The Inside Scoop on Why I'm Not Attending NYFW Right Now

Let’s Talk About NYFW

Since New York Fashion Week (NYFW) is happening right now, I figured it would be a timely topic to tackle. Plus, you all seem really interested to know why I am not attending NYFW this season. Recently, during a Q&A session on my Instagram stories, someone asked me if I was attending New York Fashion Week. I replied with a simple “nope” and asked if you all wanted to hear more on my decision. I got more replies to this than perhaps to any other IG story I’ve ever posted! You all seemed intrigued and curious and surprised at this decision.

My History at NYFW

Allow me to start by saying that I love New York Fashion Week! Heck – I love all of fashion month. I’ve had the privilege and honor to attend shows at all of the major four fashion weeks: New York, London, Milan, and Paris. I do not take those experiences for granted. I remember when I only dreamed of experiencing such things!

My first NYFW experience was in February 2014 – long before I even had a blog. Through a charity auction, I gained the opportunity to sit front row at Ralph Lauren! Talk about, “Go big or go home!” I actually got to meet Mr. Lauren himself, as well as attend a number of other shows including Carolina Herrera and Tibi. Besides that, I managed to somehow get street style coverage in the New York Times – on social media, online, and in print!

Then I returned the following season in September 2014, which was just a few months before I launched my blog. During this trip to NYFW, I was fortunate enough to garner a large amount of street style coverage, landing in Elle, E! Online, Harper’s Bazaar, Fashion Wire Press, NY Times again, and quite a few others.

After that I attended every season until I was pregnant in February 2017. I then skipped in September 2017 and again in February 2018 as I had a newborn baby.

Why I’m Not Attending NYFW

Fast forward to today…

Why am I not attending this season?

Well, I’ll start by saying that I don’t judge or begrudge anyone who is attending. This is just my reasoning on what makes sense for me right now business-wise and personally. As you all know, this site / my brand is a business for me. And thus, I must treat is as such and make analytical, informed decisions.

So, the three main reasons I’m not attending NYFW this season are as follows:

1. Attending doesn’t align with my personal priorities right now.

Elle is my world right now. She is young, impressionable, and needs her mommy. Sure – I take breaks here and there from her. As I shared last week, I took a solo trip for a long weekend.

But as with every choice in life, one must weigh the pros and cons. And in this case, I just can’t justify being away from her for a week (or even 4-5 days). The potential business gains from this trip simply don’t stack up to leaving her.

Besides that, I have other travel lined up this fall (both with and without her) that personally and professionally excite me more than NYFW.

2. Attending doesn’t make financial sense right now.

Let’s be real: attending NYFW can be expensive! Getting invitations to shows can surely be viewed as an honor. But there is rarely compensation for attending NYFW.

Let’s take a quick look at the expenses…

First, for those of us who don’t live in NYC, you have to factor in travel expenses. A flight from Houston to NYC can easily run $500. Plus, you have hotel expenses. Don’t even get me started on how expensive NYC hotels can be in September especially! With NYFW, the US Open, and so much more happening in the city, hotels are at a premium even compared to usual high rates.  Then, you have to add on Uber / taxi expenses. Believe me, you’ll rack up a couple hundred dollars in fees as you traverse the city from show to show.

Secondly, you have to factor in the cost of dressing for NYFW. Sure – influencers sometimes have PR firms and designers offering to dress them. However, that is not always the case. Furthermore, when I attended NYFW, I always wanted to express my true personal style – in no way swayed by outside factors. So, for better or worse, I have been known to spend a pretty penny on new, on-trend, street style worthy looks for NYFW. It’s probably better that we not assign a dollar amount to this one. Wink, wink.

Given all that, plus where I am financially, I didn’t want to spend the dollars on all that. I’d rather spend the dollars on paying my team and continuing to produce high quality, compelling, colorful content.

3. Attending doesn’t align with my professional priorities right now. 

I warned you that I was keeping it real today, right? Well, here goes…

As much as I love fashion, as much as fashion is a focus of our content here on CarrieColbert.com, as much as it’s the focus of my Instagram, I do not consider myself a fashion blogger.

There – I said it. My friend and colleague Courtney recently shared some similar sentiments.

Why do I say that? Well, two main reasons:

1. First, calling myself a “fashion blogger” doesn’t nearly encompass what we do around here; nor does it at all encapsulate our mission here.

We create colorful content, and in the process, we empower women to live, think, and dress with more color. What we aim to do goes so far beyond fashion! We want to add color (literally and figuratively) to all areas of your life. We want to embolden you to live your best life.

2. Second, the percentage of our revenue that comes from the fashion industry is very small.

That might surprise you. But it’s the truth.

In general, for whatever reason, I haven’t necessarily been embraced by the fashion industry professionally speaking. This is not a slam. It’s just an observation. I don’t get a lot of paid fashion collaborations.

Is that particular to me? Or is that simply because fashion brands don’t have the budgets that other industries do? The fact of the matter is that we make way more income from lifestyle and food & beverage brands than we do fashion brands. It’s just the nature of my business. And as such, I have to make decisions with that in mind.

Right now, I need to focus my time, efforts, and resources on (1) creating high-quality colorful content, and (2) growing our business by fostering relationships with brands who we realistically can expect to collaborate with (in a paid capacity) in coming months.

Furthermore, the fact of the matter is that PR professionals and designers are busy during fashion week. They don’t have much time to dedicate to you. They are focused on presenting their designs and making sure the shows run seamlessly logistically. So, if you want to meet with PR firms and brands, may I suggest scheduling a trip to NYC at a different time? You’ll have a much more meaningful meeting with brand reps when they aren’t in the midst of the harried pace of NYFW.

A Small Rant on Influencers at Fashion Week

Now, before I close, allow me to indulge in a bit of a rant.

If you are an influencer attending NYFW, please act professionally.

You would not believe the number of women I see treating this as a reunion or girls trip of sorts. Sure – it’s nice to catch up with friends and colleagues. But be professional. Show up on time to shows. Don’t overindulge in alcohol at parties. Carry business cards.

And don’t act self-important. Remember that the fashion industry and fashion week existed long before influencers existed. Sure – we have an important role in the industry now. But keep in mind the broader perspective of the industry and our role within it. Treat people with kindness and respect.

The biggest thing that I find ridiculously annoying: influencers jockeying for position with street style coverage. Would you believe that some influencers will go to a show location when they aren’t even invited to the show? They’ll just prance around hoping to catch the eye of a street style photographer and hoping to land some great press.

Don’t do this, ladies. It’s not worth it! It’s obvious to onlookers what you’re doing. It’s a little sad and pathetic.

Besides, street style coverage is such a crap shoot these days. First, the photographers are paid to capture certain big names. Beyond that, if they happen to see something that catches their eye, they’ll shoot it. But the more you try to get their attention, the less likely you are to get photographed.

Bottom Line

There of course is a legitimate reason for those who work in the fashion industry to be at fashion week. But influencers? That’s a somewhat gray area for me. Some definitely belong there; and some probably don’t have a legitimate reason to be there. And I’m saying that as an influencer! I’m sure that is going to ruffle some feathers. But I’m just saying it from a practical perspective.

Am I saying it is wrong for influencers to attend NYFW? Not at all! There are legitimate business reasons for many influencers to be there. I’m saying that perhaps we ladies who purport ourselves to be “boss babes” should look at this a bit more realistically from a business perspective to see if it makes sense.

If you’re going to go and have fun with your girlfriends, great! More power to you. Go wine and dine and go to parties and all that. Just don’t pretend that you’re there for oh-so-important meetings and exhausting work and such. Enjoy it for what it is, if that’s why you’re there.

Anyway, that’s all I’ll say on the subject. My intent wasn’t to be provocative. Rather, my intent was just to have us all think logically each season about why we attend, whether it makes sense from a business perspective, and if so what we hope to accomplish by attending.

As for my personal decision, is my decision permanent? By no means! That’s actually part of my point: it’s an ongoing evaluation of what works for me both personally and professionally.

For further reading on the subject, check out fellow blogger Amy Jackson’s take on why she’s not attending. Plus, Harper’s Bazaar shared some great insights on the less glamorous side of fashion week.

And of course, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this hot topic!

Looks featured: Designer I Dig: Delpozo / NYFW SS 2016 Day 1 / My NYFW Looks / What I Wore During New York Fashion Week / Style Scenario : NYFW Street Style 2015