First Posted: 9/23/2013
This year I was invited to participate in the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week gifting suites at The Empire Hotel in New York City. This particular event is run by a Los Angeles-based full service marketing, public relations and event planning company called GBK.
The basic idea is that a large list of celebrities are compiled and invited to attend a gifting lounge. Sponsors are set up in said lounge, where they gift their products to the invited celebrities and media outlets. I was a celebrity escort.
Unfortunately, it was not as risqué as it sounds.
My job was to hang out at the famed Empire Hotel right next to the Lincoln Center, where all the good stuff went down. Once a celebrity arrived I would escort he or she through the maze of sponsors and gifts, which ranged from four nights at a luxury resort to designer handbags and makeup.
Across the street, tall beautiful models were showcasing Spring 2014 collections like Jason Wu’s ethereal feminine shapes and airy fabrics. That same Friday, Rag and Bone pushed its ’90s minimalist feel. Nicole Miller provided lots of eye candy with textured florals, filigree and stripes; very Versailles garden meets graffiti punk. Kate Spade stayed true to her demure and classy feminine shapes and patterns influenced by Parisian gardens, as well as her signature structured bags. Rebecca Minkoff livened things up with live runway music while using Mexico as inspiration. Brightly colored skirts paired with a tee that stated “Let’s all go to Mexico,” which was overlapped by a sporty cardigan. Some famous Latin Americans who inspired this collection were Bianca Jagger and Frida Kahlo. I would love to take a vacation to Mexico right about now…
Meanwhile, back at The Empire Hotel, I was enamored with my favorite fashionista couple: Ice-T and Coco. I have a seriously weird obsession with Coco Austin and her ability to match things. And Ice, well, he’s just cool.
Next door to The Empire Hotel was the Maybelline makeover storefront, complete with a moving lipstick installation art piece. Maybelline was the official makeup sponsor of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, so its logo was all over the city. Dolled-up New Yorkers spilled from the store out onto the street, where they found their way up the steps of Lincoln Center.
It was great being in the city during one of its most exciting signature events. Everyone wore their most quirky, expensive or just all-black outfits and traipsed around like fashion elitists – including moi, until I passed out on a family member’s air mattress at 9 p.m.
In my very best pajamas, of course.
-Erin Rovin has been working in the entertainment industry for 10 years and writes for various national gossip publications. You can reach Erin at erinrovin@gmail.com.
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