"I'm not even attending any events or any shows that are not inclusive."

"I save up a bunch of money and I just go ham shopping for streetwear looks."

Richie Akiva of 1 Oak and Up & Down tells us how he preps for New York Fashion Week's after-party circuit.

"We want there to be an emotion involved in it," says Michael Putnam, one-half of fashion-favorite floral design boutique Putnam & Putnam. "Not just pretty flowers."

"Everybody changes in hotel bathrooms."

"When I'm in a cab going between shows, I'm either writing a story or I'm editing a number of stories. No time can be wasted."

Or, how the New York-based Gigi Burris balances designing her own seasonal collections with creating hats for other brands' runway shows.

"We had a Trump situation last year," says Tracey Manner, Partner & Vice President of Think PR.

The mastermind behind Tommy Hilfiger's football fields, swim-up bars and ocean liner stages shares all.

Any fashion week pro knows there's a million-and-one things going on behind-the-scenes, often all at once. Alyssa Greenberg (@smallgirlbiglens) captures it all.

"I've injected a 19-year-old [model's] lips and I like felt almost guilty doing it."

LDJ Productions CEO Laurie DeJong breaks it all down for us, from model castings to planning for that Instagram moment.

A closer look at what goes on backstage.

She's also a bona fide street style star, and has some advice for dressing in terrible weather.

We chatted with Welteroth about those early backstage call times, scouting models of color and how she covers NYFW.

Amy Farid, longtime lead hairstylist for Hood by Air, fills us in on capturing a designer’s vision through hair and how to get an assistant gig backstage.

Professional multi-hyphenate Leslie Kirchhoff gives us the lowdown on how she curates the perfect runway soundtrack and survives four-hour gigs in four-inch heels, to boot.

Find out how the designer creates some of the most impressive, magical presentations we've seen on a limited budget.

We chatted with Quay about putting together a runway show, going straight to market with finalists and the possibility of a sophomore designer show down the road.

Talk about a high-pressure gig.

Getty Images photographer Frazer Harrison tells us what it's really like in the pit.

Find out how a big-time buyer gets through her busiest time of the year.

In addition to scouting looks for clients like Lupita Nyong'o, it's her team's time to gear up for the season ahead.

Because fashion week is one of those occasions when an iTunes playlist simply won't do.