HOW TO ATTEND NYFW AS AN INFLUENCER

“Every year the women of New York leave the past behind and look forward for the future. This is known as FASHION WEEK.”
- Carrie Bradshaw

I had quite a number of you ask if I would share how I attended NYFW this past September so I decided to share basically everything I know on how to attend shows, set up meetings, and stay at hotels in exchange for social content. Let me warn you now, it takes A LOT of work. It’s not something you can just decide to go to a week before and be expected to attend all the shows. A lot of influencers don’t quite know how it works exactly so I’m here to spill the tea.

First let’s talk timeline. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s not necessarily something you can decide to do last minute unless you’ve got a lot of $$ or a SIGNIFICANT number of followers. Even then, you may not be able to get into shows. Fashion week gets CRAZY so it involved a lot from you to make it happen.

HOW TO ATTEND NYFW AS AN INFLUENCER

2 MONTHS OUT

I start reaching out to hotels and pitching myself. Of course, if you’re in the area or have friends with an extra couch, floor, bed, you name it — this doesn’t necessarily apply to you. Thankfully, I have amazing friends who live in New York that I can crash with but I still wanted to try and pitch to some hotels. Hotels in NYC during fashion week have insane rates and I’m not about that life, but hey if you can afford it, you go girl! Pitching to hotels is exactly what it sounds like — I reach out to hotels asking if they can host me for a specific number of days in exchange social media promotion. (Be sure to check out my pitching guide here that includes email templates on how to pitch to brands, hotels, restaurants, and PR companies.) Don’t worry if you get the response, “Due to the high volume of guests during this time, we are unable to collaborate.” Don’t be discouraged, this happens A LOT, especially during fashion week. Always follow up asking if they have a media rate. This a is a cheaper rate for anyone in media.

If they give you a discounted rate, BE SURE to verify that it is indeed a cheaper/discounted rate. I had a hotel respond saying they could give me a cheaper rate in exchange for social media coverage and, I kid you not it was $1 cheaper. This is not a media rate, this is the lowest discounted rate they can do and you might as well not collaborate because if you do that means you’re social media coverage is literally worth $1. #nothanks Most of the time it’s because hotels don’t know about influencers and social so, hey they’re trying, but still go ahead and pass on those. Another idea is to get a group of friends or influencers together and split a room. It makes it A LOT more affordable. Plus, if you do get a media rate, it’s significantly cheaper splitting too. Think about switching up the locations in the hotels you stay too. Some hotels may only be able to host you for a couple of nights so this is why you definitely should reach out to multiple hotels in different locations in the city.

The main thing to consider here is being realistic. Don’t pitch HUGE hotels when you don’t have a huge reach. I mean, hey if you truly think you can land it and you’re a big as f*** influencer, get it girl. If you’re not a huge influencer stick to smaller boutique hotels who don’t have a huge reach on social. This is great coverage for them, letting you stay at their hotel, especially during NYFW. NYFW posts are hella trending during this week and it’s great to state that in your pitch to hotels.

Now you’re probably like, but how? How do I get their contact information, etc. Crack your fingers and start doing a deep dive on social. I googled “best hotels in NYC” and “Boutique hotels in NYC” and went from there. I looked over their website and Instagram accounts and decided if this was a place I would like to photograph and cover. I don’t work with hotels unless they have an Instagram account because that’s where most of my following is. This is HUGE to consider. At the end of the day, you both want to benefit each other and create a relationship for future collaboration opportunities.

You definitely don’t want to just get a free stay for a place you don’t even like. This is where I truly stick to my values of HONESTY and INTEGRITY. Once you’ve determined if the hotel is right for you, it’s time to find the contact information. I like to avoid the contact form if possible, because I love adding photos of past collaborations I’ve done with hotels and the only way you can do that is by embedding the photo into the email. Most of the time you can find a media/pr email or a general manager email on the hotel’s website. If you can’t find this information, check out their Instagram profile on your mobile device (for some reason if they don’t put their email in their actual Instagram bio, then it only shows up on mobile.) The email they have tied to their Instagram account is usually a marketing or social email which is exactly what you’re looking for.

1 MONTH OUT

About a month before the shows, you’ll start to see the schedule populate for the upcoming shows. Remember, not all the shows will be on this schedule but a lot of the big ones are. You can literally google “NYFW (insert season) Show Schedule” and a couple different websites will pop up. I use CFDA’s Fashion calendar to see the big shows and presentations, but again, not all the shows and presentations are listed here. You really have to do some digging to find other shows and events going on. A great place to start is GPS Radar. It’s an app/website with smaller designer’s shows and events. I say smaller, but a couple of the shows I attended from this site had mega celebs attend. Uhhhh anyone know who Miss J. Alexander is?! Yeah, he was sitting right in front of us at one the the shows from this website. I used an excel spreadsheet to plan out the shows I wanted to attend based on times, location, etc. Organization is KEY.

Majority of brands use this app to send ticket requests and seat assignments, in addition to via email. Fashion shows you RSVP’ed yes too will pop up in there and it’s an easy way to keep your schedule organized. When you arrive at the shows, a lot of times you’ll need to scan your barcode thing, which can be found right in the app. It’s foolproof and makes life a lot easier.

5 WEEKS OUT

Around 5 weeks out, start pitching yourself to PR companies putting on the shows you would like to attend from your spreadsheet. When it comes to pitching, you want to be short, sweet, and to the point, about 2-3 paragraphs MAX! Remember that these contacts are receiving thousands of emails so try and avoid the “attending NYFW has been a dream of mine for years” even if it has been. They don’t care. Make the email about wha you can do for them. See my EXACT email to PR companies for NYFW and MORE in my Pitch, Please guide here.

Now you’re probably wondering, “how the heck do I find the contacts to email?” The website I used to find most of the show contacts is Modem. This website is AMAZING. You can find the agenda with the shows and showroom events for specific seasons of fashion week here. They even have agendas for London, Milan, Paris, etc. To find the press contacts and information just click on the press link and it takes you here. If you can get the contact for the brand in house, that’s GOLD. Typically, if you do reach out to the brand, they will forward you to the agency they’re using, but hey worth a shot right? If you’re having trouble locating the contact for the show or event you’d like to attend look up past press releases from the brand and there should be a PR contact email at the bottom of the page. The app/website, GPS Radar, we talked about previously lists shows and events that you can request attendance to online by day. Majority of brands and agencies use this app/website to send RSVPs and seat assignments, but you can also go through the calendar online and request shows too. Once you’ve RSVP’d to shows, they’ll pop up in the app easily with your seat assignment and barcode you might have to use to gain access to the show, which keeps you organized.

If you have some time between shows, try to schedule some showroom appointments or meetings with brands you’ve working with in the past or want to work with. This is a wonderful way to talk to the brand face-to-face and get to know each other better on a personal level. Don’t go too crazy though, be sure you have some time to breathe, grab a bite to eat, or buy bandaids for your feet between shows and appointments.

4 WEEKS OUT

Once you know roughly, how many shows and events you’ll be attending it’s time to start planning those outfits! 4 weeks gives you enough time to order anything extra you might need. Check out my Pinterest board for NYFW styles here. If you’re attending NYFW in February be sure to pick out a couple of pretty and warm coats and boots or booties because it’s going to be COLD and there is a lot of walking involved. If you’re attending NYFW in September, then you’re going to have A LOT more freedom to wear heels, shorts, dresses, etc. because the weather is nicer. Be prepared for rain for both seasons though. I recommend buying a cute umbrella. A great resource is to utilize Rent the Runway! You’re able to select designer pieces to wear and then send them back after the shows. They have super cute dresses and very stylish coats. Another idea is to reach out to local boutiques in your city and see if you can borrow pieces for the week or exchange social media coverage at NYFW in exchange for an outfit. Typically, this take a prior relationship, but this could always be a start of one!

2 WEEKS OUT

If you haven’t heart back from the contacts you reached out to about 7-10 days before the show, send a short follow up email. This can include about 2 sentences stating that you’d love to attend and you’re excited to hear back.

1 WEEK OUT

Start packing!! Depending on how long you’re going or how many shows or events you’re attending, plan out your outfits. If I’m going to shows in the morning and the afternoon, I’ll plan time to go to the hotel to change. I really want to get as much content as I can while in the city so I bring about 12 different outfits. Yes, I said 12 — I want to photograph as many high fashion outfits as I can for my feed. There will be a million other influencers there, so standing out was important for me but also being comfortable! Next NYFW, I’m bringing more platforms, booties, and sneakers. No strappy stilettos for this gal unless it’s a short event near by! One of my biggest tips for packing is to try on EVERY. SINGLE. OUTFIT. with accessories and all. Then, pack the outfit together in your suitcase with all the accessories folded inside. It makes your life way more organized.

A COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE

It’s time to finalize your schedule! Confirm all your hotel reservations, plane or train tickets and be sure to have all your social media posts are scheduled. There isn’t a lot of free time while you’re doing NYFW. Look over your show and event scheduled and move anything around that you need to. Be warned that you can receive ticket invites to shows u until the day before so check your email often. I wrote everything down in my planner to be sure and know when we had time to make brunch and dinner reservations. This is KEY during this time because there are TONS of extra people in the city.

HAVE FUN

Remember to have the best time while at NYFW, as crazy as it can be, it’s truly an incredible experience you’ll never forget. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to meet other influencers and bloggers! Especially the ones you know from social but not in person. Have the best time gal pal!

Love Always,

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