Your Fashion Week Accessory

I know it’s Fashion Week in New York because there’s a big ass tent in the middle of Bryant Park, a few friends of mine are going to after parties hosted by clothiers, and I occasionally see packs of uncharacteristically tall, well-dressed, waifish women (and now waifish men) turning heads strutting down the city’s streets.

The 60+-year-old event that draws all the big name labels, buyers, and stars commands a bit of a presence on the island of Manhattan. It’s also getting more coverage than ever online, though in traditional ways.

The effects of the democratization of media, while fully visible in the political fray, have not yet woven themselves into the fabric of haute couture. There are no college kids with Nokia N95s lining the catwalks, no fashion geeks cornering Santo and Donatella Versace for impromptu cellphone interviews, and no trained Ground Hounds asking onlookers what they though of the latest lines. Everything feels more or less like good, ole’ fashioned television (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing).

With the exception of David Jr. (who had some coverage of six months ago’s Fashion Week, but doesn’t look like he’s filming anything this round), bigger brands with internet savvy and a fashion sense are the only way to catch the action without an invite. If you’re a persona non grata like me, yet still interested in watching models wear funky clothes while doing that walk, here are the best places to look:

Nylon Magazine TV – www.youtube.com/user/NylonMagazineTV

Nylon Magazine, the way cooler, hipster version of whatever beauty and fashion rag you’ve been skimming through at the newsstand, has some informative and fast-paced Designer Diaries highlighting those with shows, remixed runway vids accented with tricky editing and phat beats, and even a short avant-garde film. Even if you’re not that into fashion, this is one channel to watch.

###Chic.tv – www.chic.tv

Given its name, and that it brands itself as a “24-hour lifestyle video magazine,” Fashion Week is Chic.tv’s Super Bowl. Industry vet Janice Prishwalko hosts most of the daily coverage, interviewing doe eyed models new to the NYC runway, make-up artists who’ve been there before, and everyone in between. There are also plenty of shots of the shows and inside the extravagant tents.

Elle Magazine – www.youtube.com/user/ellemagazine

Elle’s YouTube page has more up-to-date vids than the lifestyle, beauty, and fashion mag’s flashy video player, and there are fewer ads to suffer through. Their slickly produced Cheat Sheet vids go “backstage, front row, and everything in between,” though I almost prefer the raw footage from the runway, replete with bad audio.

Ford Models TV – www.youtube.com/user/fordmodels

Similar to Elle, it’s much easier to watch the videos on Ford Models Tv’s YouTube channel than on their Ning community site. Here, the models control the camera and take you on backstage tours, offering access behind the runways presented by those that actually walk down them.

New York Magazine – http://video.nymag.com

New York Magazine has its fair share of typical, well-produced interviews and clips from the runway, except when they ask models how they think their asses look in G-Star denim (it sounds funny but it’s annoying) and don’t display links to specific videos (annoying) and don’t allow embeds (really annoying).

If you head over YouTube’s Fashion Week 360, you can also catch videos from Style.com, the New York Times, and the ultra chic American Express Fashion Network.  YouTube is supposed to feature segments from “freewheeling fashionista” William Sledd, but none have appeared since his kinda endearing, kinda irritating introduction.

I was surprised that LX.TV doesn’t have hair-to-hell Fashion Week coverage, but I suppose NBC has them busy on other projects. They do, however, have a clip of the super fab Andre J. celebrating his favorite NYC boutiques. If you haven’t seen Andre before, you should give this one a look: