I had the most amazing opportunity to go to Los Angeles Fashion Week (LAFW) the past weekend. During this weekend I learned a lot about myself and what I want to do in the future with my career. It’s crazy to think that all it took was for me to leave Arizona for a little bit and step foot into a space that really interests me and see another possible field of work.
LAFW is no leisure activity, we were hustling from show to show, conference to conference. This part was definitely a little hard to get used to compared to the life I’ve grown accustomed to here in Arizona. I think the only part of fashion week that I don’t like and would probably steer me away from working in the fashion industry is the hustle and bustle of it all. When I saw all the publicists and assistants running around trying to get people into the shows or running back and forth between rooms, I couldn’t see myself doing that. When I think about my future job after graduation, I know that I want to work in PR and do stuff where I am making connections with my clients and getting to know them on a personal level, I don’t want to be running around trying to figure out what shows are going to be the best look for their careers (or on the flip side of them trying to contact people on the behalf of shows and designers). I know that PR is a very fast-paced industry, but I just feel like the fashion industry is too fast-paced for my liking.
With all that being said though, there were some very cool aspects of fashion week. I got to see some very cool brands like Vellachor, and I absolutely fell in love with this brand called Gypsy Sport and the show it put on (which was very L.A.-centric and celebrated the culture of L.A. while being inclusive and open-minded with designs). I got the chance to meet (and take a picture with) one of my absolute favorite designers Sami Miro. I have followed Sami since 2015 and I have been a big fan of her’s for a while, so it was really surreal to be able to not only talk to her but to actually have an in-depth and meaningful conversation with her. You never know how it’s going to go to meet someone you look up to, but this was a very special moment that I won’t forget.
All in all, this was a great opportunity that I will never forget and will forever be grateful for. Even though I know this wasn’t a once-in-a-lifetime experience, it does kind of feel like that because not a lot of people can see they’ve experienced something like that in their life, especially at my age. So even though this trip made me realize that I will probably never work in the fashion industry, it did hold a lot of memories that I will cherish forever.