New York City | Part II

So yesterday I wrote the about the first leg of my New York Fashion Week trip to look at the fine offerings from Brizo faucets. There was a lot of really interesting information that Brizo covered and it was a real treat to have an insiders look into the design process and despite all the fooling around and the parties, I came away from this event with an new appreciation for the energy and effort behind what it takes to bring a forward thinking product to market.

We had a long morning working on our projects but once we wrapped up the designs, we left everything in the hands of Mike Tadros from Igloo Studios and Eric Schemelpfenig from SketchTHIS! who took our designs into SketchUp and while the rest of us were off at the Fashion Show, they made our designs look amazing. I used to think I was really good at SketchUp but these guys ran circles around me.

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We loaded up in several limousines to head over to the Fashion Show. In my limo was the president of Delta Faucets, Mr. Keith Allman. Accident? …probably … but he and I had an interesting conversation about quality architecture schools during our drive through the city. Joining us in the limo was his extended family, Kevin Eckert and Andrew Van Leeuwen from buildllc, and Trevor Williams, Creative Director at Young & Laramore. We arrived around 1:30 for a 2:00 start time and we got to wait in line for a while. That’s okay, as far as line-waiting goes, it was pretty interesting.

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The Fashion show was held at 82 Mercer Street, a venue location with 25,000 sf floor plates which can accommodate up to 900 guests – there was at least900 people at this event, it was standing room only (but not for me – seat F12 sucka’s!!))

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This was basically a large open warehouse building that has been set up to accommodate events and it was a suitable location for the show. There was plenty of down time to kill before the actual show began and while I love to people watch, I enjoy exploring buildings and … sshhhh … going where I’m probably not supposed to be.  Since I know that most people who read this blog are looking for the funny (or the stupid) I do have something crazy to tell you share. Before the show began, I needed to use the restroom – since the show is only 12 minutes, you don’t get up in the middle. So I went off to find somewhere suitable and came across what looked like a make-shift unisex toilet room with several restrooms off a central corridor. I walked to the first partially opened door and tried to open it the rest of the way. Errrgggggg!! It would barely move but it was still only open about 6″. I tried again but with more gusto (spitting into hands and backing up for a 3 step charge, leading with shoulder) Keeee-yaaaaa!!! Right after I collided with the door I hear a falling, almost crumpling to the ground sound and “aghhugghh …. uhm, someone is in here”.

Oops.

You mean, someone with wet trousers is in there. Better move on down the line … all the way down the line. I go to the very last room and go in but for the life of me, I cannot find the light switch. Soooo, I flip on my phone to get some light and oohhhhhaahhhggg – bleech! Apparently someone couldn’t find the knob to flush the toilet. And seriously, who does that kind of business at a fashion show?? So there I was, holding my phone up for light, trying to flush the toilet with my new pointy un-scuffed shoes. I just knew I was going to slip and plant one shoe and half a trouser in that bowl. Thankfully I did not.

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Since I will admit that I don’t know anything about fashion in general and I am even more confounded by women’s fashion, I will turn over a review of the show to Sarah Cristobel from StyeList.com:

“we were pleasantly charmed by Wu’s solid offerings. There were short suits, tuxedo jacket dresses, bow blouses, and sharply tailored trousers, and of course, pretty dresses adorned with a garden-worthy assortment of organza petals. So as not to alienate his eveningwear-loving public (ahem, Rogers and former boss Michelle Obama), Wu produced a trio of colorful chiffon gowns at shows end. Perhaps a touch diaphanous for a woman of the first lady’s stature, but then again, 27-year-old Wu is allowed to play every once in a while.”

One of the reasons I am most grateful to Brizo for bringing me on this trip, is that I know feel that the areas I have traditionally turned to get inspiration now appear somewhat narrow. We spent a lot of time listening to Judd Lord from Brizo talk about where they have looked for inspiration and the range and extent was impressive; architectural details, edifices, fashion, patterns, textures, etc.

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When the fashion show ended, several of us went out to grab a quick bite to eat and then head directly to our next event – the Showtime House;  three penthouses, atop Manhattan’s iconic Cassa Hotel and Residences that have been transformed into show-stopping rooms of modern design inspired by seven Showtime original series. Sounds pretty good right? Yes, but we had to get on the subway in order to get there in time and thankfully, Andrew Van Leeuwen seems to know his way around the city.

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Once we got to the Showtime  House, there was lots of fancy-drink drinking and exploring to do.  Once we had a chance to explore and socialize, Jason Wu showed up and we had a chance to visit with him, hear about where he finds his inspiration, and get our pictures taken. This was also the venue where the 4 teams from this morning design competition presented their designs for the bathroom challenge. Since I don’t have any graphics to support the story, I’ll just cut to the chase; the team I was on won first place; I won’t say it was because of my awesome design talents but I will say that I was the tallest member on my team – by like a foot!

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So this was a great event and my hosts, Brizo, found a very pleasant balance between working hard and playing hard(er). This trip was a great use of my time and I would be happy to sit down with anybody and discuss the merits of the products they make – because I now know what I’m talking about.

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