10 Surprising Truths About How Fashion Shows Really Work
By Charles Manning
1. Designers pay celebrities to attend their shows. Celebrities mean press coverage, which is hard to get when dozens of fashion shows happen every day during fashion week. The bigger the celebrity, the more they cost and the greater the buzz around them and the show.
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2. Models work for free. Models just starting out and working on shows for less prestigious or new designers are often not paid for their time. Instead, they work for trade and are given clothes from the designer worth a pre-determined amount. If they don’t like the designer’s clothes, there’s not a whole lot they can do about it.
3. Editors borrow clothes and accessories to wear at the shows. Most editors don’t make a lot of money, so unless they come from wealthy families, they have to rely on loans and gifts from designers to outfit themselves in the kinds of clothes and accessories that will make street style photographers take their pictures.
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4. Going to shows is more about being seen than actually seeing the clothes. The fact is, you can probably see the clothes better online anyway, and after the show, there are weeks of previews where editors go into the designers’ showrooms and look at all the pieces from the collection up close. At this point, attending shows is more about having your picture taken, networking with other industry people, and having something to post on social.
5. Where you sit is everything. Prestige and status radiate from the front row back and from the end of the runway up. At New York Fashion Week, the front row seat on the left side, at the end of the runway, (usually referred to as A-1-1) is always reserved for Vogue, specifically for Anna Wintour. Editors-in-chief and fashion directors usually occupy the front row, along with celebrities, socialites, and important buyers from stores like Barney's and Neiman Marcus. Other editors, buyers, bloggers, etc. occupy the remaining rows, and everyone is keenly aware of where they are sitting in relation to everyone else. If an editor is given a seat assignment that they think is unworthy of their status, they will often request a new seat and things can get pretty aggressive. If they don’t get the seat they want, they could easily take offense and not attend, preferring not to be seen at all rather than be seen sitting in an undesirable seat.
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6. There is nothing good in any of the gift bags. The first couple rows often have gift bags on the seats, but they are usually pretty uninspiring — just a couple small products from the corporate sponsors of that designer’s show, who are often paying the designer extra money to be included in the gift bag. Sometimes there will be a coupon for laser hair removal or a facial but people rarely use them. Most of the time, the gift bags are either given to assistants or interns, or left behind.
7. The most popular topic of conversation at fashion week is usually how over fashion week everyone is.The day-to-day work of producing a magazine or website doesn’t stop just because you have 10 fashion week events that day.
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8. The clothes you see on the runway are probably not what you will see in the stores. It doesn’t matter how much fashion editors like what they see. If stores don’t buy it, it doesn’t get made and it never becomes available. Stores also often request that brands change their collections to make them more salable — adding a lining to something sheer, changing the color, using a zipper instead of buttons, etc.
9. There is free booze everywhere. At the parties, of course, but also at the presentations themselves, and at special sponsored lounges that are set up for weary fashion editors to relax in between shows. If you’re not careful, you can get drunk before you realize it. There is usually free food at these places too, but people rarely eat it.
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10. Shows always start late. Fashion shows always start at least 15 minutes late, and usually it’s closer to 30 minutes. Sometimes it’s because a designer is waiting for a particularly important editor or buyer to arrive. Sometimes it’s because the models are still getting dressed or the clothes are still being sewn (most designers are making revisions up to the last possible moment). Marc Jacobs and Oscar de la Renta are exceptions. But their shows are so important that you’re the fool if you’re late and you miss out.
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