While Fashion Week Daily is THE insiderâs guide to Fashion Week, they fall short with their A-Z Survival Guide in terms of reality. Everyone knows that looking good is the ultimate pressure in the tents, but itâs so much more than that. Itâs a jungle.
1: The first rule of thumb for a New York Fashion Week experience is to bring your patience. Youâll consistently be running into someone who has the biggest ego youâve ever seen. Youâll spend twice the amount of time of an actual show waiting in line. Donât be ungrateful if youâre in the standing line; there are always seats that need filling.
2: Iâve never had to rely on portable electronics to function as much as I did during Fashion Week. A laptop with wireless is imperative, and it had better have good batter life. **Donât forget your chargers for your laptop, digital camera and cell phone and all chargers. ** Youâd hate for Janet Jackson or Courtney Cox to walk by and you couldnât snap her pic because your camera battery was dead.
3: The tents are open season for street fashion and celebrity spottings. Sure, the polite thing to do is walk up to someone and ask to take their picture, but itâs not necessary. You can spot some of the most fabulous outfits, and some of the most hideous disasters if you keep your eyes open. Not to mention, if youâre not invited to the big shows, donât despair! Shows like Heatherette, Oscar De La Renta and Carolina Herrera draw large crowds and even bigger celebrities. Keep your eye out and make friends with the photographers. Youâll have a clue as to who is where when.
4: You never know who you will run into, so be prepared at all times. While getting up to use the restroom in September, I ran into Hilary Alexander of Britainâs Next Top Model and the Daily Telegraph. Another time, while fetching some freebies in the Lycra Lounge, I ran into Nik from Americaâs Next Top Model. The point is, always be armed with breath mints, lip gloss and anti-bacterial gel. Those darn porta-potties are nightmares.
5: Make friends with fellow bloggers. Introduce yourself to the person sitting next to you in the MAC booth, or standing in line waiting for the gates to open. Once again, you never know who youâll meet so be sure to have your business cards and a pen handy.
6: Just because you werenât invited, doesnât mean you cannot attend. While this rule is mostly true of the larger houses such as Marc Jacobs, Oscar De La Renta and Calvin Klein, there are plenty of up and coming designers who would love to be seen. Once youâre inside the tents with a press or other pass, you can try to get into any show youâd like. Just stand in line with everyone else, inform those working the show that you donât have a ticket, but youâd love to wait in standing. Youâd be surprised how far a smile and a good attitude get you in the tents.
These tips might seem like obvious things, however when you become caught up in the little to no sleep whirlwind of Fashion Week, you wonât know your back from your front. Fashion Week is a wonderful experience, so make sure you document and absorb everything.
In case you missed it, be sure to check out Style IT’s photos from S/S 07 Fashion Week.
