April 2013: Letter from the editor
“How many shows do you see when you are in Paris?”
I get asked this question often, and to make things easy my response is, “Lots.” But the truth is, though the world’s eyes might be on the runways, insiders know there’s more to fashion week than catwalk parades.
Re-sees, essentially a closer inspection of the clothes in a designer’s showroom, fill the gaps between shows. And if there’s any time left, we try to swing by to see out-of-towners who have rented space in hotels or apartments. As you will see in “French Immersion” (page 54), my diary from the Spring 2013 collections, off-runway adventures are rewarded with the chance to touch or even try things on. And if we’re really lucky, the designer is on-site and in the mood to chat. Of course the extra appointments make for days so long that dinner often winds up being a yogourt I have stashed in the minibar.
But to watch journalist Carol Besler, Paris Fashion Week must sound like a vacation. Every spring she treks to Baselworld, the luxury Swiss watch fair that boasts 58 km of red carpet and more than 100,000 attendees (vying for 3,795 hotel rooms!). Read how she deals with the lack of beds in “Razzle Basel” (page 66).
Hers is not the only struggle we encountered when putting together our third annual Behind the Scenes issue. We were surprised to learn that some cosmetic scientists have to “think like chefs” to overcome the challenges of creating chemical-free beauty products (“Lab Test,” page 110). In talking to the drivers, caterers and security staff at Milan, Paris and New York fashion weeks, we found that a cool head and lots of protein are crucial to survival (“Supporting Cast,” page 62). And hairstylist Peter Lamas describes racing against the clock to primp New York society for Truman Capote’s 1966 Black and White Ball (“An Affair to Remember,” page 108).
With this issue, FASHION also welcomes the return of Chris Nicholls and his wife, Lorca Moore, one of the finest photographer/retouch duos in the country. Chris’s lighting expertise brings the metallic trend to life in “Metallica” (page 166), and if you have ever tried to photograph something shiny, you know that’s no easy feat. There was lots of behind-the-scenes drama that resulted in Chris’s homecoming, but I’ll leave the details to your imagination.
Please let us know how you like our Behind the Scenes issue at letters@fashionmagazine.com.
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