7 Parties, 1 Editor: NYLON Takes On Day Zero Of New York Fashion Week

Happy Fashion Month! New York is fully in the swing of things, and the official start of the five-day affair is Sep. 10. In my inner circles, though, we know Day One is not the kickoff. Brands capitalize on everyone being in town and start the events before the first runway even walks, and so I call the day before Day Zero. There were allegedly 60+ events on Sep. 9, and we made it our mission to party hop and give you an inside look at the events and what it takes to make it to all of them — wel, at least seven of them. (Hint: food on the go and lots of trying to not get carsick in Ubers.)

So, what was on the agenda? The CFDA started the night off on a classy note, then I wound my way around downtown for the Coach show, a sneaker cocktail, an UGG cocktail, a jewelry party, and a few sneaky surprises in between. The theme of the night was sweat (for me) and metallics (for Coach and Bvlgari), and the best sighting of the night was surely Dua Lipa and her siblings holding it down high above the West Side Highway and well after midnight. See who I saw where, and what the vibe was, below.

6:00 p.m.: After a quick outfit change (sweat is the true enemy of any busybody during the summer), I started my night in Rockefeller Center with the CFDA, which is the official start to the season with the official organization behind the runway madness. If back-to-school vibes are what the September calendar is all about, then the kickoff cocktail at Le Rock was a class reunion before the mania sets in. Every designer on the schedule — from Michael Kors to CFDA Chairman Thom Browne plus Zaldy, Miss Claire Sullivan, Rachel Scott of Diotima and Proenza Schouler, Presley Oldham, and Patricio Campillo — packed into the restaurant; there was a Latinx cohort of Becky G, Sebastian Yatra, Danna, and Tefi holding down a corner while personal heroes of mine like Bad Gyal, Honey Dijon, and Inez and Vinoodh circled the room with a fresh-eyed energy. I imbibed in some Chenin Blanc and passed bits before the rest of the night called.

6:26 p.m.: Nothing good lasts forever, and my schedule beckoned me downtown, where Celine was throwing a cocktail at its Wooster Street store in honor of its collaboration with Reebok on the Freestyle Lo, a low-rise sneaker that comes in tempting shades of tomato, butter, crisp white, black, and chocolate. It was Celine’s first event in the city in a minute, with everyone from Marc Jacobs to Dan Levy, Taylor Ortega, and the requisite Celine fans turning up to the redecorated store. There was a 100-shoe-strong gradient display that looked as tempting as, well, the hot dogs being served outside with “Celine” spelled in mustard on them. Delicious and chic? I was sold.

7:15 p.m.: After a fashion-girl dinner (one half of a hot dog), my friends and I piled into an Uber and were eastward-bound for the Coach 85th anniversary show at Pier 36. Stay tuned on full report from the night, but know that we were fed another dinner in the form of a massive bowl of onion dip, a tower of shrimp cocktail, and cocktail breadsticks that were universally agreed on as the best bite of the night.

8:55 p.m.: You thought I was slowing down? Silly you. After getting my dancing fix at Coach, I popped into eBay’s Endless Runway archive show and live auction styled by Carlos Nazario and hosted by Jenna Lyons. The crowd was as fashion-y as one could expect, with everyone from Naomi Watts and daughter Kai Schreiber to Ella Emhoff piling into the Soho building for a glimpse at archival Michael Kors Collection dresses and a rootfop DJ set from Heron Preston, which provided the breeze my sweaty party-girl self needed. It was good-natured fun in the name of vintage fashion that also provided a nice launching pad back into the city for my next stop...

9:23 p.m.: ... which was the UGG and Willy Chavarria collaboration celebration at Ray’s. You’ve never seen Ray’s have so many bikers; the Aztec Rebels were 15 hot rods strong on the Lower East Side, gamely revving their engines for fans (me) and the likes of Becky G, Susanne Bartsch, and Bad Bunny’s brother Bernie Martinez, who is a fashion fixture in his own right. The beers were flowing, there were adorable black bears piled on booths and the pool table, and DJ Marco Neves was on the decks to provide the best music I heard all night. How did I know? Not only was Becky G on top of a booth getting her life, my friends and I lost track of time, a feat when there are seven things on my agenda. Speaking of... while the partygoers piled outside for a smoke and a catchup, I was off to my next and final stop.

10:17 p.m.: No fashion week is complete without a stop at BOOM at The Standard, and the occasion on Day Zero was Bvlgari’s Serpenti Infinito public installation just a stone’s throw away on the High Line, where Dua Lipa, Anne Hathaway, and Lisa were all in attendance for the unveiling earlier in the evening. When I rolled into the afterparty, it was a more subdued affair, with Andra Day on stage for an intimate piano performance. But the energy came back — grabbing a Crown Royal Apple for a sweet nightcap helped — and right after Day was done, Dua’s brother Gjin took over the decks for an Ibiza-coded DJ set (he is a Lipa sibling, after all). The reality of another long day hit and I decided it was time to call it a night, but not before catching Dua twirling in support of her brother. Consider this superfan and very jaded fashion editor enchanted.