Last Updated on February 5, 2020 by Kristen
Photo by Brunel Johnson
A company called Endeavor Experiences will sell you an “all access” pass to New York Fashion week, which begins on Thursday for $2,000. This is not really a good deal.
Years ago as a fashion blogger and writer, I was invited to fashion shows in New York for several seasons running—in fact I still receive invites and wish I could attend. Back then, I attended as often as I could make the trek across the country. Initially, it felt like a dream come true—I was even in the front row a couple times. It may have been a case of mistaken identity, but it was thrilling nonetheless. Once I sat next to one of my favorite bloggers at the time, Kelly Framel (her blog was The Glamourai), and she was lovely and sweet to me and it felt like a pinch-me moment.
Still, I wouldn’t pay $2,000 for the experience.
It might seem worth it to get an inside look at something so exclusive, but here are some reasons why it’s probably not:
1. Fashion shows last maximum 20 minutes.
2. Even the most expensive ticket (they begin at $600) gets you into exactly 1 show, and as mentioned, it will be short.
3. If you manage to get anywhere near a celebrity, they will blatantly ignore your request for a photo and gaze in the opposite direction as if you were not standing directly in front of them, not that this has happened to me.
4. Unless you live in the area, you’re on the hook for airfare.
5. We are not talking about dinner with the designer, here. You get a “bite and a drink.”
6. We’re not even talking about full hair and makeup with this ticket. You get specifically a hair and lip “touchup.” So, do 75 percent of your hair and lips, I guess?
7. Keep in mind that the very reason why it’s now possible to buy a ticket to fashion week is because the entire enterprise is losing its relevance.
8. Note that entrance to shows like Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang, or Oscar de la Renta are not on offer.
9. Thanks to this New York Post article, your lanyard will be a tip off off that you paid your way in. And this is how insiders feel about people who paid their way in:
“Getting invited was both a privilege and a reward for how much my fellow editors and I sacrificed along the way, and the fact that anyone can now buy a ticket is just pathetic.”
If money is really not an issue for you and you’re obsessed with fashion and you just really want to experience fashion week, I can’t stop you from dropping $2k.
And you never know, it could be a career investment, like it was for the makeup artist in the New York Post article who managed to land some gigs after buying an Endeavor Experience ticket.
But if this is an expensive ticket for you, you might consider instead spending significantly less money to throw a fashion week viewing party. You can stream most shows, and they’re almost always available to view shortly (if not immediately) after their short few minutes of live action.
