One unique item worth including in your benefit auction (silent or live, but I’ve always sold it in the live) are tickets to New York City’s Fashion Week.
Fashionistas know that Fashion Week happens twice a year – once in the spring (March) to showcase fall fashions, and again in the fall (September) to showcase spring fashions. The event is held in several cities around the world (Paris, Milan, London, etc.), but New York seems to be the destination for our domestic audiences. In our auctions, the tickets sell for a few thousand dollars, without hotel or transportation attached.
Why are these tickets “hot?” And how do you get them?
Let’s begin by describing the event itself.
Designers can rent space at specific venues in New York to showcase their collections. Because hosting a show is expensive, not all designers have the cash required to produce a show. For instance, a new designer might opt to only show in Paris’ Fashion Week, but a larger fashion house might have a show in each city.
From morning until night, a venue can be busy hosting shows. A lesser-known designer might be in the tent in the morning. Later that day, a well-known icon could be hosting in that same space.
When I’ve sold tickets to Fashion Week, I am not selling tickets to every runway show scheduled throughout the week. Either I am selling tickets to a specific show (for instance, the Badgley Mischka show), or I’m selling tickets to a specific show which has yet to be decided by the donor of the tickets.
The tickets are popular because many ‘average’ people would never be able to attend this type of event, or wouldn’t think to investigate how they could attend. In our minds, Fashion Week lives in the domain of the rich and famous, where the paparazzi cameras are constantly flashing, the models arrive breathlessly from their last job, and celebrities are whisked inside to sit in front row seats. The music is intense, the excitement is high, and the vibe that is New York is in the air.
And honestly, that description is pretty accurate. Even the average New Yorker can’t easily obtain tickets.
So with that information as your backdrop, imagine that you — a stay-at-home Mom, a professional woman wanting to treat yourself, an adventurous gal with some extra cash — have the opportunity to buy two tickets at your fundraising auction to attend this event.
Who wouldn’t want to go!? What a great trip for two best friends, or a memorable Mother-Daughter experience.
Now that you’re eager to pack your bags, let’s talk about securing tickets.
As always, work your connections.
The donations I’ve seen have come from department stores. Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales … whatever department store serves your city is a good target. Buyers from those stores attend Fashion Week seeking trends and ideas.
Ask the best dressed woman on your auction committee where she shops. If she’s spending money in a specific department store, that’s the best place to begin. For instance, one of my client’s volunteers consistently used free personal shopping services at a local department store. She shared with her personal shopper that she wanted to secure tickets to Fashion Week for her charitable auction, and she was connected to the right person.
Be advised that because of the fluidity of the Fashion Week schedule, the purchasers of the tickets may not know until a week or so prior as to which day a specific show will be held. It’s best to let guests know that, “Fashion Week is September XX through XX, and the show will occur on one of those days.”
Because your auction is taking place months in advance of Fashion Week, most guests don’t seem to mind the ambiguity. The reality is that if your auction is in March, and the Fashion Week tickets are for September, even the organizers of New York’s Fashion Week don’t yet know which designers will be appearing.
My prediction is that this will be one of the most talked-about, desirable items in your auction line-up!
Fashion, the world without it would be so bland, so dull, so colorless. Fashion is defined by many to be the trend or just anything stylish. It is the hip looks youngsters wear. Well, it may be all of that, but now it has emerged as a multi-million dollar industry. The fashion industry comprises of designers, models, photographers, magazines, makeup artists, event planners, and what not.
Fashion has captivated modern society in a stance. Everyone wants to know the latest trend and own the most fashionable item. They do so mostly by firstly following fashion and keeping themselves up to date about the latest style, and then avidly adopting the trend. Some of the methods to keep up to date with fashion is to watch celebrities and other fashion icons, go through the fashion magazines and keep track of the latest collections by designers. But by far the quickest way to see the new trend coming is by attending fashion shows.
A fashion show is an event where models display a designer’s latest collection on the ramp. A fashion week is nonstop extravaganza for a whole week cramp packed with the latest fashion collections by multiple designers. It is most awaited event in the fashion world. Now, the fashion capitals of each country hold their own fashion weeks. The most popular, more commonly known as “the Big Four”, fashion weeks are held in Paris, Milan, London and New York twice a year.
So, we wonder, from where does this fashionable affair start? Like all other inventions, in this case too, the mother happens to be necessity. As war waged across Europe, and stopped many aspects of life, it also hindered fashion. It dates back to 1943 when the World War 2 was at its fullest atrocity. Fashion gurus from around the world were unable to come to France to see and appreciate Paris’s latest designs. This was thought as an opportunity for designers elsewhere to showcase their collections. Thus, the first fashion week was arranged in New York by Eleanor Lamber. It was called the Press Week and after it there was no looking back.
This idea became very popular and since then fashion weeks are becoming the most awaited event of the fashionista world. Designers from clothes, to accessories, to shoes say that events such as the fashion week, not only give boost to their business but also provide an opportunity for displaying their aesthetic obsessions on the ramp.
For some people a great time means having a party, then for others it is just being themselves and watching the latest movie or reading a book that they like. Even so, for others, there specific idea of having fun is going to a fashion show.
It is often found to be true that you might find yourself ending up being a fashion show addict after just one show. A fashion show is not just simply numerous hours of sitting and watching attractive woman walk down the catwalk in extreme outfits. It is a great deal more fun than that. You even have the opportunity to get a lot out of the show as well.
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Clearly, if you go to a fashion show, you will get to view the latest fashions. This can assist you, even if you’re not a fashion sellout. This can help you out by giving you an idea of what particular fashion is in at the moment. Even though you may not be particularly interested in what everyone is wearing, you might be inspired to update your wardrobe just a little bit more or find some idea for a fashion that is uniquely your own.
Additionally, a fashion show can provide good entertainment when you find that the latest fashion is, well, hideous. How much fun do you think it will be to have a good laugh with your family and friends about some model who appeared wearing a lion mask and a tail when you get back home?
Goodie Bags
Even though not all fashion shows provide them, some fashion shows give out goodie bags to their attendees. Who doesn’t like free stuff? Even though you may not like all the things that goodie bag has in it, you can re-gifted at some later point to someone who you know will like it. The bigger and better the name of the fashion show, the bigger and better the goodie bag they will hand out.
Meeting People
Fashion shows typically end up being excellent social gatherings. First off, you might be able to make some new friends. You might realize that your new best friend was sitting right next to you at a fashion show admiring the same male or female model (as the case may be) that you were. Even better than that, you might meet some important people.
I am not just speaking about the beautiful models, fashion designers, or guest appearances by celebrities. I am referring to important people who could quite possibly shape your career. For example, if you’ve been trying to break into journalism. There might just be a newspaper editor reporting at the show. Making a social connection with them could give you a jump start into a possible job.
Going to a fashion show might not be your idea of fun or your ‘cup of tea’ as the saying goes. Nevertheless, everyone should at least go to one. You might find a new trend you would like to try out, meet someone that is life-changing, or even realized your newfound love of fashion.
If you end up not enjoying the show, you can always head back home and vow to never go to one again. Regardless, you’ll have some type of funny story to share later in life and now you will not be able to say that you have never seen one before.