How to Write About Fashion Week – When it’s Not Fashion Week

Fashion week is such a thrilling, high adrenaline, exciting, BUT EXHAUSTING event, that often times, I can't really process it, and provide thoughtful, original, in-depth coverage, until afterward. That way, I can review all of the shows, silhouettes, trends, and the like,  and select the most interesting and important of it all to write about. Sometimes deadlines and previous commitments don't allow me the flexibility to do this, but I've found that most readers don't really mind or care if you post five minutes after a show has ended, five weeks, or even five months!

Since fashion week always shows a season ahead, if you think about it, it actually makes more sense to share fashion week related info closer to the actual season; i.e. the shows in September are for the spring/summer collection, so once late February hits, and the stores are readying for a new shipment, share the relevant information about that season's offerings as it actually becomes available for purchase.

Here's some ways that you can write about fashion week-material when it's not that actual fashion week:

I've found that I have a ton of pics from fashion week, thoughts, and ideas that come to me AFTER fashion week is over, so here are ways you can share/refresh fashion week-related content throughout the year.

 Roundup What You've Previously Written About

Grab a really great image from the season, that represents some of the popular trends or most popular shows, and provide links to previous posts that you have already written about that particular fashion week while it was going on. This way, all of your information is top of mind for readers as a great reference, now that the season is actually here.

You can also provide links to previous seasons of coverage, for readers to take in the evolution of trends or items shown; for example, provide links to an edited selection of posts from spring 2014, as well as from spring 2013, and spring 2012. Of course cater this concept to the kind of content you provide, which may mean that it is outfit posts, tips, designer-specific, etc.

Focus on a Niche Fashion Week Category

Let's pretend that you covered all the basics during fashion week, writing about what came down the runway, was happening backstage, the big shows, etc, but now that it's after fashion week, you can go back through it all and break out your posts into interesting niche categories. For example, you can do a post on the best handbags from fashion week or the ones that are trends to watch and purchase into, repeating the same idea with other items such as jewelry, hosiery, lipstick shade, and more.

Sites like WWD.com, Vogue.com, Style.com, and ELLE.com offer detailed shots with most shoes, so that you can zero in on these particular items, which otherwise may be hard to see. It's always helpful to readers if you can link to either the actual products you reference, now available for sale, or similar items at a more affordable price point.

Stockpile Images and Posts to Publish- Later

Now that you may be on board with the plan to publish fashion week-related stuff when it isn't being shown on the runway, you can begin to accumulate info and images during fashion week and over the next few months to post at a later date. Use a folder on your desktop to dump images, and keep a running tally of what you have in mind and what you'd like to do in an easily accessible format (I like using the “Stickies” application on my desktop or Evernote). I tend to take a ton of pictures during fashion week, and they don't always fit neatly into posts, so I tend to compile them for later posts, which sometimes can be a trend roundup, but other times I canvas it as “through the editors lens,” and share what I found to be most fascinating, and actually snapped pics of, from the week.

You can also write a fashion week-relevant post while all of the info is fresh in your head, and simply store it and queue a publish date for several months down the road.  Truth be told, I barely remember what I wrote about a week ago, let alone all of the posts I churned out and things I saw five months ago, and in utilizing fashion week in way, you will have the ability to offer ultra pertinent content when readers will most want to know and apply what you have to share! 

Have you ever shared fashion week-related content, after the shows have ended?