New York Fashion Week was a 4 day long intense whirlwind. Less than a year post launch and Fancy Troubles was invited to be featured in the show “The Ones To Watch” hosted by Flying Solo at Pier 59 Studios.

I had the amazing opportunity to see how fashion week unfolds from behind the scenes and the amount of work and organization that goes into it. Being surrounded by the pure talent and seeing the vision of creatives from all over the world was fantastic and felt like nothing short of an honor to be a part of such company.

I will admit, I had no idea what to expect. I couldn't help but let my imagination run wild about everything that could go wrong and even everything that could go exceptionally right.  It turns out that the glitz and glamour is just one, rose colored side of the production. It might look appealing splashed all over Instagram, but don’t be fooled. There’s a lot of sweat and tears that aren’t evinced as openly.  

I found myself searching for authentic connections amidst the chaos and the truth is, it was lacking. It could be the high speed nature of the event that prevents those involved from being able to dig a little deeper, but it’s something that I craved.

I felt silly for thinking that on a personal level, the experience wasn't emotionally fulfilling. Maybe that's not what fashion week is about. Maybe that’s not what work in general is all about. This first year of running Fancy Troubles has been filled with lots of firsts and an abundance of self-reflection. There certainly must be a balance between professional fulfillment and not always letting it affect my more personal feelings in such a pernicious way.

The bottom line is that fashion week was an incredible adventure. I learned a lot about fashion and business but also a lot about myself. I can’t help but think how the experience relates so well to the name Fancy Troubles. I’ve learned that with all the good, the bad, the ups and downs, what matters is that I made it through and was inspired. And I certainly have one hell of a story to tell.

One year in and I’m still discovering my own Fancy Troubles.

Following its own successful pop-up in Manhattan, Fancy Troubles was lucky to be featured in another group pop-up of exclusively female founders. Scarves, jewelry, dresses, and no competition; there was only support and love between these bold ladies. 

That weekend, August brought New York some hot summer weather for sure. Thankfully, Fancy Troubles had the ladies covered. Seen here is Caitlin from StyleNMotion styled with the Circa ’94 sunglasses. 

The founders at this pop-up were from a diverse pool of products and talents. Side by side, shirts and earrings worked together to give customers a customizable and sophisticated experience. Doesn’t everyone love a good boutique experience?! 

Here we see some more of the display. In New York you need millions to get serious space, so fashion startups have to be creative and collaborative. Luckily the pop-up shop trend gives a storefront opportunity to smaller brands or brands just starting out. It also creates serious buzz and hype. Some accessories seen here are bags from June and Joy, sunglasses from Fancy Troubles and shirts from Rawly Bold.

It was so inspiring for Gabby, the founder of Fancy Troubles, to share space with other women who have such a keen eye for detail. Being able to interact with customers personally, while also being surrounded by other beautiful products from other brands, created a unique and memorable shopping experience. Accessories on this shelf are from Fancy Troubles, Etymology, Imperfect Addiction and Eila Cherie. 

And if the women founders there themselves weren’t enough, the neckties from Andie and Erin each brought the essence of a powerful woman from history to the store. It’s not every day that Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Frida Kahlo, and Mother Theresa all energize the same place!   

Overall it was a blast, and Fancy Troubles wishes all the love and success to each amazing women founded fashion companies we had the pleasure of working alongside!

Rachelle Cunningham is an incredibly talented Irish artist based out of Paris. As she’s mentioned on her Instagram repeatedly during AMAs, Rachelle grew up all over, from the UK, Norway, New York and Paris. She’s fully bilingual in French and English as a result. Language access is only a part of what has inspired her eclectic and innovative style. We at Fancy Troubles loved her work so much we commissioned her to make a post card to hand out at the Fancy Troubles pop up in New York we launched this summer. 

Rachelle was not only kind enough to produce our beautiful postcard, but we got a chance to get to know her over the process and we’ve only become more enamored. 

A true dreamer, Rachelle brings dreamlike visions to life. “I always play music, music allows me to fully emerge into my story and thoughts and creating becomes a full emerged experience.” Salvador Dalí and Tim Burton inspire some of her favorite dreamscapes, and her newest series of works highlights her vivid love for baroque design. 

“My illustrations allow me to enter a whole new realm, my own personal fantasy, of time periods… it’s where I let my imagination run free.” Rachelle has been creative since she was young, but it was “at 15 however, that’s when I knew I wanted to go into the art industry. It absolutely captivated me, I fell in love with it, it found me when I needed it the most and it hasn’t let me down since.” 

Still, this is the age of social media and content saturation and in some ways it has never been harder to make your way as an artist, designer, or creative of any type. “Really and truly be yourself. It’s easy to be influenced by others and compare, but know that with hard work, patience and the right mindset anything is possible.” With this advice Rachelle has been able to build an admirable following, sell countless originals and prints, and have fans pouring in replies, messages, and requests. She’s so popular she even does two versions of each message for English and French speakers, so as to enable as many people as possible to feel fully included in her journey.

Our collaboration with such an impressive person has been an inspiration to everyone on our team. Rachelle herself had some kind things to say about Fancy Troubles, and when asked with design spoke to her most, she answered with the Circa ’94 in gold. Other designers she loves are Alexander McQueen and Sandy Powell, and her favorite clothing line is Rosemilk. A woman of fine and eclectic tastes, don’t be surprised if you catch her in her dream destination, Florence, finding her own fancy troubles.

It’s hard to describe this feeling I’ve been having. Something between a relative boredom and a deep sense of relief. As some of you may know, recently my amazing team and I ran a Fancy Troubles pop up shop in the Nolita neighborhood of Manhattan. It’s true what they say, New York never sleeps, and for the weeks I was there neither did I. After leaving NYC I think I slept for basically three days straight, and when I woke up on the fourth I missed the fast paced energy wrapped around every corner of Manhattan. 

I decided a good way to handle this feeling, this longing I have to meet more amazing customers and share with them my passion, would be to write about the entire experience, and share with you the good, the bad, and the not so pretty.

While it was a privilege to get to do all this, it was also intimidating at times. The pressure to show not just my customers, but my friends and family (who are so supportive and the best) that I really could make fashion design a career was intense. While I’m lucky I have such a supportive team, professional and personal alike, it’s easy for your own doubts to feel like they’re coming from someone else.

The first hurdle was finding a place to host the shop in. Luckily I found the spot on 251 Elizabeth and that worked out, but I was so concerned with how to get people in the store that I couldn’t see how easy finding the place had been. I laugh at that now. But I was so focused on what to do with the space once I had it. 

For the two weeks before the store opened, I called almost all the florists in New York to ask about their exterior floral designs. I ended up going to a craft shop, buying fake flowers and making the whole display myself. It really struck me that a nice, natural display would help the shop stand out and bring customers in. Natural, elegant, comfortable in your own skin: a flower is all of those things, and like Fancy Troubles, they grab people’s attention.

Once the external deco was dealt with, the inside became all that filled my mind. Not only did I want the event to be memorable, but I also wanted something people could remember it by.

Someone in my social circle had shared the work of an Irish painter who lives in France, and I fell in love with her stuff. Amazingly enough, when I reached out to Rachelle Cunningham she was delighted to make me a commissioned poster, which we also turned into elegant postcards for people to take as keepsakes. That will forever be a cherished collaboration.

A week away we had all of those things figured out, but we had totally forgotten about the reception we were hosting for early supporters of the brand. We had a week during the peak vacation season in NYC to find a photographer, plan what we were serving for food and drink, and get the word out. It was insanity, but we managed to track down a super talented photographer, who happened to live right above the store! In a city with over 12 million people, a place so populated it can be lonely, the one person we needed above all else lived right over our panicked heads.

The 17th rolled around, and it seemed like we’d gotten everything taken care of: displays, lighting, a custom sign and poster, people to work the floor... but I still couldn’t feel ready. I paced around my hotel room the morning with an insane mixture of panic and excitement...

Then the doors opened, and within thirty minutes someone was in the store.

“Wow, these are made in Italy? So elegant.”

I nearly melted! I had been beating myself up, so focused on what could go wrong I couldn’t see what was going right. I had spent years finding the right manufacturer for my glasses, testing and reconfiguring designs, obsessing over making my products perfect. Once I was finally satisfied I began focusing on perfecting this event. But perfect is only something to strive for, and I need to remind myself of that more often. By forgetting to remember what was right I almost forgot about the reason all of this event prep was happening in the first place, and I undervalued myself, something we can all sadly do.

The rest of the week was a blur. Conversations, smiles, good vibes, and a great night on Saturday all wrapped into one highlight reel of fast moving footage. That’s what I’m holding on to now: not the sadness that it’s over, but celebrating that it happened. All the stressed running around, frantic phone calls, nervous interviews with bloggers and influencers before and during – all of that is an afterthought. What I have front and center are the faces of everyone who came in the store, and celebrated our brand’s journey with us.

After all, it’s not every day that you can remember a yesterday where you were running your own store in Manhattan. I don’t want to brag, that’s really not who I am, but I think it’s healthy to acknowledge that I did something special. I’ve worked for over two years getting my designs made into actual glasses, and getting those glasses out into the world. All of the hard work I’ve put in, all the support my team has given me, it let us talk to strangers in our own store about our passions.

I might be feeling somewhere between missing it all and boredom. I think there is a high you get when you defy the odds when you set your sights on something bold and hit the target. I’m craving that now, and I’m feeling more confident than ever that I can pull it off. So, it’s back to work: new designs, new stories and thoughts to share, and new passion to share with our customers. I’m so thankful for everyone who has been on this journey with me from the beginning, and all of those who we are meeting that are getting on board. You all mean the world to me, and you’re the reason all that happened in NYC this month happened.