Blogger’s Guide to New York Fashion Week

Happy Fashion Month! New York Fashion Week (NYFW) is an anticipated time of year for all the fashionista’s out there. With a week full of fashion shows, events, and party after party, it’s understandable why every fashion girl out there dreams of attending. Well, I’m here to tell all you blogger babes that it’s totally possible to attend NYFW without a sponsor or insider industry knowledge!

WHY ATTEND NYFW

This is a huge industry event. If you are at all interested in the workings of the fashion industry, you’ll have the opportunity to see some of it at work first hand.

Let’s not forget about all the networking opportunities as well! This is one time of year when everyone from the blogging community, as well as the fashion world, centers in one location. Attending in NYC means that you can meet all those blogger babes face to face rather than simply though Instagram.

This is also a great opportunity to touch base with any affiliate networks you work with. Most of them send representatives, host events, and will sit down and talk with you face to face. I’ve had the opportunity to meet and create strategic plans with my account reps every time I’ve attended NYFW. Simply send an email to let them know you’ll be attending and ask if you can meet.

HOW TO ATTEND

Since Fashion Week is a closed event, you’ll need an invitation to get into any of the locations. This means reaching out to PR companies letting them know who you are, why you are interested, and what you’re offering. Remember to keep is short and sweet because these PR reps are going through hundreds of these emails. You can see exactly what I wrote in my emails here

Because Fashion Week is such a big deal, most designers send their PR out to agencies to arrange guest lists and invites. Modem Online will give you all information you need to know about schedules and which PR emails to contact.

WHAT TO EXPECT

If it’s your first time attending NYFW, don’t expect the invitations to come flooding in. You might get one or two but many of the guest lists fluctuate until about a day before the actual show. As a first timer I headed to NYC with only two show invitations but ended up getting many last minute invites that had me in at least one show a day. The subsequent times I’ve attended, invites are much easier to come by and for bigger designers as well.

Don’t expect good seats or a seat at all. Most of the shows have a standing section where first timers normally stand. If you are in the front of the standing section line you may end up as a seat filler and get to sit down but I’d say plan on standing.

Do plan on lines and long wait times. Most of the shows start late and expect you to be there early. This means plenty of time standing in lines. Don’t just use this as Instagram time but strike up conversation with people waiting with you. You’ll never know who you might meet!

Do bring a portable charger. Between Instagram, SnapChat, Uber, and your email (which if full of invitations of course), your phone is going to be working overtime. Having a backup power source that doesn’t require an outlet is a must because those things are at a premium. Trust me, you don’t want to be stranded phoneless!

Do be gracious. Now I know I don’t have to tell you babes that but it bears reminding in all the hustle and bustle people can get a little sassy. Everyone working these events are under a lot of stress and pressure so don’t take short answers personally. Also the security guards are the same all week long and are good at remembering faces, so don’t do anything silly like try to sneak in. They can be your friends and help you get into shows last minute (this actually happened to me for the Vera Wang show) or they can make your life very difficult. Finally, you never know who is watching you and in a room full of people SnapChatting, you’ll never know what is being recorded.

If you want to read more details about my first ever NYFW experince you can read that here. I also give a TON on tips on how to save money and do the Fashion Week hustle as a rookie fashionista. See all of my Fashion Week related posts here!

 Have you ever attended NYFW or do you want to in the future? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,
Ana Luiza