How To Break Into New York Fashion Week

Victoria shares a practical playbook for breaking into New York Fashion Week, from understanding the CFDA calendar to finding legit indie shows and landing last-minute crew gigs. She pulls from years of modeling, production, and photography to give you steps you can use now.

• why this show exists and who it serves
• early modeling start and shift into production
• moving to New York opportunities
• CFDA calendar basics and why it matters
• when castings and bookings actually happen
• budget housing and travel strategies
• applying to everything without getting scammed
• backstage and crew roles that open doors
• independent shows vs official calendar trade-offs
• real examples of paid, well-run showcases
• research tactics to find designers and producers
• mindset: be humble, be present, follow up

People mentioned: 

@sashaeck.ph https://www.instagram.com/sashaeck.ph?igsh=eXUza3ZvYWltM2hs

@mauibylolita https://www.instagram.com/mauibylolita?igsh=MXJqMXZtdzZvemQ2dg==

If you have any topics you would like me to cover or you would like to learn more about, please message me on my Instagram @thatsthevpodcast 

Chapters

• 0:07 Welcome To That’s The V
• 0:46 Why This Show Exists
• 2:02 From Modeling To Production
• 3:16 Big-City Breakthrough From El Paso
• 5:06 Today’s Focus: NYC Fashion Week
• 5:56 Key Dates And CFDA Basics
• 7:02 Getting Hired: Early February Window
• 7:34 Travel And Housing On A Budget
• 9:04 Apply To Everything And Network
• 11:03 Be Available For Last-Minute Gigs
• 12:19 If Not February, Aim For September
• 13:45 Research Designers And Follow The Trail
• 15:53 Independent Shows: Pros, Cons, Pay
• 17:02 Shoutouts And Paid Experience
• 17:38 Closing And How To Reach Us

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:07

Hi everyone, and welcome to That's the V. It's like T but with a V, since my name is Victoria, your host. This is a podcast about fashion, fashion people, and opportunities in the creative industry. So we will be talking about the T behind it all. So from the producers to makeup artists to curators to designers, we're gonna learn from amazing people in the industry. So stay tuned for very interesting interviews that I'm really excited about. And the reason for this podcast is just to share a little bit more about how to become and be part of the fashion industry, really. Every realm and every platform has a very different background, but I think it's all tied together in the art of it and the passion behind it. So I want you all to listen and really learn from it. I really started this podcast because my boyfriend motivated me to start it if we're talking in all reality, but because I just wouldn't shut up about the tea in the fashion or just like fun facts that I would read about every single day and tell him about them. From I mean, the Golden Globes just happened, and there's so much like fashion in it and political movement, and I'm always reading all these things and talking. So he was like, you should just start a podcast and talk about this there. So here I am. And I really got into the fashion industry since I was like 13 years old when I started modeling, and that's the first time I was exposed to it all. Of course, I was very naive and did not know how the industry worked. I just knew I loved fashion. I knew I wanted to be involved in it some way or another. Modeling was a sort of channel to do it, but then I learned about the behind the scenes, who produced it all, how to build runway shows, how to connect with designers, how to become part of the whole production rather than just the face of it. Modeling is so fun, and I still love it so much. From photography to runway, it makes you feel very empowered, I think. But I also know that there's so much more behind it, and I've learned from such incredible people and the magnitude of productions from just fashion shows around Texas, or you know, the biggest New York fashion weeks. And I mean, have not been to a Paris one yet, but that's the next goal. But I have been to Milan, so I can talk a little bit more about that. Um, I really learned from people that made me fall in love more and more in the industry. And coming from a small town like El Paso, Texas, which is, in my opinion, not a small town, but it does have a little bit of that small town mentality. And just going and getting all the way to New York and working with designers and photographers and becoming a photographer myself to be photographing such cool environments, just have led me to really want to share my experience and talk about how to get there. I know there's so many young guys and girls who have asked me or have wanted to get into New York Fashion Week, for example, and they're from smaller cities, not just in Texas, but anywhere in the nation. And it's like, how do you do it? How do you, you know, get up there? And I'm here to talk about how to do it from not just my experience, but from others who have made it far in the industry too, who I will be interviewing and have interviewed already. And I am excited to launch those episodes and have you all hear from these incredible producers and curators, designers and artists. But for now, from my experience on this first episode, I will talk about how to get into New York Fashion Week right now in this moment. It's I thought it was the perfect time to launch this podcast because New York Fashion Week's just about to get started, basically. We're in the middle of January. This is when all prep really starts to flow. And New York Fashion Week in February, because there's a February New York Fashion Week, and then there's the September one. So for those of you who don't know, you want to have those dates in your calendar. But if you are a designer, makeup artist model, I know designers have to submit way sooner to the CFDA if you want to be considered to be part of the official New York Fashion Week. But there's also so much going on throughout that week that I've seen independent shows happen. So you don't have to be in the official uh fashion calendar, but being in that calendar that does validate you more. So my biggest recommendation is to follow the CFDA page plus their webpage, Instagram, all that good stuff. You'll have so much information from those pages alone and when they launch the calendars. I will be sharing more opportunities on the That's the V podcast pages. Make sure you're paying attention to the CFDA. And for models and makeup artists, your time to really apply to be part of New York Fashion Week is beginning of February. All castings, all talent is very much being hired, booked, and casted during that first week of February. Then the actual fashion week usually starts second to third week of February. And honestly, the best thing you can do is put yourself out there. I know it's easier said than done, especially if you live closer to New York and you know, gathering a group that's also interested. That's how I did at first. I went with a group of friends who were also interested in being part of New York Fashion Week. We were all like either models, photographers, um, creatives, really, PR. And we subletted an apartment in New York, which is the cheapest option, in my opinion. Airbnb is not my greatest recommendation, but subleasing for a short amount of time. There's so many options on Facebook. Um, I'm part of a WhatsApp group, but you just kind of become part of this community and ask around and have real-time interviews with people. You don't want to be scammed. But that's I think the most manageable way to find accommodations and not letting it be that expensive. But I think that's really the first step: getting yourself to New York, even if it's with a group of people, even if it's you staying and renting a room with other people who already live there, can give you an even better experience just because they'll give you the real raw New York. There's also applying to everything. You might not get to be, you know, on the top from the beginning of your makeup artist or model, but applying to every casting that you can. Uh, I share a lot of casting opportunities on my broadcast channel on my personal page, so Victoria Costa 04. There's also amazing other pages you can follow that also share these castings, but I really try to share them all there. There's an incredible girl uh that I follow that has a broadcast channel dedicated to just New York, where she shares castings. Her name is Sasha Eck. So Sasha.ec, I will tag in the caption and everything. There's all these sources that you can apply to that can guide you. And that's basically why I started my broadcast channel because I saw what Sasha was doing and I wanted to do something not just for New York, obviously, but more Texas oriented or even my surrounding cities because um I have more experience in Texas being from El Paso, but I'm always out and about traveling, finding the next opportunity, especially because of work. Since I now do photography and social media marketing, it allows me to just have more job opportunities. Basically, what you want to remember is get yourself to New York, find accommodations either with a group of people that you're traveling with or with someone that already lives there. Apply to all castings. And I know there's opportunities for not just models, but makeup artists and all creatives, really. If you're looking to be back of the house, so helping with production, lighting, sound, I see so many opportunities being posted, especially the week of New York Fashion Week. You have no idea how many productions um like have people that bail or get sick or something happens. So they're looking for people to just be in the city on set, be able to be available, even for just like assistance. And you learn so much, even if you're not, you know, the face of the production, you're not like the top thing, but you are exposed to people in the industry who can connect you to the next big thing. So be humble, don't expect to be the star of the show first time you go to New York. I mean, some people do get lucky and that happens, but I don't have those expectations. And you will learn so much. The more you do it, the more exposed you will be to the people and the places you want to get to. That's my best advice. I think right now, if you're listening, the time is now. And if you can do it this season, September is gonna come sooner than you think. And I will be sharing more information on how to apply to that once the February New York Fashion Week is over. This is all from personal and outside experience from amazing people I've met in the industry and how we've all came to be, especially if you're not from New York. And I've been doing New York Fashion Week since September season of 2021 and February as well. So been doing September, February since then. And um, last year was the first year I didn't attend September since 2021, which broke my heart a little bit, but there's always next season. And I will not be attending this February because I have some other projects on the works, but I'm excited for the September season, and these are just important dates you want to have in mind, blocked off in your calendar, and it's usually around the same dates. And I mean, if New York Fashion Week is not on your bucket list and you wanna or you have already done it, uh, I mean, Paris is right after, there's Milan, and there's so many upcoming other fashion weeks I've been seeing pop up that follow the New York Fashion Week, but I think New York Fashion Week is very important because it's kind of the start of it all. I will say that the first time I went into New York Fashion Week, I think that's the follow-up question. Like, how do you even get into it once you're there? Well, it's looking into the opportunities, look into the calendar, CFDA posts, and follow all the designers. All these designers will connect you to their team, basically, see who they're following, see like their productions, see models, and see what they're posting. Because usually productions behind the designers will be posting the castings. Look for their emails, look for the press, depending on what industry you want to work for in regards to if it's makeup, if it's production, if it's um even just assistance, there's always opportunities being posted. So it's just really doing your research. Like, I think the biggest thing is following the people that you admire, follow those brands, see who they're following and what they're posting, and you'll learn so much from that. That's what I came to learn. And if you're a model, it's just basically going to all the castings you can from these designers, even if it's not part of the official CFDA calendar. I will say the smaller productions that are not part of the CFDA, especially if it's like a group of designers being showcased under another brand or production, if you can call it, they're great for experience, but I don't think they're the best produced. So I will say kind of like fair warning in that area. But designers that are doing their own independent shows during New York Fashion Week and are not part of the CFDA calendar, those are usually really great. And those are usually paid opportunities because they're basically putting them together themselves and they want to have a good production. So look into that. One of my best experiences is a brand called Maui and Lolita. I will tag them in the caption as well, but they are usually showcasing independent shows, and they're, I think, such cool designers who really take care of their production. I was casted to be in their show once, which was paid, and I loved that. I love that they take care of their people, and I also photographed their show, so it was both really cool experiences, and that's just one example. I know they're doing independent castings for this February as well, so keep an eye out for that. And that's the V. That's my T to you on this episode. Hope you were able to grab some important advice or information that will help you advance to the next level. Thank you so much for listening to this first episode. I'm really excited to share more about this whole experience. If you have any topics you would like me to cover or you would like to learn more about, please message me on my Instagram at That's the V podcast and let me know. Bye.