How Do I Get Into New York Fashion Week? All Your Questions Answered
How Do I Get Into New York Fashion Week? All Your Questions Answered
Have You Dreamed About Attending a Fashion Week Runway Show?
Fashion Week is the most coveted fashion event of the year. Runway shows, one-time-only brand events, parties with celebrities, getting photographed in “street style” shoots for Getty — it’s the ultimate dream for most fashionistas. If you’ve ever dreamed of attending Fashion Week events in any of the four main cities, I’ve got you covered. This is a quick guide on how to get invited to NEW YORK FASHION WEEK, LONDON FASHION WEEK, MILAN FASHION WEEK and PARIS FASHION WEEK.
At the PATBO RUNWAY SHOW at NYFW 2023
When does Fashion Week take place?
Twice per year, the major fashion houses present their new designs to buyers, editors and influencers in a global fashion city. The Fall/Winter collections get showcased from February-March and the Spring/Summer collections debut in September-October. The four main fashion weeks for women’s wear— New York Fashion Week, London Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week — follow each other to create an entire Fashion Month. There’s also Menswear and Haute Couture, which take place about a month before Women's Fashion Week. Specialty weeks like Miami Swim Fashion Week and New York Bridal Fashion Week also take place in between. But when we speak of “fashion week,” most people are referring to ready-to-wear (RTW) for women. Buyers attend these shows to decide what to put inside their stores. So, what you see in NORDSTROM, BERGDORF’S or online at NET-A-PORTER were presented to these buyers at Fashion Week. Most fashion weeks are hosted by an umbrella organization and they publicly post the schedule 3-4 weeks in advance.
But How Do I Get an Invite to Fashion Week?
Here’s the big secret — you do not need to be a fashion buyer or editor at Vogue to get an invite! While having PR connections or a large follower count certainly helps, I’ve met people with small accounts, new fashion lines or internships that get tickets to fashion shows. Here are the top five ways you can try to snag a ticket!
#1 PITCH THE PR COMPANY
This is the most influential way to get on a fashion week invite list, but it requires a tonnnnn of work. There is no hard and fast rule regarding where they list the contacts, so get ready to dig! Most fashion houses in New York and London use external PR companies, and they change them nearly every season. The large Paris and Milan fashion houses like KERING and LVMH usually have public relations in-house, but they intentionally keep the names under lock and key. You’ll have to do some digging here.
My best suggestion is to develop relationships with these Public Relations contacts so you can grow with them as they move from company to company. You can start a relationship by simply sending a pitch email. In 3-5 sentences (PR people are busy - keep it short and sweet!!), introduce yourself, highlight any talking points that make you stand out and kindly ask for an invite to a specific show.
If you’re a writer, try to include these target brands in your articles. If you’re an influencer, wear these brands on your social media. We give and take in the fashion world, so ensure you’re helping the PR team as much as you ask or receive.
Where and how can I find the brand's press contacts? A ton of research!
On the brand's official website, look for the section for "Press,” “PR" or "Contact." You can navigate the site and find a name and email address for the correct contact. You can also use a web browser to search for “Brand Name + Press Contact." If you want an invite to Gucci in Milan, simply Google: "Gucci + PR email” or "Gucci + press contact.” If you are more of an influencer, try “Gucci + influencer contact” or “Gucci + influencer manager.” You might also try the same terms in Italian for Milan Fashion Week or French for Paris Fashion Week.
You can also research PR contacts using LinkedIn or Instagram.
#2 SPEND A LOT AT THE STORE
A little-known secret is that a sales advisor invites a few of their favorite customers to each fashion show. Now, at Chanel, this means spending over $100,000. If you’re trying to get into Dior in Paris, you probably need to be a Couture customer. But if you have a strong relationship with an SA or a particular brand, you can simply ask for an invite to a show. Revolve would be happy to have you at their party if you consistently post them and buy products. A LoveShackFancy or Kate Spade salesperson will help you get a ticket if it hits their bottom line.
Reminder: The ultimate goal for all parties involved is to sell clothes. So, if you’re the direct answer to that problem, you have a lot of power!
#3 INFLUENCE YOUR WAY IN
This follows the same rules as #1, but is a little more focused if you have a strong following or relationship as an influencer. If you’ve been reposted by a certain brand, reach out to them via Instagram DMs and ask about attending a fashion show. You always want to go from DMs to email. Keep it professional and simply ask, “Hi XYZ, I’m so glad you’ve posted my photos ABC times over the year. I am such a fan of the brand and would love to attend the upcoming show in London. Who is the best person to reach out to?”
If you have over 10K or 100K followers, you can also pitch the Social Media or PR team (these are sometimes the same people, sometimes they’re separate departments) with your media kit. Show them images of you wearing the brand and include any time they’ve reposted or liked your content.
You can also apply to events using some of the influencer apps like GPS RADAR and ASPIRE IQ. Create a profile on one of these apps a few months in advance, upload your portfolio, then request invites from design houses.
#4 DON’T GIVE UP! (aka Repeat, Repeat, Repeat)
Don't be discouraged if you don't get a warm welcome. These PR managers are getting hundreds of emails. If I get a response on 50% of my pitches, it is a great season. Your real goal here is to build a relationship. You will now partake in what is probably the most influential action of all: FOLLOWING UP.
Your first email will be an intro. Try to send this about 2 months in advance. This is when the PR house is a little less busy and you may get a response. Reply to that same email about 6 weeks out. Reply again in 3 weeks. Every email should have a little more information. Update the team if you’ve been posted by the brand again, link any new article that might be apropos or drop the social media post you made about their new product. Most newcomers skip this step, so if you’re following up at a healthy cadence, you will absolutely stand out.
You want to be diligent, but not overstay your welcome. Reach out 3 times leading up to the show. You could maybe try one more time the day of the show to see if they have last-minute openings. The list gets updated up until the last minute and you might just snag a spot if someone declines or doesn't want to go.
#5 WAIT IN LINE
Photo Shoots in Spring Studios while we tried to break into THE BLONDS fashion show.
Now this one’s gonna shock you. On the day of the show, you can literally just ask the person at the entrance if there is standing room. This is a huge risk, but the payoff is sweet. There are a few things you can do to increase your chances. You’re gonna wanna look fabulous. You’re going to dress like you know and love the brand. And you’re definitely going to be nice to the people in charge. This tip got my into my dream fashion show!
This past February, my reach goal was to get an invite to the super-exclusive runway show for THE BLONDS. I might have just had some articles come out for MARIE CLAIRE. I might have followed all the steps listed above. I might have been reaching out to the PR for The Blonds for weeks. I pitched why I was a great invitee for the show. I was following up. But nothing - NOTHING - was working.
Luckily, in New York, most shows are at Spring Studios in Soho. I had just attended the 5p Badgley Mischka show (thanks so much, Federica PR!) and met two Canadian friends. They also had dreams of getting into The Blonds, so we decided to walked downstairs to a TreSemme pop-up while they set up Spring Studios for the next show. The Blonds show was set to go off at 7pm. We tried some hair products, talked to some stylists, took some photos in the hallways.
Around 6:30, they started shuffling people out of the building and preparing for ticket-holders to stand in line. We were asked to go downstairs to the main entrance. One of the Canadians tipped me off on a secret: You can literally just ask last-minute.
PR Teams always overbook, but it’s a marathon of a week. People get stuck in traffic, doing a photo shoot, just get exhausted. Sometimes ticket holders no-show. The PR Team’s job is to fill the room and have amazing photos for publicity and social media. So, we kindly asked the Clipboard Person if they would have any standing room for us. We hung out for about 45 minutes, kindly checking in every now and again. DO NOT BE PUSHY. DO NOT BE RUDE. We lead with kindness here, people.
Just when we had given up hope, the Clipboard Person looked at us and gestured for us to join the line. The show was supposed to start in 2 minutes. TWO MINUTES! They whisked us in, handed us each a standing-room ticket and walked us right in to the exclusive elevator to the 6th floor. Within seconds, we had made our dreams come true! Why? Because it’s Clipboard Person’s job to fill the room, it’s Clipboard Person’s plight to help other fashion lovers and we were kind to Clipboard Person. Kindness got us in to one of the best fashion shows I’ve ever seen in my life.
At the VOGUE WORLD Viewing Party NYFW Sept 2022
Bonus Tip — Share Your Footage Immediately
You’ll want to thank any of your PR or brand contacts a few weeks after the show, but post any and all footage immediately! This helps the PR team get their message out. The social media team will have to show analytics to their bosses and you want to help them. Plus, you have the highest likelihood of being reposted when the news is hot and fresh. Post, post, post.
The Verdict: How To Get Into Fashion Week Shows
Fashion Week is an amazing time to connect with bloggers and fashion friends you might have only known on Instagram or TikTok. It’s a whirlwind adventure where you might just sit next to a celebrity or have a conversation with a famous designer. Best of all, you get to see all the art as people bring out their wildest and most fashionable outfits.
Use this guide to help get invited to fashion week and HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE. Now tell me – have you been to a Fashion Week? Did these tips help?
— Jewel
