ICYMI: NYFW Street Style Hits The Concrete Runway

NEW YORK, NY — Model-actress Lauren Hutton once said, "Fashion is what you're offered four times a year by designers, and style is what you choose." Conjuring this sentiment, Patch met with New York Fashion Week street-styling neophytes and veterans to discuss the inspiration behind their ensembles, exploring the stories of attendees and outliers from near and far.

"New York is like a woman," mused Atlanta-born lifestyle blogger Beverly Beal, whose outfit drew from notions of "athleisure," fitted with a fur mohawk-topped cap.

"She’s still urban," said Beal. "She’s still rough around the edges, but she’s still a lady. She’s still beautiful."

Fashion blogger Vera Wang, whose multi-media platform is dedicated to the new generation of aspiring Chinese immigrants, sported red Balenciaga boots, velvet sleeves culminating in patent leather heels.

Former "Austria's Next Top Model" contestant Tatjana Catic developed her NYFW look through use of edgy, rock 'n' roll elements, with soft, feminine touches.

Designers from all over the globe premiered their newest collections Thursday, Feb. 9, through Thursday, Feb. 16, the majority of shows alternating between West Village's Industria Studios and West SoHo's Skylight Clarkson Sq. These iconic venues, whose versatile and state-of-the-art interiors have graced the Big Apple for decades, were neighbored by crowds of trendsetters — some homegrown and some exotic — braving multifarious weather, from harsh winds to a blistering snowstorm.

Native New Yorkers can attest: The city is a beehive of attractions and activities. The more renowned events comprise Comic Con, the Times Square ball drop and the International Auto Show. But the long-standing diversity of America's most populated city culminates in the seven-day whirlwind of all things style that is New York Fashion Week and the street style stars that shone beyond the event doors. Presentations included flowing, fur coats; cultural influences juxtaposed by vintage prints; anachronistic apparel with urban adaptations and bold bouts of monochrome, making for a formidable rival to the biannual extravaganza.

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Video credit: Patch's Emma Jehle