A Behind-the-Scenes Look at New York Fashion Week

The music gets low, and the crowd hushes. We anxiously wait in our seat waiting for the click of the heels. Then, they begin to come one after another, strutting down the runway.

We ooh and aah as the garments move elegantly with each stride. Before you know it, it ends. The time measures a short 15 minutes which can’t compare to the months upon months spent in preparation. 

All that the crowd doesn't get to see is the chaotic mayhem that happens before, during, and after the show. 

This is what New York Fashion Week is all about. Now, let’s unfold the method to this madness behind the scene of Naeem Khan’s presentation of his newest collection. 

Naeem Khan is an Indian-American designer who has been showing at Fashion Week internationally for years. I was lucky enough to help out this season and got an inside look at all things behind-the-scenes.

I arrived at the office at 10 past nine that morning, and the rest of the team arrived as early as 7 a.m. Immediately, as I walked into the office, I was put right to work. The earrings that were DIY’d the night before needed to be painted. So, I coated the back of the earrings with gold paint as models were coming in and out of the showroom for last-minute fittings. The design team contemplated as they changed looks and decided to cut some completely; everything moves so fast.

Interns were being sent out left and right, to the shoe store to get a pair stretched and another to get a new zipper. 

The show was in T-9 hours. Garments were still being beaded, hems were being redone, and any final alterations were being made. The team paced around the office waiting for the garments to be finished as production was busy filling the models’ bags according to their looks. 

With everything packed by the door, we loaded the freight elevator and packed everything into a large U-Haul truck. There was an audible sigh of relief as it pulled away. But the madness doesn’t end. Little did we know, we would get a call an hour later saying that we don't have enough racks. I anxiously waited at the office doing anything I could to help get the team to the venue. 

Finally, the time came and I headed over. 

The show took place in the lobby of a beautiful building near The High Line. The abstract runway looped through an outdoor patio, down some stairs near a serene fountain, back into the lobby, and then finally back upstairs to the dressing room.  

The execution of the event depended on the seamless communication between the design house, the third-party production team, the third party PR team, and the building managers. The success of the event highlights the impeccable planning and troubleshooting beforehand.  When I imagined helping at fashion week, all I could picture was a shit show that miraculously pulls itself together, but I was far wrong. What I did experience was mayhem. But it was organized and strategic mayhem. 

The dressing room was a scene, to say the least, filled with models, dressers, production, PR, press, and the design team. It was hard to stay calm and focused. 

I assisted the PR team in executing the front of the show. Seat numbers were placed on each chair alphabetized in groups. Programs were strategically placed atop each chair so as not to cover the seat numbers. We had to think quickly when the wind, with its very own agenda, started blowing programs into the fountain. The most rewarding part of it all was getting to sit and watch and appreciate the hard work, time, and energy that when into planning the spectacular show. 

The collection presented a very colorful and sparkly array of exquisite evening gowns. My favorites included features like timeless draping which created beautiful movement as the gowns followed one another down the runway. Other gowns had intricate hand beading that gleamed when it hit the light.

After the show, as was expected, the crowd cleared out quickly and the backstage team worked over time undressing the models, packing the garments back up, and boxing accessories. Then into the truck, it all went back to the office.