Call Sgt. Pepper

I've been seeing a ton of military inspired clothing recently and I totally love it, of course its not so much modern warfare inspired, but more like civil war uniforms etc. I have always been a fan of the cut of military jackets and other elements so its great to see so many interpretations in store displays and of course, on peoples backs.

Above is a photo of mi amica from Italian class, I loved her jacket so I had to take a picture. 

(and fortunately the hallway at school has amazing lighting) 

Adventures at Fashion Week Part 2: Versace

So the time had finally come, I had finally gotten done getting lost and it was time step up to the big leagues. I didn't have much hope of actually getting in because I had been told specifically that I "could not" yet into the bigger name shows like Versace and Armani unless I had an invite. I was also told that at some shows if you look the part by some odd chance they might let you in, as soon as I saw the people coming and going to the show and other fashion groupies it was utterly apparent that the "look the part" option was not gonna work (not that I looked bad, I just couldn't compete with people that probably spent 500 euro on their shoes).

The idea of sneaking in seemed more impossible as I observed the sharply dressed security men standing in the door way that didn't seem like they had a good sense of humor.

At first, I had confined myself to watching from across the street along with all of the others that weren't blessed with a little red shiny enveloped that had Versace written on it

But that got boring so I decided to stand out front near the of the crowd control devices, much closer to the action.

It was almost hard to watch as people filed in with their golden tickets and you could hear the music for the first show.

This may have been the only other person that was enjoying the moment as much as I was.

Having bought a cheap umbrella my camera and I were relatively save from the rain. As the rain fell I was having the time of my life photographing people in expensive clothes trying their best to protect themselves from the seemingly endless buckets of rain. Even at this point I felt my trip was worth while just for the experience and the pictures I had taken.

I'm quite sure I shot enough for an entire photography show (which I am seriously considering putting together in future)

I love this guy because he looks so insane (which makes since because he is a photographer like me) and very confused.

After the first show had let it's audience out, there was quite a bit of confusion with people opening and closing umbrellas and dodging the rain etc. once a good deal of the crowd had died down I felt I had my chance. I took one quick step and threw myself into the minor kaos that was going on at the facade, because of the rain the security had moved from the doors further in. I made sure to stay in outside of the cluster (near the wall) the whole time. At this point the man checking invites was in the middle of a sea of guests. I stayed  close to a woman that looked like she had more than one invite and when the guard glanced at me I reached my arm in a way that might have given the illusion of holding my invite next to hers, and it worked, I was in...



Well in so to speak, once I started looking around I realized that it was only the first round of invite checkers, there were two more men in front of the stairs. At this point for a little while I thought "oh well, I guess thats it, it was still a good try" but then I noticed there was a seperate line sectioned off for press, they were all waiting at the stairs to advance. I glanced around to make sure no one was watching me and then proceeded to duck under the rope. No one saw me, and if they did I guess it didn't seem odd. I stood in line only a few minutes until everyone at once started to move, it seemed that as people were passing security they held their camera up, so I did the same. And then I was in...

Well, I was in yet another level, this one had music and  a somewhat odd blue lights in a circular room. And what do  I see at the doorway to the room where the show takes place? yep, my sharply dressed security guard friends again. I would like to make note of the fact that throughout this experience I felt like I was on the verge of a bank heist and the cops could come at any minute (in fact, I even get rather nervous when telling people these stories). Most of the photographers had gone straight in the room, but I decided to stick by one and follow him in (he is slightly pictured above). When we passed the security I'm guessing I looked like his assistant (which was what I was going for). We walked past the guard and  a curtain and then

 I WAS IN.  

 As I entered and saw the runway, I was in a state of disbelief, I was truly ready to do a victory dance but then remembered that I should probably do my best to look like the other photographers who don't get excited about this because they have done it hundreds of times and its just work. Although I did my best to suppress my happiness, every once and a while I'd crack an ear to ear grin.

Just in case I had gotten lonely my security friends were inside, people watching as well. I tried never to make eye contact and look busy as I waited, I also made a little bit of conversation with other photographers about gear. The whole time I was truly ready for something to reveal my form of entry, scenarios played out in my mind about how it would go down when they found me out. But that moment never came and instead all of "us" press waited at the end of the runway for quite some time. I found it amusing when the photographers began to get impatient and started shouting "pronto" (I'm ready) and "Andiamo" (let's go) 

                          

When the lights went down for the last time and the show started it was like an explosion, I can't think to put it any other way.

I had been wondering if I would be in trouble because I didn't have a flash but the lights of the runway proved to be beyond amazing. 

As soon as the first girl started walking down the runway I was overwhelmed with the beautiful sound of camera shutters firing thousands of photos. Which was accompanied by the amazing sound system, I've been to many concerts and events with pro audio and this was by far the best I'd ever heard (and felt).  

For some reason in photographs I love it when the frame is taken right before someone puts their weight on the ground. 

I decided to shoot some shots in a way that is not typical of runway photography because I felt I had extra freedom since I didn't actually have an editor or boss to worry about. 

Just had to take a picture of my shoes on the runway.

After the show was over and the people had left, there was a strong "well kids that was Christmas" vibe but I was still too exited to notice.

Joanna Coles the editor in chief of Marie Claire was hanging around so I thought I'd take her photo (although I ended up seeing her at all the shows I went to)

On the Hit List: The Trench Coat

I have always been a fan of the trench so its great to see them emerge from Italians wardrobes as the last week has had quite a few rainy days. So I'm keeping an eye for them in the window displays, and hopefully I'll stumble upon the perfect one for me.

I've seen a good amount of green ones, in keeping with the whole dark green for fall thing.

You can't go wrong with the classic.

(Although this one is a little short)

I loved how this girl is essentially wearing only black yet throws in brown accessories to give it some life.

  

Adventures at Fashion Week Part 1: My Bro Milano

Well it was finally time. Even as I planned my trip to Florence I had always said  "I have go to Milan for fashion week," although I wasn't 100% sure that it would work out. Looking back I'm so thankful that I ended up going, considering it may have been the best weekend of my life. Even if its not fashion week I highly recommend visiting Milano; it is an amazing city that has a perfect blend of old and new.

Milano Centrale (the station where we arrived) was pretty expansive. Keep that  term "expansive" in mind because it seems to be a running theme in Milano.

One of my favorite parts of Milan is strolling past the many beautiful Art Nouveau style buildings throughout the city.

One of my many "off the hip" shots. I have photos of this guy with his head but I find it more interesting this way.

Since Milan is a much larger city than Florence, there were a lot more classic style motorcycles, which I totally loved.

It is truly difficult to portray the amazing size of the architecture through photographs.

And you're really feelin' classy and money is no object and you look the part, then you just might be able to score an invite to... McDonald's. 

This was one of the buildings that was kind of like part of the "headquarters" for fashion week. Directly across the street was where the Cavalli show was held. It was also the building where I first tried to talk my way into a show (as follows below). 

I saw on a shcedule that a show for Mossimo started at 4:15. It wasn't quite 4:00 at the time so I took a walk, took pictures etc., although I was careful to not be seen by the men out front because it would mess up my story. In my free time I devised a plan that went something like this: at 4:20 or later I would run a short distance from the square that the duomo was in to the entrance of the show . The whole point was to appear as if I was a photographer who just got out of a cab and ran to try and make it on time (no doubt I had an editor that I'd just gotten off the phone with that had been chewing me out). The next step in the plan was to convince the guy at the door that I was in a hurry and forgot my pass (gasping for breath the whole time because I had been running so much of course). He would then say "Oh I gotcha back, bro, I was gonna let ya in anyway" and then make a gesture for me to pass. (continued below)

So that was the plan.... and here's what happened: I ended up waiting until about 4:20 but felt that there wasn't enough buzz around the entrance yet. I must admit this was a somewhat scary event for me; I am Mr. plate goes in the dishwasher not in the sink type of guy, so to do something that was against the rules-ish was very weird, and in fact there were a couple times where I began to run towards the entrance but stopped. Around 4:30 I summoned the courage to make my grand performance. I began to run, which was awkward because usually the only time anyone runs in a tourist area is because they just sold their last knock-off Gucci bag and they have some new running partners called the Polizia. I arrived, doing my best to look like I was in a hurry or at least that had a clue what I was doing. I don't really remember the exact details of the exchange between myself and the man at the door, but I think we might have started off with the good old "parla inglese?" This man was interested in one thing: my pass. He says "pass" so I pretend to reach for a familiar pocket but ...  wouldn't ya know? its not there, so I went through all my pockets as he watched. I decided it was time for phase two so I said "one second, let me call someone" I then dug out my cell phone, pressed some buttons so it would make a couple meaningful noises and proceed to have the fakest phone conversation of my life. While on the phone I pulled out the "Oh do you have our passes?" and "What? What? You're still at the hotel? No, no I need them now etc." Appearently the man at the door did not understand "fine american acting" when he saw it. And it eventually came down to: no pass, no can do. So I sulked away with the feeling like I had just been turned down by the purtiest girl the shindig.

The following photos are the wonderful sights I saw while getting lost looking for the Versace show.

For some odd reason my friends and I thought that it was a larger public show that took place in a park. It definitely was not; it was at a very private venue that took place near the end of said park.

I finally found the locale as it began to rain which was perfect considering I hadn't taken my jacket, umbrella or something to cover my camera. 

But little did I know that fate would soon take a turn.