Lessons from MBFWA

This year I was really sad when fashion week came to an end! It was such a fun, creative and inspirational week and when it ended I actually felt a bit empty. Saying goodbye to the girl gang I hung out with for the week was like saying goodbye to classmates when school finishes for the year. It got me thinking about what made this year so great, and what’s changed from my first fashion week to now.

Here are the lessons I learned after my 3rd fashion week as a blogger:

1. It’s all about the people you spend it with. My first fashion week I turned up alone, spent a lot of time sitting around alone – and looking back it was actually quite depressing! I love hanging out with like-minded women and being surrounded by people in general. This year I found my blogging clique with Alanda (White and Capsule), April (Travels of a Stylist) and Nicky (Calmly Kaotic). We had such a great time and laughed the whole week. These guys were really supportive and we all genuinely enjoyed each others company despite having our own blogs to maintain. There was no competitiveness whatsoever just a sharing of ideas and a collective love of blogging.
2. You can always get a better seat. I’ve only ever been given a front row seat once (last year at Jennifer Kate) through being invited personally by a brand. This said, you can always jump down to empty seats right before the shows start. Actually, this is encouraged and anything goes by the end of the week. If you’re crafty you can still score yourself front row at least once during the week even if you haven’t been ‘officially’ invited.
3. You need to befriend the PRs. Sometimes the PR and blogger relationship isn’t balanced and there’s not a lot of understanding between the two. Bloggers have their agenda (to be appreciated for their work and not undervalued) and PRs have theirs (to get their brand or client’s name out there). Sometimes there’s a bit of tension on both ends. This fashion week I learned that it pays to befriend PRs and create genuine relationships. I was lucky enough to be invited backstage to cover hair for Redken this year through having a PR contact. This also meant last minute access to shows for friends and myself, and getting a wrist band to the Star Lounge for complimentary drinks and canapes. It definitely pays to befriend PRs of brands you are genuinely interested in and want to write about.
4. It’s all about the hustle. If you aren’t invited to the shows, it doesn’t mean you can’t attend. As long as you have a media pass, you can still get last minute entry to the shows. My best advice is to wait until 10 minutes before the show is about to start, and when the staff at the ticket desk aren’t frantic issuing people’s tickets. After they’ve calmed down, ask if there are any general admission standing tickets available. Most of the time last minute there are spare standing tickets and GA isn’t full. Most of the time you can still attend a show at the last minute – there’s no harm in asking!
5. The bigger name bloggers all started somewhere. In this crazy industry anything can happen, and if you look at some of the bigger names in blogging – they all started in the same place. They had a passion, a dream, and a big-time love of fashion. They probably started way before all of us too. Most of the time they’re actually really friendly and want to share their knowledge. They’re still only people themselves at the end of the day despite their success.
6. It’s OK to eat (and drink). Gone are the days when fashion week was all about starvation and cigarettes. Lots of girls ducked out for lunch in between shows (including me) and indulged on canapes and champagne a plenty! There was lots of girls of all shapes and sizes – you don’t have to be stick thin to look good in clothes or enjoy fashion week. I also heard quite a few girls talking about wanting a ‘Maccas’ on the last day which I loved because it’s real!
7. It’s not scary to be photographed. In previous years I was scared of being photographed or looking bad in the shots. Being more confident in myself this year I didn’t mind being snapped or papped unawares! I realised it’s just part of being a blogger and it’s actually a good thing to build your reputation and get your name out there to new readers.

Hope this gives you a little insight into what fashion week is like – Snapchat me or write to me with any thoughts on this post!

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Photography: Wes Tan from @sophilosia.