Travel to Fashion Week Without the Invite

What do New York, London, Milan and Paris all have in common? Fashion, of course. Twice a year, each of these fabulous cities hosts the biggest events of the year in every fashionista’s calendar – Fashion Week. Designers, catwalks, models, trends, celebrities – it’s a truly wonderful place to be. And yet, every year it gets harder to get in, leaving many people disappointed and feeling left out.

But don’t give up so fast. Fashion Week isn’t only designed to be experienced from the front row of a fashion show, watching edgy models strut their way down the runway in avant-garde ensembles. Fashion Week is so much more than that. In fact, we’ve come up with a whole range of exciting reasons to travel to Fashion Week even without an official invite.

1. Pop-up shops

Believe it or not, the runway is not the only place to see clothes during Fashion Week. There are all the pop-up shops, too. As if by magic, during Fashion Week, a gallery of the most premium men’s and women’s brands set up shop with exclusive designs and collections ready to be explored. London’s pop-up shopping scene is one of our favourites, boasting 150 brands and a stellar range of clothes, accessories and jewellery to choose from.

While Fashion shows are impressive, if you’re the kind of fashion-lover that likes to touch and feel new designs before making your mind up, pop-up shopping is a far better way to discover new trends than watching a show.

2. Celebrity spotting

There’s something special about knowing you’re in the presence of celebrity. And at Fashion Week, it doesn’t get more special. To think that Victoria Beckham, Gigi Hadid and Ralph Lauren are just through those doors, sitting (or walking) in a show, is enough to make any fashion addict’s heart flutter.

But don’t just settle at knowing they’re around, go looking for them. Famous people need to eat, breathe and shop too, so get out there and find them. You could even go into full Instagram stalker mode and use Wi-Fi hotspots to track their every story, check-in and hashtag. If you’re lucky, you might just spot a Kardashian... or five.

3. Secret parties

Fashion Weeks around the world are famous for their ultra-chic, endlessly glamorous and celebrity-filled parties. And while the best of the best are invite-only and bouncer-protected, there are plenty of other parties that will be going on around the city for lovers of all things fashion.

These parties may not require a VIP badge, but there will probably be a Fashion Week-esque dress code to abide by. So whether you’ve just bought their latest LBD on your Mastercard or you could only afford the perfume, make sure you’re wearing Chanel.

4. Endless inspiration

You don’t need front-row seats these days to know that tiny sunglasses are in vogue. Literally, they’re in Vogue. And it’s not just the magazines, blogs and Instagram posts that serve as a fashion bible for the hip and trendy. At Fashion Week, it’s all around you, not on a page or a screen, but right in front of you in real life.

Just walking through the streets of Milan, you’ll be inspired by local beauties to start building a mental list of must-have Italian fashion pieces. And you’ll only need a New York minute in Times Square to fill your head with new ideas for bringing added creativity and individuality to your look.

5. Street cred

Fashion Week is as much about seeing as it is about being seen. It’s an undeniable truth that knowing your friends and followers are watching you enviously from behind their screens at home makes an experience even more enjoyable. Just imagine their jealousy and admiration when they see you’re in Paris during Fashion Week, surrounded by haute couture and famous femmes and hommes.

Get that perfect selfie (even if it takes 37 tries) with Louis Vuitton’s new collection in the background and head to your closest Wi-Fi hotspot to get it online. By the time you get back to Australia, with your Instagram grid full of fashion escapades, you’ll be the most à la mode person in town.

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