Hello my friends! Aren’t you excited fall is finally here? I am sitting at my favorite Starbucks, enjoying my beloved pumpkin spice latte and writing this belated blog post about my recent exciting trip to New York Fashion Week!(Yeah! Finally I am writing about it!)
This is the second time I have traveled to NYC for fashion week. A city I lived in for 5 years! It always feels so great to go back, like visiting an old, close friend!
I booked a small apartment in the East Village a month ago through Airbnb (Fancy sponsored hotels aren’t for small illustrators like me, unfortunately :-). During my six day stay my schedule was packed with fashion shows, backstage visits and parties as well as meetings with potential clients. I probably only slept 3-4 hours a night! This is not unusual. I found out almost every influencer I met during fashion week was staying up all night and HUSTLING!!!! The truth hurts but you have to work hard to achieve greatness! The reality isn’t Champagne and confetti like what you see on Instagram … but it is still an amazing experience!
Let us dive into what I did during fashion week!
Live sketch party for Maybelline NYFW kick-off party!
The party was hosted on a beautiful rooftop at Hudson Mercantile. My lovely friend Patty, from Style by Patty, was able to come to the party to assist me! She is the best! Many social influencers, models and designers and artists came to the party. My job was live sketching customized illustrations for them as a gift from Maybelline. Who doesn’t want an illustration of themselves? Especially since everyone was dressed up so nicely. I am so grateful I was able to meet super models, top designers and social influencers that I had never dared to dream to meet!
Adriana Lima, OMG!!!!! I was with a VS angel!
Sketched one of my favorite fashion designers, Rebecca Minkoff ;-)
My fashion illustration inspired by Rebecca Minkoff Runway to Retail fashion show!
Short Instagram stories from the party!
Backstage at Marissa Webb
Backstage badge is so pretty!
Absolutly no place to draw... I sadly left after 20 mins....
Nothing stops me from drawing! My favorite look from Marissa Webb ss17 collection
Brock Collection SS17 fashion show was the first fashion show that I drew on Ipad Pro
In love with my Ipad pro and apple pen! It made drawing at fashion shows so much easier!
Tanya Taylor fashion show!
Tanya Taylor in white! She is such an amazingly talented designer
A quick watercolor sketch of my favorite look from her ss17 collection
Heading to my next live sketch event! it was for a Korean beauty brand Aritaum
I couldn't stop taking street style photos! Just pretending I am a fashion blogger ;-) Photo by my Houston blogger friend Brandy!
I played with make-ups from the clients onto the live sketches.
Live fashion sketch influencer 小花 during NYFW for Korean beauty brand Aritaum.
Live fashion sketch influencer halliedaily during NYFW for Korean beauty brand Aritaum.
I also had a fun collab with Aveda. I was able to experience amazing hair treatment service at FourteenJay and backstage where I drew inspiration and created an illustration for their new product EcliptingColor.
This is what I came up with. Inspired by their new product EcliptingColor.
One thing I love about NYFW is I am able to meet many fashion influencers such as Jessica Wong from NotJessFashion
I did three of her looks during NYFW because she is such a muse! Amazing styles that I could not stop drawing!! Street fashion always inspires me!
One of my favorite fashion show called China Fashion Collective, which is collections from different up-coming Chinese fashion designers! The show was beyond amazing! I am so happy to see other Chinese creatives thriving in US.
Brandy and I at China Fashion Collective show.
A few more illustrations after I came back to Houston.
Marc Jacobs ss17 collection is so fun and playful!
Marchesa ss17 collection is beautiful as always! I have to pick up my brushes to paint!
I LOVE NYC!
The end of the Maybelline party night! My friend Patty took a photo of me on a swing with the New Yorker Hotel in the background! I love this picture because it has so much meaning in it! It reminds me of the Jay-Z song "since I made it here, I can make it anywhere!" What a surreal dream I am living ... from a small town in China to the most fashionable city in the whole world! I know the sky is the limit as long as we are willing to put on lipstick and work hard!
Hope this super long recap didn't bore you! I wish I could cover everything but these are some highlights from the trip!
Back to Houston now, more projects are coming my way! I am beyond grateful to all the people who have supported and encouraged me to chase my dream along the way! I couldn't do this without all of you!
By the way, I co-host an online workshop called The Business Of Fashion Illustration, where I will be sharing my stories, tips and experiences as a full-time fashion illustrator! If you are interested, please visit here!
Please stay in touch over on my Instagram!
Rongrong