Photo: Lexi Moreland/WWD via Getty Images

New York Fashion Week shows and parties are usually reserved for a relatively small number of people, including select members of the media, some buyers, influencers and a few invested celebrities. This year, TikTok users decided to change that.

Infiltrating fashion shows is nothing new. New Yorkers and students in the city have been doing it for years as a rite of passage.

In August, videos with titles like “How to Get Invited to NYFW” and “How to Get into NYFW” began circulating on TikTok. I made a video to share stuff. Here is her highly coveted list of PR contacts for brands presenting at Fashion Week. (From the official NYFW website). In the video, Baira points out that the list is outdated, but she promises that many of her contacts are still the same, she has about 350,000 views and about Got 55,000 likes. A comment under TikTok said: You are always sharing your knowledge,” Baira replied. And that was just the beginning.

Soon many other TikToks started sharing email lists. Among them is a homemade spreadsheet full of direct contacts to the publicists running the show that week, including much-coveted ones like Tom Ford, Coach and Collina Strada. It also included what I did.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with helping each other out,” she said, posting a video on how to request invites to the show and posting a list of PR emails at the link in her profile. “And trying to get rid of the concept of gatekeeping and even helping other women.”

The race to democratize fashion week continued, but without sacrificing profits. People were still determined to make coins. One fashion week guide was on sale for his $99. I was impatient, so I bought it. The Dropbox file contained his two email templates. One to request an invitation to a show, and another to ask a designer or publicist to take a piece of clothing from the collection and wear it for the week. The rest of the kit contained another list of PR emails. Video also available for free on YouTube of her influencer. The PDF titled “The Ultimate Guide to New York Fashion Week” is full of freewheeling suggestions, like staying in a hostel or taking the train around the city.

I just wasted $99. Others probably did too.

It goes without saying that fashion should not only be for the elite. For everyone, it should be a practice, even an escape. But Lindsey, who runs the public relations firm Lindsey Media and is responsible for brands such as Corina Strada, Sandilyan and Susan Alexandra, was hell for a publicist like Solomon.

“I don’t know how many emails I’ve gotten this season for requests. It’s three to four times as many as usual,” Solomon told me between shows. “I appreciate the due diligence it requires.

Solomon said he went offline 24 hours a day over Labor Day weekend to deal with a family emergency. After returning home, he had received over 1,000 emails in just one day.

“I feel docked, to be completely honest,” he said. “If the email is very out of the left field and very random, it looks like this. How did you receive my email?“

I had to let him know I had seen his email on multiple videos on TikTok. This email is available to anyone the algorithm might deem to be even remotely interested in participating in fashion or fashion events. He then shared the most prosaic email he received, though he couldn’t reliably prove that the sender had found his contact information on the app. Highlighting the sender’s relationship with a “highly connected” financial buddy named Chad, we included the following symbolic sentence: I will add this to my resume. The images and composition skillfully correspond to the atmosphere. “

“I think there is nothing wrong with sharing emails with friends who are other content creators because I think brands are often looking for content creators,” the spokesperson said in an email. “And it not only helps with their outreach, but the worst thing a brand can do is politely decline your email.”

But for some publicists like Gia Kuan, declining the request wasn’t always an option. The proprietor of Gia Kuan Consulting, who was also inundated with requests for accommodation for the show, Mr. Kuan said Mark His Jacobs After His Haven At his party, a brimming inbox really comes to life I saw the In the days leading up to it, there was consistent post-show gossip, with an invitation to a party that was supposed to feature Doja Cat, Charli XCX, and Pink Panteles leaked on social media. For someone who arrived promptly at the event at its 10 p.m. start time and was met with a huge crowd that engulfed the block, it seems the rumors were true.

“On the day of the event, someone told me they had seen the flyer on TikTok. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I have to prepare for the worst,'” Kuan said. We had a crazy big crowd, it was insane, but we got it under control in the end.”

Kuan said more than 2,000 people attended, far exceeding expectations.

I was personally too tired to handle being pushed. This is common when many are trying to enter any kind of door. Brave souls like Jared Muros stuck it out.

“I watched a lot of YouTube and TikTok videos about how to get invited and how to participate,” Muros said of his preparations for Fashion Week. One of those videos he was from Bairah. Muros, who is also a model himself, has also stepped into Vogue, his event at the star-studded conglomerate where tickets reportedly cost him $3,000. “If people don’t want to sneak in, they have to either up their game or up their security,” Muros added. I don’t want to, but it’s their fault. I’m going to attend these events no matter what.”

Even PR’s gatekeepers, who are currently under siege with requests, know that the system is broken, and that a great party requires an element of chaos. I’m trying to let

“I think you have to understand how much work goes into producing a tight, curated show. to get it?” Quan said. “I am also not good at gatekeeper fashion.