CURIOUSER NEW YORK

This is the latest collection by Yuliana Candra under her BlacMéra label. BlacMéra is a couture brand founded by Yuliana Candra, with a vision to bring the femininity and the romanticism of the old world to modern, strong, and powerful women. To attain an effortless elegance with international appeal, the designer draws her inspiration from the heritage of world cultures and transforms the rich nuances into contemporary high fashion through detailed craftsmanship and the finest textiles. 

Yesterday was the first day of the Couture Fashion Week New York.  I was running late and had to, unfortunately, miss two shows. I was also worried that knowing how fierce the battle for the 'sunny spot' on a photo press panel can get, I was not looking towards facing the many male photographers on the scene. There were about 50 men in the press/photo to a few of the gals. But I've learned from the trade - [that is - having worked as a journalist] that you don't have to be nasty, as a matter of fact, if you are strategically nice to your fellow press members, they'd be willing to open up and be nice as well. And here it goes...

It's time to bring out and about my new camera. It's time to shoot some serious fashion...   I finally got the perfect occasion to do so - the New York Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and Couture Fashion Week Fall 2012 that are starting next week - [ running February 9-16, 2012  and February 17-19, 2012 ] - with the pre-parties and pre-castings in the city happening already. [As a matter of fact, I'm starting to notice some very skinny tall young girls more and more on the streets of NYC, perhaps they are coming from other parts of the world just in time for castings, try-ons and walking the runaways, if chosen.] And I've got my pass...

Thierry Mugler's Anniversary Show in 1995 Last week I told you about my visit to the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) for Evolution of the Fashion Runways: A Photographer's Viewpoint ~ Maria Chandoha Valentino , a fashion runway photographer, who discussed her more than 20-year career on the runaways around the world. She shared her - inside - perspective on how it all started and the 'evolution' of the runaways shows through her personal experiences shooting runway shows in the top fashion capitals of the world. She talked how both the fashion and photography industries have dramatically changed over the years, and how the standards and expectations of both professionals behind the scenes and those of the designers' themselves can no longer satisfy even the most worldly - and 'have-it-seen-all' crowd - who back in the days were satisfied with a warehouse runaway, and now wanting more in terms of the 'performance' and 'presentatio...