How to get your brand or business into New York Fashion Week

• New York Fashion Week is an important event for fashion brands to showcase new collections.
• It’s also a great time for small businesses to grow through events and collaborations.
• Two founders share their tips for using events like NYFW to fuel growth as a small business.

Fashion Week is one of the recurring events that defines the beginning of fall in New York City. Major fashion brands invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in presentations and runways, celebrities spend the week moving from one show to another, and street style photos flood social media feeds for days.

Historically, the week has featured luxury names like Michael Kors and Tommy Hilfiger, while small businesses are usually left behind. However, there are still critical opportunities for budding entrepreneurs, even if they aren’t pitching on the main stage. Alyssa Coscarelli and Abby Price, two founders who run curated collaboration platform Infinite and home goods brand Abbode, respectively, believe it’s an opportune time to grow small businesses.

“The New York crowd understands the importance of shopping small, knowing where their pieces come from and knowing who’s behind them,” Coscarelli said.

During this year’s NYFW, Coscarelli and Price teamed up to host a pop-up shop selling a curated collection of fashion and lifestyle brands—including products from Price’s own label.

The pop-up shop is a cost-effective and accessible alternative to a runway presentation, Coscarelli said. “I wouldn’t tell any brand to have a runway show because that’s a big monetary investment and, for some brands, that’s not the right format,” she said.

Coscarelli and Price shared their business growth tactics and tips on how founders can increase brand awareness and sales during NYFW.

Pop-up stores bring new customers to your business

Coscarelli and Price decided to create a pop-up store to create an intimate, in-person experience for customers to connect with brands, products and each other.

“To get their hands on something that they feel like they’ve discovered and no one else has, that’s a really special feeling,” Coscarelli said.

Both Infinite and Abbode have built their missions on building other women-run small businesses and BIPOC founders through curation. The pop-up will include a curated collection of brands such as Poppy Undies, a Los Angeles-based underwear line, and Zoe Schlacter, an LGBTQ-owned textile brand.

However, Coscarelli and Price said they are entering the partnership with slightly different goals.

Since Infinite officially launched in February, Coscarelli hopes to get new customers through the event. She believes Abbode’s existing buyers are the same consumers who would appreciate Infinite.

In the meantime, Price hopes the event will drive sales and help establish Abbode in the New York fashion and lifestyle community.

To pay rent and inventory, sales are an essential part of any pricing arrangement. Beyond sales growth, Price is also “looking forward to people seeing that Abbode is the place in town for new, cool, small brands.”

Guerrilla marketing is a cost-effective way to get attention

Custom events like pop-up stores can be expensive, especially for brands like Abbode that don’t have physical locations. Founders may have to rent space, competing with other brands trying to capitalize on NYFW, which can increase costs exponentially. To keep prices low, Coscarelli and Price suggest using other methods for growth, such as guerrilla marketing—or unconventional, low-cost marketing tactics that can expand a brand’s exposure.

“If there’s a space where there’s going to be a ton of people, try setting up a table” or handing out promotional products, Price said.

When she founded Abbode, she took a guerilla marketing approach by dragging a wagon full of disco balls through the West Village and giving them away for free if people posted a photo on Instagram and tagged Abbode.

Anything that allows people to create their own content and promote themselves while sharing your brand is a great tactic for events like NYFW, she said.

Strategic product placement is free advertising

With so many events happening throughout the week, “you don’t have to do your best,” Coscarelli said. “There are more intimate, more creative ways you can be involved in a week like this.”

Small business owners should consider inviting a few micro-influencers or local brand fans to a small dinner to showcase any new products, Coscarelli suggested. Or hold an apartment-style showroom where people can come see the products while having a place to put their feet up and relax during the week, she added.

The award also suggests strategic placement of your products throughout the week. Invite influencers to wear your clothes at shows they attend or lend your products as event decor, she said. Collaborating in this way will allow influencers’ followers to learn about your brand, allow your clothes to be featured in street style photos, or allow event attendees to see your products in action.