I had to take a little break after fashion week and kind of recalibrate / think about what this is all about. This was my first NYFW as a full time blogger, and it was definitely different than last year. More on that later, but overall I’m back from New York Fashion Week feeling reenergized, inspired, tired, and over all grateful that I get to call blogging my actual J-O-B. Since I’ve gotten so many questions - on Instagram AND IRL about New York Fashion Week, I decided it was high time to answer some for you. Whether you’re an aspiring blogger, are just really intrigued with the whole thing, want to go someday, or are just damn nosey (lol same), I’m going to break down some of the ins and outs of New York Fashion Week for you guys.
1) How do I get invited to shows / events?
Ok, so first up the most popular question I get slid into my DM’s around this time of year is HOW I get invited / get to go to things / etc. The answer to this isn’t a cut and dry thing so bear with me and this very long explanation. Let’s start with the runway shows. Any official NYFW runway shows require an actual invitation to them. Just because you’re invited to one show doesn’t mean you’ll get into all of them. It’s not like you have a ticket for the week and get to go to whichever shows you want (which would actually be kinda cool) but you have to actually get an invitation by the brand or PR firm directly that is hosting/ putting on that specific runway show. Which leads to the second part of this answer: So, how do I get invited by those people putting on the show? Those invites are simply based on connections that I’ve built up over the past 4 years of blogging.
On top of those relationships I’ve built, I am sometimes being tipped off or forwarded things from my dearest blogger friends (we kinda look out for each other which is cool!), but again those are connections I’ve built over the past few years. Other than friends and blogger fam sending me stuff, sheer hunting down contacts for something you want to go to sometimes works. Before fashion week I will literally google contacts for big shows I want to go to and blindly e-mail them with an intro e-mail stating who I am with a short media kit to see if they want to give me a seat. Most of the time, it doesn’t work out. But sometimes, it does, and there’s such a sense of YAY when that happens (if you’re a new blogger I wouldn’t get your hopes too high though, it’s time consuming and kinda a crap shoot - most of the time it doesn’t work, but you can always try!).
What I’m getting at with all of this is NYFW is like anything else in (blogger) life. The higher your numbers / engagement / cooler your aesthetic and friends are, the more stuff you get invited to. If you’re new to this, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the big shows are reserved for mega bloggers, celebrities, and obviously the editors and buyers. It helps to continually come to fashion week and build connections with those people that host things. We all have to start somewhere and even as a small blogger, writer, etc. you can get invited to the smaller shows or the presentations that can hold more people. If you are a blogger or aspiring fashion media person I would recommend signing up for Fashion GPS which is where all of the invites come through. You have to be approved to the app and from there people can invite you to their shows and events!
Lastly, if you’re not a blogger, editor, model, writer, celebrity, buyer, or other fashion industry person and would just love to go to a show someday, there isn’t a way to just buy tickets. Unfortunately. The shows are reserved for those in the industry. Hopefully, if that is a goal of yours, you can make a friend in the industry, or volunteer at a show so you can see one! People also occasionally host giveaways for the opportunity to go to fashion shows!
2) Why do I go to Fashion Week?
I also think this varies between different bloggers and industry people depending on their personal objectives! But to keep it short and sweet - my number 1 reason I go is to see the fashion! I grew up obsessed with runway shows and as a stylist, I feel like it’s really important for me to go see what’s coming up for the next season. I still get chills sometimes at these things and have pinch me moments! It’s literally a dream come true to be able to attend. Satellite reasons I go are to network with the New York brands / pr firms, make new industry friends, shoot and gather content that I think will be valuable and interesting to you guys that follow me / read my blogs, and sometimes to do sponsored work for brands. There’s occasionally paid opportunities that come during the week that can help offset the cost of me going. I generally end up spending more than I make though, and I pay for it out of pocket! It’s really for the experience and invaluable content and connections that I make while I’m there. It can also be pretty fun :)
3) Where do I get my clothes for NYFW?
I personally tend to mix up my fashion week clothing from a variety of designers and sources. I generally have a mix of things I bring with me to fashion week. This is comprised of things that are loaned (usually higher end designer stuff), things I’ve shopped for from various places like Nordstrom, Zara, & Other Stories, Revolve, etc., vintage pieces (I love wearing vintage designer stuff at fashion week - almost guarantees no one else will have it on!), and some clothes that have been gifted by brands or PR firms that want me to wear it while I’m there.
I really try to put a lot of thought into my looks, so I make sure I have at least a handful planned out before I travel to avoid getting stressed out. If you follow me on IG , you know a lot of the things that I had being sent to me before fashion week this year didn’t get to me in time, so for this season I did a lot more shopping than usual. Besides the stress that caused, I like actually shopping for some of my looks because I can be more intentional with what I’m wearing and can fill in gaps with look ideas that I have and want to put together. Like this year I had a bag I wanted to style and I ended up buying a rain coat to go with it because it rained this year. Definitely a style challenge to try to look chic enough for a runway show in a rain garb lol! It actually just came together really well, though! I also try to wear more high end and designer stuff during fashion week so it can be good to loan stuff and just give it back!
The Land of Distraction Press preview.
4) What was my favorite show?
It’s always hard to pick a favorite, but I think my favorite shows that I went to personally this year were Noon by Noor and Naeem Khan. I also saw some really cool presentations from Chloe Gosselin, Lauren Manoogian, L’Agence, and Baldwin. The presentations are more chill because you can kind of walk around and come and go as you please within a time slot, so sometimes I like those even more than the shows. There’s also some shows I went to that I didn’t like. Instead of putting those designers on blast I decide to just not cover those. I know even if I didn’t like them, that they work hard on their shows. I’ll go into more details about all of these in my full NYFW recap which is coming next!
Hope this answered some of your questions about fashion week! Feel free to reach out if you have more questions about the fashion week process, and let me know what you want to see more of from the next one! I love hearing from you guys!
xx Genevieve
