New York Fashion Week: invitations, backstage and analysis

I’m going to be repetitive and start this post with the caption I used to post my picture on Instagram last Friday, when my experience at New York Fashion Week began: If somebody has told me years ago that one day I would be checking out NYFW Up close, I wouldn’t believe it. Me, a blogger and journalist who was never famous in Brazil and never got an invitation to São Paulo Fashion Week, was now going to one of the most important fashion weeks in the world. Today, a week later – and with the event officially ended – there are various feelings and thoughts that take over my mind. When I left home last Friday, with a freezing weather, I wondered: should I make a vlog of my days? Quickly, I decided not. After all, the result would be a compilation of images of fashion shoews and I believe that this would not interest you in general. In the era of social media, where shows are broadcast live by Instagram, Snapchat and other platforms, I prefer to leave the fashion analysis part to the experts. It was enough for me to check out two shows for a whirl of thoughts to dominate my mind. At the end of the day, I had an idea: after the event was over, I would make a post with my impressions about it – but not about trends and cool outfits, but about behavior and how everything works.

I’ll start with the subject that I know that makes people curious: the invitations. New York Fashion Week happens twice a year – in February and September, it generates more than $ 2 million in economic activity for New York and attracts over 1 million visitors. During the week, several designers / brands, including famous names like Calvin Klein, Michael Kors and Kate Spade, present their collections. One thing you need to know is that each show is a unique event (and happen in different locations). There is no free pass for NYFW, there are invitations for each show. These invitations are disputed – the more prestige the brand has, the harder it is to get an invitation or more importantly you need to be to be there. The public of the shows can be defined in press, bloggers and buyers. The press offices are responsible for selecting the guests. And obviously, because the organization of a show generates a high investment, the brand wants to have result, exposure. That is, who is there has to have numbers, engagement. And like many things in life, everything revolves around networking, contacts. If you have a blog and want to check the shows, you have to run behind: find the press offices, present your work, make contacts. Here in the United States there are also many influencers agencies, which connect bloggers with brands.

I probably got about 12 invitations for shows and I attended 7 of them. Some invitations I received well in advance, others only arrived less than a week before the show. As the list of appointments increased, so did my happiness. As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, it’s crazy to be able to check up on something that you used to see only on social media before. My feeling was euphoric, mixed with anxiety. New York Fashion Week brings to the city celebrities and famous bloggers from all over the world who have renowned designers sending out outfits for these people. Well, I’m not on that level, I was not invited to the most famous shows, but the insecurities that all this generated in me is undeniable. What to wear? Since I moved to New York, my style has changed a lot. I started to buy more functional pieces, clothes that I could use on a daily basis, that were versatile and practical. My closet includes very few pieces that would result in super elaborated outfits. I researched some images on the internet and wrote down notes about what I would wear. I was going to wear what I had. But what about the fear of feeling excluded?

On my first day, I can not deny that I was happy with the comments I received regarding my faux fur coat from Forever 21. Do you know when you fall in love with a piece? So it was with that coat. And when people started to say how beautiful the coat was, I was even more confident and confident that I had made one of my best investments. That anxiety I was feeling was passing as I saw all the people who came to the shows. I realized that, literally, you see everything. And I felt good. My self-confidence grew as I saw the people. I did not want to wear something that had nothing to do with me. I saw some girls wearing very “different” clothes, with hairstyles, super-made makeup, people changing their clothes around the corner of the shows place, people who seemed uncomfortable with what they were wearing. .. Then I stopped and thought: for what? What is the focus of NYFW? The designers and the collections presented or the public? You can not deny the influence of street style to fashion – there are many girls with incredible styles and incredible outfits, who bring inspiration and ideas for everyday life. But I have seen outfits that seemed to me to have been thought for the sole purpose of getting attention. I do not want to judge anyone, but I believe that being true to your style brings much more personality and self-confidence. If everyone is free to do whatever they want, I decided to be faithful to my style and wear what had to do with me and make me feel good. In the following shows, I did not leave my home worried. I didn’t want to feel cold between subway stations (yes, real life! Hahaha) and the shows and I wear heavy winter coat and I have no regrets.

Now, coming back to the event itself, when the lights went out, announcing that the show was about to begin, I remembered how amazing it was to be there. I took pictures and videos, but I did not let this excessive concern with social media disrupt my experience. I did not see that, but I have a friend who has been at Fashion Week for a while and told me about girls who were more concerned about the perfect picture than living the moment … I wanted to observe what was happening around me, each outfit, every detail. I loved the Hakkan Akkaya modern collection, I fell in love with the wonderful dresses from Leanne Marshall and Sherri Hill and I was very proud to be Brazilian when I saw the incredible Layana Aguilar show and the Farm presentation. But look, it’s all very fast, you know? I admire all the hard work of the designers and teams tto handle these events …

After many days of running, I’m glad I had such a unique opportunity. It’s amazing the spell that NYFW causes on people right? And knowing that so many people would like to have that chance, I felt even more grateful. Actually, I never imagined that one day I would live this and I am even happier because New York City surprised me somehow. It was wonderful to be a part of such a famous event, to see the shows, to make contacts and, most importantly, not to let self-esteem fall in the middle of a place where appearance counts a lot …