viernes, 24 de febrero de 2012
Surviving Fashion Week Part I
Even though we are not in the mere chaos of the fashion weeks, you have to admit is a bloody hell to keep up with every single show. No matter how hard you try or how often you check your Reader (I have a love-hate relationship with it) you end up missing more collections than you wish. The thing is, I discovered I'm kind of an information hoarder... hard to admit, but I get a little bit freaked out if I see more than 400 posts unread. Gotta look at every single look, every single detail, and believe me, I enjoy doing that, though at the end of the day it's an overload of information. The key to avoid an overdose of runway pictures and street style photographs these days is the media you use.
Weeks ago I was blessed with an IPad, and I mean really blessed because now I wouldn't know how to clasify all my information without it. The apps are God's creation, I tell you, and several can turn to be the perfect medicine to survive fashion weeks' overload nightmare. If you happen to be as fashion hungry as I am and have an IPad / IPhone, here are the apps you can't miss.
The Cut
For the rigorous daily dose of fashion every morning, The Cut is THE app. The design is not only friendly but really organized, perfect for the control freaks like moi. As soon as you tap the app you are received with the latest fashion shows. The grid of photographs is a delight and it rarely shuts down. The News button lets you surf smoothly through the published posts including Look of the day, Things to Watch, Quotables and other great sections with the latest gossip from the fashion world. But if there's one element that really drives me crazy like a teenager in a Bieber's concert (poor reference...) is the Looks button. There you can search by clothing, color, material, season/type, you name it. It really makes the search for a trend very easy and quick.
The Collection
The official app of the New York Times' Fashion and Style section will make you head over heels. The interface is very tumblr-ish, but just by tapping in the pictures you'll enjoy every image in the best resolution. The pictures sections such as Photos of the Moment are a delight in the IPad. As well as The Cut's app, The Collection includes a Runway section and a Street Style section, the latter right from Bill Cunningham's lense.
You may ask, why would you choose Instagram as a must in the fashion weeks? Truth be told, there's no app as inmediate as Instagram (except for Twitter but that's just too messy). By following the right people, you'll have access to the collections in real time. The key for this app to be useful is the people you follow, so I decided to make you a fast and ready to go list:
Must follow: Teen Vogue, Nylon Magazine, NYTimes Fashion
The ones who were a hit in NYFW: Refinery29, MilkStudios, ManRepeller, GaranceDore, HolierThanNow, CFDA
The ones who rocked LFW: Stylenoir, LibertyLondonGirl, JackRisley, Asos, BoF (Business of Fashion)
The ones who are nailing MFW: LuisaViaRoma, VogueSpain (seriously), MarcoMarengo, PaolaDirettoreGlamour
Street style: Elowaz, Facehunter, StreetStylish, _frommetoyou (Cinemagraphs' creator Jamie Beck)
The brands that love Instagram: OscarPRGirl, Gucci, Burberry, DolceGabbanaOfficial
More apps to come in the second installment, meanwhile Happy Milan Fashion Week!