Editor's Note: The following is a live blog that was done during the J Spring Fashion Show 2015 on the Hudson. Click here for official press photos and information.
New York City has one of the most recognizable skylines in the world. Its record breaking number of towering buildings packed tightly together are like no other major city. While they may no longer be the tallest in the world, their architectural feats have shaped the design and construction of today’s skyscrapers. They are a daily background to the famous hustle and bustle of New York City life. The iconic yellow taxi cabs navigate the city, while world leaders in finance, technology, entertainment, and fashion commute to work.
Jessica Minh Anh, entrepreneur and model, has highlighted some of the world’s most famous buildings and structures with fashion. Teaming together with some of today’s most haute couture designers, she has used these renowned wonders as a catwalk. In the past, she has soared above the streets of Paris on the Eiffel Tower, promenaded over the London Tower Bridge, and cruised the Costa Atlantica in Dubai. In 2014, she walked the 63rd floor of the new One World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower, in New York City.
Thursday, she returned to the Big Apple with models and designers to walk the Hudson River, using the beautiful New York City skyline as a background. Floating the river on a Bateaux New York, a 100 meter glass cruise ship, the models walked the runway with famous landmarks such as the Freedom Tower, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, just to name a few, as a backdrop.
One World Trade Center
Rising through the flames like a phoenix, the One World Trade Center soars above all the rest. At a staggering 1,776 feet, a nod to the founding year of the United States of America, One World Trade Center is a symbol of strength, courage, and hope. Opened November 3rd, 2014, the One World Trade Center took six years to complete. Using over 40,000 metric tons of steel and 150,000 cubic meters of concrete, the construction site had a daily team of 1,300 workers, including welders, structural ironworkers, glaziers, and more. This number of craft professionals allowed for one floor of steel framework to be created a week, with the concrete workers keeping pace a few floors below.
Brooklyn Bridge
A gateway between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension and cable-stayed bridges in the USA. Designed by John Augustus Roebling, the bridge was completed on May 24, 1883. Built up on wooden caissons weighted down with granite, the bridge towers were formed using granite, limestone, and cement, and are supported by steel cables that weigh nearly 3,500 tons and contain over 14,000 miles of wire. At the time, the design and construction of the bridge was considered one of the greatest technological advances. Originally intended for railway, carriage, and pedestrian crossing, the bridge was converted for automobile and pedestrian crossing by 1950.
Fashion designer credit: Dress: Reiss, Handbag: Gianfranco Lotti
Statue of Liberty
Formally named “The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World,” the State of Liberty was gifted by the people of France to the people of the United States in 1886. Standing at 46.5 meters with a pedestal lifting her an additional 46.9 meters, the statue was a symbol of freedom and welcome to the millions of immigrants that entered the US between 1892 and 1954. The design was created by French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi and the framework design was done by Gustave Eiffel, who went on the design Paris’ Eiffel Tower. As craft professionals completed the statue in Paris, masons worked on the pedestal in New York City. The statue took eight years to complete and an additional two years to ship and assemble on Liberty Island. She is made of 250,000 pounds of iron, 80 tons of copper sheeting, and 300,000 copper rivets, while the pedestal she stands on is made of concrete and granite.
Fashion designer credit: Shilpa Reddy
Empire State Building
Appropriately named after New York state’s nickname “The Empire State,” the Empire State Building is one of the most recognizable skyscrapers in the world. Once the world’s tallest skyscraper, only to be beat by New York City’s North World Trade Center Tower in 1970, the Empire State Building stands at 1,454 feet (443 meters). Completed in 1931, the art-deco inspired building was designed by William F. Lamb of the Shreve, Lamb and Harmon architectural firm. When construction began in 1929, the Empire State Building’s neighbor, the Chrysler Building, was half-way through construction. The Chrysler Building was constructed in a speedy two years, but the Empire State Building took only an impressive 409 days to complete. The Empire State Building’s “steel framework rose at a rapid average rate of 4½ stories per week.” The rate of which the building was built is accredited to the “efficient on-site planning” and to the team of 3,400 craftsmen, including Mohawk Indian steelworkers, known for their skill as "skywalkers" at extreme heights, who used pre-fabricated materials. The building is comprised of 200,000 cubic feet of Indiana limestone and granite, 10 million bricks, 730 tons of aluminum and stainless steel, and 6,514 windows.
Fashion designer credit: Bateeq
Stay tuned to ConstructionCitizen for more pictures and behind-the-scenes interviews from Jessica Minh Anh’s fashion show on the Hudson. In the meantime, check out ConstructionCitizen's Twitter page for more pictures and video.
Official press photos and information for the J Spring Fashion Show 2015:
J Spring Fashion Show 2015 showcased a combination of haute couture, high-end ready-to-wear, luxury jewelry, and leather bag collections from 4 continents. Participating designers embraced tradition and culture, yet experimented with innovative techniques of modern designs.
The highly anticipated catwalk opened with an exquisite haute couture collection by Japanese legendary designer Yumi Katsura accompanied by an even more impressive jewelry collection by Colombian-German talent Sonia Heilbron. Each look enchanted viewers with a burst of colors and unique craftsmanship in Sonia’s designs, as well as the spectacular embellishments, layers, and texture in Yumi Katsura’s long tail dresses. Both designers succeeded in marrying heritage with a new dimension of luxury and glamour.
Yumi Katsura with Sonia Heilbron jewelry
Yumi Katsura with Sonia Heilbron jewelry
