From Paris to New York and from London to Tokyo, fashion is a massive global industry.
As a designer, you’re always on the go, whether attending shows, meeting with vendors and manufacturers, or looking for inspiration.
While this may sound glamorous (and it is, to some extent), traveling from New York Fashion Week to London Fashion Week with your entire collection and team is not for the faint of heart.
When you’re traveling between major shows, you’re balancing heavy cargo, tight deadlines, and exhaustion. Yet, everything needs to look flawless on the catwalk, so you can’t afford any mistakes. So how do designers do it? Let’s find out!
Moving in Style Between Fashion Weeks
This year, we’ve already had several Fashion Week events, starting with Paris Haute Couture Week in January and ending with another Paris Haute Couture Week in July. In between these two, there were similar events in New York, London, and Milan.
Designers who participated in all of them had to constantly move between these four fashion poles, sometimes with less than two weeks to arrange everything. Traveling as a fashion designer starts to look less glamorous by the minute, right?
Here’s how a high-end fashion collection can be in New York one week and in Milan the next, looking amazing in both locations.
Specialized Air Transport
To avoid mishaps in transit, designers use specialized air transport providers like DHL Fashion Logistics, Air Plus, and Savino Del Bene, which offer bespoke, white-glove air transport for high-value clothing.
With these services, clothing travels hanging upright in dust-proof, climate-controlled aluminum containers. This eliminates creasing, avoids fabric crushing, and ensures dresses or structured suits can go directly from the runway container to the fitting rack without hours of steaming.
Flying in Style
When you have to be wheels down in Milan by 8 o’clock in the morning and prepare for a fashion show the same day, you don’t fly commercial. There are too many risks, from trouble at security check because of the special items you have to pack in your carry-on to unexpected delays that can ruin everything. Plus, there’s no way you can rest properly, even if you fly business or first class.
But if you book a private jet charter in New York, you’ll be in Milan in 6.5 to 7.5 hours, and you can leave according to your own schedule. In flight, you can have a meeting with the team, do some creative work, and sleep comfortably. And when you land at an airport that caters to private aircraft operators, it will be easier to reach your end destination.
Not to mention that you can bring your critical hero pieces, accessories, and one-of-a-kind couture garments on the plane without anyone making a fuss.
At the Destination
Sadly, there’s no time for sightseeing when preparing for an event. Once both you and your collection reach the destination, the preparation stage begins. Everything happens quite quickly, so it’s important to have a clear view of the plan.
For instance, top luxury houses route their collections straight to a reserved hotel suite or leased local studio where the designer, lead stylists, and master tailors are set up. Multi-brand houses or independent designers often have their freight delivered to a high-security logistics hub where specialized teams unpack, barcode scan, and sequence every look.
During the 48-72 hours preceding the show, models visit the hotel suite or staging studio for final fittings and alterations. On the day of the show, the collection is carefully bagged and sent to the venue (about 4 to 8 hours before the lights go up).
Enjoying the Experience
Experienced fashion designers know how grueling it is to hop between New York, London, Milan, and Paris. Without a clear plan, a solid team, and several coping mechanisms, the travel alone will leave you burnt out and wilted.
This would be a shame given that fashion events can be a lot of fun for everyone involved. Not to mention the amount of inspiration and interesting conversations you can have with fellow designers and industry leaders.
So, take the time to find your pace and enjoy the experience from start to finish. Upgrading your travel comfort is one way to do it, but you should have other tricks up your sleeve, too. Happy travels!
