Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Recap

Greetings Friends!

Jenny here about to take you on a little journey through my last two weeks spent at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week as the event’s social media coordinator!

After spending the summer interning in the fashion office at IMG, the company which produces the prestigious Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week SWIM, my bosses suggested I work on site at Lincoln Center event this year. Last season I worked as a photography wrangler and this season I am the social media coordinator.

Me & Lauren, an MBFW friend!

Though rewarding, my days were INCREDIBLY long and spent mostly on twitter and facebook! I was required to attend every show (sometimes more than 12 per day) and sponsorship events and then produce engaging content on our social channels.

While seeing almost every show and spending time backstage with the designers was interesting, fast paced and high energy, my favorite aspect of the position was that it allowed me to act as a Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week reporter.

I asked designers where they drew their Fall 2012 collection inspiration from, interview guests about their opinions, and even talked to celebrities before and after the shows!

Throughout the week I spoke to Tory Burch (a fellow Kappa Alpha Theta – I was a tad dorky and actually TOLD the designer we were in the same sorority), photographer and America’s Next Top model judge, Nigel Barker, TV personalities Kelly Osbourne and Whitney Port, ELLE’s creative Director, Joe Zee, editor of the International Herald Tribune, Suzy Menkes and many more fashionable folks!

The coolest part though was that because the @MBFashionWeek twitter account has over 80,000 followers, some of my tweets and facebook posts drove a significant amount of traffic to their social channels! Below are screen shots of two of my more popular posts:

While every show was unique and showcased different designs, I’d have to say that one of my FAVORITE experiences was spending time backstage before the Betsey Johnson show. Known for her vibrant personality, the designer created a tangible energy backstage. She brought in balloons, had TONS of posters and candy and even hired a DJ. It felt like more of a party than a fashion show!

Though my major is not in fashion and I do not necessarily believe my future career will revolve around fashion specifically, the tools and skills I sharpened in the events leading up to and during the event will benefit me after graduation. I had to remain meticulously organized, effectively communicate with the marketing team and designer PR teams as well as interview individuals in a professional manner.

Overall, I had an incredible two weeks and I’m proud of myself for successfully completing this challenge. Juggling my month-long freelance position along with my FOX CT internship, campus job and school work was not easy but I am definitely smarter because of it!

Oh, and one more thing: The night I got home I found out that an interview I did for TEEN Vogue went live on their website! Their online editor interviewed me for a piece she was writing about young women at Mercedes-Benz Fashion week.

Hope you enjoyed the photos and your glimpse into Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2012-Until next time!