Every girl dreams of attending fashion week from the time she is little. For me that dream came true this past New York Fashion Week when I got to write for This Way on Bay and cover the entire event! The experience helped to rekindle my passion for fashion, since all Staten Islanders know how difficult it is to find fabric on the island. It is pretty much impossible since all of our fashion textile shops have closed down in favor of being closer to the main stage, Manhattan. And don’t even get me started on finding a fashion design program.
However, the excitement in the air as I boarded the Staten Island Ferry and joined my fellow commuters, was priceless. From the fashion that strutted down the runway to the incredible amount of press, I was dazzled by the magic of this industry. From shows such as Couture Fashion Week to Rue De Francois, the entire week was filled with inspiration and reaffirmed why I am studying fashion at Mood U.
But not everything was glitz and glamour, most of it was hard work. Between forcing your way through the crowd to interview designers to the Times Square dash between shows, there are a number of lessons that I learned on the fly during NYFW. Below is my survival guide to making it through the upcoming Fall/ Winter New York Fashion Week in January 2016.
1) Network
I cannot tell you how many times I met someone connected to the industry by chatting with the person sitting next to me as we waited for the models to strut down the catwalk. You can meet anyone from talent scouts, stylists, designers, photographers, to writers, so make sure you have business cardsready to go, you never know who you will meet.
2) Strive to be Early, but Don’t Sweat it if you are Running a Little Late
I arrived between half an hour to an hour early to every show I attended in order to ensure that I had the best seats possible. However, for the unofficial events I want to a majority of them started any were between fifteen minutes to an hour late of the start time listed on their websites. The reason behind this is that the venues were waiting on everyone to arrive, they did not want to begin the show without the appearance of a full house. And more importantly, if you bought premium tickets, the venue would be in deep trouble of most of those ticket holders arrived when the show was well underway. Some people paid upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars for their seats!
3) Do Not Cross Your Legs
As strange as this one may sound, almost all of the shows I attended had an announcement that we could not cross our legs during the show. The main reason is so that if you are in the front row, you do not accidentally trip the models. Another reason is so that you do not block the view of the models from the media. The media sits at the end of the runway and are snapping pictures every chance they get. And crossing your legs may ruin their shot depending on were the model is positioned.
4) Don’t Take Pictures
I know how tempting it is to take pictures of everything that comes down the runway. However, it is better to enjoy the show and not worry yourself about snapping selfies as the models showcase the latest trends. Each time I snapped photos with my Sony A7S I felt like I was missing out on the experience, so when my camera died during a show I felt relieved, like “ah, now I can enjoy the show”. Also, keep in mind that the pictures from the show will be all over the internet within a matter of days from the members of the press who attended the event. So leave the photo snapping to the experts, sit back and enjoy the show.
5) Relax and Have Fun
This last one might be a no brainer, but if you’re running late or stressed out about getting back to the Island before the Ferry stops running, it might ruin the moment. Just take a deep breath and enjoy the show, try to let the stress of the day drift off to the back of your mind. I found that during shows that I went with the flow, I was able to not only appreciate the show more, but I was also able to be creative and dream up ways I would incorporate the latest trends in my own collection. For me the most inspiring show during fashion week was by Rue de Francious, a nonprofit design house located in the Bronx. I will be doing a write up about them next week, so stay tuned!
Now that you have my 5 tips for surviving New York Fashion Week, let me know what you think of them in the comments below. Also, let me know if I missed any! Until next time!
I am a 24 year old fashion blogger from the Poconos who has finally made the move to the big city… sort of. Living on the Forgotten Borough has its perks though, there are some great local fashion spots, and a budding fashion community right here in our backyard. And a quick hop on the ferry brings us all of the inspiration we need. If you have a fashion tip or a lead on a fashion event, send me an e-mail at Alexandra.M.Nyman@gmail.com.
