NYFW prep
dress | backpack | shoes
photos by Ban Avenue Photography
I hope you're all ready for LOTS of New York Fashion Week posts because they are coming your way! If you're not interested, you might wanna stay off the blog for about a week :). It was my third September attending Fashion Week and each year, my experience just gets better and better. It helps that I learn more every time so I know a little better how to prepare, but I'm still such a tiny fish in a big pond when I'm there- I'm always starstruck by all the bigger bloggers and celebrities I see at events and shows. It's such an incredible experience that I'm so grateful to have and get to share with all of you! I've been getting some questions about the preparation it takes to go to Fashion Week by some of you wanting to go next February or September and I'm so thrilled anytime someone expresses interest in going. It's truly the most amazing week in the world of fashion and I highly recommend anyone who loves that world to go at least once! You don't have to be a blogger to go to Fashion Week- anyone can go with a lot of planning and some key steps.
I'll give you a little background into what goes in to planning for Fashion Week before I dive right in with day to day recaps starting next week. First, I book my flight about 3 months in advance and start reaching out to hotels to partner up with during my stay. This year, the Courtyard New York Manhattan/Herald Square and SpringHill Suites Midtown Manhattan/Fifth Avenue agreed to host my girlfriends and I during our trip and we were not disappointed- both hotels were BEYOND accommodating, had the friendliest staff we'd ever encountered (especially in New York!), boasted gorgeous rooftop views, and were in a prime location for sightseeing in the city (both hotels were less than half a mile from each other). More on this later! After figuring out hotel details, I pull contacts from the previous year and trade contacts with friends to get into shows. I'll review the official Fashion Week schedule, make a list of which shows I'd like to attend, and email as many as I can. The ones I don't hear back from within several weeks, I follow up with a second email which almost always helps. I used to be hesitant to "follow up" with emails because I didn't want to seem pushy, but I've realized over time how crucial this is as these people are getting literally thousands of emails and it's easy to get lost in the shuffle. A quick reminder that you're still here & would love to attend their show can really go a long way.
As I start to get responses/invites to shows, I compile them all into a spreadsheet where I keep my schedule for the trip. I'd go insane if I didn't do this- it's so important to keep track of everything as it comes in because it can be really overwhelming and you can forget or lose track of things otherwise. My friends who are also going and I also keep a group google doc where we share our schedules/contacts because it's always more fun to attend shows & events with friends! Sharing contacts is really beneficial as well because you need to reach out to specific people if you want to get an invite to certain things. Once I have my schedule well underway, I start reaching out to brands to collaborate with on clothing/accessories while I'm there. The amount of designer handbags- Gucci, Channel, Prada- I see while at NYFW every year seriously blows my mind...it's insane, y'all. I email companies like Trendlee to work with and get designer bags on loan, which is such a fun treat to carry around while I'm in the city!
About two weeks before the trip, I start emailing PR contacts for meetings and showroom appointments. I've found with experience that reaching out much before that isn't necessary- PR companies are still finalizing their own schedules until a week or two out so it's best to wait or if you do reach out really early, follow up at the two week mark. I find this to be the most beneficial and important part of Fashion Week- shows are amazing but having the one-on-one face time with brands and companies that I'll hopefully partner with throughout the coming year is really vital to my blog. I email contacts I've worked with in the past (like this year I met up with several girls at PR firms I'm currently working on projects with), ones I'd like to work with, and showrooms to be able to pull looks for events and shows. Sometimes it's just grabbing a quick coffee and chatting, other times meeting at their office, or just whatever we can squeeze in. I love getting to put faces with email addresses! Everyone I met with this year was so unbelievably kind- I felt like I made new friends (that are also sort of colleagues) which is really special.
Once I have all my shows scheduled, accomodations lined up, outfits finalized, and PR meetings set, I'm pretty much ready for NYC! It takes a lot of time to do all of this- I'd say I probably poured 15-20 hours into it this year alone (maybe more if I'm being realistic). But it's all worth it once you get to the Big Apple to witness the magic of Fashion Week.
I'll be back next week with day to day recaps- hope you have a great weekend!
xo, Britt