Frequenting Fashion Week this season? Well, you’ll be needing more than to be seen with the latest in killer accessories – you’ll also be in need of some luck and a double helping of energy too, because it’s not all fun and fashion games…
Yep, Fashion Week promises a lot of good times but also some difficult times for your feet, your levels of sleep and your face (which could be why Anna Wintour is always hiding her’s behind a pair of shades), but if it’s your first time doing the rounds, don’t worry – we’ve a few tips to keep in mind that’ll help you cover the basics.
1. Be the Best-Dressed You
Needless to say, if you’re heading to one of the fashion capitals this month for Fashion Week, your love of fashion should be obvious and while that need not mean you adopt a new look or wildly adapt your wardrobe, your sense of style should probably show up in what you’re wearing.
The best thing about fashion is that it can be fun and allows one the freedom to say what one wants via their sleeves (maybe you truly love clashing colours, or think nipples should be free to see the world via mesh, but the office at your 9-5 has kept you quiet?), so really, this is the time to feel free to express exactly what you want and wear what you want.
That said, a little practicality is also pretty essential, because while your wiles in style might mean you’ve a chance to wear your all favourite things – like those fur-lined Gucci loafers you’ve been dying to debut – the weather at your chosen Fashion Week may well make wearing your best pieces a little difficult. And let’s not forget all the travelling to and from shows you’ve got to do, which might make those 6inch heels of yours a total no-go…
Our advice is to check the weather (though without looking, we can tell you yes, London probably will be a soggy mess weather-wise), make sure you’ll be comfortable for a whole day of walking and/or posing for the paparazzi, and also go dressed as your ‘best self’ – that’s dressing like you, on a good day and not like you are wearing what you think others will think looks good on you.
2. Plan Your Route
So many shows, so many invites and so little time between shows to make sure you’ve the energy to see them all.
What you need to do is plan your schedule wisely, which starts with highlighting the shows, installations, pop-ups and parties you simply can’t miss. Once you’ve done that, put them in time and date order, and find out where they are, so that you can work out how feasible it is for you to actually make it from one Frow to the next.
If you find out you’ve only 20minutes to get across town from one unmissable show to another? Well you might want to consider rethinking your appearance at one because though you’re route-mapping app is promising a bus will get you there inside 10minutes, it can’t help you predict whether the first show will start 10minutes late, or negotiate the volumes of traffic that fashion editors and their Ubers will make when also trying to get to the show of the season…
3. Stay Fed & Watered
All the hop, skip, pose and jumping you’ll be doing on the circuit is bound to leave you starved and thirsty, so you need to make sure you stay fed and watered.
Certain presentations will offer a bottle of water in their goody bags and there may be some Instagram-wrothy nibbles too, but some of the best parties and pop-ups will offer you something sparkling, going by the name of champagne, too.
Just be careful how many glasses you end up indulging in, because those bubbles are bound to dry you out as much as all the walking around between shows will – so it’s best you take up as many offers on those bottles of water as you do that fizz.
Other snacks you should think about enjoying on your way round Fashion Week include energy-giving nuts and calorie-light popcorn, and when you skin is feeling dry and makeup is dulling, a sprit of an over-makeup hydrating spray like Clarins’ Fix Makeup spray (£20.20, here) will help you – keep a bottle on your person to stay looking and feeling perfect.
4. Bring Cards
And yes, we mean business – because what’s the point of being seen at Fashion Week (one of fashion’s biggest global networking events) if no one knows who you are and what you do?
As well as providing the first glimpse of the style landscape for the season ahead, Fashion Week is a great place to make connections, and you never know who you’re going to meet. For that reason, it’s best you bring business cards – your information (name, number or email and website) on a teeny, tiny bit of card. Else, imagine how you’ll feel when that amazing person never mails you regarding that amazing opportunity you’d discussed?
Just like your wardrobe, your cards should probably be designed to best reflect you and your work, but basic ones will do the job and help you keep in contact with the connections you made while conversing over champers at Fashion Week.
5. Stay Up-to-Date
Think you’re completely in the know simply because you’re on ground at Fashion Week? Wrong – things move fast from being ‘word around the catwalk’ or behind the scenes of shows, to the internet, which is great because you can’t physically be everywhere now, can you?
If a show’s running late, is rumoured to star a huge icon or has been declared the best thing since sliced bread, you bet the news will be on the internet faster than you can say “Cara Delevigne.” So, while research is great to do pre-show when determining your personal Fashion Week Schedule (see point 2, people), you should definitely keep the pace up while your waiting for your next show or are en route to your fashion party of choice. Just be prepared to adapt your schedule according to what you have discovered online.
The best apps to keep on your radar are FAD (dubbed the ‘ultimate fashion dictionary) and Vogue‘s new Vogue Runway app, for up-to-the-minute information on the catwalks, while our Instagram feeds to follow of choice include Fashion Week frequenters, blogger Leandra Medine of @manrepeller, top US editor Eva Chen (@evachen212), fashion photographer Tommy Ton (@tommyton) and model Jourdan Dunn (@officialjdunn), who’ll be snapping all the exclusive, behind-the-scenes cool stuff you might not have been privy to.
And there you have the basics to surviving Fashion Week – but have you got advice to share on seeing the shows right? Share your Fashion Week survival tips with us online @SPICETVAFRICA or below in the comments box.
Image source: Giphy.com
