Feb 10 7:00 PM

How does the fashion industry play into our idea of beauty?

A woman stands near a New York Fashion Week poster at Lincoln Center on Feb. 9, 2014.
Photo by Sarah Halliday

More than 100,000 people will attend New York Fashion Week’s 69 Fall 2014 runway shows this year. Each season, models, designers, celebrities, critics, and spectators travel from across the globe to see what new trends are in store.

We wanted to investigate the perception of “beauty” and where that perception belongs in the fashion industry. We went to New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center armed with the question: “What is your ideal conception of beauty, and how is the fashion industry portraying that ideal?”

Katherine Steelman

Katherine Steelman attends New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center on Feb. 9, 2014.
Photo by Sarah Halliday
I think my ideal version of beauty is being natural, looking natural. Using what you have to have your own kind of beauty.

Katherine Steelman

from Michigan, lives in New York City

Alisha Hope

Alisha Hope attends New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center on Feb. 9, 2014.
Photo by Sarah Halliday
Confidence [is beauty]. People are daring. I feel like [fashion is] a great way to express yourself. ... I feel like there can be more diversity. I have seen improvement lately, so hopefully that can continue.

Alisha Hope

from Boston


Alisa Sharoikina and Marko Agbaba

Alisa Sharoikina and Marko Agbaba attend New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center on Feb. 9, 2014.
Photo by Sarah Halliday
What would women do without fashion?

Alisa Sharoikina

from Brussels

Maybe [the shows] can do a better job in the future and portray common, everyday girls.

Marko Agbaba

Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith attends New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center on Feb. 9, 2014.
Photo by Sarah Halliday
Beauty is what inspires you, what gives you a feeling of awe. I think beauty and amazement go hand in hand.

Joseph Smith

from Philadelphia

Diana Muller

Diana Muller attends New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center on Feb. 9, 2014.
Photo by Sarah Halliday
I personally would embrace if we would go away from the size zero. It takes away a little bit of the beauty of the woman itself.

Diana Muller

from Tunisia

Marc Janks

Marc Janks attends New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center on Feb. 9, 2014.
Photo by Sarah Halliday
People are here for attention rather than a true art or a true sense of beauty, in my sense of the word.

Marc Janks

from Los Angeles, lives in New York City

Madge Ortiz

Madge Ortiz attends New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center on Feb. 9, 2014.
Photo by Sarah Halliday
Be as colorful as possible, be outgoing, be yourself.

Madge Ortiz

from Washington, D.C.

Eavan Dempsey

Eavan Dempsey attends New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center on Feb. 9, 2014.
Photo by Sarah Halliday
[Beauty is] confidence.

Eavan Dempsey

from Columbus, Ohio

Jana Harris

Jana Harris attends New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center on Feb. 9, 2014.
Photo by Sarah Halliday
My ideal of beauty is confidence, but also personality. And I think a lot of that comes from the inside, not the outside.

Jana Harris

from Boston

Emma Katinia Brumenschenkel

Emma Katinia Brumenschenkel attends New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center on Feb. 9, 2014.
Photo by Sarah Halliday
My ideal version of beauty is something that stands out and is different.

Emma Katinia Brumenschenkel

from New Hampshire, lives in New York City

Fashion Institute of Technology students attend New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center on Feb. 9, 2014.
Photo by Sarah Halliday

Edited by Leslie Hart

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Topics
Fashion

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