Fashion Week is exhilarating. It’s almost like what I heard, having a child feels like. You hate it when you have it, but then forget about it and want to do it all over again. I found myself thrilled, lacking sleep, having zero cohesive thoughts. But I want to do it again, and again, and again. Here are 7 things I learned at Fashion Week.
#1 Organization is key
There are meetings, photography shoots, events, shows, appearances, and an ever growing pile of e-mails to tackle. Being organized is key to your schedule. Knowing where and when you have to be somewhere is crucial. Have a calendar, on your computer, phone and printed. I’m an old school gal, so I write everything down. Extra tip: allow yourself 20 to 30 minutes more to get somewhere. If your meeting is in 20 minutes, leave 40 minutes early. There are always things happening you can’t predict (e.g. traffic, rain, longer lunch). And a coffee shop you can wait at.
#2 Sleep is overrated
You don’t get a lot of sleep during fashion week. I woke up at 6, pretty much every day and went to bed at 12 or 1AM. Running around all day, I didn’t have time to do my own work. Getting home would be a series of tasks: cleaning my face, taking a shower, eating something quick, walking the dog and sitting down on the computer. Sometimes it ran later. If you’re smart, take vitamins, drink ginger shots and lots of water. Which brings me to my next point.
#3 Keep hydrated
The first two days, I barely drank any water. Thursday and Friday were a blur and I managed to chug down maybe one glass of water. When Saturday hit, I was feeling puffy, swollen, dehydrated. From Saturday on, I made sure I was keeping my H2O intake seriously and pouring down bottles of water. Sitting down at a restaurant? First thing I’d do was drink a glass of water.
#4 Don’t drink champagne
Champagne is responsible for the worst hangovers. So, if someone offers you a glass, accept, sip just a little bit but don’t drink it all. More often than not, all events offer drinks, so you have to pace yourself and spread it throughout the day. Otherwise, the next few days will be h-a-r-d.
#5 Street style is massive
Whoever said that street style is dying, has to live through a fashion week. I loved all the inspiration I got from the streets. Walking around New York, you get to see all the people you usually follow on Instagram IRL. It’s such a huge source of inspiration and I could not have been more grateful to have experienced it in first hand.
#6 Fashion is the key
Given that I’m doing a Fashion Business course, my main interest in all of this, is the fashion. And it does not disappoint. I truly appreciated being on the forefront of the presentations, getting to know new brands and experiencing their vibe and feel. Which leads me to…
#7 What I want to do
I don’t want to talk as thoroughly about this, but this experience landed me on a pretty sweet spot. In the sense that, I realized exactly what I want to do and where I want to be. Feeling kind of lost for the past year hasn’t helped with a lot of other issues – like self esteem, personal life, motivation. And the week I spent running around was just inspiring enough to give me the courage to finally step up to the game. I promise to talk about it more soon!