If you haven’t landed your dream job in fashion yet, invitations won’t fall in your lap so here are a few ways to get yourself onto the guest list.
Contact PRs for invitations
London based PR companies, such as Pop PR and Black PR, support (or ‘look after’ as they like to call it) many of the new brands that will be showcasing at London Fashion Week.
For them it is a numbers game and the more people they invite, the less likely they are to have an empty audience. Which means there’s a chance they’ll give you spare tickets to shows/presentations.
Telephone calls are usually more straight to the point as their emails are piled high. Typically you’ll be given the email address for the intern in charge of sending out the tickets. Some tickets are still in paper form, so when emailing always include your home address as and it saves them the time of emailing back and asking for it. Briefly explain why you’d like to attend fashion week and what ties you have to the industry if any. If you have a website include it and your email subject line should be ‘London Fashion Week Ticket Request’ just in case the email isn’t sent to the right person in the team.
Top Tip: Be sure to speak clearly, be friendly and get straight to the point when enquiring fashion week tickets.
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London Fashion Week Website
This may be the most tedious route but the London Fashion Week website contains the full list of every show and presentation that will be on. Along with the schedule, email addresses usually can be found and it may be worth emailing the PR’s of the brands for invitations. Be sure to do this a few weeks before fashion week. Brands and PR’s are very busy during this period, so start sending your requests now.
Volunteer
Volunteering is a great way to get your foot in the door. Most of the brands are looking for a spare pair of hands and you can be that person. By contacting the smaller brands and making yourself available for those few days; you’ll gain exclusive backstage access, as well as the exciting front of house buzz.
Fashion Workie is a great website to check up on regularly, not only for fashion-related jobs but also for London Fashion Week opportunities. Twitter and Instagram are great ways to find jobs also, with everyone using the hashtag LFW it will be easy to find related jobs.
Top Tip: Use this opportunity to make a good impression! Next season, you’ll be able to approach the brand for invitations or more work due to the relationships you’ve built and experience you have gained.
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Fashion Scout
All designers have to start somewhere and the Fashion Scout shows are a great way to see emerging talent. They are usually more flexible with their invitations and offers just as much buzz and excitement as the bigger shows. They have an application page where you can register your interest in volunteering and you will be able to say exactly what position you’d like. By telephoning or emailing their enquiry line, someone will be sure to point you in the direction of the ticket requesting email address.
London Fashion Week Festival
If those avenues don’t work out for you, why not head down to London Fashion Week festival. The PYT team headed there earlier this year and loved it! It’s slightly different format with live fashion talks, panel discussions and shopping experience. Yet, catwalk shows do take place and admission is open to anyone who purchases a ticket. Prices start from £20 and depending on your budget, you could secure a front row seat, goodie bags and meet and greet with fashion insiders.
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If you aren’t lucky enough to secure an invitation this year, fashion week will be back again February. Additionally, London Fashion Week Men’s is even closer, in January! Gaining access to shows can seem quite tedious if you’re not familiar with the avenues to getting invited, so we hope this helps.
Let us know if you’ve used our tips or have any extra ones to add!
Words by Taeja Lauren
