A few words about the madness of fashion weeks and keeping it all in check

During fashion month I do believe I sit on the edge of a nervous breakdown for about five weeks straight. You know what, though? I love every single bleeding minute of it. There’s an energy around this insanity as a whole population of men and women move around the globe like a perfect storm. From New York to London, Milan to Paris, and now so many more cities added on either side, it seems as if your life is no longer your own. You are a slave to the industry, in the nicest possible way.

Fashion month sees my brain surrender entirely. I know this because even my dreams turn to fashion. Whereas before fashion week I find solace in a good snooze, now I feel as if I’m working in my sleep. Dreams of meeting editors for dinner are the nice dreams. Well, sometimes they’re nice. There are the dreams when the editors are screaming and shouting for no apparent reason. And surely, they shouldn’t be shouting at me, but somehow they are. Or there’s that horrible dream about forgetting my passport or missing a flight. It’s like I’m 12 all over again and I’ve had a dream that I have a test the next day that I didn’t study for.

For many, fashion weeks are nothing but anxiety and stress. There’s the schedule organising, the outfit selections, the transportation, the luggage losses… and it goes on and on and on. However, the real seasoned professionals act perfectly calm at all times. They’ve seen it all. They’ve arrived in Milan with no luggage, no car and a stolen wallet and still managed to make it to their front row seat without even a hair out of place. Then there are the women you see frantically navigating the landscapes from New York to Paris. These women, I find, have their own fun in the manic whirlwind that is fashion month.

Whether you are the type to panic, or the type that takes everything as it comes and remains calm, I do believe fashion week should always be about enjoying all that is going on around you. This is an amazing industry we work in and while I do believe it’s easy to get caught up in the hoopla it’s important to take a step back and look around every so often.

I read a few tweets yesterday from girls who were complaining about how crazy it all is when fashion week starts and how they just can’t wait for it to be all over. For many, fashion week is a job. That’s fair enough. Not all jobs are fun. There are hundreds of thousands of people that make this industry work and not all of them sit in Anna Wintour’s seat. This is still an industry where working your way up is a part of the game, for the most part. But I could give you a hundred names of girls who would still love to be a part of it, whether that’s fetching coffee or selecting the new it bag for the latest issue of Vogue.

From where I sit, I feel above and beyond privileged to be a part of this madness. And make no mistake about it, it is madness. So as New York Fashion Week continues and as we role into London, Milan and Paris, I do hope you enjoy the reports we have from runway to street sightings. Please know that every word written is one that comes from a place of pure enjoyment for what we do.

Share:

Looking for Something?

×

Never miss a post! Sign up to my newsletter for exclusive first looks, blog updates and personal general musings, delivered every Monday, straight to your inbox: