Photos: NYFW 2019 Front Row Celebs At Cushnie & Chiara Boni Shows

New York Fashion Week came and went this season, as everybody ran up and down Manhattan to get to the next show. The schedule was tight, and so were the rooms in most of the runway venues. All the shows were packed!

Last Friday, on February 8, 2019, I covered two big runways. The first being Cushnie, the feminine fashion brand founded by Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs and often worn by stars such as Blake Lively and Michelle Obama to name a few. The second show was Chiara Boni La Petite Robe, created by Italian fashion designer Chiara Boni and worn by the likes of Oprah Winfrey. Both brands are known to attract many celebrities to their shows, so I was very excited to go.

The front rows were packed with stars from the likes of Kate Bock, Debby Ryan, Angela Sarafyan, Rainey Qualley, Caroline Vreeland and Devon Windsor. See all the best moments from NYFW 2019 right through Daniela's Lens below:

Cushnie Fall 2019 NYFW Show

2:37 p.m.
I arrive at Spring Studios in Tribeca and get my badge at the backstage check-in area. One of the service elevators brings me up to the fifth floor. I'm with ten or so more photographers, staff, models and PR people.

2:55 p.m.
Security tells me I have the wrong badge.

"I can't let you in," he says.

"Are you sure? What's wrong with my badge?" I say.

"You need a red dot on your badge."

Great. It will take me at least another 15 minutes to go back downstairs, find someone from PR, hope that they have a red dot left and come back upstairs. And the show will be over.
"Where do I get in with this badge?" I ask the security guy with a sudden glimpse of hope.
"Backstage."

Oh, well, I'll just walk through backstage into the runway showroom then. It's one of these things that make fashion week so nerve-wracking. You never know if you have the right credentials and what kind of access until you are literally standing in front of the celebs. And even then, everything can still go wrong.

2:58 p.m.
So far, I'm in. Let's do this!
Kate Bock is here.

3:01 p.m.
Fashion entrepreneur Lauren Santo Domingo. She founded Moda Operandi!

3:04 p.m.
Actress Andi Matichak

3:08 p.m.
In front of me is a big crowd of photographers shooting, shooting, shooting. It's dark in here, and the photographers are all wearing black. They are cramped together shoulder to shoulder clustered into a big sweating, shouting ball. I look down and investigate their shoes. This sounds weird, but yes, I can tell some of them apart by looking at their shoes. Because many photographers have their habits. And I know for sure some of them must have 15 pairs of the same pair of shoes in their closets.

Then I look at the flashes. The veteran photographers play around with off camera flash to add some more creative light. One of the big agencies in the city has all their photographers use a particular type of flash diffuser. And everyone who does not use a flash at all in here is a non-professional.

3:10 p.m.
Why is everybody going crazy? Ahh, it's because of Westworld actress Angela Sarafyan.

3:11 p.m.
And Chloe Lukasiak.

3:12 p.m.
Then PR brings in Debby Ryan. She reminds me of someone, but I can't really put my finger on it.
Uh oh, I know. The young Vanessa Paradis without the tooth gap?

3:15 p.m.
Group shot!

3:21 p.m.
Then the show starts.

I try to get a spot on the opposite side of where the celebrities are sitting. During the show, it's my job to photograph the reactions of the celebs. I already scouted the perfect spot, but the house photographers walk in and take over. 'House' overrules. I try to hide behind them, but I'm too tall and too visible to blend in. PR puts me in the standing room.

A few minutes in, one of the top photographers in the city walks up to me.

"Do you want to take my spot?" he whispers. "I'm done. Take my spot," he says.
Thank you so much!

3:22 p.m.
Ok, Debbie Ryan looks exactly like Vanessa Paradis here, don't you think so?!

3:38 p.m.
After the show, I run to the elevator. "Where are you going?" someone asks me. "I have no idea." and I hectically go through the badges wrapped around my neck. Getting confused when so many shows are going on is easy.

Chiara Boni La Petite Robe 2019 NYFW Show

4:01 p.m.
I find my way to Chiara Boni La Petite Robe. It's still early, and I sit down on the floor and relax for a moment. Just breathe, I read on Goop this morning. It doesn't help, I'm a nervous wreck.

Then I start editing my photos. It takes about 90 minutes to edit, name and upload a show to the agencies where my photos get distributed to magazines all around the world.

5:04 p.m.
Awwww! Hello, there! You are so cute.

5:07 p.m.
And you are very beautiful!

5:08 p.m.
Italian model Paola Turani is wearing Chiara Boni tonight.

5:10 p.m.

5:11 p.m.
Sofia Resing, Caroline Vreeland and Devon Windsor are sitting front row.

5:12 p.m.
Caroline is wearing a hat from this seasons collection.

5:23 p.m.
See!

5:24 p.m.
One last shot of Devon Windsor who is having fun watching the show.

5:31 p.m.
Final walk! Great show! Beautiful collection.

Daniela Kirsch is an entertainment photographer and founder of NameFace— an event photo agency based in New York City. Through her creative expertise and unique visual style, Kirsch not only knows more than a thing or two about photographing A-list events, but is forever changing the way we interact with the entertainment industry. In June 2018, Kirsch teamed up with Patch to launch the photo series Daniela's Lens, offering weekly features from local events to red carpet magic.

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