Monday, August 30th, 2010

Lincoln Center’s campus is bustling with crews to prepare for one of the Upper West Side’s biggest events of the year, the first-ever Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the complex.  At left, Curbed snapped a photo last week of the tents going up at Damrosch Park (62nd between Columbus and Amsterdam), and progress has been continuing at a frenzied pace since.  62nd has often been closed to traffic, and remains restricted for parking through October 2nd while equipment trucks and other supporting machinery are set up on the block.

In the meantime, local businesses and organizations are gearing up for the event in various ways.  Area restaurants are hoping to draw in FW attendees, with signs on Broadway to display the slogan “Broadway is our Catwalk” and Josephina restaurant (Broadway between 63rd and 64th) offering complimentary glasses of champagne to attendees of the Fashion Week events.  Another kickoff to the week took place last Wednesday, when organizers of Fashion Week hosted an event at David Rubenstein Atrium (Broadway between 62nd and 63rd) meant to benefit neighborhood residents.  A panel discussion took place with designer Rachel Roy, fashion news director for Teen Vogue Jane Keltner de Valle, founder and CEO of The Ground Crew Audrey Smaltz,and VP of PR at BCBGMaxAzria Patrick McGregor.  The discussion, moderated by New York Post/AOL’s StyleList fashion writer Lisa Marsh, focused on fashion-industry career options and related topics and was directed mainly towards young people living in the Amsterdam Houses, a public housing project just west of Lincoln Center.  Click through for a photo of the panelists at the event (courtesy of Haute Living magazine), and keep checking My Upper West for Fashion Week updates.

Filed under: News, Upper West Side, Upper West Side Blog
Tags: Amsterdam Houses, Audrey Smaltz, Fashion, Fashion Week, Jane Keltner de Valle, Josephina, Lisa Marsh, MB Fashion Week, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, Patrick McGregor, Preparation, Rachel Roy