I recently returned from my very first New York Fashion Week and WOAH what a whirlwind it was! I never in a million years dreamt that I would even come close to attending NYFW. It was such a surreal experience that I will be forever thankful for and I seriously can’t wait until next year! I’ve had a bunch of questions come in about the trip and I thought it would be helpful to share a few tips that I wish I would have known prior to attending. Scroll to the end for my tips + all outfit details are linked under each photo!
^^Meeting Tory Burch was a serious DREAM COME TRUE.
TIPS FOR ATTENDING NYFW:
Anyone can go to New York Fashion Week! But seriously, you just have to book a plane ticket and show up! No, my trip was not sponsored and I paid my own way there. It was expensive but worth it for all the incredible connections and memories I made throughout the weekend.
Book your flight and hotel well in advance if possible because prices the week of NYFW are crazy expensive and will only continue to increase the longer you wait.
Invites to fashion shows: Once the fashion show schedule is released check the official New York Fashion Week website and pick out which designers you would be interested in seeing. Reach out to PR companies that represent the brands about attending at least 4-6 weeks before the show. Keep your pitch emails short, sweet and professional. Be sure to eventually follow-up if they don’t respond, these people are super busy! Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get a response or they say “no.” You’ll likely hear a lot more no’s than “yes” but that’s okay!!
Invites to brand parties and meetings: Some brands that I have worked with in the past sent me invites to their events. Although, most of the parties and brands I met with in New York were arranged by me reaching out first. Be sure to reach out to these contacts in advance to secure a spot before the brands become overbooked or the parties reach capacity.
DO NOT OVERBOOK YOURSELF. This was definitely a struggle for me because a lot of my meetings and parties were back-to-back. Next year I’m going to leave a good amount of time in between each item on the agenda. It takes so long to get anywhere in New York, the traffic and amount of people living in the city is absolutely insane.
Travel with a group of people you are comfortable with and have similar schedules as. Most hotel rooms in New York are tiny and you definitely get to know the people you’re staying with all too well. NYFW can be very high stress and you don’t need the people around you to add to that stress.
Step outside of your comfort zone with your outfits. Seriously though, anything flies in New York and this is your time to shine! I definitely tried to go a little more edgy than usual with my outfits and it was seriously so much fun.
Wear comfortable shoes and throw your dressier shoes in your bag. You’ll thank me later when you’re walking blocks in sandals instead of stilettos….ha!
