Once again Fashion Week is descending upon New York City.
Today, designers begin to reveal their 2012 Fall/Winter collections on the runway. Fashionistas ogle over must-wear looks for the coming year. Newspaper style sections quadruple in size. And all of a sudden certain parts of town are overrun with tall, skinny women.
For the aspiring designer and the media and everyone in between, Fashion Week represents, as one designer explained to me, an eight-day search for the “cool.” Everybody wants to be at the coolest show seeing the coolest designs, and then mixing it up at the coolest cocktail party lasting deep into the cool February night.
This year, more than ever, social media is revolutionizing the pursuit of cool. Tumblr seems to have become the dominant force for sharing rich content in a vivid, captivating way. With an official Tumblr page and tag, the audience, journalists and designers can follow– and even contribute to– everything that is happening now. In the fashion industry, certain opinions matter more than other industries (we’ve all seen The Devil Wears Prada). But with constant blogging on Tumblr and pictures uploaded often using instagram, fashion is undeniably becoming more democratic.
Of course there is a set calendar in this events-driven week, however the impromptu events define the week. Nobody knows what is cool right then, in the moment, unless they constantly follow– figuratively and literally– the hot Twitter feeds of the fashion universe. Shows and parties will pop up across the city, without much notice or fanfare, only to grow in size and glitz as the Tweets rush out. Fashion Week is networking heaven for the aspiring designers; they can’t afford to not follow the leads of Twitter only to miss the opportunity of a lifetime.
Be sure to swing by these hot spots to see and be seen:
5 Best Bars & Restaurants To Spot Celebrities During Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week 2012′s 5 Best Public Events
NYC’s 5 Best Fashion Boutiques For Spring Trends
Here are some resources to help you follow all the action:
Fashion Week’s Technology Makeover