Thanks for the invite, but I'm not covering backstage this season. After over ten years of attending and covering backstage NYFW, that's been my response to the countless amounts of emails that have been pouring in over the past few weeks from beauty publicists. An honor to be invited, but just not worth it this time around.
During NYFW, beauty editors and bloggers run from show to show all over the city to go backstage and interview the lead hairstylists, makeup artists and manicurists to find out how to recreate the look each show. My favorite show each season, hands down, is Zac Posen (see post). When I was working my first magazine job at Cosmopolitan, being given the opportunity to not only attend fashion shows, but also go backstage, where the celebs and elite members of the beauty industry work and hang out, was a dream come true. At that time, celebs included everyone from Lauren Conrad and the stars of The Hills to Puff Daddy (yes, I still refer to him this way) and 50 Cent. Paris Hilton was even a celebrity!
Let's flip through some photos of my first fashion week, shall we?
The thing about that time though and the years that followed was that going backstage to report was exclusive to beauty editors. At a time where Instagram and Twitter didn't exist, we were the only ones with enough credibility to be there and it was special. I felt like a real life SJP, which at the time, was the ultimate.
Throughout the years as social media took over the industry (and the world), everything changed. The zoo that is backstage is now more like a chaotic farm filled with wild, unruly animals. Literally, everyone and their mother gets invited backstage to "cover" beauty and it's no longer a coveted experience.
Don't get me wrong, like I mentioned before, I'm still completely honored to be invited and part of such an amazingly creative and inspiring industry, but as a freelancer, I need to make smart business decisions and time equals money. It's no longer about the allure. There is no allure to tell you the truth. If I were still a beauty editor at a magazine or hired as I have been in the past by a publication or brand to freelance report backstage beauty then of course it would be worth it for me as a paid gig. But for my blog? To show on social media that - guess what? I was at fashion week! No thanks. I'll pass.
While face time with the experts backstage is invaluable, I can easily report on trends and beauty looks right from the comfort of my home while I get real work done. Thanks to social media, all of the information I need is posted immediately before the shows even start, so turning around trend reports for TV pitches is a piece of cake. And I'm not alone. And maybe next season things will change for me, but for this week, I'm OK with being out. And I never thought I'd say that.
