TrocTalk

I have been back from fashion week for one day and it already seems like a blur. The past week that I spent in New York City interning for the PR firm LaForce + Stevens was truly spectacular, better than I could have ever imagined.

My week started off in their office doing typical intern projects, such as stuffing envelopes with invitations for upcoming events, filling goody bags to be sent to editors, or running errands all around the city, which were all pretty fun projects! It gave me the chance to get to know most of the 9th floor fashion team over these two days and get a sense for what life in the office was like.

On Thursday, craziness hit the office. Fashion Week was officially starting, events and runway shows were just hours away and people were running in and out of the office nonstop. Thursday morning, Jamie and I had the incredible experience to work the Vena Cava show. We arrived at 9:00 am to start helping Hannah (the lead for the show, a fellow Omahan, and a past Troc intern) prep for the show. Being backstage and seeing everything come together in just three hours was unbelievable. The runway had to get set up with its props, the seating cards had to be perfectly laid out along the benches, the models had to be prepped and styled, the music had to be tested, and a final run through happened in the last hour before the show, all before the guests arrived and had to be checked in - it was definitely a hectic three + hours. When the show finally started we all rushed into the room the stand in the back and hope to catch a glimpse of the gorgeous models, beautiful clothes, and scout out who was in the front row. For my first real fashion show, it was truly breathtaking, especially having been able to see it from both sides of the spectrum.

Later that day, back in the office, I thought to myself, “wow, this week has already been amazing and 100% worth it!” Little did I know it was only going uphill from there! Just 24 hours later Jamie and I got the chance to meet Anna Wintour at QVC’s Fashion’s Night Out event, and get a September Vogue signed by her and Steve Meyers! It was really a fluke that it happened, but either way it was unbelievable. The best part about meeting Anna was when she asked me where I was from, I replied “Omaha,” and she said “Oh wow! Are you just here for the night? Make sure you go shopping!”

My week ended on a high note with the Robert Geller show. This one was particularly fun because Jamie and I worked “check-in,” so we got to see all the guests as they arrived for the show. Because Geller had been a CFDA finalist, he had a pretty strong front-row attendance, with many big editors and CFDA members. It was also interesting to compare the different atmospheres of the two shows I attended and how the different designers work.

Honestly, I wish I was still in NYC for the rest of fashion week! My first fashion week was really unbelievable. I had the chance to meet so may new people in the industry, learn about the insides of a PR firm, and even attend a few runway shows! I can’t event count the number of times I told Jamie I was “dying” of excitement throughout the week. I am definitely looking forward to heading back to the city for my next fashion adventure, though it sure will be hard to top this one!