles unfortunately struck Tel-Aviv, the country organized a few days worth of amazing fashion shows and events. The event kicked off with a press conference thanking writers, photographers, and editors from around the world for attending and supporting the country’s fashion event, as well as explain what it meant for them. It was an opportunity to display the talents that aren’t written about frequently, to show the world that this country is not based on conflict, but rather on innovativeness, strength and creativity. In support of the cause, Italian fashion powerhouse, Moschino, was the center of attention that evening. The luxury label exhibited its spring men’s and women’s collections as well as put on a special show featuring iconic pieces from the archives. The productions were beautiful and even more stunning, was the crowd. What was appealing about the crowd at the opening shows was not necessarily their outfits or their looks, but instead the energy they supplied. In fashion weeks in New York, London, and Paris, I’ve rarely seen as much verve as I did in Tel-Aviv. People were smiling, cheering, and overall incredibly proud.  Everyone left that night delighted and eager to come back the next day for more shows.

The next two days were filled from morning to evening with collections from established Israeli designers as well as up and coming ones. I was impressed by many including Michael Negrin, Liora  Taragon and Anya Fleet. The designs were unlike anything I had seen before and were completely unique to Israel. Overall I found the fashion shows very enjoyable. I can’t wait to see what the country has in store for next season.

Sarah Mendelsohn is a member of the FRS Blogger Network. To read more of Sarah Mendelsohn’s work, please visit her blog at http://www.ahitofsarah.net/.

Dumbo Arts Festival 2012 from a native New Yorker’s perspective

It’s always surprising when you discover a new event, festival or party in New York. This city and it’s never ending greatness hold amazements at every corner. Last month it was the innovative spring fashion collections at Lincoln Center, last week it was the annual arts festival in Dumbo, Brooklyn.

This year was my first attending the festival and I can contentedly say that it will definitely not be my last.  Over five hundred artists participated in transforming the artistic neighborhood in Brooklyn into a mecca for arts in all different platforms. From fashion to photography, painting to dance, music and so much more; Dumbo was not deficient in inspiration.

Special events included a fun super hero video experience presented by AT&T. The video allowed you to see yourself as your favorite super hero flying across buildings in Dumbo. Another great piece was Flex’s live dance performance. The Brooklyn based group showed off ridiculous, intense body contorting dance moves. “Oohs”, “aahs” and “wows” echoed around the room throughout their performance. Gallery hopping was also a lot of fun. It was like Halloween for art lovers. You could easily step into gallery after gallery leaving with loads of eye candy.

Although I was stunned by many of the pieces at the festival, my favorite of them all was Codex Dynamic’s projection under the Manhattan Bridge. Once darkness hit the city sky, an ever-changing projection of beauty lit up the Manhattan Bridge. Many viewers even lay down underneath the bridge, their eyes facing upward as if they were watching stars in the night sky. It really felt incredible to see the projection, something so picturesque and unnatural, on something as infamous as the Manhattan Bridge.

For more information on the Dumbo Arts Festival be sure to check out their website!  There were so many talented artists and inspirational works involved, it was definitely an experience to remember. I had such an incredible time there and cannot wait for the next one!

Sarah Mendelsohn is a member of the FRS Blogger Network. To read more of Sarah Mendelsohn’s work, please visit her blog at http://www.ahitofsarah.net/.

A Front Row seat to New York Fashion Week

Fashion week has always been a tough event for me to attend. Going to school and working always had me missing one of my favorite events in New York…and the main reason I moved to the city in the first place. This year I decided to take off of work and really actually do fashion week like it’s meant to be done. Initially, I was just going to attend and cover shows for my blog- but some other opportunities presented themselves to me. So figuratively and physically I ended up wearing many hats this fashion week – fashion blogger, PR girl, street style photographer, and even a debate panelist.

Obviously, fashion blogger came first. This season I had been invited to more shows than any other previous season. What amazed me about this time was that I didn’t have to hustle to get in to any shows. Like most young fashionistas in the city I used to be an intern, or pretend to be somebody and sometimes even sneak in. It was always worth it to me. However, this time I got in just by being me and working for myself.  It made me feel proud and accomplished. It allowed me to see so many inspiring and beautiful shows this season from newcomers like Angel Sanchez to practiced favorites like Peter Som.

The new designers at New York Fashion Week are who surprised me the most. Katya Leonovich showed for her first time at Lincoln Center and her collection was incredible – creative cuts and shapes, metallic fabrics, and interesting sources of inspiration. As well, Concept Korea is also a show that continues to impress me. The idea is a collective of five designers from Korea that all present their work in a huge presentation at Lincoln Center. You never really know what to expect and the talent you’ll see is unbelievable. My favorite of the group was KYE by Kathleen KYE. The clothing had this high-end ghetto fabulous vibe to it – diamond and gold decorated beanies with attached netted veils, tattoo printed tights, over the top open toed boots and just an overall coolness.

The other role I played during fashion week was in public relations. I assisted in the PR preparations for Lorry Newhouse spring/summer 2013 collection presentation. I also got to help out before the show and see everything coming together. It was great to get such a behind the scenes look at how a show gets put together and then see the press that follows afterward. Her collection was beautiful- floor length pastel colored organza skirts, delicate ballet pink and canary yellow dresses, feminine two-piece pant suits. You could easily wear any of these pieces for teatime with the Queen. I was very happy to play a part in it.

This fashion week in New York was a hectic and almost overwhelming one. I’m happy for all the new friends and connections I made during it, all of the amazing talent I was given the opportunity to admire first hand, and overall having a great experience. If I could I would be doing it all over again in London right now. Maybe next season! Until then, see more in depth coverage and photographs from New York Fashion Week and more on my blog!

Sarah Mendelsohn is a member of the FRS Blogger Network. To read more of Sarah Mendelsohn’s work, please visit her blog at http://www.ahitofsarah.net/.