Would you spend $20,000 to attend Fashion Week?
Would you spend $20,000 to attend Fashion Week?
I remember back in 2012 when I was working at a talent agency, we couldn’t get the smallest of brands to invite our biggest influencer at the time, Chiara Ferragni, to their runway show during Fashion Week. It was pulling teeth. But by educating brands about the importance of influencers (ahem, bloggers as we knew them then), the tides began to shift. And then that tide became a tsunami…
By the time I ran the talent board at NEXT in NYC in 2015, the tsunami was in full effect. We had top talent like Danielle Bernstein, Shea Marie, and Nicky Hilton all making the biggest waves. Now it was the brands that were pulling their teeth and putting budgets together so they can afford the influencer to attend. Yeah, the same brands that swiftly denied their invitations just two years prior.
A decade after two major moments, we find ourselves in the precipice of another.
One where everyone seems to get an invitation, everyone seems to post, and yet budgets are slimmer than ever.
In fact, statistically an influencer can be in the hole $20,000 just for attending one fashion week. This figure is further supported by influencer Polina Nioly, who detailed her fashion week expenditures totaling $66,840 in a TikTok video.
Why?
Expenses like flights, luxury accommodations, designer outfits (often purchased or rented), and professional photography are just the tip of the iceberg to maintain their high-end image. These costs are seen as an investment to grow their brand, network with industry leaders, and secure future sponsorships. But as brand budgets decline (ie, they’re being tighter with their pockets on whom they invite and pay for), and as demand increases to “see and be seen” at Fashion Week, the financial burden has increasingly shifted onto influencers themselves. This then forces many to fund it all.
If you’re an influencer thinking, “Okay Idalia, then how do I know this is worth the investment?” oh boy do I have something up my sleeve for you…
The past 10+ years of my career I’ve dedicated a vast amount of time not only in helping talent get to fashion week, but also securing up to six figures for them to attend (cha-ching).
And now I’m offering an EXCLUSIVE guide to my paid Subscribers (ahem, only $9.97/month and you get exclusive goodies like live sessions with me and monthly worksheets/classes) on the SEVEN things you need to ask yourself and do in order to make sure you’re getting the most of Fashion Week.
XX Idalia