The other day, I took a trip down to an Outlets shopping center in eastern Long Island, and I saw something I never expected to see. Usually when we go there, I find myself standing around as my sister shops at Ralph Lauren for an hour (God, that store is just
not for me, I'm sorry..), these trips are always so boring for me. I think it's safe to say that I hate clothing - I
love fashion. I love the fact that when you buy fashion you are buying an idea - a suggestion, from an artist. Clothing stays the same, clothing is safe, clothing is made - fashion changes every season, fashion is innovative, fashion is designed. For me, high-end labels have nothing to do with status amongst other people, I don't want to buy labels because I want others to see them. I want to buy labels because of what's behind that label. I want to buy them for myself. The history behind that label, the artist behind that label, the collections, the editorials, the ideas, the models - I want to have a piece of that to take with me throughout my life. When I look at a name like Marc Jacobs, I think about what that name means to my life. The inspiration that name has given me, I think about his genius ready-to-wear collections, his story of growing up in New Jersey to showing in Paris for the biggest luxury brand in the world. It's sort of like buying a t-shirt that says your favorite band, or sports team - they symbolize something that means something to you. Something you love, cherish and want to support. Anyway, as we were shopping, we decided to go into
Barney's (yeah, there is a
Barney's outlet store on Long Island). I have browsed at Barney's website, but I have never been to their store in the city. From what I have seen on their website, I didn't think
Barney's really had anything that amazing. I knew they had bags and shoes, but I wasn't expecting to see this...
What you see at the
Barney's website is nothing compared to what's actually in the store. When we entered it, my eye was immediately drawn to the clearance rack - I thought, "That's funny, that looks a bit like Christopher Kane Fall 2008..." So, I decided to walk over to it. Right then, and there - before I even had time to check out that Christopher Kane-like dress I saw "
LANVIN". My heart dropped. My hands were actually shaking (I know, it's pathetic), I took the top by the hanger and pulled it out to see that it was the exact top that Kim Noorda had worn in the Fall 2008 Lanvin show. In this clearance rack, they had all of the old Fall 2008 ready-to-wear pieces on sale. I had never seen
anything like this - in person before. You see fashions by Alber Elbaz for Lanvin all the time in magazines, but there was something about seeing that label on this shirt - in person - that was just so incredible. I then looked at that dress that I thought was Christopher Kane - and it was. I then saw a Balenciaga dress (it was really heavy in real-life), a Prada skirt and a Nina Ricci blouse. I was so overwhelmed. Before I could really even absorb what I had just seen, my family wanted to leave the store.
Now, I really want to go back there and see what else they had. It was sort of one of those moments when you realize what you want to do in your life. After feeling that element of emotion from just glancing at a label, I know for sure that I belong in fashion. I just love beautiful things.
You have read this article Balenciaga /
Christopher Kane /
Lanvin /
Miuccia Prada /
Nina Ricci
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