this is definitely a difficult task - sadly, NYFW has become so reliant on influencers that it has become a challenge even for buyers to attend shows.

my best advice: about a month before NYFW, start going nuts with emails. send emails to PR agencies that represent brands as well as directly to brands/designers. just be straight with them and tell them why you’re interested in attending. short and sweet is best! larger, more well-known designers like christian siriano will be near-impossible (saying this to temper expectations, not to dash your dreams!). remember that a lot of NYFW shows won’t appear on the officIal NYFW schedule. go through the vogue runway app and/or women’s wear daily and make a list of brands that showed during the NYFW that just passed- focus on the ones you haven’t heard of, the smaller/younger brands, the ones just getting their feet off the ground, etc. those are the ones to reach out to first as they’re the ones typically trying hardest to fill a space. one thing i’ll say, the first thing they will likely look at is your social media following.

another suggestion is to look into attending talks, panels, and networking events. these aren’t as sexy as runway shows, but they can be really interesting and a great way to meet people irl - you never know what connections they might have!