
Photo: Getty
Warning: this next section is only for the boldest of the bold. Crashing a fashion show takes guts, but the potential payoff is undoubtedly worth the risk of (probable) rejection.
You have a better chance of being let into a show if the designer is relatively new to the scene (read: Don’t even try it with Marc Jacobs). Look to lesser-known designers who are showing in sizeable spaces, as you’re more likely to be turned away in an intimate studio setting. Dressing the part can also go a long way – wear all black, sunglasses, sky-high heels and walk like you are super busy and don’t give a fuck.
There are a number of ways to execute the show crash, all of which come with their respective risks. You can pretend to be someone else (pick a name, any name, from a masthead–and stick to the bottom) and hope that the PR’s don’t know that person’s face, act huffy and say your phone died but your fashion GPS invite is SO ON THERE and you’re going to be late so just ‘Let me in already!’ or fish a fashion GPS printout of an invite out of the trash around Lincoln Center and flash it to security guards like you can barely be bothered. For a step-by-step guide to crashing, Fashionista contributor Jo Piazza spelled it out in the Wall Street Journal and we know first hand that it’s worked.
Show crashing, while risky, is the best way for an outsider to experience NYFW like a true insider. For those who aren’t in New York or don’t have the luxury of time to crash a show, live video feeds of runway shows are your best bet. Plus, the view from the computer screen will almost certainly be better than that of the last row of a tent or studio.


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