Corey Kindberg

I always like to keep my eyes and ears open for new opportunities. Luckily, my ears were open at the right time.

A friend had told me about an opportunity available at the awesome website StyleCaster. Well, I left the CFDA and I am now over at StyleCaster working as a social media intern as well as a content writer. So I'll get to tweet about awesome events and write some amazing things. I'm also covering February Fashion Week for the mens shows so that should be exciting.

So make sure to tweet to me @StyleCasterJTM.

One of the coolest things about interning at the Council of Fashion Designers of America's Fashion Incubator is seeing the designers' collections come to life. It starts with an inspiration board and an idea. The designers get to tell a story with their clothes - a story that takes 12 minutes strutting down the runways during New York Fashion Week.

From seeing the sketches, to the fabric getting delivered, to watching the pieces come together and then a whole outfit that retails for more than I can afford - it's simply mind- blowing. I count my lucky stars that I got to see this BIBHU MOHAPATRA S/S 2012 look on the runways just about a month ago and now it's being worn by celebrities and the fashion elite way before anyone else can get their hands on it. Like this picture of Actress Lucy Owen wearing a look from the runways during Paris Fashion Week.

Now please pick your jaws up from the floor - because she looks stunning! 

While this post nothing to do with the CFDA it has a lot to do with reaping benefits from any internship. Internships are the best place to network with anyone possible. Especially if you work in social media as I do.

We twitter mavens have this little sacred thing known as a tweet up; in which all who handle a twitter account step away from their TweetDecks or HootSuite and get together.

I was lucky enough to meet the lovely ladies who handle social media for the effortlessly chic brand known as Tibi at such an event. You may be asking what is the point, well, this networking event led to an invite to sit front row at the Tibi S/S 2012 fashion show.

First row seats are coveted, as is an invite to any show. These shows are also amazing networking events and give you the chance to mingle with industry professionals. Lesson of the story? Never stop networking, you never know where you might be invited to go.

This past Thursday was the annual Fashion's Night Out (FNO) -- a day when your favorite celebs and fashion icons come out to celebrate and kick off the start of September Fashion Week.

After doing Fashion's Night Out before, I can pretty much say I've seen it all and I took the day off - sort of. Instead of going out, I was sitting in the offices of Vogue tweeting from the official @FNOnyc twitter handle.

If any of you tweeted and I retweeted or tweeted to you, well that was me! It was awesome! Four other social media mavens sat at computers screaming out the most interesting of tweets to come through on our feeds. It really was amazing! Who knew the power of social media could go so far? It was like I was there with all the twit pics being sent in!

The picture above is an analytics site that shows the trending topics in the world. As you can see, FNO was trending just about everywhere. It was absolutely an amazing experience! 

This semester I have the wonderful opportunity of interning at the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Incubator, a program that helps mentor and drive upcoming designers in New York City. I'll be creating my own social media content, helping the designers, as well as doing many awesome things for the CFDA.

With Fashion Week upon us things are more than crazy in the showrooms. This past week during my internship I was able to see what it was like for Bibhu to style his looks for his presentation. It was an experience that I'll never forget. Laying all the clothes out, dressing the models, selecting the run of show. You never realize how much time and effort goes into a 5 minute show. 

This pic is of Bibhu in his studio styling the looks. (I got it from the CFDA Incubator Tumblr.)

Last Thursday was the start of one of the biggest weeks in the biz, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. I’m sure that many of you know that this is the week when American designers showcase their new collections. For many LIM College students this is also a time that we get to experience what it’s like to work a fashion show backstage. A few friends of mine got to work the Charlotte Ronson and Richie Rich show, along with many others.

Unfortunately for me, I was unable to work any shows due to a heavy courseload and work schedule. However, if you go back into my past blogs you’ll be able to see what it’s like when I worked the Ports 1961 show last Fashion Week.

In more exciting news, I was recently published on one of the industry’s biggest online blogs -- Racked NY! This site has information on sample sales, retail partnerships, and much more that pertains to the fashion industry. I’d love for all of you to check it out and let me know what you think. If you have what it takes to sneak into a fashion show follow my tips and tricks and let me know how it works.

As much as I would love to sit here and tell you all about how glamorous my life is here at LIM College, I’d rather not lie to you.

Don’t get me wrong, it does have glamorous moments. Such as riding in a town car to Lincoln Center to the Ports 1961 S/S 2011 Show with their Chief Merchandiser, or going out to great dinners in the Meatpacking District with some of my closest friends. But that doesn’t happen all the time.

This week was rather boring due to the large amounts of snow that came down upon Manhattan. You won’t find me complaining though, that meant that I didn’t have to wake up early for class due to the school being closed. Not only high schools get snow days, colleges do too!

This week was spent mostly at Tommy Hilfiger, working my days and nights away. We did our Spring rollout this week. That meant staying 'til about midnight unpacking boxes of new merchandise and placing them in their proper spots and packing old merchandise so it could be shipped off to our Secacacus, NJ outlet store. It was also spent catching up on homework and projects.

I love my school, but please don’t think its all fun and games here. It’s a lot of work and requires a lot of dedication. In the end though, it’s all worth it!

The greatest thing about LIM College is our location. New York City is the powerhouse of fashion in America. Even better than that is the fact that New York City is also the site of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. For the past week I have been sneaking in and out of Lincoln Center and witnessing some of the best S/S 2011 Collections known to man. I’ve seen designers like Ports 1961, Betsey Johnson, Parabal Gurung, Davidelfin, Toni Fransenc and many others.

I now live in the center of where fashion takes place. I know that if I want to get ahead in the fashion industry that I can’t live anywhere but here. Throughout Fashion Week I’ve made so many valuable connections. I’ve met the Creative Director of Vogue, Grace Coddington, an editor from WWD, and people from many PR firms.

The even better part of Fashion Week is the free stuff. I’ve gotten swag bags from Betsey Johnson, Gurung, and Fransenc. Who doesn’t love free stuff? This whole week has probably been the most hectic week I’ve ever had to deal with, but I loved every single second of it. I wouldn’t change a thing about my life. This week only assured me I made the right choice in deciding where to go to college.

It was 9am on September 10th, the first day of Fashion Week in New York City, and I was dressed in all black and clutching my Starbucks latte. I sat in the showroom of Ports 1961 with other volunteers and interns, putting together press kits and helping the design team with inspiration boards. After cutting out pictures for about two hours, I never wanted to see another pair of scissors.

The people at Ports 1961 then invited me and another student to attend the show, not to work, but to actually watch the fashion show. The next thing I know I’m in a cab going to Lincoln Center with the head merchandiser of Ports 1961. I walked up the steps of Lincoln Center, got in line for registration, and surprisingly enough, I was on the list for a Fashion Week show!

I stood in the back of the show and then decided to weasel my way up and nab myself a seat. A few minutes later and I’m talking to a fashion forecaster about a possible internship, while staring at Grace Coddington across the runway, and snapping pictures on my Blackberry of the Ports 1961 S/S Collection (which was amazing)!

After the show I stayed inside the tents and mingled and grabbed as much free stuff as I could. I then reluctantly walked out and down the steps of Lincoln Center with paparazzi snapping pictures left and right. It was probably the greatest day of my life.

photo credit: model Sigrid Agren in Ports 1961 S/S 2011 collection, New York Model Management