At 8am on Saturday morning, backstage NYFW, preparations for Ruffian's fall show were in full swing. At mirrored stations around the room, makeup artists and hairdressers swarmed around the porcelain-skinned, ethereal creatures seated on high chairs before announcing that their creation was complete. A cloud of finishing hairspray was swiftly followed by a congratulatory burst of flashes from the loitering photographers. With 30 minutes to go before show time the pressure in the room went up an octave and the conversations moved from enthusing about the inspiration for the look to one fashionably dishevelled man, barking seemingly to no one "Get all these people who aren't needed here out". Not one to miss a subtle cue I decided to leave them to it and made my way to the hallway where a photographer was challenged with the whack a mole task of taking a photograph of each model as they went from makeup into the dressing area.
Running 10 minutes fashionably late, the models lined up like thoroughbred racehorses while the team made final grooming and the creative directors gave their final seal of approval. A twenty-something with a clip board and headset poked her head through the curtain announcing “Ok guys we are ready!!!” which didn’t go down too well with the Brian Wolk who stormed through the curtain toward her shouting “We are ready when I say we are ready!” Awkward!