PFW Diary: Caroline's Intern on her First Paris Fashion Week

My day started off as an ordinary Monday with a 9 AM accounting class (yikes, I know). After my brain felt like it was going to explode, I picked up some last-minute items, triple checked my packing list and headed in an Uber to JFK. It was finally the day I was heading to Paris for my first Paris Fashion Week!

I was nervous and anxious, but mostly excited!! What if I forgot something? What if my bag was overweight? What if I mess up? All these thoughts were racing through my head. I made it through security without any problems and my bag just made it under the weight limit. I ordered a glass (or two) of wine to unwind and thought of how blessed I was to be given this opportunity.

Boarding the plane, it still didn’t seem real that in 7 hours I would be in Paris. As I got off the plane and made my way through the city of Paris, I felt tears well up in my eyes. I felt like I was dreaming (I may or may not have been half asleep because I only slept for about 2 hours on the plane haha) but this was actually real.

Paris Fashion Week was another world compared to New York Fashion Week. Everything was different: the style, the atmosphere, the venues, the people. It was all so beautiful. Original French-designed buildings with intricate details and the glimmering Eiffel Tower were perfect backdrops for Caroline and I’s mini photoshoots.

Breakfast typically started around 1:30 PM for us (we we’re a little jet lagged) and then we headed off to presentations and shows. I actually got to sit front row at a few of the shows — it was unreal! I couldn’t believe that I, a college student, had a confirmation with my name and a seat to some of the Paris Fashion Week shows! Now, they may have bumped up my seat due to people canceling their flights because of the Coronavirus, but, hey, I’m not complaining.

My utmost favorite presentation from Paris Fashion Week and the entire month was Kevin Germainer. The pieces were not only absolutely gorgeous but were made of 100% up-cycled materials! The Swarovski gems were from excess inventory, the suits were vintage that they redesigned, the feathers covered some holes or tears in the fabric that would’ve been otherwise discarded — this is what fashion is about!

After long days of running all over Paris, which is actually a lot bigger than I thought, we typically ended the day with dinner around 8:30 PM which is very late for us Americans! The food was some of the best food I ever had. I didn’t know what I was eating half the time, but I was always delightfully surprised.

When the week eventually came to a close, I had been to about 20 Paris fashion week events, took over a thousand pictures, and consumed double my body weight in bread, cheese, and wine. To meet designers, bloggers, and editors from all over Europe and to see such amazing fashion in one of the most breathtaking cities in the world was such an indescribable feeling. I am truly so thankful to have attended my first Paris Fashion Week with Caroline and cannot wait for the seasons to come.