Thursday morning I started the day in, and I can hardly believe I'm saying this, but in Le Pain Quotidien. Yessss it's a kind of Starbucks and I'm in goddamn New York with a thousand million billion fantastic things but I wanted to sit somewhere with WiFi from 08:00 to 13:00 and then Pain is just the absolute best choice. So.
At 14:00 I had an appointment a bit more uptown, and then I walked down towards the MoMA. Or actually, towards the Richard Avedon Foundation that is located above it. Thanks to Mays HNTM jury colleague Dirk Kikstra I was allowed to come and take a look there. The Foundation preserves all the work of the late Avedon, ensures that it is exhibited, that books are made from it, and that his legacy is maintained. But above all, there are more than 5000 (!) negatives and prints, neatly stored in large filing cabinets that are in a room where the temperature and humidity are closely monitored and regulated. James, with whom I had the appointment, shows me everything and when I was standing in that fantastic archive I could mainly think about how I hope that Bill's work will also be preserved so well someday.
Avedon is pretty close to Bergdorf Goodman and before I knew it I slipped through the big heavy revolving doors and suddenly found myself right on the shoe department. It's so strange how that happens. There was a sale, there were Manolos, there was a big inner struggle within me – yes no yes no yes no. Even with the sale they were still a good $600 and even though it seemed to me at one point a completely logical amount for shoes made of white (!) satin, thank god I found my rational ability again and did not buy them.
After that almost-incident I walk back to the hotel, pick up my laptop and continue working in the hotel bar on the roof. In the evening I have an appointment with Kirsten from Suitsupply and in the (pitch dark) bar of the Ace Hotel we drink wine and talk about men, life, love – what else. Instead of taking a taxi or subway back I decide to walk the 26 blocks, which was really a party because New York by night remains a favorite.
Thursday morning I start a few blocks down from my hotel at the showroom of Tadashi Sohji, a fantastically beautiful brand that we broadcast live here on the site during fashion week. The resort 2016 collection is hanging on the racks and I can tell you, it was really very beautiful. After having extensively touched and praised everything, I walk with my laptop under my arm over Fifth Avenue and go into a random restaurant for a bite and a snack, to then let my inner tourist out at the Top Of The Rock. As in, the most beautiful view ever. I did even more touristy things this week and I will tell you all about it in detail again. After that there were a few more appointments and then I have to rush back to the hotel to get ready for the mirror (that's Amayzine's for “mirror”).
Because, Thursday night was disco night with our Bo. We started with a bottle of wine (maybe two but we won't tell anyone) at Sant Ambroeus in Soho. Where, important detail, a few hours earlier Johannes Huebl I was playing a game of backgammon. Good bottle 1 became bottle 2, there was indeed some food but not enough to keep our heads cool so reasonably tipsy we jump into a cab (that's Amayzine's for “taxi”) towards Meatpacking. There was a party from Boohoo.com that Bo was invited to, and then we went to the neighbors: Dream Hotel. And that was quite a dream.
On the roof we are drinking gin tonics with a view over the whole city, making a ton of selfies and having strange conversations with just slightly too old pushy men. At one point one asked me, when I was standing there without the drink he bought for me: “Do you not like the gin tonic I bought for you?” That kind of people. Quite disgusting (that's Amayzine's for “disgusting”).
Anyway, we throw a hip to the left and right on the dance floor but actually we picked up way too early and roll towards the elevator and home around 2 o'clock. Bo woke up the next morning on her couch with her clothes still on (sorry Bo for sharing this with the world but I find it too funny) and I somehow managed to pack my suitcase and then passed out.
The next morning I woke up again at 07:00 with a bit of a heavy head. The day of departure. I had planned a whole day program because my flight was not until late in the evening, so I wanted to see the Guggenheim and if possible also take a stroll in Central Park, and so on. But as I lay in bed trying to check in for my flight, I kept getting an error message. Something about not being able to check in online anymore, and that I had to ask for assistance at the airport. I packed my room further, checked out of the hotel and wanted to arrange a transfer to JFK when I decided that I really preferred to check in now instead of there. But it's a hassle and error error and when I finally sit behind a computer (because maybe it was my phone) something terrible turns out to be wrong.
My flight left last night. Last night. Panic. Total panic. How this ended I will keep in a huge GTST cliffhanger style for a next post. For now, the New York diaries are over again. Until September, because then we will be back. And as fun and amazing as this week was, I can't wait to be here again with my Amayzine girls. Bye New York! See you soon!
