One valuable tip we’ve learned over the course of a couple of fashion weeks is, if you miss a celeb going into a show, you can always catch them sneaking out the back exit, sandwiched between a couple of models and a bunch of dudes pushing racks of clothes to nearby vans. Which is how, Saturday morning, we found ourselves following a huge crush of paparazzi who were racing across Bryant Park in pursuit of that most precious prey, Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson.
Having just gotten out of Lacoste, we perched outside the tents to write, figuring that we’d catch a glimpse of LiLo and Sam when they were done supporting Samantha’s sister Charlotte Ronson at her fashion show. About twenty minutes after the show ended, the crush of photographers and fans outside the exit took off sprinting around toward 41st Street as if their feet had caught fire. Being responsible bloggers — by which we mean totally nosy — we moseyed over to the throng and saw Lindsay and Sam stopped at the top of the stone steps, flanked by bodyguards and grinning as they steadfastly ignored requests to pose for pictures.
It was, quite frankly, a tremendous and crazy crush. Tourists, Lohan-lovers, and professionals alike were screaming both of their names as Lindsay giggled while holding up what appeared to be an electric-blue purse — matching her pumps — to block the left side of her Ray Ban–clad face. At one point she and Sam doubled over to laugh and whisper to each other as a teenager in front of us tried taking a photo of herself with them in the background. “This is terrible,” one girl in our general area said, as everyone (yes, us included — we are nothing if not dedicated to our readers, or at least that’s what we told ourselves) snapped pictures of the tumult. “Those poor girls,” another woman said, pushing closer to get a better shot. “What a horrible way to live,” said another, jumping up to make sure she got Lindsay in the frame. “Please,” the girl next to us said. “If no one was paying any attention to her, she’d DIE.” And then, of course, there was the mob of about ten who threw elbows and pushed us around in order to get as many good photos as possible, then all turned to us and each other and said, “So who is that, anyway?”
The whole hullabaloo thoroughly aggravated one of New York’s Finest, who just wanted them to clear the park exit. “Are you waiting for a limo?” he yelled at her bodyguard four times. “No,” the guy finally answered, stone-faced. We suppose technically he wasn’t lying to the police; they were waiting for an Escalade. After Lindsay and Sam were escorted to their car — the paparazzi literally climbing into the backseat with them — we overheard two photogs talking: “Did you get the shot?” the older one asked. “Someone asked me to move!” his protégé responded. “No! Kid!” the older one barked. “You never give up your spot in line! NEVER!” Yet another valuable piece of advice from the trenches. And to think, some people don’t believe this experience is educational.
View backstage and front row photos of Lindsay Lohan, Samantha Ronson and more at Charlotte Ronson.
View a slideshow of the Charlotte Ronson collection.
Watch backstage video of the Charlotte Ronson show.
