NYFW Diary: Fashion Week Through the Eyes of Caroline’s Intern

Picture Credit: Anna Sui/Business Insider

New York Fashion Week… every fashion-lover's dream. This is a week where fashion enthusiasts from all over the world gather together to see the latest trends straight from the top designers.

Who am I? My name is Jenna Cappabianca and I am a 21 year old senior at the Fashion Institute of Technology as well as Caroline’s intern/assistant/right-hand woman. I will be graduating this May with three degrees pertaining to Fashion and Textiles and Mass Communications. Through this role with Caroline, I have my hands in a little bit of everything: photography, videography, scheduling, content creation, and access to some of the best fashion shows around the world!

Over the course of this season’s NYFW, I was able to attend about 25 shows/events assisting Caroline, and it was absolutely incredible. The high energy and fast pace of NYFW is truly captivating.

Since starting at The Fashion Institute of Technology, I’ve been able to volunteer at shows; I’ve dressed models, seated guests, taken pictures, and even walked the runway in front of Michael Kors. However, this season, I was able to sit (mostly 2nd row!) and actually enjoy the shows!

My days typically started around 9:30 AM and ended around 6 PM; although, every day is different. Some days started earlier, some days went later, and some days were 13 hours or more.

We started each day by discussing our itinerary, a quick photoshoot, and filming outfit videos. Caroline and I averaged about 4 shows a day, so it was crucial to be on top of the schedule to make sure we didn’t miss a show. Each show starts at least 30 minutes late and lasts for about 15-20 minutes. I learned this was essential to know when planning a realistic fashion week schedule. Thanks to our planning, we had a relatively smooth week and made it to every show on the agenda.

Although coordinating is a lot of hard work, enjoying and taking in the fashion is just as important! Christopher John Rodgers was one of my favorite collections and featured beautiful colors and structured gowns (some even covered in Swarovski diamonds!). Another favorite was the Alice + Olivia presentation which had gorgeous sets and pieces that I need in my closet ASAP. Their collection included some designs from @zerowastedaniel (an amazing designer who reuses fabrics and scraps to make beautiful clothes). Cinq-a-Sept was another great presentation with delicious food and drinks and fashionable sets you could easily wear in-and-out of the office. One of the last few shows of NYFW was Cynthia Rowley; it was a fun and interactive show where models popped up from the audience and went straight to the runway. One model happened to toss her jacket at David Dobrik - it was hysterical!

The week was a whirlwind from shooting, to running from show to show (and I mean actually running sometimes), to taking the subway back to class for two hours just to jet back down to another show. It was such an enthralling and unforgettable experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world. Thank you, Caroline, for taking me on your journey with you! New York Fashion Week down, onto Paris next!