Hi Vogue. I hope you are well.
Last season, for Fashion Week, we were together in Paris
for the Balmain show with Olivier Rousteing.
And now I just walked up the steps, not from the Paris metro,
because we are in New York!
We are in New York for Fashion Week.
Because yes, Fashion Week takes place in several places
in the world and there are 4 fashion capitals called the Big 4:
Paris which you already know, Milan, London and New York.
Today, we said to ourselves for this episode of Vlogue,
let's try to decipher the New York look, the fashion here.
Because it goes from the street to the catwalk,
to the catwalk to the street.
And that's great, because we have a very,
very nice schedule for you.
I take off my little Parisian outfit, and we're going to meet someone I'm
a bit of a fangirl about, I can't wait.
Karlie Kloss, here we come! But first, a little slice of pizza.
$1 a slice.
To get to the show and not be late, I should do this.
Why are you so tall?
I love you, Vogue France.
We're going to get ready for the Vogue World show.
There's the look!
I don’t know what to do!
Someone gave me the title that I really like:
the people's paparazzi.
It's a hunt.
New Yorkers aren't afraid to express their own personalities and style.
In New York, you have to be ballsy.
We have someone waiting for us, and that someone is Karlie Kloss.
If we want to understand the relationship between designers,
and also the street and all the people who live in New York and the way they dress,
we must have a model who has walked thousands of times
on the New York catwalks and also who has made thousands
of steps in the city of New York, since she has lived here for a while.
She agreed to meet with us at her favorite cupcake shop of the city.
I am very happy, she seems very nice.
And we're going to walk there, because that's how you can
really enjoy New York City.
Shall we go?
What, don't they have scooters here?
To get to the show and not be late, I should do that.
Is this how you dress every day?
Oh, yeah. Absolutely.
I'm not very classical.
I don't know why you say that.
It looks like the designers are influenced by the street.
The New York streets I think are probably doing better
than the American fashion scene right now.
I know that's a strong statement.
You look so good. Thank you so much.
Very inspiring.
Wow, you're so tall.
You're so gorgeous.
Thank you for having us.
This is my favorite little coffee shop. And I love their vegan cookies.
- Okay. - Have you ever had them?
- No. - Come on.
Are we even on the same-
I know. Can you fit us?
OK, now we are in the same frame.
In the wide angle.
This is good, we are in the same frame.
We stood here for 5 minutes before coming into the shop and we saw so many looks.
It looks like more than anywhere else, the streets of New York
are everyone's catwalk.
I feel like there is so much self-expression through fashion,
especially in New York.
And when you see somebody walking down the street,
they are telling you exactly who they are.
Or at least who they are that day and what they're thinking
and how they're feeling.
I mean, even me. I put on my Isabel Marant boots and dress
and I was like, "This is how I feel today."
And that's the power of fashion.
I think living in a place like New York, you can express it.
You can authentically be whoever you are, whoever you want to be.
The streets of New York are more interesting than the runways.
Tonight we have a show, The Vogue World show,
that literally is in the street.
Do you think that the street inspired the designers or the designers
inspired the New York streets?
I think it's a mutual relationship, a mutual love and admiration.
It's kind of this symbiotic relationship.
In New York, fashion is not in a silo. It's not in a microcosm.
You live it.
This whole industry is also such a part of the city,
in a way.
So more than anywhere else, we have confidence, fun.
And I hope that's what we will see tonight at the Vogue World show.
For sure.
These are my French Vogue friends.
It's so New York...
I normally have a big bag that I carry everything in.
This is very impractical.
- A little word in French?
I love you, Vogue France!
- That's perfect, thank you.
Thank you so much, everyone!
I feel like I am forgetting my English.
I hope they put some subtitles in the edit. I am about to come back to my senses.
We're going to continue on our way, and we're going to get ready
for that show she was talking about, the Vogue World tonight.
And apparently, it's going to be a big deal.
See you there!
Here's the look! And we're a little late, so let's go.
We just got to the street which is completely blocked off.
There's a bunch of people, people have figured out
that there's something going on, because there's a lot of New Yorkers
that are watching the show.
And I think that the show, everyone will be able to see it,
because it is in the middle of the avenue.
The show belongs to everyone.
We have all the iconic fixtures of New York. We have newsstands, where you buy magazines.
We also have an apple booth.
They put me in the front row, I don't know what to do!
After the show, you can drink your Burberry tea.
Everything is normal.
A little bit of calm after the madness we just went through.
I don't know if with the pictures, you could really understand what was going
on and feel the energy.
Vogue World is a fashion show that was really like no other.
When we went, we didn't have too much information,
we were just told that it was going to represent New York City.
And I think that between what we saw earlier in the streets of SoHo
and what happened with dancers, BMX bikes,
moms and strollers dressed from head to toe, the streets of New York are sometimes
more interesting than what happens at Fashion Week shows.
And what I really, really enjoyed was that you know,
it's always very closed off, these events.
All day long, there were barriers on the runway.
And when the show was over, they opened the gates so that
all New Yorkers could come to that street
and enjoy the little booths that were there.
There were free booths to pick up your Vogue.
There was also a flower market. There's the Fendi bakery.
Fendi, celebrating the 25th anniversary
of their baguette bag.
And what could we get tonight? Mini baguettes.
Burberry, English brand, offered us tea.
To go with the tea, we got little cookies in the cookie tin.
You know, the tin of cookies that's
at your grandmother's house.
But this one is a Gucci.
And your little Vogue hostess has to go to bed because tomorrow is a very busy day.
Yes, I want to sleep in my dress.
Hello!
I hope you enjoyed the Vogue World show, a show inspired by the streets of New York.
Now we are on the real streets of New York.
This is not a Burberry or Ralph Lauren booth,
we're going to meet a New York style expert.
He goes by Watching New York on Instagram, and he loves the style of New Yorkers.
Let's go.
We are here with Johnny.
Johnny is the guy behind the Instagram @WatchingNewYork.
It's very inspiring.
And the concept of the Instagram is to shoot people in New York.
Someone gave me the title that I really like:
the people's paparazzi.
I think that's really fitting because I try to find people,
regular people that live in the city, that are really decorating the streets.
People who are getting dressed up appreciate when somebody else notices them.
You know what I mean? It's a conversation starter.
Some people don't want to be bothered but it's okay.
New York!
When I see your Instagram, I can get inspired
by real people and not models and not someone who was styled
by ten different stylists.
Right. And that's one of the secrets.
It's somebody doing it themselves, so it's attainable.
So how do you usually work? Like now we're walking in SoHo.
Do you just walk around?
Yeah, this is it. This is what I do.
It's like a hunt.
It's a hunt.
I keep on looking around and when I see something that I like,
I rip off a couple of shots, then I go and talk to them.
Oh, so you always talk to them?
Every time.
I get everybody's approval to be on the page.
And that's why I made these stickers.
After I take a picture, I give someone that sticker.
Look how many photos I took yesterday. 1,241.
1200 photos!
And out of those,
I'll probably only use eight.
- Wow. - Yeah.
So that's the move.
- Oh my god. - What?
- Really? - Oh, shit.
What's up?
I've shot her once before.
A while ago. About a year and a half ago.
And we haven't seen each other. This is a reunion.
I haven't seen her in so long.
My name is Lena.
Nice to meet you.
All right. Well, it was good to see you.
He's indeed making friends.
Take it easy.
So fun.
The bacon socks. And eggs!
Bacon and eggs.
You got a good eye. I didn't even notice.
Can I be your assistant?
I wish. I'll change the whole Instagram.
We'll change the name and everything.
We're both watching New York.
Excuse me, guys. I shoot street fashion in New York.
I love your look.
I take candid photos of New Yorkers looking really cool.
I'm wondering if it's okay if I ever share your image on social media.
Perfect.
Excuse me, guys. Stylish New Yorkers.
I take candid photos of New Yorkers looking really rad.
I took a couple of photos when you guys were walking.
Thank you so much.
He sees things, but they're 300,000 meters away.
Thank you guys so much. Enjoy the rest of your day.
Awesome. That was great, man.
Thank you very, very much for your time.
Oh, my God. Guys.
I'm gonna walk around New York hoping someone will take pictures
of me and give me compliments.
Yeah, you will. It's the best.
And we're looking for a Shake Shack.
Shake Shack? In New York, you're going to go to Shake Shack?
Don't judge me. I'll go back to France now.
I need a Shake Shack.
I get it, I get it.
Thank you very, very much Johnny. It was very inspiring.
This was great, man.
A meal concocted by the greatest chefs in New York.
Thank you, June, for being here with us and for taking us
to a local thing that you know.
It's the garment district.
Yeah.
The garment industry is the fabric of our fashion industry in New York City.
There's so much history here.
You've been in the fashion industry for quite a long time.
Couple of decades, yeah.
Decades? No.
Yeah. Almost three decades.
And do you consider yourself a real New Yorker?
I do. I was raised in New York.
When I was very young, I would design clothes for my dolls.
I would always come down to the garment district and have my mom
buy fabric so that I could make things and stop cutting up the curtains.
There's something about the energy down here.
The energy just never dies.
And New Yorkers aren't afraid to express
their own personalities and style.
People, they get it, because it's a melting pot.
People come from all over the world.
- That's what I wanted to say. - They expect it.
New York is a very diverse city.
It's people from all around the world with different visions
and also different cultures.
How does the fashion and all of those different cultures work together?
First of all, I'm very inspired by seeing people come
from different parts of the world and how they interpret a New York style.
There's a certain urbanness to it.
There's a certain grittiness to it, a certain sportiness to it.
I think that's what I love.
I would just sit and watch.
When I'm creating collections, I would sit and watch people.
Watch how New Yorkers or people from around the world
interpret their street style.
Street style is what really drives me.
And New York is really where I get my most inspiration.
Okay.
And you used to be a stylist and worked with different artists,
I started off as a costume designer. Before I started styling.
Because when I first started in the music industry,
I couldn't borrow clothes from showrooms.
Why's that?
Because I was working with artists who were somewhat unknown.
You know, Jay-Z wasn't always popular.
We wanted to understand the importance of New York Fashion Week.
The fashion industry is driven
by what's going on globally.
But New York City is really the heart of the fashion industry as well.
Like I said, we have so many American designers.
And even though we may produce in other parts of the world,
a lot of people started off in New York City.
I think what you're seeing globally now has been inspired by a lot of street culture
that comes out of New York City.
Exactly.
What I think makes a big difference between New York Fashion Week
and other fashion weeks is how the streets of New York is a catwalk.
Absolutely.
I've always said the sidewalks are my runway.
This is a spandex house. I got lots of spandex.
Let me take you in here. This is one of my favorite fabric shops.
First of all, I love color.
Oh, yeah.
Fashion and sportswear have evolved. Look how beautiful this is.
I mean, this could go really nice.
Is it Vogue approved?
And then I would add another color. Great.
And then I'll go another color.
We may see this on the next runway.
Voila, chic.
Fashion and culture are now colliding, and it's something that I've
always dreamed of.
It's nice to see the big fashion houses in Paris and Milan and all around the world
embrace urban hip-hop culture.
Yeah.
I think that says that this culture has transcended.
That it's eclipsed.
It's one of the number one genres in the world.
And it's a global conversation.
It's about us acknowledging that you inspired me and you saying
that I inspired you.
And then we come together and it feels normal.
It feels right. It feels real.
It's so beautiful.
I want this in my car.
I don't have a driver's license but I can imagine this on a wheel
with two big dice.
Absolutely.
In New York, what makes you stand out in the crowd?
Well, I've always been very expressive
with my style.
It's a language for me.
So when I get dressed, I'm like, "Oh,
do I want to end it with a period or do I want to end it with an exclamation point?"
So I put on a hat, I love accessories.
And this hat is a period or an exclamation?
This would be exclamation. You gotta be ballsy.
In New York, you have to be ballsy.
Love it.
- Thank you very much. - I hope you have a very good day.
- The French kisses, love it. - Yes, of course.
And it is with this sublime view on the Highline
that we finish this episode of Vlogue.
I hope that you could understand a little the importance
of a Fashion Week in New York, but especially,
to have felt a bit of this crazy energy that is there as soon
as we arrive in this city.
We saw it with the supermodel Karlie Kloss, talked with June Ambrose
or Watching New York.
The three of them have very different jobs in these industries,
and yet are all inspired by what they see in the streets of New York.
Without forgetting, of course, the fashion show we attended,
Vogue World.
Sure, we were celebrating the 130th anniversary of the magazine,
but more importantly, we were celebrating
the crazy essence of New York.
This great anthill was like a New York picture,
with marathon runners welcoming us, Serena Williams taking her leave,
dancers everywhere, music.
And Lil Nas X twerking in front of us all, that's New York.
And that's really what we wanted to have with this episode of Vlogue.
It's not necessarily to focus on one house in particular,
one show in particular.
But to really focus on the biggest fashion show
that there is in this city, the streets of New York.
Thank you all for watching this video. I hope you enjoyed it.
I hope you learned something, and we'll see you very soon
with a new episode.
Maybe we'll travel, maybe we'll meet up in my apartment,
we'll see.
And make sure I get my Vogue cover! Take care!