September through the end of October is always my favorite time of year. And you might be thinking it’s because of the fall weather, football nights, cozy outfits, or all the festive decor—and while, yes, I absolutely love all of those things, the real reason is much more important…

FASHION WEEKS!!!

NYFW just wrapped, and we officially kicked off London Fashion Week, which means we are entering my favorite few weeks of the fashion calendar. So in today’s blog, we’re recapping New York Fashion Week, talking about some of my favorite collections, and looking ahead to London and Paris.

Let’s get into it!!

First Things: the FAKE NYFW Problem

Okay. Before we get into my favorite collections, I need to address something that has been driving me absolutely INSANE.

The fake Fashion Week industry.

And yes, I’m calling it fake.

Over the past 5–7 years, social media has completely blurred the line between actually participating in New York Fashion Week and paying to be put in a random runway show in New York during Fashion Week. And I’m sorry, but those are NOT the same thing.

I have seen way too many videos of people saying:

“I WALKED IN NYFW!!!”

And then you look into it and realize they paid thousands of dollars to participate in some random runway program that has absolutely nothing to do with the major designers, houses, or shows people actually think of when they hear New York Fashion Week.

This is what I jokingly call Faux Fashion Week. Or, depending on the show… The Walmart version of Fashion Week. 😭

And I’m sorry, but some of these shows are RIDICULOUS.

We’re not talking about paying a couple hundred dollars for a student fashion show or a fun local runway experience. There are programs where parents are reportedly spending thousands of dollars—sometimes $5,000, $10,000, or more— for their kid to walk in a runway show, and then the biggest accomplishment coming out of it is being able to put “NYFW MODEL” in an Instagram bio. Girl.

WHAT ARE WE DOING???

Imagine spending $10,000 so your child can walk down a runway in an outfit that looks like someone opened Canva, searched “fashion show,” and hit combine everything. And then you get the Instagram pictures. That’s it.

And let’s be honest about the audience at some of these events, too. People love throwing around words like “networking,” “industry connections,” and “fashion insiders” to make these programs sound incredibly prestigious. But let’s be serious. If the room is primarily filled with parents watching their own kids walk, half of them filming on their phones, and everyone else is there because they paid for the same opportunity… That is not the same environment as being at an established designer show.

There is a HUGE difference between being selected by a fashion brand and purchasing a spot on a runway. And that’s the part I think social media completely fails to explain. You Can’t Buy Your Way Into Being a NYFW Model

This is what bothers me the most. Someone watching from home sees a teenager walking a runway in New York with a photographer taking pictures and hears: “She WALKED IN NYFW!” So naturally, they assume she was cast by a major designer.

They assume she went through castings, an agency submitted her, the designer wanted her specifically.

They assume this is the same Fashion Week they’re seeing from brands like Ralph Lauren, Coach, Michael Kors, etc.

It isn’t necessarily. And those distinctions matter. Being in New York during Fashion Week does not magically make every runway show New York Fashion Week. You can have a runway show in New York during NYFW and still be completely separate from the official schedule. And personally, I think calling every pay-to-walk runway “NYFW” is incredibly misleading. Because it cheapens the accomplishment for the people who actually earned their place in legitimate designer shows. So What Should You Actually Look For?

If someone tells you they walked in NYFW, LOOK IT UP.

Don’t just believe the Instagram caption.

Check the designer, the show, the schedule. Check whether the event is part of the official fashion-week calendar or is an independent event happening during the same week. The CFDA’s Fashion Calendar is one important place to start, and Vogue’s fashion coverage is another useful reference.

Because “I walked in a runway show in New York during Fashion Week” and “I was cast to walk for an established designer during NYFW” are two VERY different statements. And honestly? I think we need to stop pretending they’re interchangeable.

And This Is Why It Bothers Me: I don’t have a problem with Influencers wanting to model. What I DO have a problem with is the marketing. When a “brand” charges thousands of dollars, puts a teenager on a runway, gives them a handful of “professional-looking” photos, and then lets the experience be marketed online as “I WALKED IN NYFW,” it creates a completely unrealistic picture of how the fashion industry actually works. And then suddenly, actual Fashion Week looks like something you can purchase with a credit card.

It isn’t.

The whole reason Fashion Week is exciting is that these collections, designers, models, stylists, photographers, makeup artists, producers, and fashion houses have spent YEARS building their careers. You don’t just Venmo someone $10K and unlock the runway. And I’m sorry, but I will never understand spending that kind of money just to manufacture the appearance of a fashion accomplishment for Instagram. If your biggest selling point is “you can say you walked in NYFW,” maybe ask yourself why that’s the selling point. Because if the actual opportunity were so impressive, the name-dropping wouldn’t have to do all the work.

That’s my Fashion Week reality check.

Now let’s talk about the shows that ACTUALLY had me obsessed. 👀

My Top 3 From NYFW

I saw SO many collections this season, and narrowing everything down to three was honestly painful. But after going through approximately a million photos and videos, I finally have my list.

#1 — 7 For All Mankind

This one was probably the most exciting for me. I’ve been waiting for a brand to really embrace that 2000s high-fashion-meets-grunge aesthetic again, and I feel like 7 For All Mankind absolutely understood the assignment. The denim, the styling, the silhouettes—the entire collection felt like the version of the early 2000s that fashion Pinterest has been trying to recreate for years. I swear I’ve watched every photo and video I can find from this collection. And then I saw someone in the comments say it was giving Jenny Humphrey, and honestly…YES. That is exactly the energy I was getting.

It’s nostalgic without feeling like a literal costume from 2004, which I think is what makes it work so well. As someone who is very into 2000s fashion, this collection was basically made for my Pinterest board.

#2 — LoveShackFancy

Next up: LoveShackFancy. This collection was giving SPRING. Like, full-on dreamy, high-fashion spring fantasy. I loved the glittery fabrics, floaty materials, romantic silhouettes, and all the movement throughout the collection. It felt feminine without being boring, and the styling made everything feel even more elevated. If I had to describe this collection in one sentence: The definition of high-fashion spring.

It made me want to completely skip fall and start planning spring outfits immediately—which is saying something because I am literally obsessed with fall.

#3 — Ralph Lauren

And finally, Ralph Lauren, which was actually the first show I watched this Fashion Week. One of the biggest things that stood out to me was the brown and blue color combination. We’ve obviously seen both colors individually forever, but I loved seeing them paired together in this way. The collection felt different from some of what we’ve seen from Ralph Lauren over the past few seasons, while still feeling very recognizable as Ralph Lauren. And honestly, I’m hoping we see more of this color combination moving forward. Brown + blue might officially be having a moment.

Okay… Now Let’s Talk London + Paris 👀

NYFW may be over, but we’re nowhere near done. London Fashion Week is officially here, and then we have Paris. And if I’m being completely honest, the UK and European fashion weeks are usually the ones I get the most excited about. I feel like London and Paris designers are often willing to experiment a little more with presentation, styling, silhouettes, and the overall experience of a show.

And Paris especially always has those collections that make me think:

“Wait… why does this look like something straight out of a 1994 Chanel archive?”

You guys KNOW I love that. There’s something about that ’90s/early-2000s Chanel era that I will never get tired of, and I feel like you can still see its influence all over modern runway fashion. London Fashion Week: First Impressions H&M kicked things off this season, and I have to be honest… I was a little underwhelmed.

Don’t get me wrong—I definitely saw pieces I liked, and there were some really cute looks. But overall, I was expecting a little more. After seeing so much creativity from other collections, I think I just wanted the collection to feel a little more wow. But we’re only getting started. There are SO many shows coming over the next couple of weeks, and I already have a list of collections I’m watching very closely. So, as always, make sure you’re following along with me on Instagram Stories + my broadcast channel, because I’m definitely going to be sharing my reactions as the shows happen. What I’m Watching Next: We’re officially entering the part of the year where my camera roll is about to become 90% runway screenshots.

London → Paris → endless runway looks → me adding everything to Pinterest.

You already know the routine. I’ll be sharing my favorite looks, collections, trends, styling details, and probably a few “WHAT WERE THEY THINKING???” moments along the way. Because that’s half the fun of Fashion Week. And now I want to hear from YOU: What did you think of NYFW this season? Which collection was your favorite? Are you more excited for London or Paris? And what shows are you watching over the next few weeks?

Let me know—and I’ll see you on the next Fashion Week recap! ♡