How To Survive Fashion Week
[ 29 August 2007 ]
Fashion week is coming up soon for those of us in Melbourne & New York, while San Francisco just had theirs! The invitations are flying thick & fast, & designers are starting to sweat. We’re building up to an insane week of shows, after-parties, goodie bags, flashing cameras & gallons of makeup. Whether you’re an old hand with front row seats or an enthusiastic amateur, it always takes its toll!
With this in mind, I present to you: the essential fashion week survival kit!
Ingredients:
A silk scarf (for covering your hair at the end of a long day); sunglasses (for hiding from photographers or Anna Wintour); Band Aids (for sore feet — see also Dr Scholl’s insoles); vitamins (you’ll need them); cellphone (Cath Kidston design optional); paper fan (it gets hot at those shows); blotting papers (for shiny faces); energy drinks; media pass (or invitations); water (bottle your own from a filter); lip gloss.
Other things to consider:
Have a good breakfast. Shows are notorious for being late or running overtime, so don’t count on being able to grab lunch or dinner between events! Stash a snack in your handbag if you know you’ll be starving within a few hours.
Take business cards, regardless of what you do — even if you’re a plumber. You never know, Donatella’s toilet might need fixing! Fashion week is a fabulous time to network & meet people, so take business cards, breath mints & your game face!
Consider the event, then dress appropriately. A Heatherette show will be entirely different to something thrown by Erin Fetherston. (If you’re going to see a designer with whom you are not familiar, a little Googling goes a long way!) If in doubt, remember it is ALWAYS preferable to overdress — there are a lot of cameras at these events & you want to look your best!
If you’re working masochistic heels into your ensemble, don’t forget to slip insoles inside. For those with seats, there is still a queue which can last hours. For those without, remember that sometimes the standing-room-only atmosphere can be more reminiscent of a mosh pit than a classy event. Be prepared!
Check your outfit before you leave the house — deodorant stains are yet to be made trendy. For the true nit-pickers (or Virgos), take a clothes brush with you.
Remove the glossy brochures from your seat before you sit down. They’re slippery little buggers, & you don’t want to whoosh off into the lap of a surly French stylist!
Plan your outfits in advance. Seriously, after the fourth day of tents & hairspray & sycophants, you will thank me!
Take a handbag that is capable of holding a fair whack of stuff. Those samples & catalogues & promotional materials start to weigh you down quickly — not to mention the goodie bags!
A week of guzzling champagne at after-parties will ensure your last few shows are torture. Try to moderate your alcohol intake & remember to stay hydrated with lots of water!
Above all, enjoy yourself! Soak up the madness, immerse yourself in the mayhem, & don’t take it too seriously!
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala
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Great advice :)
I especially liked the point about removing brochures from chairs to avoid whooshing into somebodys lap. A good point to remember when attending any event!
I’m hideously jealous. Perth is just not cosmopolitan enough (although we do have a few designers that make it totally worthwhile).
I hope everyone remotely involved in fashion week, wherever you are, has an absolute blast (and shows me pictures).
Sigh. I am planning a move to NYC and I seriously cannot wait for fashion week! I just want to be there already!
i don’t see myself attending any fashion shows any time soon ;) but regardless, a cute article!
how on earth do you get invited to the fashion week? I mean, thinking about people like me who work in an office. There is no chance of that happening :-(
Don’t forget London Fashion Week too!!! Fashion Weeks are fantastic places, everyone’s just on a constant high and the after parties are completely legendary! When else do you get to see Giles Deacon, John Galliano and Bea Schaffer bust a move on the dancefloor?
BTW – Sometimes whooshing off your chair and onto the lap of someone nearby ain’t always a bad thing… it opens up the networking floodgates!
Summer — Yeah, super-cute Gilda who comments on iCiNG quite a lot just moved to NYC & I am so jealous!
eugenia — Well, most fashion weeks have events that the public are welcome to attend, you just have to keep your eye out for them :> In Melbourne, for example, there are about 4 public shows & a whole lot of openings, salons, etc. that anyone can go to if they only book!
Robin — Must be nice to see Giles Deacon get his freak on, hahaha! Are you going along this year?
NZ Fashion Week starts September 17th! Almost all of the shows are invitation-only — but there are a few group shows that anyone can buy tickets for. I’m doing PR for one of the shows and I wouldn’t describe any part of organising any of it as fun for anyone involved! During the show, however, it will all seem totally worthwhile and be completely brilliant. I am actually really really really looking forward to it being over!
Yep yep yep – taking the new missus too but keeping the credit card at home! Prevention is better than cure!!! What week is Australian fash week?
Can you tell me what model Nokia that is? I love it! I’ve been searching for a Nokia sliding phone since forever. :D
Lydia — It’s a Nokia 6111. I have one in pink! But that’s the Cath Kidston version, she designed a few different types. It’s a great phone if you need a recommendation!
Are you coming to Auckland for Fashion week ?
we could get you tickets…..
i would kill to go to a heatherette show. i’v seen youtube footage and it looks like e-tard madness.
I’m sooooo jealous Gala! I’m in the middle of mag production or I’d be all up in the NYC fashion grill in a couple of weeks (sooo many after-parties!). Have a great time chickadee!
Sarah — No! But thank you for the offer… !
rachel — Me too, it looks like MAJOR fun.
Dana — Aww, too bad! Next year maybe!
i wish i was that well connected to get to fashion week! :D lucky girl you! but hopefully ill be there soon, i want to work in the fashion industry, so ill crawl my way up there soon! might see you there in a couple of years. haha!
xoxx
my uni magazine is lovely & gave me free tickets to a few fashion week events that they want me to write about! it was such a buzz to pick up my envelope of tickets from the office today – addressed to “annaloren, fashion editor”. :DDDD thank you sehr sehr much for this guide; i am going to have to start a-planning my outfits pronto! x