Gayle Dizon

To survive in this business, you've got to have more than talent. You've got to be shrewd, savvy, determined—and a crazy-hard worker.

The Fashionista 50 slideshow. Click through for a bio of each of our picks.

A lot goes into making fashion week happen. And despite the proliferation of fashion reality television shows, there is still a lot that you might not know about. So, we decided to ask some of our friends in the industry what their day to day life is like leading up to, during and following fashion week. From the perspective of a designer, a publicist, a show producer, a pit photographer, a makeup artist and more, keep reading to learn how fashion week gets made. For this installment of "How Fashion Week Gets Made," we interviewed Gayle Dizon, head of Dizon Inc, an event production company that produces some of the biggest and best shows at fashion week. We know Gayle from our How I'm Making It panel discussion last year and she is one smart, successful and powerful lady. Here, she tells us about the amazing clients she works with, her year-round prep work, balancing work and family life and more.

Last night, a panel of fashion industry insiders gathered for the second installment of our "How I'm Making It" series at NYU's Cantor Film Center. The panelists, from all corners of the fashion world, included fashion designer Chris Benz, runway producer Gayle Dizon, PR powerhouse Cindy Krupp, and Katherine Krause and Skye Parrott, editor and creative directer of Dossier Magazine. Whether you're an intern just entering the fashion industry or an entrepreneur building a company, here's what you need to know in case you missed it.

Fashion isn't exactly the easiest industry to break into. For those that do, success is the product of a lot of hard work, dedication, and pure passion. It's important for anyone who aspires to make fashion their career to know what it takes to make it in, and then make it to the top. That's why we've gathered a panel of up-and-coming fashion pioneers from every corner of the industry who are all ready to dish out the hard-earned lessons they've learned to become successful in fashion.

Designer Chris Benz is one of the darlings of the New York fashion scene--loved by critics and customers alike. But he didn't get there overnight. And his path might surprise you. The job he describes as his "favorite and most important" in his career?

Our series "How I'm Making It," which profiles up-and-coming fashion pioneers as they climb the industry ranks, has inspired and informed you. Especia

Our series "How I'm Making It," which profiles up-and-coming fashion pioneers as they climb the industry ranks, has inspired and informed you. Especially those of you looking to break into fashion. And from now until Sunday, you can purchase tickets for basically the cost of a movie. Except promise this panel discussion will be far more helpful and useful than Water for Elephants or Scream 4 (though probably not as funny as Bridesmaids). Tickets to this one-time-only event are $19.95. But we're offering $5 off to those who sign up by Sunday, using promotional code 76LYFY. Sign up here now, as quantity is limited. In December, we hosted our first How I'm Making It panel discussion, which was such a success we're bringing it back. The latest installment of "How I'm Making It: What It Takes To Succeed In Fashion" will take place on May 9, 2011 from 7pm-8.30pm in the Cantor Film Center at NYU. This session's panelists are: Chris Benz (Fashion designer and Fashionista columnist!) Gayle Dizon (Dizon Inc., runway producer for Proenza Schouler, Thakoon, and Isaac Mizrahi) Cindy Krupp (Krupp Group, public relations for brands like Rachel Comey, Chris Benz, Lover) Katherine Krause (Editor of Dossier Magazine) Skye Parrott (Photographer and Creative Director of Dossier Magazine)

Click through to see who made our list--and why.

Know them well.

If you've been to a big show at New York Fashion Week, you know Gayle Dizon's work. She's the powerhouse behind Dizon, Inc., a 10-year-old event production company that organizes shows for the likes of Proenza Schouler, ADAM, and Thakoon. She also happens to be one of the nicest people I've ever met in the industry. People that work with her/have worked with her have nothing but good things to say--and that's a true test of success. Gayle was gracious enough to answer our standard questions on how to succeed in fashion. We hope you learn something--we sure did! How did you get started?