NYFW #therealdeal

Fashion week is all about glitz, glam, and who is throwing the best party; but there is a lot of hard work and energy put in behind the scenes to make it all happen.  This past September one of UGA Style‘s own  had the amazzzing opportunity to go to New York and intern with NEXUS Showroom for 2 weeks!!  Being the fashion enthusiast and PR girl that she is, preparation for what was to come proved a bit tricky. Read on to see what our gal Hannah has to say about the experience!

I arrived eager and ready to jump in head first, and that is exactly what happened.   I worked every day, all day…and loved every minute of it!  My tasks included everything from unloading collections, which I then prepared and merchandised throughout the space for events such as Fashion’s Night Out, to writing up press kits to be distributed at press events, to fashion show production, to preparing for market week with buyers, such as Barney’s & other retail entities around the globe.  I was quickly thrown into the mix, which furnished the opportunity to gain experience in every aspect of operating a showroom. The hours were long, but in the whole scheme of things, I feel as though I got a lot of return on my investment to take the time to travel to New York. Working NYFW proved very rewarding.

Since the first week was primarily based around New York Fashion Week 2010, I was busy preparing for the shows and after parties. (And just to clarify, NYFW in September 2010 displays the Spring/ Summer 2011 collections for the next season ; ) There was a team of us at NEXUS that worked together on the to-do for the showroom. That being said, their was a lot of independence and initiative expected of us to get things done on our own and take ownership of responsibilities around the office.  For example, my second week of work was market week.  This is the time when buyers make their orders for the upcoming season’s inventory from the collections that show at Fashion Week.  I worked right alongside the permanent sales associates, promoting the collections, writing up sales, and working with potential buyers.

FW is one of the busiest times of the industry’s working year. In regards to my involvement, it defeats the purpose when employers have to waste time explaining how things are to be done.  My previous experience well-prepared me and enabled me to provide my company with another valued employee, rather than just an intern.  My newly gained knowledge has opened my eyes to the business side of fashion.  Too much of the time we get caught up in the alluring world of fashion when in reality, that allure is the result of many dedicated and hard working people who truly love and enjoy all aspects of the industry and invest their blood, sweat and tears into making it all happen.