Feather-clad NYFW fashionistas are slumming it on the subway — rather than suffering through rude drivers
By Adriana Diaz
The subway is the new runway.
As fashionistas from around the world flock to Manhattan for New York Fashion Week, many are forced to slum it on the subway to get from show to show.
But they’re surprisingly not fearful of mixing grit in with their glam.
“It’s much faster and really convenient,” 24-year-old Kristina Dem told The Post. “There’s so much traffic in New York, and to commute somewhere by Uber, it’s going to take forever.”
German tourists Anastasia, 21, and Maurice, 26, didn't fear the tiniest speck of subway grime as they ventured underground en route to New York Fashion Week events.
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German tourists Anastasia Mikusova, 21, and Maurice Demir, 26, didn’t fear the tiniest speck of subway grime as they ventured underground en route to New York Fashion Week events.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
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You could call it “Project Subway.”
Forget the days of town cars and an abundance of taxi drivers. Ubers are expensive. Cabs are few and far between. Gridlock is terrible. Events are far-flung across the city.
And for many fashionistas, NYFW involves multiple stops home for costume changes, so convenience and cost matter.
That’s why Chicago-based content creator besties Kristina Dem and Ioannis Adamopoulos were sure to book a hotel room just a short strut from an F train stop.
“It’s the fastest way,” Adamopoulos, 22, said, noting that the besties swapped their stitches every few hours while running between shows and pop-up events.
“Especially with venues being all over New York, we need to make sure that we have time for a change, or to make sure that we have time to make it from one point to another,” Adamopoulos added.
Two stylishly dressed people crossing a street.
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Kristina Dem and Ioannis Adamopoulos show off one of their subway streetwear ensembles.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
Two stylishly dressed people crossing a street in New York City.
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Adamopoulos and Dem struck a far different fashion tone after a quick change before heading back below ground.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
Of course, for most New Yorkers, heading underground in couture is nothing new.
In fact, many feel the pull of the subway car catwalk.
“I love taking the subway and showing off my pieces,” 24-year-old PR consultant Nick Portello told The Post, of traversing the trains in his own original designs. “It’s kinda like Comic-Con for me.”
He has been attending fashion week for several years and takes the subterranean route partly out of necessity.
“I’m buying on a budget, so I can’t Uber everywhere,” Portello said.
New Yorker Nick Portello enjoys making a bold statement when NYFW arrives.
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New Yorker Nick Portello enjoys making a bold statement when NYFW arrives.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
Stylishly dressed man on a subway platform.
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Portello’s style dazzled on the downtown platform, wearing a matching outfit he made all from a thrifted bed sheet.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
But his subway style has become bolder every season.
“Every year, I get a bit more out there,” he declared. While he tries to protect his looks, Portello knows some omnipresent NYC dirt and grime is inevitable.
“Honestly, it’s worth it,” he said.
Stylish woman on a subway car.
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Even out-of-towners like Virginia resident Ja’celyn Barnett (above) use the subway as a moving runway.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
Stylishly dressed woman in a subway station.
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The 24-year-old has even learned to carry her heeled boots and travel in sandals like a local.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
Besides, city residents on the subway know — if they see something, they’ll say something.
“New Yorkers are very open and they like to communicate their feelings, so they always like to tell you what’s on their mind,” German designer Anastasia Mikusova, 21, told The Post at the Delancey and Essex streets MTA stop while decked out in a white, feather-forward frock with leggings tailored to channel Western chaps.
“People give us compliments. They talk to us. So it’s a nice atmosphere,” said her 26-year-old companion, Maurice Demir, who completed his ensemble with a midnight-black cowboy hat emblazoned with the New York Yankees’ logo — one of the many hats he creates and sells.
And while they might look a bit kooky, their fellow subway riders — of all ages — love it.
Couple in white feather outfits at a subway station.
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Maurice Demir tips his custom Yankees hat as Anastasia Mikusova beams in all-white before heading above ground.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
As the design duo stood in the station on Friday afternoon, elementary schoolers gawked at them, and another passerby, a blushing teenage boy, looked on until he worked up the courage to ask the two for a photo.
“It’s just so New York,” an agreeable Mikusova gushed.
And while subway crime may seem to steal headlines on a daily basis, local fashionistas
Lo Hendrix, 32, admitted that the subway “can be a little scary,” but only mentioned the fear of dirtying her all white outfit.
Overall, she claimed taking the trains are “just easier and more fun” than jumping into a car alone.
Stylish young man in black outfit leaning on a subway railing.
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Japanese visitor Shun Homma, 19, rides the subway in fashionable, all-black attire while en route to a show along the 6 line.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
Stylish young person on subway stairs.
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His friend You Yamazaki, 19, poses at the Broadway-Lafayette subway stop before strutting around Soho.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
Woman in white dress and blazer on city street.
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Content creator and Hoboken resident Lo Hendrix braved the subway in all white. She ventured from a show in Times Square to pop-ups in Soho.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
Woman's hands adjusting a white blazer, wearing gold rings and a watch.
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Hendrix’s ensemble was made of vintage, thrifted items from estate sales.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
“It kind of gets you in, like, the New York Fashion Week mood to actually, like, do the full New York thing,” Hoboken resident Hendrix told The Post.
“It just romanticizes it a little bit more to just take the subway.”
New York native Kristin Bateman takes a mix of Ubers and subway trains during Fashion Week, admitting that some of her outfits are a bit impractical for a train ride or a walk to and from a station.
She’s used to getting some looks in her wild outfits — but she doesn’t mind.
“There’s always going to be people who are reacting to you,” she said. “But I feel like it’s the best city in the world to dress up on public transportation.”
New Yorker Kristin TKTKTKTK dazzles as she heads to an invite-only Melke pop-up in Soho.
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New Yorker Kristin Bateman, who declined to give her age, dazzles as she heads to an invite-only Melke pop-up in Soho.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
Stylish subway rider's outfit during fashion week.
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Bateman doesn’t change her style for fashion week and braves in the subway in her bold looks daily.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
David Ross Lawn, 33, agrees.
“I think my whimsical style is great here on the subway,” the Asbury Park resident said.
“No one says anything. Everyone is just like doing their own thing. Whereas back where I’m from in Scotland, if I wore something like this today, people would throw things at me, like literally throw things. So it’s more fun here.”
Smiling man in patterned jacket carrying a frog-shaped bag.
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David Ross Lawn, 33, dressed in Melke, shows off his amph-abulous toad tote.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
He knows some people don’t love his looks — but he’d take chuckles over physical abuse.
“Sometimes people will take pictures of me where they don’t like what I’m wearing, but honestly, all press is good press,” the content creator said.
Jared Muros, 22, also usually takes the subway in his eye-catching fits when visiting the city from Los Angeles.
Stylishly dressed young man leaning against a subway station kiosk.
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LA-based Jared Muros, 22, loves the sociable aspects of the New York subway.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
“I love being able to go outside, show my outfits, and talk to people,” the West Coaster said. “I get to meet new people and just have fun with it.
“I feel like in LA, I can’t really do that.”
But others don’t want to be social on the subway. Rather, they appreciate the fact that no one seems phased by anything.
New Yorkers, it seems, have seen it all.
Demi Diamandis, 33, didn’t think twice about walking onto the subway platform in her vintage Chanel ballet flats and classic quilted purse. The night before, she’d even worn a pink tulle gown that made her look like a loofah and high heels on the train — while seven months pregnant.
Two women in stylish outfits during New York Fashion Week.
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Demi Diamandis, 33, rocks Chanel ballet flats and a quilted bag, while Irene Coritsidis, 28, outside of the Tezza photobooth pop-up in Soho.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
“Nobody really cares if anything,” Diamandis said. “That’s what’s great about New York. You can do anything. I just literally changed on the street right over here and nobody was bothered.
“So that’s like the nice thing — you can just do whatever, and everyone’s just focused on themselves.”
Of course, there still are some boujee beauties who refuse to submit their designer- and custom-made threads to the underground tunnels.
Jade Sykes, 28, wouldn’t dream of stepping into the subway in her bespoke, pink frilly heels.
Three stylish women posing on a city sidewalk.
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Jade Sykes, 28, Imani Herron, 34, and Nia Herron, 31, would never get onto the subway in their fabulous fits.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
Woman in a white dress and pink accessories standing on a city sidewalk.
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Sykes wore handmade pink frilly heels covered in bows and lace. She wouldn’t risk them getting scuffed on the subway.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
Woman in stylish outfit on city sidewalk.
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Nia Herron would rather pay extra than face the affordable but dirty trains.
Stephen Yang for the New York Post
“F–k no,” she boldly told The Post when asked if she’d tripped with the MTA to the Advisory show in Chelsea on Friday.
“We don’t take the subway,” explained her friend Nia Herron, 31, who was decked out in the brand’s threads. “We believe in paying for better. And it might cost you more, but it’ll be worth it.”
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