Agenda NYC 2013

Last week I had the pleasure of attending Agenda, one of the most notable street wear trade shows in the states, to support the artists of HY.GEN.IC. Along with viewing HY.GEN.IC's two live art installations from start to finish I also had the opportunity to discover the latest collections of numerous amazing brands. 82 Mercer was filled with snapbacks in a variety of styles and colors, interesting graphic t-shirts, amazing printed pull overs, trousers, and an array of unique accessories. The overwhelming amount of cool apparel was paired with installations with both viewing and mental stimulation. It was definitely a good time for everyone there.

This trade show season HY.GEN.IC featured two live installations curated by their new Director of Artist Relations, Andrew Wheeler, with creative direction from Andy Song. The first, an amusing black and white mural orchestrated by artist, Nathaniel Dam. On the first day of the trade show Dam had began his installation by carefully placing and lining up tape and perfectly covering empty spaces with black paint. The second day threw the Agenda crowd for a loop as the perfect lines and rectangles on Dam's installation were soon accompanied by the nonchalant, graffiti-styled words: "very rare steak." The collaboration of the two unique styles created a very distinct looking mural. Many of the trade shows attendees enjoyed watching the installation evolve between the two days, which I think had a very interesting affect on the overall live installation.

HY.GEN.IC's second installation featured a very different piece of art work. Sweet faced photographer, Sarina Saletta, stood smiling with her polaroid camera and asked passer by-ers if they'd like their photograph taken. Right as she snapped photos she would ask strange or uncomfortable questions to her subjects which resulted in very interesting reactions and looking photos. The installation she coined "The Reaction Project" featured ten of these personal weird questions and ten subjects per question resulting in one hundred very different photographs. It was a favorite amongst Agenda attendees and many had wished they had taken up Saletta on a photograph when she initially asked.

The HY.GEN.IC team had a great time supporting both Dam and Saletta. Check out some of their behind the scenes photos on their newly launched instagram.

Of course Agenda's main attraction is the street wear. I honestly have never seen so much swag in one place. My favorites were the wooden accessories like Shwood's wooden sunglasses and another brand that sold wooden iphone cases. I've recently fallen in love with Two Guys Wooden Bow Ties so I've really been noticing and into this wooden accessories trend starting. I'm also not really someone who normally wears hats, let alone snap backs, but Flexfit being a main sponsor for Agenda, I saw hundreds of caps and many that I wanted in my possession. There were also a lot of cool graphics, accessories, and apparel. I will be posting more photos from Agenda on my tumblr so stay tuned.

Keep up with HY.GEN.IC. and their coverage of the Agenda Trade Show by liking them on facebook!

Fashion's Night Out 2012: Street Style

I'm going to be straight up and say it: Fashion's Night Out in New York has become an absolute circus. I went to the first Fashion's Night out in 2009. It was fun, yet tame, and it was all about showing your love for fashion and the industry. Unfortunately, like a lot of things in the United States, Fashion's Night Out has now become more of a "Who can throw the biggest and craziest event" or "Who can get the best celebrity to come out"? It's not even really about the fashion industry anymore and I know that most companies aren't even profiting from the event. That said, I did end up going. My good friend, Andrea, and I decided not to chase celebrities or free gifts but kind of just meander around SoHo. Although that part of the city was insane, we actually quite enjoyed ourselves. Our favorite stop was one you wouldn't expect- Lean Cuisine. Yes, the frozen food. How did they participate? Lean Cuisine had a food truck that was cooked and gave out mushroom ravioli. They also gave out water bottles, which was great for the very humid night, as well they gave really cute painted tote bags with skinny cow snacks inside. They also had a photo booth and make up touch up station. Needless to say they had a lot going on, but they did an excellent job of targeting a specific audience and I think it worked!

Another thing I enjoyed at Fashion's Night Out was the amount of well dressed people. Of course everyone knows that there's photographers, bloggers, and writers scouring the city for these people so most tend to step up their game, but the results were still great. Here are some of the street style photographs I snapped and I will have some more, as well as fashion week pictures, up on my tumblr this coming week. 

 More photographs from the night will soon be up on my tumblr!