MY SECOND SEASON AT NEW YORK FASHION WEEK

Going back to New York Fashion Week for a second season felt less like a milestone and more like just… the next one. By 2025, this had stopped being a big deal and started being something I simply did. And this time I was supporting Arielle Juliet — who I'd actually sat next to in class at the Fashion Institute of Florida. Watching someone you learned alongside send her own collection down the runway is a particular kind of proud.

WHAT CHANGED WAS ME

The work itself wasn't really different from my first season — same controlled chaos, same tiny fixes with the clock running, same "is this model ready?" panic. What had changed was me. The first time, I was hoping I'd be useful. This time I knew I would be. I knew what to look for, where things usually go wrong, and I didn't freeze when they did. That's the bit that surprised me — not the show, but how much calmer I was inside it.

KNOWING WHEN TO LEAVE IT ALONE

The thing experience actually gave me wasn't faster hands — it was judgement. Knowing when not to touch something is as important as knowing how to fix it. First time round I'd have fussed at a hem that was fine. This time I could tell the difference between "needs fixing" and "leave it, it's meant to look like that," and just get on with what actually mattered.

COMPLETE SERIES

This is the sixth and final post in a seven-part series on returning to formal fashion education:

1. Why I Went Back to Fashion School
2. Inside the Fashion Institute of Florida
3. What Fashion School Taught Me About Construction
4. Learning Pattern Making Changed The Way I See Clothes
   
5. From the Classroom to the Runway: NYFW 2024
6. My 2nd Season at New York Fashion Week (you are here)