Backstage at Duckie Brown #SS15

Longtime readers of this blog will know that my favorite part of fashion week is the backstage photography. This year I had an all access pass backstage at Duckie Brown, which was really such a dream—I realized after the fact that I was shooting alongside Kevin Tachman! I interviewed the key makeup artist for the show for Out.com and took some digital snaps as well, which you can see in my portfolio. These were shot on my Nikon f90x with some black and white Kodak film a friend gave me. Hope you like! And be sure to check out my backstage coverage from last season. All photos © Sean Santiago.

Assembly New York #FW14

"Dressing in the dark...for the dark" was the mantra for last night's dimly lit Assembly New York presentation, held in Gramercy Park's National Arts Club. The collection drew on cabals to serve up some major coven vibes and featured "articulated school uniform tailoring resultant of midnight trysts". There were white creepers by Underground, lots of gorgeous coats, wide brim hats and even leather bandanas, all in a range of moody hues. I'm reading The Goldfinch right now and the whole thing felt oddly in tune with that mysterious, Dickensian spirit. Click here for more from Assembly.

The Look at Carlos Campos

"I wanted the skin to look as healthy and as beautiful as possible," explained Walton Nuñez, the key makeup artist for this season's Carlos Campos show. "We used a lot of moisturizer, then went back with concealer—which we diluted and spread over the face. We have some mascara on the ends [of the lashes] and a brow set. We used a lot of EvolutionMan—it's created by a man for men, so it doesn't feel makeup-y, it doesn't look makeup-y. He just looks his best." Nuñez (above) backstage at Carlos Campos, 2/5/14.

Check Instagram for more coverage from the men's shows!

MY #NYFW PHOTO DIARY

Blah blah blah, faShIon! I have so many thoughts and stuff to talk about, but I'm exhausted—not because I was hopping from one show to the next in heels, but because work has been really demanding lately and now I just want to nap all the time. That being said, I did manage to fit in some #NYFW action this past week—it was my first time ever actually getting invited to anything, y'all! The two runway shows I had time to see (pics below) were The Art Institute of NYC (top) and Concept Korea (bottom).

I got the chance to meet Tommy from MyBelonging this week as well. We share a love for Zara leggings and Azn fashion, so after the Concept Korea show we took pics of each other's outfits and practiced looking bored:

I know! I'm wearing a leather apron skirt! I am telling you nothing about it, though...you'll have to wait for the full outfit post/details next week. Aside from actual runway shows, I got to take in a few presentations (pics below, again, duh). Two favorites were Frank & Oak (top two) and William Okpo (bottom two). Also of note: Frank & Oak just released a really sweet 'zine (you saw it on Insta here) with top-notch photography and an interview with Waris Ahluwahlia. Looking forward to seeing more from them...

...and I loved the William Okpo presentation, too—great prints, great hair. Then I took some other street style snaps of people (you can see another angle on this lady's outfit on The Sartorialist).

I got up to some other life choices, all visible on IG, in case you're looking for more! And now I'm going to go get a large coffee...Like this post? Check out my other fashion week-related posts here and here.

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[STREET STYLE] JACQUEMUS MESH SKIRT

She's wearing the skirt I love so much! (Blogged about here.) Aisha is a French stylist visiting town for #NYFW. She was a little surprised I knew Jacquemus; I guess it's quite a small label? But with such brilliant campaigns every season, I feel like they're hard to miss. I love the way she's wearing this...now I have to buy it just so I can put my photo next to hers and do a "Her Way/My Way" post!

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ON BEING A FASHION BLOGGER

photo Ari Park // coat Uniqlo (seen here) // scarf vintage (seen here) // beanie H&M (seen here) // jeans Cheap Monday (seen here) // glasses Warby Parker (seen here and here) // shoes vintage (seen here)

You guys, this is a really serious post. Look at how pensive I am on that rooftop. That's how serious this is!

Jokes about blogger poses aside...I really feel the time is now for a post articulating a certain frustration with the role of the Fashion Blogger. Two articles I read recently have led me here, both from fashion journalists I've followed for some time and whose opinions I respect: one, from BuzzFeed Shift editor Amy Odell, asks where fashion will find its next Bryanboy - aka its Next Big Thing; the other, by Suzy Menkes, takes a closer look at that ultimate arena for the self-made style star, outside the venues where collections are shown during Fashion Week. Odell talks to a few blogging stalwarts regarding the future of the nascent occupation, all of whom say things developed naturally for them, with apparently a good bit of luck thrown in. Hark to this giant effing block quote from Odell that I can't bring myself to cut down to size:

Click through to continue reading this post!

DEAR INTERNET No. 25

Ooh, fun with graphics! I'm trying something a little new, so there may still be some changes to this feature in future editions...we'll see. Check out some of my favorite web finds, after the jump!

Click through to continue reading this post...

ASSEMBLY X SANTIAGO SALVADOR

This is one of my favorite looks from the past week, courtesy of Assembly. The hair! The high waist! The sleeves, the collar, the voluminous pants! So good. Even better over illustrator Santiago Salvador's work. Check the blog a lil' later for more of my favorite looks from this round of shows...and check out my other illustration/fashion mash-ups here and here, while you're at it!

runway image via Fucking Young, illustration via Flickr

[STREET STYLE] NYFW

New York Fashion Week ends today, but don't feel left out, dear readers - yours truly took his day off to visit Lincoln Center and survey the throngs, a veritable Cirque du Prêt-à-Porter. It was kind of like a memo had gone out reading, "Let's take pictures of each other until we're famous!" But for some weird reason I wasn't invited to any of the shows? So I stood around in my vintage ladyjean bell bottoms (no one took my picture, FYI), snapping away at guys who inspired me. First, Karl of Guerreisms. I loved his look - he makes suiting so much fun! The details are just genius and also totes adorbs (green miniature flower pin #FTW)

Check out five more stylish dudes, after the jump!

CAN PROENZA SCHOULER BE MY SPIRIT ANIMAL?

The Fall/Winter 2012 season has come to an end and I've decided to focus in on certain elements from the women's collections that I think can translate to menswear...well, you know, the *fruitpunch version of it!
1) I want the sexiness from Proenza Schouler. Why not start out with the intangible? The hair was just so cool and I love the attention to detail in that shirt - I could totally see myself wearing that!
2 &3) I want this bag from Balenciaga (the shoulder strap is so technical and chunky, mm) and I loved the clashing patterns and fat cat gangster suits at Miu Miu.
4) This silhouette, seen here at Kenzo, is my favorite thing right now. Look for it in an upcoming outfit post.
5 & 6) I was totally inspired by the tone-on-tone action at Balmain and Suno, and the nuanced mix of fabrics.
7) I would wear this entire look from Organic by John Patrick, but mostly I want those pants.
8) The makeup at Meadham Kirchoff was, for lack of a better term, be-yond. If anyone wants to invite me to the Met Gala, this is what my face will look like. Plus, I love that the gold lip is sort of a progression of the menswear makeup trend started at Thom Browne in Spring '11.

all photos via Vogue.com

MIGUEL ADROVER 2012

Designer Miguel Adrover presented in New York this season, his first show in the city in eight years. The clothes were assembled by hand from found materials and discarded garments, as were the clothes in his debut collection back in 1999. All of the pieces are one-offs with no plans for them to go into production – but I think it’s wonderful to see this perspective, no? Adrover’s work artfully addresses the politics of consumption by offering an alternative vernacular for contemporary dressing. As a 'mo vintage blogger I’m intrigued by his nuanced ideas, put forth in the clothes, regarding fabrication, reuse and even political-sexual identity. Plus, I’d die for those pants in picture four – there’s like, five belts on them. Damn!
View the full collection here.

EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL

My friend and I were talking about SEO the other week and how much what you title your posts matters. I, personally, like my artsy-fartsy-er titles, such as this one. It makes sense because I love so many elements of these outfits...everything but the girl! Oh, vomit. That was terrible! Who let me type that? Well, hopefully you can see past that joke and enjoy this Tumblr-esque post celebrating my continuing lust for neutrals, muted jewel tones, layers, black and white and beanies, beanies, beanies. My favorite part of fashion week is quickly becoming the overwhelming swirl of behind-the-scenes and on-the-street action, though I do have a post or two about the collections coming your way...

For more street style inspiration, visit my Tomgirl board on Pinterest!
photos via: IOULEX, Kevin Tachman and Elle Muliarchyk for T Magazine (their "Photos of the Moment" series is a personal favorite), Tommy Ton for Style.com, The Sartorialist, Phil Oh for Vogue.com, The Locals, and An Unknown Quantity

P.S. Opening Ceremony featured the runway soundtracks for some of their favorite shows on their blog and I am totally in love with Calla's mix - check it out below! Its also available for download, natch.

SHOWTUNES: CALLA FW12 - "Prêtes à Tout" Compiled by Olivier Bobin & Yannick Grandjean by OpeningCeremony