Day 5 NYFW: All Your Questions Answered About Fashion Week

Welcome to Day Five of New York Fashion Week! We began the day at a preview of the House of Doyenne’s see now buy now collection. Their brand is demi-couture and made in New York City. The founder, Laura Day Webb, walks us through the inspiration behind their collection.  

We answer all your questions about NYFW!  

What is the point of NYFW?

The designers design their collections and give the buyers and editors previews. This needs to happen six months in advance because magazine editions are planned far in advance as are the buys for retailers. Stores have a certain amount of open-to-buy dollars to spend per brand.

The shows have now become big spectacles and who is on the front row and attending the show is frequently covered editorial wise for example. Influencers, bloggers, celebs and more are in attendance. It is helpful for the designers and sales teams to see what orders people are placing in market so they know how much to produce and also if they need to cancel any items due to not many people ordering them.

The pieces in production will be different from those on the runway because the runway pieces aren’t always practical. Some pieces won’t make it in the collection and sometimes there are more pieces in the showroom after the show that weren’t on the runway.  

What are the different fashion week seasons?

Buyers of department stores are always working in the past, present and future. They need to look at the current season’s selling as well as the season that just ended. Most shows seen in September will have a January to March delivery window.  

What is see now buy now?

The designers are all trying something new. Since the fashion shows generate such buzz, press and publicity, some designers want to capitalize on that because consumers want the pieces now and don’t want to wait. They hope that by putting the pieces on sale right after the collection comes out will generate more sales.  

What is the difference in a fashion show and a presentation?

A runway show is something that buyers, editors, influencers, celebrities, fashion directors, stylists and more attend. There are usually long lines before the show and lots of waiting since the shows usually don’t start on time. Then the show starts and only lasts about 10-15 minutes. Afterwards, you make market appointments so you can see the pieces in person after and be able to touch and feel them.

A runway show you sit or stand and the models walk around. A presentation is longer than a fashion show, so it is more flexible in terms of timing. Fashion week is so crazy and it gives everyone some time relief because you can come in and out. The models usually stand and the attendees walk around to see.  

How do you get into the fashion shows?

It is all about relationships. Delia has been working on establishing relationships ever since college. You can reach out to brands you have a relationship with or you could ask people you know who work or have worked at a company in the past or if you and the designer have mutual friends. Ask security guards or photographers where the shows are. You need to be really creative with it, followed by lots of reaching out and following up!  

What advice would you give someone looking to get into the fashion industry?

Networking and internships. With internships, you get to test and see if you’d like working in that position and aspect of the industry or to help decide if you want to do something else.  

London, Milan or Paris?

Which city are you most excited to visit during fashion month? All of them!  

Did you have any sponsored partnerships during fashion week?

Yes! For skincare and supplements, we partnered with The Organic Pharmacy and for caffeine and delicious food, we partnered with Bluestone Lane. These are both great partners to keep us healthy on the go!

What does this day during NYFW look like for you?

We went backstage with Jin Soon Choi at the Tibi runway show. Aveda did the hair, Bobbi Brown did the makeup and Jin Soon did the nails. We ran into @lcbstyle, Caroline Bramlett, who is from Alabama (like us!). Lastly, we attend the Prabal Gurung fashion show, which JINSoon also did the nails for. We absolutely love Prabal.

He is a feminist and designs for all body types. He is known for his bold color and powerful silhouettes. He is all about female empowerment. We feel strong and ready to take on the world when wearing Prabal. Gigi Hadid, Joan Smalls, Bella Hadid, Winnie Harlow and Candice Huffine were some of the models in his show. He launched Men’s for the first time with this collection.

We loved how diverse both in size and ethnicity the runway was. His pieces were bright and bold with the yellow that we’ve seen as a trend and was lots of fun!   My interview on TSTBU blog with Margo Marrone, founder of The Organic Pharmacy. My interview on the TSTBU blog with Nicholas Stone, founder of Bluestone Lane