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There’s no place like home – or as New Yorkers call it, Bloomingdale’s. “It’s one of the happiest places on earth, isn’t it?” asked Michael Kors as he climbed the escalator. “A landmark,” echoed Heidi Klum, gesturing to the venue. The New York City Department of Sanitation agreed, at least according to a garbage truck rolling around the block and honking its horn — because what’s more New York than going to work and realizing you’ve fallen on the biggest red carpet around ?
Everything happened in Harper’s BazaarNew York Fashion Week’s annual gala, the Festival of Global Icons celebrating the image makers and change makers shaping style today. Celebrating our four September covers, the event took over the first three floors of Bloomingdale’s flagship location. But some things just can’t be contained, and a great party is one of them… which might explain why Julia Fox ditched her velvet ropes to pose with a rowdy group of teenagers on 59th Street, or why Jared Leto stood smiling at Lexington. Avenue as he gazed into store windows as if he were seeing the Sistine Chapel. (The actor was facing the Louis Vuitton section, so fair.)
“You really can come here and worship fashion, won’t you?” asked legendary designer June Ambrose. “You can be among people who love style as much as you do.” Ambrose wore a daffodil dress from the Marc Jacobs runway collection. “At first I thought I was channeling Dorothy Dandridge. She was so elegant. I thought it would be iconic to be Dorothy Dandridge, but in sneakers. And then I realized, I’m in a yellow dress in New York. I’m a taxi, – she laughed, – but a many expensive.”
Just then, Grown up–ex ingénue Justine Skye stepped out in a teal dress by Raisa Vanessa that matched perfectly with Fiji water bottles surrounding him… before he was surrounded by some selfie hounds because Grown up-ish is a delight and so is she.
Downstairs, Christian Siriano and Drew Barrymore raided the Casa magazine stand for candy until — as in true Magazine at home downtown – they ran into a friend. In this case, it was Real Housewife Leah McSweeney. “Sorry sir!” she shouted. “Can you tell me if I’m wearing this dress right?” Of course it was a Siriano dress. Of course he was wearing it properly. Of course this was an excuse to get more Twizzlers, because look, free candy is almost as good as a dress, especially during Fashion Week.
“I’m always so hungry this season!” exclaimed Dove Cameron, who arrived in a stunning Balmain creation. “Always! Do you think I should bring a croissant to the Altuzarra show tomorrow, just in case?” (The answer is obviously, “Yes, but only if you bring enough for the whole class.”)
Designer Cynthia Rowley has its show on Tuesday, but she again made an appearance “because it is shopping, how can I not?!” she smiled. “Anyway, I’m always inspired by great parties. For example, this is an iconic place of New York. But I grew up in the Midwest, and there was no one more iconic to me than Barbie. I had the original – the one with the black and white swimsuit. And now I’m thinking, wait, what if we made the Barbie bathing suit in real life and put it on the runway?” Tommy Hilfiger’s show is on Sunday, but his icon is a little closer to home. “You’re looking at her,” he said, nodding at his wife Dee. Everything got sweet and cute after that, but maybe that’s because the mini ice creams made it through the crowd.
Then there was Jack Harlow’s “surprise” set—probably the worst-kept secret at Fashion Week, which is saying something—which was wildly entertaining and attracted a slew of current runway deities (Ebonee Davis, Lineisy Monteiro and Faretta Radic among them) on the dance floor. But there was also an actual Dance Dance Revolution game where the fashion pack dared to step in sync… and in those giant Bottega Veneta boots. Wow. Other games in the arcade area included Miss Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and an impromptu Skee Ball tournament which was dominated (like, destroyed) by Stanford student Phoebe Gates. “I played it all the time when I was little!” She exclaimed… but this time she did it in a Balmain dress and heels. Ms. Gates revealed that her ultimate icon is Stella McCartney, due to her purpose-driven style mission, but we wonder if she’s trying for the title herself, as her flowing line was immaculate.
Around the corner, a claw machine from the Related Group drew a steady crowd of cute kids trying hard to win stuffed animals, gift cards and the admiration of their peers. (Top gun AND Uncertain heartthrob Jay Ellis, EUFOR puzzle Angus Cloud, and Gossip girl Dream Date Evan Mock were all on stage.) “My favorite video game designer is Tetsuyo Namura,” said glow author Raven Leilani. “I consider him a style icon because he dresses his characters in these angular chains and biker jackets that make them so cool. this,” she smiled, glancing around the crowd, “it’s a bit like that.”
As Broadway stars Patina Miller and Jane Krakowski made their way to the bar, Gucci muse Alton Mason greeted them… in full Spiderman costume. “I HAD to do it,” he replied. “I’ve been saving the city from bad guys all day. It’s a real honor to serve in New York, but when I came home to change for this holiday, I had to wearing the Spider suit, because I realized I had nothing to wear.”
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