Letter from the editor: reflecting on '13'

Backstage at Atsushi Nakashima/Image:C.Hope for Style WyldeThe new year is upon us, and so every overly introspective and nostalgic blogger or journo on the planet pens a 'what a year it was entry', but, that's not something a cool girl like me would ever dream of doing, right? 

Wrong. You see, although I usually find myself in the 'it's just an arbitrary day on the calendar why make a fuss' camp when it comes to New Years Resolutions and massive momentary introspection, this year was one that gave me serious pause. 

Here at Style Wylde we had some momentous highs in 2013. In March I was  the first blogger/photographer EVER to be invited backstage at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo. This was such an incredible honor. It was amazing to see the masterful artists at L'Oreal Japan do their thing, and it was amazing to chat with the younger models many of whom are getting their start in Tokyo with dreams of going on to London, Milan, and Paris. Chatting with them felt like getting a true insight into what it's like to be a teenager on the cusp of a major career. 

hanging with Kyary Pamyu Pamyu/Image:C.Hope for Style Wylde

Four months later in July, my mind was once again blown when we were given exclusive access to hang out with, and photograph, international pop star and fashion icon Kyary Pamyu Pamyu as she prepped for her first ever outdoor performance in San Francisco at the 2013 JPop Festival. At just 20 years old the star was incredibly composed, and seemed to take everything from her international superstardom to the unexpectedly cold weather in San Francisco in stride. It was stunning to see someone so young be totally unfazed by her own massive fame.

These two events really highlighted for me how enamoured I have become with Japanese fashion and pop culture and how much I wanted to continue to explore and discover more up and coming Japanese designers to share with readers here.

Closer to home, on the New York front, Style Wylde also had a big year. It was a strange Fall 2013  runway season, where a serious case of flu left me  on bedrest in my Manhattan hotel room, and left Style Wylde photographer and MVP Simon with the bulk of the shooting at the shows and presentations. On which he did an AMAZING job by the way,  check out his photography here . But after that we hit the ground running in September! Our biggest New York season so far, we covered more shows and had the privilege of doing more backstage coverage than ever before check out those photos and recaps here (runway) and here (backstage.)  And, as if that wasn't enough, to cap off the fantastic season in New we had  life-list moments shooting both supermodel Naomi Campbell (on the runway for DVF)  and Linda Evangelista (in the audience at Timo Weiland.) 

Finally in October, we headed back to Tokyo, with even more backstage coverage. (This time WWD was there too, so we know we started a major trend on that front!) We also had the pleasure of being invited to some of Tokyo's most sought after collections including Mint Designs, Nozomi Ishiguro, Christian Dada (where KISS took the stage!)  and the electrifying Japanese debut of Italian super-brand Missoni (not to mention all of our favorite emerging brands of all of which can be seen here.)

Supermodel Linda Evangelista poses after Timo Weiland Spring 2014/Image:c.Hope for Style WyldeLooking back at all of this now, and remembering what I had planned on January 1, 2013 my mind is just blown. We never could have imagined or hoped for everything that came to pass, and I can't begin to dream of all the good things to come in  2014.

Thanks for being there with us every step of the way Wyldies, and for your support via twitter, instagram and facebook when things got a little crazy (especially during my flu-pocalypse in February-- all the 'get well' tweets, and support for Simon meant everything to me!)

So here's to all of you! May 2014 be your best year yet, and may we all have another fabulous fashion adventure together!

xx,

Cynthia