The famous quote, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” has some validity, pertaining to the situation. Everyone’s aware that networking is the greatest interaction that can provide profound opportunities. Within the fashion world, the greatest networking opportunity would be Fashion Week. Technically speaking, you haven’t lived fashion, until you’ve lived to tell your tales of Fashion Week.
Any individual with an interest in fashion, whether it is as a MUA (make-up artist), hair stylist, wardrobe stylist, model, designer, photographer, and so forth, dreams of one day participating during the industry’s most anticipated event. An abundance of opportunities are available, you just sometimes have to be at the right place, at the right time.
The first Fashion Week (originally called “Press Week”) was organized by Eleanor Lambert, and it took place in New York City in 1943. The reason behind Press Week was primarily due to the fact that individuals interested in fashion weren’t able to travel to Paris to preview the French collections.
Lambert hoped to detract attention from the French and to thrust American fashion into the spotlight, and well…she did. Press Week was a huge success, and has now turned into a phenomenon. There are four major fashion weeks that take place in the same order every year: New York, London, Milan, and Paris. This collective group holds two events a year for providing a sneak peek into the new collections and upcoming trends. Fall/Winter Fashion Week takes place in February while Spring/Summer Fashion Week takes place in September.
For Womenswear, the Fall/Winter shows always start in New York in February. Spring/Summer shows start in September in London. Menswear Fall/Winter shows start in January in Milan for typically less than a week followed by another short week in Paris. Menswear Spring/Summer shows are done in June. Womenswear Haute Couture shows typically happen in Paris a week after the Menswear Paris shows.
Until 1994, shows were held in different locations, such as crowded lofts, clubs, hotels and even restaurants. Eventually, after a structural accident at a Michael Kors show, the event moved to Bryant Park, behind the New York Public Library, where it remained until 2010, when the shows relocated to Lincoln Center. It is now called Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, and is produced by the lifestyle and sports marketing and management firm IMG.
Nowadays, access to New York Fashion Week is by invitation only, and usually the Who’s Who of the industry is present. Celebrities, models, retired models, press, editors and journalists of all sorts are the invitees of choice. This is exactly where the quote “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” applies.
It is safe to say, that New York Fashion Week is the bread and butter of the industry here in America, as it generates enormous amounts of revenue, attention and exposure. It is an opportunity of a lifetime, and if given the chance to participate and/or work at any of the many shows/events, it is recommended that you take advantage. If at the right place at the right time, you just might end up on someone’s blog, magazine or even website. And who knows, you may eventually become one of the Who’s, in the Who’s Who of the industry.