SK STUDIO EDIT | ALMOST A YEAR AGO TODAY
PHOTO CREDIT | Kimmie Smith
Almost a year ago today, I remember attending a Johnnie Walker/Jane Walker x Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) event that had us thinking about the upcoming election as well as the fight for women’s rights - just before this event, I had attended another one at Ancestry.com (As a bit of a long side note, I had initially created an account many years ago and dabbled with adding to it. When I happened to be invited to this event about a year ago, I had a renewed interest especially because I’m a huge fan of PBS’ Finding Your Roots. During the pandemic, once a week I delve in for a couple of hours and have found that it’s been something I have really enjoyed doing when I have a bit of down time.) which focused on women’s suffrage as well. That week of March would be one that I spent a lot of time thinking about. It was the week of March 9th. At that time, I knew that there was a virus known as Coronavirus and that it had definitely has those affected here in NYC. But I was coming off of NYFW, upcoming Spring events and making plans for an epic 2020. That week it was strange that it wasn’t that cold, but when I walked the streets for what would be my last in person shoot to pull clothing for our thleisure Mag’s March 2020 cover, Rachel Nichols of ESPN - I really looked at the streets and realized how it literally looked like it was August. For those that may not be familiar with the city, there are days in August where it feels like no one is really around because you have people in the Hamptons or elsewhere. But for midtown, in the garment district to feel that way was crazy. I watched how you would see people cough and how it made people go into hysterics. I remember walking everywhere and not taking the subway. I even wondered how safe a simple day that I have done countless times - pulling clothes, grabbing a bite, popping into an editor event seemed so daunting.
That night, I attended my last event in person - the Johnnie Walker event. We were at The Campbell, a stunning bar in Grand Central Terminal (I would later learn that that area was a hotbed for someone who had had it and was taking the train for a number of consecutive days between the city and Westchester). There were hand sanitizing stations everywhere and they had reduced the number of people in attendance. Although it was a nice event, when I think back to us enjoying passed appetizers, not being social distanced and thinking that hand sanitizer was our best tool - it makes the last year of understanding take on new meaning.
A couple of days later, we were on set for our photoshoot. Just the night before, the NBA had suspended the season and I understood how dire everything was going to be. I didn’t know if we would have a shoot next day as everything seemed to be a second by second situation. Walking into the space of our shoot and seeing them power cleaning, watching people in the local Duane Reade buying a lot of toilet paper, water etc was something that I will always remember. We conducted the shoot, I returned the items and realized that that was not going to be an experience that I would participate in for a while. We had our last dinner out and that weekend was our last brunch out.
It’s been almost a year and in that year, there have been highs and lows. Not going to events, looking at emails with invites to destinations across the globe, the simplest of tasks have become like an Olympic feat to get them done in a safe way, navigating how we do the projects that we have been able to successfully do (virtual shoots, logging onto Zoom, our podcasts) - there are so many concerns and things that we do now that I could have never imagined. I re-launched my accessory line, Kimmie Vincent which now has face masks that have been in the NBA bubble worn by sports broadcasters, influencers and it has become its own entity and they’re even sent to those I style for the magazine to give them a pop of color and style for one of our most necessary accessories that serves as a barrier from the elements. As I sit back waiting for the vaccine (but thankful that we have been healthy), I think back to the shot above where I didn’t have any idea of what I along with everyone across the planet has had to endure as well as feeling the heartbreak of those that are not with us in addition to those that I personally knew who got sick as well as died. I miss the people that I haven’t seen in so long which include my mom, sister, brother-in-law and niece who are literally a state away. Back in the day, I’d hop the PATH and we’d be there. But now, I want to ensure everyone’s safety and am happy to see that my sister got her first round of vaccination as she has pre-existing conditions and hope that this summer we can do one of the things I enjoyed, swing by her house, watch TV, have a drink and just chat about the most random things. This experience has been one that has created an immense common bond of resilience and the hope for the next chapter being better than the last.
