News Taffy

I am obsessed with fashion. It goes back to my early childhood days. This is nothing new to those who know me well. So with New York City being the fashion capitol of the world…sorry Jonesboro…I am a happy camper. A few weeks ago, Lincoln Center played host to Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. I live within a few block of Lincoln Center, so I was thrilled to have the movers and shakers of the fashion world hanging out in my neighborhood.

Last year, I had a ticket to the Milly spring/summer show which was such a great adventure for me. This year, however, I was outside the tents wishing I was inside. But, honestly, there is so much going on outside, that I think it may be the best place to take it all in. There are lots of fashionistas milling around outside either waiting for a show or for their ride to pick them up. Or, they are just there to be seen and photographed.

If you are going to be photographed, the most famous photographer of all things fashion related in this city is Bill Cunningham from the New York Times. Cunningham has an "On the Street" section in the Sunday paper. He always manages to capture the "look" of the week and lay it out for readers to see. He can be spotted easily in his royal blue coat and on his bicycle riding around the streets of Manhattan snapping photos of everyone he deems of fashion importance. Celebrities, socialites, teens, babies and pooches, he captures them all. And he moves at the speed of light. Cunningham is more than 80 years old!

I had the chance to see this man in action during Fashion Week. It was one of those weird moments for me, too. I had just been thinking that I would love to meeting this man or see him on the streets working. This was my lucky day. As I walked up toward the entrance to the tents, here comes this white haired man with a camera in his hand who almost knocked me over. I said to him," aren't you Bill Cunningham?" and he said," yes" and whizzed on by me. I stopped and just watched him move all over taking pictures. That man can hustle. He was up by the entrance to the tents and then a few seconds later he was down on the street getting pictures. If you've never seen Lincoln Center, the front plaza is really big. He gets around quicker than any photographer I've ever seen in action.

Cunningham was not interested in talking about his career. He was actually irritated when a young reporter ran up to him shouting his name. When the reporter finally made it up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, he quickly turned around and shooed her away!! Almost scolding her like a school girl.

I managed to get a few photos of him in action, but he moved so fast I wasn't able to get many. Each time he was sort of hanging around, he'd see me trying to get his photo and he would turn away! Oh, well. Guess he doesn't like it when he is on the other side of the camera.

There is a documentary, Bill Cunningham New York, out about his career and life that I highly recommend seeing. Look for it on Net Flicks.

So while I wasn't being snubbed by Cunningham, I found some more than eager fashion folks to strike a post for me. Brad Goreski looked quite dapper as always. I am a fan of the Rachel Zoe Project, so seeing her former assistant was a fun for me. I couldn't help but notice Linda Fargo from Bergdorf Goodman in these fantastic red pants and that amazing head of gray hair. I later snapped the photo of her chatting it up with J. Crew's creative director Jenna Lyons. For a fashion obsessed gal like myself, seeing this many fashion icons in one place made for a fun start to my day.

You can follow more of the Southerner and the City's adventures at www.djduckworthyoga.com/blog.