I know it’s only January 2020, and it seems like NYFW in February 2020 is still a month away. However, fashion inner circles are already started working on NYFW. And if you want to attend NYFW as a guest, you have to start to work on it now!
Imagine in February 2020, you’re sitting in the front row, getting dressed by you favorite designers, attending the after parties, getting photographed by street photographers and seeing yourself on Vogue street style. Eventually, you will be paid to sit in the front row at NYFW. There are only four simple steps, and I feel so excited to share with you!
How to get invited to attend a show
NYFW is never a ticketed event, but you will have to get invited to attend. The better the designer/the show is, the harder to get invited. Usually, NYFW attendees are celebrities, super models, sponsors, editors from top media outlets, bloggers and influencers, buyers and VIP clients. For the past two years, I got invited as an influencer. Usually, PR agencies and in-house PR department handle guest lists and RSVPs. For each Fashion week, I use a golden list to reach out to all the brands I want to attend. I usually research who are the right contacts to speak to in-house, and who are their PR agencies. If you don’t have time or don’t know how to research and build your own database, you can click here to have access to my list.
Once you have the outreach list, you need to pitch. I would always love to tell the brands or the agencies WHY they should invite me and give me a good seat, such as I will promise certain social media exposures and deliverables. Especially, when I pitch more larger scale collaborations, I ask to be dressed or paid to attend. If you want to use my pitch templates for NYFW invites or more advanced levels, such as how to get dressed or paid to attend, you can click here.
How to get invited to attend a DESIGNER show at NYFW
Getting invited to attend NYFW by PRs is not the only way. Another great way is to attend with the shows’ sponsors. Every show, the designer or the brand usually has a lot of sponsors, including backstage sponsors in beauty, skincare, nail polish, hair, and also front stage, such as accessories and shoes if the brand doesn’t give those categories.
Except for sponsors, you can also attend through a collaboration with media outlets, such as working StyleCaster or Forbes, doing Instagram takeover for the media outlets. I want to give you an example. I attended Alice + Olivia with one of their skincare sponsors. So I was invited to attend their backstage first, then to attend their presentations. Also, attending designers’ show has a high chance to be photographed. Because the better the show is, the more celebrities will attend, and more street photographers who shoot for magazines will be there. Getty photographed me outside of Alice + Olivia.
How to get dressed to attend NYFW
When you pitch PR agencies and brands, you can always add that you would like to be dressed, and tell them why they should dress you. Always emphasize on what you can do for brands, such as social media exposure, high res images as deliverables, and any potential media coverage of you wearing the outfits.
How to get sponsored to sit in the front
One of the most important things is to keep a very good relationship with PR agencies. Last season, one of the PR agencies approached me to dress me and sponsor me to sit in the front row for social media coverage. And also, they invited Getty image to photograph me in the front row.
I hope these tips help, and look forward to seeing you at NYFW in Feb 2020. Also, if you are a brand and you want to show at NYFW, you can always reach out to NuWa Marketing for fashion weeks services. It’s not impossible to experience NYFW. You just need to work on it and execute by following my tips. If you want to use my list and templates, please click here to access!
