Daily Dispatches: Day 1

About midday, after the Kimberly Ovitz runway show, Phil Oh, the street style photographer behind the blog StreetPeeper.com, stood out
in a cheerful turquoise and green turtle-print polo shirt by Michael Bastian. He seemed to embody Fashion Week wisdom. Slow and steady
wins the race?
Wishful thinking.
“Adderall,” said Mr. Oh, before snapping a few shots of editors crossing the West Side Highway. “That’s how I survive fashion
month.”
New York Fashion Week officially kicked off on Thursday, and nerves were already jangled, schedules strung tight.
That morning, the Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross was backstage at the BCBG Max Azria show in Lincoln Center, waiting, like
everybody else, for her seat. Ms. Richards-Ross, who landed at 5 a.m. from Los Angeles, wore a daring, see-through top with a wide
center strip. “It helps to have an athletic figure,” she said. That, and the couple of gold medals she brought came in handy. “They
go with everything,” she added, laughing. When she finally took her seat, a chorus of popping flashbulbs greeted her.
Even more popular for the cameramen was the reality star Whitney Port. The photographers lingered so long that a woman in the sixth row
commented, loudly, “C’mon, she’s not that exciting.”
By comparison, the atmosphere was civil at Richard Chai Love show, which took place immediately after. This was the first fashion show
for Russell Westbrook, a guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he looked the part, in his black-and-red suede sneakers and wire-
rimmed eyeglasses. “Sometimes, the N.B.A. feels like fashion week,” he said, of his stylish basketball cohorts. His front-row
seatmate, Nick Cannon, wore a brown baseball cap backward.
Downtown at Milk Studios, all eyes were on the Creatures of the Wind show. Sure, there were stars, but more of the industry kind. Then,
it was across the highway to Ms. Ovitz’s show at Pier 57, where her father, the Hollywood power player Michael Ovitz, was backstage,
while his girlfriend, Tamara Mellon, sat front row, stilettos crossed.
Into the afternoon, the schedule seemed to splinter. Some headed to men’s shows, while others to smaller presentations. And there was
Fashion’s Night Out to reserve energy for. Somewhere, in the afternoon lull, it seemed Mr. Oh was wise after all.