Fashion Week Highlights

So long, summer! 

Labor Day Weekend and Fashion Week came and went so quickly and now it officially feels like fall back in the Big Apple. 

Over the past two weeks, I've been running all over town covering shows and parties, doing interviews and even trying my hand at StreetStyle photography. 

One of the coolest parties I covered was the Versus Versace show after party. From Rihanna to Naomi Campbell and Nicki Minaj, all of the big names came out to see the latest collection from Donatella herself and Anthony Vaccarello. St. Vincent performed and guests enjoyed custom Versace chocolate bars, dessert pops and of course, endless flutes of champagne. 

I was there on behalf of InStyle and got to speak with Nicki, Naomi, Jennifer Hudson and Allegra Versace.

I also covered the Diesel Black Gold runway show last week, where Rita Ora sat front row and wearable tech was a trend.

On the very same day Apple announced their new smart watch, in addition to the embellished pants and star spangled dresses on the runway, many models sported customized, curved Gear S smart watches by Samsung.

The 2-inch device, which was making it's debut on the Diesel runway, can make calls, send texts and take photos all from your wrist.

I'm not sure if smart watches will be new black, but it's interesting to see how fashion and tech are colliding these days.

In between catching shows and covering parties, I was hanging at the tents at Lincoln Center on StreetStyle duty for SheKnows. Instead of chatting up celebs, I was on the hunt for well-dressed attendees to the fashion shows and found a ton of stylish girls to shoot. You can see all of my StreetStyle series here, here and here but I think Xenia Tchoumitcheva's look, blogger at ChicOverdose, was one of my favorites. I like how she dressed up her casual tee by adding the skirt and heels.

On Tuesday, Juicy launched their latest perfume, Viva la Juicy Gold Couture, during NYFW with a glamorous #CoutureOverdose fete at Gold Bar, which was the perfect venue to celebrate their new fragrance. Guests enjoyed a spritz bar where they could try the new scent, an ice cream sundae bar and gift bags full of Juicy beauty products.

 My roommate Lindsay and I had fun in the photo fun booth and it was great to catch up with the other SheKnows experts and staffers who were all there. That same evening, Mexican designer PinkMAGNOLIA presented their SS15 collection and threw an afterparty with DJ David Katz and artist Jeremy Penn.

I always like learning about new designers in addition to ones I already love during Fashion Week. Now that  NYFW is over, I'm ready to go shopping and update my fall wardrobe. What trends are you looking forward to trying this season? Until next time, have a fashionable fall!

Follow me on Twitter @cristinagibson and Instagram @cristinablairgibson

Fashion Week Fun

Another Fashion Week has come and gone in a blur of models, champagne and parties! I did some coverage for SheKnows and although this is my sixth or seventh time covering NYFW, I still learned a few new things, like that celebrities usually get paid big bucks to attend designer's shows. Here I thought they just wanted free clothes and exposure, silly me!

My favorite show was this season was Mara Hoffman. I'm all about color and her Spring 2014 collection was so bright and pretty. It made me want to book a tropical vacation ASAP and pack her entire line for the trip.

Another fun show was Herve Leger. You may know this brand from their ubiquitous bandage dresses that all the stars love to wear. Nicki Minaj sat front row wearing a dress from their Spring 2014 collection, which featured lots of zippers, cut outs and waist-cinching peplums.

I also got to attend Marchesa's runway presentation for the very first time thanks to my girl Laura Lane. This show is special because it's held off site at the New York Public Library and there's only two rows of seats with the runway going around the entire room, so you really get to see the couture close up. Their latest collection showcased ornate, gauzy gowns embellished with lots feathers and beads. I could totally see Taylor Swift wearing one of them.

Fashion Week is all about the parties and DKNY threw a fabulous bash to celebrate their 25th birthday. Supermodel Karlie Kloss, who also walked in their show was on hand, along with Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Emmy Rossum, Hailee Steinfeld and a huge taxi cab cake. They had an awesome photobooth that makes GIFs of your pictures...check ours out here!

Rita Ora performed at the party, and I jumped on stage with her at the end when she invited people to come up. It reminded me of the last time I was on stage at a show with her boyfriend Calvin Harris at Firefly fest when he performed this summer.

I also want to congratulate two of my entrepreneurial friends, Kiara Horwitz and Christina Mannino, who threw their own Fashion Week soiree to celebrate Kiara's public relations firm's launch and Christina's latest collection for Deivie, her fashion line. Great job, girls!

And speaking of fall fashion, I never used to wear flats when I lived in LA but they're pretty necessary here in NYC, since you walk everywhere. I just got these Carmen Steffens, a Brazilian-based shoe company and I love how they're studded with skulls.

Until next time, wishing everyone a fun and fashionable fall!

Get all the action in real time on Twitter @cristinagibson and Instagram @cristinablairgibson