New York Fashion Week kicks off today, with tall models strutting down runways, spring and summer 2016 collections from designers and – for those attending – a whirlwind of parties and events.
To help A-listers and everyone else stay organized, there are lots of mobile apps that offer everything from show schedules to help planning what to wear, to see and where to be seen. Now the organizers of New York Fashion Week, entertainment and sports management company WME-IMG, have launched an official app, and an Orange County native is behind it.
“With an event like Fashion Week, with so much notoriety around it … people get lost with all that mumbo-jumbo that’s out there,” said David Austin Grau, 31. This free app will help “fans, attendees and designers stay involved and really engage with Fashion Week.”
Grau, who lives in Huntington Beach, is the creative director at Hopscotch, the El Segundo company that created the NYFW app. He grew up in Irvine and graduated from Chapman University. His background is a mix of art – he participated in the Pageant of the Masters when he was younger – and being a self-proclaimed “adrenaline junkie.”
After college, he freelanced, doing website design and video work for projects for Adidas, Nike, YouTube and Ford. Remember that Ford Fiesta media campaign a few years back, where active-looking twentysomethings took the cars on adventurous road trips? Grau was a participant, driving with friends in a Fiesta to a sky-diving excursion.
“I always had this creative bug,” Grau said.
Those at the event in New York City can use the app to track shows and schedules to navigate Fashion Week. But it’s not just for people on the ground. Users of the app can watch live video of models parading down the catwalk, check out designers’ profiles and stay up on New York Fashion Week news.
Yes, that means even if you can’t catch a flight to New York, you can watch live feeds of some of the catwalk shows – on your phone, from the comfort of your couch.
According to The New York Times, Fashion Week – once the enclave of those in the industry and fashion-forward celebrities – has become more accessible, and the app is part of that change. On the business side, companies working with New York Fashion Week can be integrated into the app, with offers targeted at Fashion Week attendees or ads meant for Fashion Week fans.
Grau’s upcoming projects will take his creations to other parts of the world. He’s working on events-related apps for concerts in Manila, Philippines, and the Taste of London. But this week, he’ll be in New York for his first Fashion Week, to “see the chaos first-hand.”