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A buzz hung in the air Friday night at Bryant Park.
There was a feeling to the backstage areas, lounges, and hallways as if something were coming, some force of nature.
It was as if the world knew a supermodel was in town to bring attention to the devastation going on in Haiti. The mood was rightfully energetic, as Naomi Campbell arrived in New York City to put on the Fashion for Relief Haiti runway extravaganza, which sold out to American Express cardholders in just four hours. “Everyone cares and everyone wants to contribute,” said Naomi. “Fashion is a big umbrella and we can all come together for fashion. It doesn’t discriminate. I saw an image of a man guarding a child and that image just stayed in my mind.”
So requests went out to designers, celebrities, and models to donate their time, and what came back was an outpouring of donations. On the celebrity side, Chris Brown, Malin Akerman, Alan Cumming, and Estelle strutted down the runway, while Rachel Zoe styled the looks, but Modelinia was focused on the major model superstar power that came out to support Naomi’s efforts. It was a straight up parade of brilliant faces, including Selita Ebanks, Natasha Poly, Sasha Pivovarova, Arlenis Sosa, Irina Lazareanu, Helena Christensen, Angela Lindvall, Iris Strubegger, and Sessilee Lopez; mother-daughter duo Pat and Anna Cleveland, who truly made the runway their own, prancing and dancing their way down; Agyness Deyn; Tanya D who opened; and Hana Soukupova who closed.
Appropriately, the finale was a tribute to the late Alexander McQueen. Daphne Guinness led the group of models including Helena, Naomi, Karen Elson, Angela, Natasha, Sasha, and Heidi Mount. Posing at the end of the runway, the girls ushered in a collective hush as the fashion community mourned the loss of a talented designer.
Once the show ended, models streamed from backstage in small groups. Selita rocked her Balmain on the way out, Agyness and Karen left side by side, and while Sessilee went for the NYC uniform of all black, Helena chose a flower girl floral dress. The atmosphere backstage felt as if we were transported back to the era of the supers, with girls calling out to each other, making plans, posing, and rushing on their way to the next great event. “It was just a great feeling—everyone loving,” said Naomi of the experience. “It was like a party backstage. We were doing a party for something good.”
Fashion for Relief will be held in London next week, but who knows if we’ll have recovered from our experience by then. ~ Bianca Posterli
