Courtesy of Nikeya Tankard ’28
New York Fashion Week is a highly covered and followed period of events, with runways crawling the many streets of the city of New York and beyond. This season, I not only got to look at the photo recaps of the runways and behind-the-scenes, but I was able to catch myself in some of them. This year, I got the insane opportunity to do backstage styling and dressing for 2 highly-acclaimed runways for NYFW, an experience that shifted my entire outlook on my life and career.
Despite the mounds of clothing atop my bed that I couldn’t bring myself to fold before heading off, I was eager to get my hands on some new garments to steam, hang and style for the 2026 New York Fashion Week season. I took the 3-and-a-half hour drive to Brooklyn, where I had my first show.
Starting with a “Boom,” I first worked for news and entertainment outlet Fashion Bomb Daily, a highly followed multi-platform company focused on reporting all the recent happenings in the multicultural worlds of fashion, beauty and style. The website has over 2 million monthly visitors, and the instagram has over 2 million followers, reporting to the world on the latest new fashion designers and events, exclusive editorials, industry advice and more.
At first, the organizers had us doing what you’d typically think of as unpaid labor — moving chairs around the runway, packing and distributing bags for guests, and, mostly, standing around waiting for some sort of instruction. While the great gratitude I felt to be in the vicinity was still felt, I felt a stronger sense of purpose and ambition. This calling led me to the dressing room.
At The Bomb Fashion Show, a several-hour show featuring 14 designers and countless curated looks, ‘backstage’ felt like an understating title. Chairs and mirrors lined the walls, as makeup artists worked diligently in clouds of powder and setting spray, rows of hairstylists brushing and braiding in an assembly line with all outlets at use with heat tools at the ready, and models teamed the space, moving from place to place to get ready for the show. This was only a portion of the room, however—the other ¾ of the backstage area was rows and rows of racks on racks, heavy with fabulous fur coats, intricate chainmail dresses, tall unique patterned hats and more. This was where I wanted to be.
To even get this opportunity as a volunteer, I had to do a lot of research and outreach, following my favorite runways online, finding out who might be organizing them, and reaching out directly through Instagram, LinkedIn, email and otherwise. Similarly to the way I got these gigs, I used a personal approach backstage, asking around if anyone needed assistance. I was met with a kind community of designers and models, particularly connecting with modern design company and team Fannie Lucille from Michigan, and highly-acclaimed celebrity stylist and designer J. Bolin, both of which I assisted during the show set up. Luckily, there’s always a need for an extra steamer.
Soon enough, about an hour after doors opened and guests were seated, the show was to start. Even before the models arrived, the aisles were filled with stars, with attendees including singer Amerie, actress and model Eva Marcille and rapper Christian Combs. Fashion Bomb Daily CEO and founder Claire Sulmers made a special appearance, and celebrity show host actress and model Meagan Good attended and moderated the event.
My persistence in asking around offering help ended up paying off, as the show’s creative director Craig Kirby appointed me as his point person for quick changes. This meant that any models with back to back looks were my responsibility to get to, undress, re-dress, and send back on stage — a process that sounds as vigorous as it was in practice. Funnily enough, as the show went on my downtime, which was limited, was spent practicing the buttons of jackets, lacing and unlacing corset tops, and identifying the jewelry that needed to accompany looks. I also was appointed to be a personal assistant for model Noelle Cameron, who participated in multiple runways and quick changes, and familiarized myself with her show run and looks in particular.
After hours of unzipping, hanging, buttoning, clipping, brushing, lifting, typing and spritzing, darting all around the huge backstage area, the show came to an end. I thanked my show production team, and expressed my great interest in getting involved again next season.
Less than 24 hours later, I had my next show in Lower Manhattan for modern luxury brand PUBLIC SERV-CE. Though a lot smaller and newer than a lot of the brands I worked for at my previous show, the quality, professionalism and attention to detail did not falter at all, and the following was even more impressive. With over 48,000 followers on instagram and a team of professionals who have reached some of the highest points in the fashion industry, the stars were not only in the seats on the runway but also backstage and beyond.
I worked directly under the show’s creative directors Lisa Nguyen, who is also an art director, fashion stylist and content creator who has worked for Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, i-D, Coach, Diesel and more, and Raphael Young, the founder and chief vision officer of PUBLIC SERV-CE, who has worked for Off White™, YSL, Calvin Klein, Fendi and more. The models too, were a collection of professionals with long lists of associated fashion companies, and even longer instagram followers lists.
I, alongside my larger team of selected volunteers, were each assigned a model and their looks, both of which we were to attend to with great focus. While the Bomb Fashion Show was a bit more hectic, with little time to zero-in on looks for long periods of time and high levels of concentrated focus, the PUBLIC SERV-CE show had allotted time for us to feel, see and interact with each look on an intimate level.
The never-seen-before collection called “STREET TAILORISM” explored the intersection between streetwear and tailoring, focusing on elements of form, fold, fit and atmosphere. This was PUBLIC SERV-CE’s highly awaited runway debut.
I dressed fashion stylist and model Manny Omitto in two looks, one featuring an unconventional stark-white trenchcoat and cargo-like pants, and another with a branded PUBLIC SERV-CE nylon pullover accompanied by a pleated side-button skirt — needless to say, that buttoning and cuffing practice definitely came into play. These looks, with the rest of the runway, was received with high acclaim and a ton of publicity — to see the looks I worked on featured in DAZED and Hypebeast was something I’d never imagined.
After all the work I’d done that weekend, the backstage space felt less foreign, big and scary, and the fashion world and my own involvement in it felt no longer like a fantasy and more like a memory that I’d hope to make my future.
