September 9, 2019

The Wildest Runway Show Front Rows of 2009

By Erica Smith

Nicky Hilton's hair is full of 2009 secrets. Photo: by Stevie Remsberg; Photo: Getty

2009 was a baffling, albeit simpler, time. The Black Eyed Peas were always on the radio for some reason. Miley was still Hannah Montana. And the front rows of New York Fashion Week were a bewildering yet beautiful blend of famous and famous-ish people, all sitting side by side with nary a smartphone to obstruct photographers’ views of their faces. 2009’s front rows are the best time capsule: true works of art cemented in surprisingly unflattering camera flashes.

In this time warp, the best seats in the house are reserved for the popular sisters of the era (your Hiltons, your Mortimers, your pre-Tummy Tea Kardashians), socialites wearing beaded gladiator sandals, and, on several occasions, Amanda Bynes. The VIPs are the stars from actual cable shows that everyone watches on actual TV screens. Serena van der Woodsen sits next to Lieutenant Benson at DVF, while Little J bonds with LiLo at G Star. Jared Leto is very blond. Kellan Lutz is still a thing. Bethenney Frankel is asking Kelly Rowland questions with an Access Hollywood mic. Kanye West is seven months from commandeering Taylor Swift’s VMA speech because it’s only February and he’s sitting front row at Y-3, naught but one Milla Jovovich away from his future wife Kim Kardashian, who is arm-in-arm with a very perplexed Reggie Bush.

Don’t try to make sense of it all. Just sit back, relax, and succumb to the visible awkwardness of forced social interactions pre-Instagram.