I spent the weekend in Princeton with one of my best friends––more on that later this week––and realised that September is already over. What?! Only a few moments ago I was writing about the summer and thinking of Labour Day Weekend and buying a notebook before classes started. And now the month has come to an end.
It is crazy how sometimes the days just fly by without us even realising it even happened. Sometimes we get so caught up in the routine and in the pursuit of success––which unfortunately for some people isn't even related to happiness––that we just forget about the whole world that surrounds us and the little things that make part of what actually matters in life.
I must confess that this month was one when I didn't even realise I was still alive. I was so excited about the start of this new life in New York and about my program––and I still adore both of these things from the bottom of my heart––that I didn't even take the time to breathe and feel like the living being I am.
When I wasn't reading the insane amount of things that I have to do for school, I spent most of my time trying to make my brand new apartment feel like my home, or rushing from one place to another trying to catch some beautiful people with my lens in NYFW. It wasn't until my body literally forced me to stop––by making me get the worse cold I've had in maybe years––that I noticed how bad I had been treating myself. It was only when I collapsed that I realised that I need to live a healthier lifestyle if I really want to succeed in this emerging field of Fashion Studies––or anything else I decide to do with my life!
From this moment on, I decided to take my life more easily, and September turned into a month of transition. Not only because the weather started cooling down, but also because I had to finally start adapting to my new life in New York––and make it a healthy, happy one! I discovered my first good restaurants in the city, and went to some of the best events that happen in New York in the fall. I changed some of the basics of my daily routine––although always remaining attached to what that truly means to me. And I took the time to leave the library, go (window-)shopping
Although I don't feel like a New Yorker yet––and I don't even know if I ever will––and there is probably still a very long way to go in this transition process, September marked the starting point, and it was a great one. It was also a month full of inspiration and great reads, that I hope you can enjoy as much as I did. And it was a month of new beginnings, of new projects, and new things to come both for me and for those of you who constantly take the time to read all the nonsense and not-so-nonsense that I post up here every day.
*
– Domaine Home takes us into a tour inside Jason Wu's studio in Manhattan
– Brian Atwood's guide to Fashion Week dining in New York––which can, of course, be used for just general dining in the city!
– What a Master's in Fashion actually entails––just because
Earning a master’s degree in fashion studies inspires many questions, chief among them, “Do you, like, sew?” No, I do not sew (though sewing is important, and yes, fashion design is a far more ubiquitous program than fashion history or theory). I study fashion as if it was just as worthy of critical thought as physics or politics—because it is.– Why fashion should stop trying to be diverse––this is a little old, but I re-discovered it during this month and still love every single part of it. Minh-Ha Pham is single-handedly my favourite writer these days! And, just like she says,
the global fashion industry should stop trying to be inclusive, stop trying to be diverse. Rather than count racial bodies, it should begin recalibrating its structural dynamics of race, power, and profit so that a statement like Menkes’ that “the imagination of the [white male] designer is the greatest achievement of the show”—a show brought to life by the talents and hard work of mostly Black women dancers—is simply unthinkable.– This might not be a very insightful read, but I just love people who are both influential in fashion and try to change the world––just like Simone Cipriani
– I'm currently having an intense love affair with vintage fine jewellery
– Every time I see this video––and I've done it about a thousand times––I fall more in love with it––and I probably should mention here that I even wrote a paper on it for one of my classes
– A very inspiring article on the Marni Flower Market after Milan Fashion Week, by my beloved Garance––oh, and there's Part 2!
– I need to go to all of these restaurants for brunch! Anyone wants to join me?
– The briefest interview with Jean-Paul Gaultier––you probably need to speak French to understand it, but the images are still very valuable
– 12 "Fall Movies" to watch this... fall!
– If you're interested in the luxury business, you might find these predictions from the experts quite interesting
– On Fashion & Fragrance
Love,
Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio
