Harriet Mays Powell, fashion director at New York Magazine, found time to stop by the Big Think office in between the aftermath of New York Fashion Week and her flight to Milan, where she's headed for round two of the runway. Despite her hectic schedule, Powell was dressed to the nines in a new Maria Cornejo dress, and focused enough to offer a sharp dissection of how each Fashion Week is the expression of each host city's unique relationship to fashion.

So how does she characterize New York: "Very fast moving, it's crisp, it's to the point, its about business—New York fashion tends to be like that, it's no nonsense, the venues are sensible."

Powell's last piece of advice before heading abroad? Go buy a pair of thigh highs. Really.