I had the amazing opportunity to go to New York Fashion Week. During my time there I saw so many different designs, shows and fashion in general. Not one person in the room had the same style, and everyone dressed so uniquely.  Other than Kent, this was my first big exposure to multiple different styles and more extreme fashion.

I learned the importance of networking and how your connections are truly your make or break within the industry. Being there with my internship, Fashion Talks, I was able to sit in the media section and get some networking practice of my own. I was able to meet multiple different journalists and designers from Italy, Paris, London and Vancouver which was so surreal and amazing. 

We went to a dinner party held by Harvard students where we were able to connect and network with all types of fashion students, interns and young industry professionals. It was exciting to meet people that we may cross paths with again in the future for different jobs, shows or events. 

The shows I went to were the Art Hearts  show and the Global Fashion Collective show. At the Global Fashion Collective show, they showcased lots of students’ work. From childrenswear to monochrome designs to showing the elements of the earth such as water, wind and fire through fashion, it was very cool to see everyone’s different creative personalities. At Art Hearts we saw a greek goddess collection, punk rock, dark knight, medieval princesses and the list goes on. 

We had a dinner hosted by my boss, Aimon Ali, founder of Fashion Talks and Fashion Talks Foundation. She was joined by serial entrepreneur Kaiyah Williams. I was able to soak up insights on how to run a business, talk business and how to keep and improve your connections. The biggest piece of advice I took away from the dinner was that the industry may be big, but it’s also small. How you network and present yourself is key because people watch and people talk. 

The last thing we did was go to a few of the NYFW backstage panels where a bunch of designers talked about tackling their upcoming designs, how they made their way into the industry and their biggest tips and tricks. At one of the panels I was also able to meet IMG model Chanel Iman and was able to see her latest release, Chasa. 

This experience was truly so eye-opening and life-changing for me. I was so happy and excited I got such an amazing opportunity and I can’t wait to be back for the September season!

Support Student Media

Hi! I’m Kayla Friedman, A Magazine’s editor-in-chief. My staff and I are committed to bringing you the most important and entertaining news from the realms of fashion, beauty and culture. We are full-time students and hard-working journalists. While we get support from the student media fee and earned revenue such as advertising, both of those continue to decline. Your generous gift of any amount will help enhance our student experience as we grow into working professionals. Please go here to donate to A Magazine.