The Low-Down on Fashion Week

New York Fashion Week... Many may think it's simply a gathering of snobby, stylish people to watch models strut down the runway in clothes that barely anyone can afford. Many may think that it's a mere social event for the elite. In short, many people have misconceptions of what NYFW really is. Just last year, Bill O'Reilly expressed hatred toward the entire tradition of fashion week, saying, "When you go to a thing like this, money is no object for these people, right? They are spending $5-$6,000 dollars on their little dresses." Not exactly, Bill, but thanks for your input. Of course there are those people who will walk in with outfits that have a net worth of tens of thousands of dollars of clothing and accessories on. New York Fashion Week serves as a "thriving environment for creativity," says Refinery 29, and as a cultural showcase of both local and world-famous designers.

Sure, NYFW has its token snobs and elitist Upper East Siders, but there are important businesspeople, editors-in-chief, bloggers, columnists, PR personnel and photographers. I could go on, but the point is that there are many people at the shows for a reason, to show the collections to the public via advertisement, magazines, etc. It's not all fun and games. After all, fashion is a business, not a hobby.

As a blogger, I see the NYFW as seven days out of the fall months when designers display their masterpieces. In the time leading up to this week, designers are inspired by many things they see everyday on city streets or trips abroad or even trips to the grocery store. Their emotions, inspiration and overall experiences shape the lines that they create. Each collection is like a look into a designer's life and what he or she deems important, because that's what each one is looking to show. Sure, it's all about the clothes -- colors, textures, patterns, etc. -- but not in a purely materialistic way.

As a Boston-based blogger, I have friends and stylists attending the shows now who are there strictly for business. Of course these people love fashion and have been looking forward to the star-studded celebrity sightings and eccentric runway shows, but each one of them is there to either promote lines, scope out couture pieces for their showrooms or for the purpose of their blog(s). A lot of work and creativity go into the making of the shows, obviously, and the press does an immense amount of work reviewing each one and getting photographs up as fast as possible on their websites.

I hope I've made my case that NYFW is more technical and business-savvy than most people think it is. I'm currently in my second week of college at Syracuse University, so I'm not able to attend, but I've live streamed each show from my laptop and I'm working on my own reviews. I'm very lucky that the content is accessible online because NYFW isn't something I like to miss! Twitter, Facebook and the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (online) video streaming have made me feel like I'm in the front row. And if you know me, you know I love the front row.

Cheers to NYFW, the models who work countless hours of the day, designers who have spent all year sketching and sewing, and each and every fabulous attendee at the shows. It's time for me to get back to reading my September issue of Vogue and live streaming my shows. Oh, and maybe I'll even do a little bit of homework, too. And back to my Bill O'Reilly remark, I hope I've made a good case against his utterly ignorant comments.