New York Fashion Week,the time whenfashion lovers descend to New York City to see designers present their new collections. It happens twice a year, in Februaryand September.Traditionally, New York Fashion Weekhas been an opportunityfor buyers and pressto plan for the upcoming season. For this reason, bloggers and social media influencers have also become a big part of the marketing efforts. In recent years you will find influencers pretty much everywhere you goduring NYFW.I didn’t make it to New Yorkthis year, but I’m already looking aheadand making plans for next year.Let me know if you are interested in attending in 2018.
Plan Ahead ForNew York Fashion Week
NYFW gives bloggers the opportunity topartner withbrands in a fun way and great for making connections.You really do needto plan ahead if you want tohave a successful week, starting with show invitations.
Getting invited to a show is a privilege, but you can’t sit at home waiting for invites to show up – you have to go out there and find them!
As the schedule starts filling up months before the shows, make a list of your dream events. Next, researchthe PR contacts who might be able to help get youaninvite. Sometimes you will need to reach out to the brand directly to request invitations. I recommend start interacting with those brands on social media.
Once you have your contact listprepared,and you’ve been interacting with brands send out emailsto request tickets.You should send out emails to a LOT of people, but it’s okay to be realistic about your prospects. You will probably have better luck with smaller brands, especially the first year you are attending.Keepyour emailsshort and nice.These people are receiving thousands of emails and won’t have time to read a novel in their inbox. Let themknow which show you are interested in attending, and make sure to include links to your blog and social channels to make it easy to check you out. If you don’t hear back after a week, send a follow up email.
While in New York, you can also reach out to brands and agenciesyou have worked with in the pastto set up meetings or showroom visits. Remember it’s their busy week, so offer to bring coffee which may help you get your foot in the door faster then connecting at a coffee shop.
Thethird group ofpeople you will want to make time to see during New York Fashion Week is other bloggers. This is a great opportunity to network and build relationships with your peers. I can honestly say, I’ve met some of the greatest people through being a social influencer. I love every minute of it!
With all of the shows and meetings you are planning, besure you don’t overbook yourselfduring NYFW. It’s not good to have a reputation for being a blogger who doesn’t show up after requesting tickets or setting up a meeting. I can’t stress this enough make sure to schedule accordingly. Remember it’s your brand!
Where Will YouSit At New York Fashion Week?
If you are following well-known fashion bloggers on social media, you have probably seen them wearing gifted clothes and sitting in great seats. That might not be the experience you have for your first year, but that’s okay.
If youget a ticket to a show, and find out it doesn’t come with a seat, don’t let that stop you from attending. Sometimes they will let people with standing tickets fill up the empty seatsrightbefore the showstarts. But if you do find yourself standing, you will still have a great experience.
As you continue to build up your contacts and your blog grows, you may discover not only can you get a seated ticket, but some brands will also gift you clothes to wear. Pretty cool, huh? Or provideacar serviceor other compensation to facilitate your attendance. In addition, you may get the opportunity to go backstage and meet with the team behind the show. These behind the scene interviews and pictures will make for great blog posts!
Where Will You Post During New York Fashion Week?
Talking about blog posts, how many can you publish in a week?Probably not that many. Plan on beingtoo busy tosit in your hotel roomediting photos and writingmultiple blogpostswhile you are in NYC. Don’t promise brands or PR agencies postson a timelineyou might not be able to fulfill.
However, you can plan for a lot of posts on social media during the week. Snapchat,Instagram Stories, and Facebook Liveareagreatoptionforsharingquickpictures andvideosbackstage or during shows. Share regular Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter posts during the week as well, but be mindful of not over-sharing. You don’t want to fill up your followers’ feeds with too many social posts. Your long, in-depth blog posts can go live after you get home, when you have time to really make your words and pictures pop.
New York Fashion Week is like nothing else you will experience. I would say all fashion bloggers need to go at least once, but I guarantee you will want to return every year after that first time.Let’s continue to plan for 2018! Share your NYFW experience below!
XOXO,
BLENDstyles