For anyone in the fashion industry, including many fashion students like myself and my classmates, the question that always comes up is what is the correct protocol and etiquette within the fashion industry? I was actually inspired to blog about this interesting yet important topic after my last fashion show experience I had. As you all know I recently attended the Soigne Runway Show and pointed out some things I felt could have been done or handled better. I felt as a customer to express my opinion about this to the organization who put this event together. I requested a partial refund and explained how I witnessed general admission being able to sit in the front row that us as VIP paid extra for. Not only was a called a liar by Mr. Lavell's assistant, but the communication received from her was unorganized, grammatically incorrect, and it looks as if she was sending a Facebook message instead of a professional email. To top it off, at the end of the message I was sent somewhat of an "attitude filled" email saying "great have awesome life" (yes this is exactly what was sent to me). After this experience I asked myself what steps can be taken in order to not only put on professional but fashionable events, but to just have the proper etiquette on a daily basis. Here are some great tips I was able to research:
Be Humble
If you are a designer or some other creative role in the fashion industry, you must learn to be accepting of both compliments and criticism. When someone compliments your work, acknowledge it with a simple thank you. Brushing off praise may come off as aloof or condescending, even though you may just be shy. On the reverse side of this, don't expect everyone to love what you do. When your work is criticized, take it with a grain of salt. Unless the criticism is blatantly mean spirited, there may be something you can glean from your critic.
Be On Time
The term "fashionably late" is only a term. In the fashion industry few things are worse than people showing up late to fashion shows, photo shoots, or meetings. Showing up late can bring dire consequences in this industry. You can lose your spot in a fashion show, miss out on snagging a deal, and you can even be replaced for a coveted position. Mind your manners and the clock and be on time.
Be Invited
Whenever you are invited to a formal affair, make sure you have your invitation with you. Even though you may be close friends with the head of the fashion house, if you don't have an invite in hand it may be difficult for you to get into certain parties. Most importantly, if you weren't invited at all, then please don't bother just showing up. It would be blatantly rude to deem yourself invited to an exclusive party without even being asked by the hostess.
Be Original
Reinterpretation is an art, but unapologetically copying someone's work and pretending you came up with it is dishonest. Although some ideas and trends do get recycled in the fashion industry, it is never a good idea to rip off what someone else has done. It just looks tacky and even a bit lazy. Take the time to create something new and if you happen to take a bit of inspiration from someone else's design or runway show set, give credit where credit is due.
Obviously there are more tips to take, but these are probably the 4 main points to build a foundation on. I definitely have to work everyday to make sure I am complying in order for my business to be successful in the fashion industry, and I hope these tips help others as well.
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