This month I had the opportunity to intern for a public relations firm in New York City for New York Fashion Week and the week preceding it. Working for a firm that is intimately connected with the fashion world was an interesting experience for me because, although I like to think I have a good sense of personal style, by no means do I consider myself fashion-minded. I never could have predicted that Birkenstocks would make a comeback this fall, and I thought reflector sunglasses were extremely tacky when I first noticed them on display at the Sunglass Hut. I’m not good at predicting future styles, so it was interesting to surround myself for two weeks with people who make their living off of trendsetting.
No, I didn’t get to chill with Anna Wintour, and I didn’t see Miley Cyrus walk in the Jeremy Scott show, but I did lift some very heavy things. And I did get to wash the dishes of some pretty glamorous people. Although the internship made me feel like Anne Hathaway from “The Devil Wears Prada,” pre-Chanel boots, my overall experience in New York last week was extremely positive. One of the most wonderful things about fashion week, and about New York City in general, is the way people are so unapologetically passionate about their work. The fashion industry is so much more than the clothes you will see on the rack this season. It is a combination of design, drive and business that is meticulous and intentional, down to the angle at which the place cards for the fashion shows are set. In New York City, people understand that fashion is about so much more than what you wear, and there is a mutual respect among the designers and bankers alike.
While I will admit that it seems trivial to get wrapped up in the trappings of fashion week in the midst of intense political unrest across the globe, I encourage the skeptics to have some respect for the amount of ambition it takes to succeed in the fashion world. Although fashion week took up the majority of my time in the city, living in New York City for longer than a weekend was in and of itself a huge learning experience. There is something very humbling about making one’s home in a city that large. As the great American author and journalist Tom Wolfe once said, “One belongs to New York instantly. One belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.” This is because within the span of five minutes, a New Yorker can encounter a billionaire, a mentally ill homeless man, a child learning to ride a bike and a twenty-something couple on a first date.
A New Yorker plays small roles in so many short stories throughout a single day; on a single commute, one encounters failure and success, love and loss, happiness and despair. I believe this sort of exposure breeds wisdom. If you are thrust into emotionally and politically charged situations every day, you are forced to confront and deal with the problems of the world. Large cities are especially conducive to this sort of exposure because huge things constantly happen. You are forced to determine what you believe and why, not because of what your parents told you to believe or what your friends think is cool, but because if you don’t form some sort of an opinion, you will get swallowed up into the masses and feel disconnected from the world around you.
After the adrenaline and exhaustion of fashion week, I’m excited to settle back down into the slower-paced rhythm of Starkville, Mississippi. However, I feel that a city experience is invaluable to a young person. Facing the world head on is an awesome way to discern what you believe to be truth, and encountering an unfamiliar industry is a great way to form respect for that which you do not fully understand.
