NYFW Sep 2017 - Recap
So my first time at NYFW was a whirlwind of a day! Took the red-eye out from San Francisco, landed in New York at 6am.. and pretty much got on my way to NYFW! This was my first NYFW and I was quite clueless about what to expect, I don't even know enough people I knew at Fashion Week - so I was a bit anxious about the whole experience. All in all, I have to say this - you've GOT to go!
Three observations -
#1 - At NYFW, fashion - is like art. You have pieces of art moving around you!
#2 - You can get invitations to *any* designer runway as long as you are genuine and the brand relates to your style
#3 - (much to my disappointment) Discrimination for Invitations to Non-runway events such as parties.
Its a white girl scene. For a south asian girl like me, I've come a long way to making it in the country, building my brand, nurturing relationships with boutiques and brands.. I'm pretty confident about who I am and what I bring to the table. I'm so thankful to the brands and designers that invited me to so many exciting events at NYFW, however, it was very overwhelming once you realize how many, many of the non-runway events / party hosts play the race card.
I don't want to take names, but I really felt like Diversity is NOT prioritized for invitations to the parties.. and that made me feel sick in my stomach. However, if you're a blogger, or even if you're new to blogging, know this - Everyone can get to Fashion Week and get invites as long as you're genuine and the designer feels like your audience can relate to their brand. I can't promise about the parties (like I said, if you're white, you're good)... but seeing the designers and watching their new collections unravel on the runway is so fascinating and inspiring.
Getting Invited:
I didn't know about the hooks to get in so I went about it like a noob - and yet I got quite far! Once the schedule was published, I literally googled every single designer on the list, looked up their PR contacts and emailed them. I only planned to go for one day coz I really wanted to get the experience more than attend the parties or check out every single designer.
Rightfully, the invites started pouring in about 2 weeks prior to the day-of. I started sending out my RSVP response and got confirmed seating for aLL the shows I attended! :) And that's about it - once I had a full day of shows booked out, I was super excited and booked my airbnb, flight tickets and photographer.
I had a packed schedule - my itinerary looked like this:
6:30am - Land in NY
7:30am - Check in to Airbnb, Get dressed and leave
9:00am - Get to my Drybar appt in Meatpacking
10:00am - Meet for blogger brunch
11:30am - Get to my first show, get in line at the Dream Downtown
12:00pm - Galtiscopio SS18 Runway
1:30pm - Photoshoot
2:00pm - Bauble Bar showroom
2:30pm - Designer Interview at Oxford Studio
3:00pm - Vaishali SS18 Runway
4:00pm - Chromat SS18 Runway
5:00pm - Change of clothes + grab Lunch/Dinner/Drinks
6:00pm - Cindy Monteiro SS18 Runway
7:00pm - Michael Costello SS18 Bridal Couture
8:30pm - Style Collective Rooftop Party
11:00pm - Met up with friends for a night out
2:00am - Grabbed some street food, crashed
6:00am (+1) - Rush to the airport back home
And I did my very very best to stick to the schedule and may have been late to a few due to the crazy traffic scene in NY, but I made it to all the events I had planned to go to! I was only there for one day so I had to make the most of it! :)
SCROLL Down for my Top 3 Shows from Day 1
Here's a quick look at my outfit:
Skirt: Express (obssessed with this skirt :D )
Blazer: H&MBag: Louis Vuitton
Earrings: Wanderlust+Co
Shoes: Sam Edelman
Watch: Daniel Wellington
PC: @boraimages 
Of the shows I attended, I loved EVERY ONE of them, recapping my 3 top ones:
1. Galtiscopio SS18 -
what a show! They started out with a performance, followed by the Galtiscopio SS18 theme - a stunning combination of rhinestone rings, neutrals (white, silver, black) and fall shades like purple, grey. Every piece was eye catching and the music was totally killing it!
2. Vaishali SS18 -
I loved attending Vaishali's show firstly because she's another South Asian making it in the Big Apple. Her collection was completely inspired by eathy tones created from a Sari! I was obsessed with how she found an artistic way to morph the traditional Sari into Runway designs! Big shout out to her fabulous creations!
3. Michael Costello -
This was my fav. Inspired by romance of fairy tales, walking into the Robert Miller Gallery was such a dream. Every single piece - and I'm not kidding - they ranged from pure whites, to sky blue to blush pink and dreamy tulle and rhine stones... every piece was a stunning piece of art.I'm SO grateful to have even had the opportunity to see the entire collection in person. Style Collective had a fab party and I got to swing by for a little bit. Thanks to Annie Spano for hosting and making it so fun. I got to meet so many sweet and fun bloggers with similar ideas and ambitions, was a treat to have shared our NYFW Day 2 together :)