NYFW: Through The Eyes of Bryant Eslava
New York Fashion Week is a huge deal to a variety of people. From designers to photographers to models to fashionistas and even the modern day blogger, NYFW is a big point of interest. A few months ago we interviewed Bryant Eslava, a 19 year old photographer currently living in New York working as a fashion photographer. He got to live the dream this week, not only by attending numerous runway shows and presentations, but also by taking the time to document his entire experience through his amazing photography. I got to ask him a few questions about NYFW and what it was like.
Q: So you’ve been a fashion photographer for a while now. What were your first thoughts going into shooting NYFW?
A: It was a friday night. After a long week of classes, I was walking into Whole Foods when I received an e-mail notification on my phone. Subject: “Tumblr + MILK Fashion Week Invitation.” I stopped for a quick second and thought to myself, “Wait…this can’t be real.” I opened it and it was a personal invitation by the Tumblr staff saying they are huge fans of my blog and they’ve chosen me and four other bloggers to cover NYFW. Of course tears came into my eyes because I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming.
The Olsen Twins during the J Mendell show
Q: Your blog has been overflowing with photos from this week and I noticed you’ve been spending a lot of time at MILK Studios and the Tumblr Office. What was that like?
A: Tumblr gave me a press pass to MILK Studios where they have runway shows & presentations. MILK Studios gave us bloggers a small room for editing to avoid all the distractions. After every show or presentation we would run to our little war room and review/edit our photos, then publish them on Tumblr to keep everyone updated with the latest content. Being at the Tumblr HQ was so fun, the entire staff was friendly and congratulated us with t-shirts, pin buttons, stickers and more stuff. David Karp (CEO of Tumblr) attended our welcome dinner and our final lunch. Even though he’s a hard working and busy man who is constantly traveling, he made sure to always be there. David and I had a conversation about iPhone camera apps and accessories, he’s cooler than I expected.
A: All of them were my favorite! Everyday I’d change my mind because the shows kept getting better and better. But one that I’ll never forget is the Marc Jacobs runway show. I sat front row, the music was blasting loud and nicely, and all the models in the show were ones I’d always come across on my Tumblr dashboard.
A: The Jeremy Scott runway show was before I sat next to Kelly Osbourne and Olsen twins at the J Mendell show. I saw Sky Ferreira, Joe Jonas, Terry Richardson, Nigel Barker, Miss J, and Jay Manuel at the Jeremy Scott runway show, they were all nice! Especially Miss J and Jay Manuel, I took an Instagram photo of them. They are extremely nice people and I respect what they do. Sitting next to Kelly Osbourne and the Olsen twins at the J Mendell show was amazing. I’ve read a few comments on how people don’t like the fact that the Olsen twins wore sunglasses to the show, but people don’t realize that having more than 30 cameras shooting non-stop flash isn’t always the most comfortable thing. Kelly Osbourne and I kept taking photos, she had her iPhone out the majority of the time and I had my camera out shooting the amazing J Mendell show.
Q: If you had to sum up NYFW in a few words what would they be?
A: A few words to describe New York Fashion Week: Backstage pop chips. Kanye West music. Beautiful models. Car service. Celebrities. Free drinks. Cameras everywhere. Top bloggers. Constant traveling. Jewelry. Fashion. Twitter. Instagram. Tumblr. Facebook. #NYFW.
Be sure to check out Bryant’s blog over at BryantEslava.com for more amazing photos from NYFW, and be sure to check out his other work as well!
Words by Denis McInerny, photos courtesy of Bryant Eslava.
What I wouldnt give to go to this..