Behind the scenes at New York Fashion Week
NEW YORK (WABC) -- To call New York Fashion Week a "fashion frenzy" would be an exaggeration, but behind the scenes is an army of stylists and make-up artists who work very hard so the models can put their best foot forward for each designer.
Calm, cool and collected. The clothes of Phillip Lim are presented in a way that seems effortless, but actually takes a lot of work.
When it comes to getting ready in a vast former warehouse in Manhattan, no detail is too small. Months of preparation go into a show lasting just eight minutes.
"We ask the question: 'Is it believable? Is it authentic?'" Lim told me backstage. "And if it does, then it makes the cut."
If you're the designer, dress to impress means plenty of stress.
"More than a decade of doing this, do you get nervous beforehand?" I asked Lim.
"It's like the first one every time. It's like the first dance," he responded.
In the age of social media, the jury's verdict is immediate, said Alex Badia, style director of WWD.
Badia explained that he measures success at a show "like a hit song."
"It's like a good rhythm, a good beginning, a good chorus, and a good ending -- and something that makes you feel something," he said.
Badia has noticed fewer celebrities at Fashion week this time around.
"Long gone are the days you pay someone you don't know to sit at your show," he said. "Really, I mean I don't know if it happens still, but I don't really see it. It's more about a personal friendship, or someone actually really liking the clothes."
We found Caleb McLaughlin from "Stranger Things" -- in the front row for his very first show.
So, I asked, "Is it exciting for you, for you to come here?
"Yes, it is," he replied. "Definitely, definitely, definitely."
Like McLaughlin, I was attending my first Fashion Week show, and I can agree with him: It's "definitely" exciting, in part because so much hard work goes into just a few short minutes.
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