Fashion Week Is Like a Box of Chocolates, or Wine

Throughout Fashion Week, Interview hosts guest blogs from some of our favorite designers. Wren designer and founder Melissa Coker is today’s guest blogger. On the eve of Wren’s presentation this afternoon, Melissa blogs in a cashemere sweatsuit.

I arrived in New York this morning on the red eye from LA. On the one hand, I gloriously slept the whole flight (business class, marry me). On the other, it was four-and-a-half hours door to door. Sigh.

Direct from the airport I met the lovely Susan Joy, my stylist for this season, at her office. She graciously did not comment on my tousled appearance nor my choice of plane attire.  I enjoy flying in comfort people, and sometimes that means cashmere sweatsuits and other accoutrements the most avid Juicy fan would adore.

Models began arriving almost straight away (Keith Gonzales is a brilliant and masterful casting director-just saying…).  I may have blacked out as I’m not quite sure what happened next, but all of the sudden it was one o’clock and Sara Glick and Amy Farid arrived for the hair and makeup test.  I graciously volunteered to lend my modeling skills for the hair test after a snafu with our booked girl. That’s just how I am: Generous.

Afternoon was highlighted by accessories. Jill Golden came by with pieces from her new-ish line, flutter. She made us some amazing necklaces from some random vintage pearls Susan had lying around. A visit to Lisa at Lulu Frost rounded out our accessories search.  Her jewelry was so beyond beautiful it sort of hurt my head. I secretly fell in love with her on the spot. I just outed myself. Oh well, Godspeed.

Still from Alia Raza’s “Discreet Nightmare.”

Styling inspiration alternated between crazy nana and Madeline, which typifies my personal look-child-slash-senior. I dragged a bag full of vintage odds and ends from a LA costume house to complete the looks. A favorite find was a “Mary Poppins is a junkie” button.  I’d like to know the origin of that one. Its author, certainly, was a genius.

Model fittings went well into the evening.  It started to feel like finals week.  Coke (it’s a cola… don’t get any ideas) and chocolate for dinner! At one point, Susan confiscated the chocolate from me.  I guess she didn’t buy into my college life scenario.

End of the night, well-deserved wine time. Alia Raza, my longtime friend and director of the video “Discreet Nightmare,” which will debut the collection, said she had a box of it so I hightailed it over to hers.

Check back tonight to view Alia Raza’s “Discreet Nightmare” in full.