September 20, 2021
Some Olds may still remember the go-go years when New York was unironically dubbed “Fun City” during the reign of our Kennedy-esque Mayor, John Lindsay. But that was several lifetimes ago, before President Ford told us to drop dead, before AIDS, before crack, before Giuliani Time, before 9/11, and most recently, before Covid-19. “Fun” just hasn’t been the first word associated with our town for quite awhile now.
But with a little luck, that may be changing. In just the past year we’ve gone from being the epicenter of Covid-19 death and disease to having one of the highest vaccination rates and the lowest case numbers in the country. We’ve seen ambitious slash hopeful signs that while we’re not out of the woods yet, we’re at least moving in the right direction. Broadway theaters are reopening, schools have already reopened, the Met Gala and Fashion Week have returned. And while fashion is a totally serious and vital component of our City’s economic life, it can also be just plain fun. Models on catwalks and bouquet toting designers taking curtain calls are part of it, but so are dressed up folks exchanging hugs and sipping Champaign, and impromptu fashion shows glamorizing the sidewalks outside the official presentations.
The Gazette enjoyed a taste of Fashion Week downtown at the Mezzanine and in midtown at the Prince George. We’re grateful for the kind invitations from William Michael Reid of NYC Live!, Janelle Langford, Untourage, and Nylon Agency, and Albania Rosario of FDLA to the fashion shows that are helping to make New York a Fun City again.
