How I manifested a brand trip & sat front row at NY Fashion Week last month, with no TikTok & 521 Instagram followers
...turns out, you don't have to be famous to access these things. You just have to be smart and know what you want.
note to my readers this article was meant to be published early march but was postponed due to the grievance of two close personal losses this month, one of which you can read about here.
Introduction
Dear Reader,
February is always the quickest month, but this year…gosh. I’m winded. Let’s put it this way…if I were a computer, you’d be at the Apple Store explaining to some young guy at the Genius Bar how I randomly died one day and won’t turn back on. this line did not age well.
I’m finally getting the chance to brace myself today after the rollercoaster of a month I’ve just had. this one too. So, while I’m catching my breath, I’ve decided to share some exciting life-updates on things I haven’t had a chance to regroup on since they happened, and provide some insights into how I accomplished them.
In this article I will be breaking down the milestones I accomplished in February, 2025, as a literal nobody with no TikTok and basically sub-zero Instagram followers, as far as the Instagram algorithm is concerned.
These milestones have included:
sitting front-row at New York Fashion Week
my first brand trip (still pinching-myself)
publishing a White Lotus episode guide for Elle.com (dream show & outlet)
recording music
producing my first concert (with the help of my pals Josh & Kathleen @studiojamsnyc.)
So. Alora. Andiamo.
How I was invited to sit front row at New York Fashion Week.
I started writing as a freelance contributor for ELLE.com in June 2024, about nine months ago, which is crazy to say. I can’t believe it’s already been 9 months.
It’s fair to say that within those nine months, my life has drastically changed. Since publishing episode guides for ELLE, publicists from every corner of media suddenly became aware of my existence and have been emailing me non-stop, inviting me to their events, to sample free stuff, to conduct interviews, and to attend brand activations.
It’s the best thing ever. It’s also something I was never prepared for. It has required me to become adaptable, think strategically, and to learn as quickly as possible.
About the SHAO NY Show
The SHAO New York show, titled “Paris of the East, New York of the West”, very graciously saved a spot for me in the front row, and I watched, enamored, as svelte characters with sharp bangs, show-stopping, oversized head-pieces and impeccable Mina-Le coded 1920s-inspired makeup looks glided past me in bold Brat-greens, deep wine burgundies, black sequins, slate denims, synched waists, and wide shoulder pads.
I wish I could be all cool and coy about this, but, in my best attempt at using discerning and selective language over hyperbolic phrases and vocabulary words—the show was absolutely stunning. Drop dead gorg. A total slay. House down boots. Serving c*nt at the upteenth degree. Where were these looks for brat summer? Fashionably late, as they say. (Easily forgivable.)
How to achieve success in the media world, in general
There is no one-size-fits-all formula that will lead you to successfully landing a front-row invitation to fashion week, just like there is no one-size-fits-all approach to becoming a writer for ELLE. I am a computer science major, guys. I did not study journalism. I am not a fashion influencer… I just cared about this stuff and finessed my way here, and despite all odds, it worked. It actually worked.
I can go into all the reasons why I took the path that I did, what I was thinking in each moment which drove me to make each decision, every step of the way. But it would not matter, because at the end of the day would not recommend my path for anyone.
In fact, I recommend you do not copy anything I do, ever. It is not going to work. It is difficult. Trust me, you will be miserable. In fact, you will be miserable if you try to do anything, ever, in a way that is not your way.
And the reason is because if you try do things other people’s way —I guarantee you, that there will be this one thing preventing you from becoming successful…
It’s not being bad at growing your socials. It’s not your middle-school bully who still haunts you, despite years of therapy. It’s not starting from ground-zero. It’s not the way you look, or where you come from, or some self-perceived personality flaw. It’s not going to be any one of these things. These are all overcome-able obstacles.
But there is one obstacle that can and will obliterate any dream that you have any hopes of someday achieving.
Ready to hear what it is? Here it goes…
It’s boredom. You will get bored.
Boredom is going to be the thing that kills your drive, kills your enthusiasm, kills your joy, kills your adventure.
There is such deep, deep satisfaction in discovering new ways to do things.
Whatever you want to accomplish, my only advice is to do it your way.
Listen to your gut. Confuse the people around you. Do things for the plot. Go on side-quests that make absolutely no sense, but feel right in the moment. This is my singular piece of advice to anyone ever. That is the only way that you will ever start creating work and a world for yourself that you are truly proud of.
In my case, publishing work for ELLE is what has allowed me to access to the experience of getting to sit front row at New York Fashion Week. But not everyone is a writer, and that is ok. You don’t have to be a writer for ELLE, you don’t have to have to be an influencer. You just have to find a way.
How I was approached with an invitation to attend my first brand-trip. (Pinch me)
When I opened up an email from a public relations company I had never heard of before on a casual Tuesday morning in the office and read that I was being invited to Carlsbad, California to attend a Jazzercise press-trip for a ‘weekend winter getaway’, my first thought was…
Is this a joke?
My second thought was…
Is this real?
My third thought was…
Is somebody trying to kidnap me?
It was real. On February 19th, I got up at 5 am, took an Uber to Newark Airport, and was flown out on a 9am flight to join Jazzercise and Visit Carlsbad for an incredible weekend getaway in sunny California.
I didn’t believe this was actually happening until I stepped outside the terminal at the San Diego Airport to find a white van stuffed with suitcases and about a dozen other seasoned freelance journalists who all seemed to act like this was a perfectly normal experience for them.
Guys, I did not know that this was a thing. For influencers, maybe. But for journalists, too? I know I didn’t go to journalism school, but why have I never been aware that things like this exist?
I spent an entire weekend on a tight agenda, taking back-to-back Jazzercise classes, attending nightly Michelin-star dinners, and getting to know the wonderful women-owned family legacy that is the iconic Jazzercise fitness brand. I was put up in a jaw-dropping beachfront stay at the Beach Terrace Inn, and experienced the most astounding sound-bath experience at the legacy-holding Omni La Costa Resort and Spa.
Earlier that week I’d been tasked to write a White Lotus Season 3 Episode Guide - a satire about rich people on vacation. Little did I know that I’d be typing it a few days later from my deluxe suite hotel balcony that I would have never been able to afford on my own. Talk about satire. I felt like I was living inside of one of the episodes.
There is so much more to share, but I’m saving it for another outlet, and will link the story here once the story is published.
In the meantime though…how was I approached?
Like I said before, everyone has their own path. I will die on this hill. I have no idea whether posting on Instagram about my ballet-background had anything to do with this brand finding me and contacting me? Or if they just scanned my name from the ELLE website and approached me that way?…I really, genuinely do not know.
What I do know is that these women are incredible at their jobs and that they found the right person to introduce to this brand. I have grown an enormous respect for this brand, and I am so grateful to have experienced the magic of Jazzercise firsthand.
Before turning my attention now to my music-related endeavors, I have a few last words for anyone who is interested in working in the world of media.
What matters most for a career in the media business is your reputation.
I’ll leave you with this… To be successful in media, you have to make sure that you become known to everyone in your circle as someone who has mastered these four things:
You have to be reliable. Now, on the surface level, this is pretty straight forward. Hit your deadlines. Do what you say you’re going to do. Stay on top of your workload.
But, it starts to get tricky when you have to start saying no to people. One of my biggest learning curves has been dealing with the complete onslaught of press opportunities that I’ve been approached with, and learning how and when to push back.
At first, it’s all very wonderful and exciting. But then, you’re faced with the fact that your outlet has both a reputation, and a voice, to maintain. And that you are just one person, and you can only do so many things for so many people.
From a reputation perspective, you have to remember that the outlet you are representing prides themselves on taste-making. And as tastemakers, it’s important to only say yes to the right things, and no to things that are not in alignment, even if it means turning down an opportunity that sounds really cool. You have to put the outlet’s interests ahead of your own, but still find a way to develop a personal brand, in the meantime.
You have to be humble. You cannot get ahead of yourself. In any discipline, it requires a series of benchmarks in order to achieve excellence. You have to ask questions if you are not seeing the results you want to see, and be prepared to take the feedback like a champ. But at the same time, you have to communicate calmly and assertively with the universe about what it is you want. Do not let your desires get lost on people. Let them be heard. Speak them into existence.
You do this by showing up in those spaces, exactly as you are, with the mindset of being extremely tuned into your environment, and prepared to make mistakes.
But Sofia? How do you prepare to make mistakes that you can’t anticipate? By walking into a room knowing full well that you will humiliate yourself at some point, and choosing to walk in, regardless.
Just put yourself in the room and be a good person. And when the needle isn’t moving, speak up. Ask questions. Listen carefully, take all your critiques gracefully, and be meticulous and deliberate about which words of advice to take with you, and which ones to leave behind.
You have to be a problem-solver. The way to be known as “a problem solver” is by fixing problems that no one asked you to fix. This requires you to pay close attention to your environment. The more you know about the way your environment functions, the more you’ll understand how things are related to one another, allowing you to diagnose the root of problems before the symptoms even appear.
You have to be a great communicator. This is the one I struggle with the most, because when I get stuck, I have a tendency to panic and stop communicating with all parties until I’ve completely fixed the problem by myself. DO NOT DO THIS! When in doubt, communicate.
You have to remember that it’s ok to admit when you’re stuck, and it’s ok to ask for help. And the way that you can still show up confidently when you are feeling this way, is by being a good person.
I always try to remind myself that at the end of the day, I am a hard worker and I have a good heart—and that’s more than you can say about the average person.
Shifting gears now to my music-related milestones.
The steps i’ve taken to produce my Debut EP.
Guys, it’s been a looooong time coming.
This project has been on and off for two and a half years now, amidst many ups and downs. But like I said in my Instagram reel caption promoting this article, I will die on my pop-star destiny hill. Over these two years I’ve been chipping away day by day, determined to complete this project, determined to continue meeting and networking with fellow musicians and learning from them, and in doing so, I have found my people. More on that here.
I met my current producer, Eric, in December at a “listening workshop” co-hosted by an artist and dear friend of mine who plays violin for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra; and her Grammy-award winning musician colleague.
I’m going to just go ahead and spoil the ending. The moral of the story here is…
When you, an aspiring musician, discover a completely free pop-up workshop on a random Wednesday night in the city after working hours, hosted by a literal professional violinist at the New York Philharmonic and her Grammy-winning-artist guest-host, GO.
Since meeting Eric and vibing immediately in the month of December, we put ourselves to work. In month of February, we’ve really buckled down on this music project, meeting every Thursday, with the exception of the weekend of the Jazzercise trip, to work on producing a single from my debut EP. Sometimes, even bringing in some friends to record instrumentals.
Also in the month of February I met my friend JP, at one of my closest friend’s birthday parties. We also vibed immediately. One weekend we were bonding in a dive bar over CharliXCX, the next weekend we were in Brooklyn Heights doing a 7 hour photoshoot in the freezing cold, shooting the cover of my debut single.
Once the edits are back, I’ll schedule a Spotify release 3 weeks out, to give myself some time to promote it.
So, if you’re here for my music project and are curious to hear what we’ve been cooking up, stay tuned. The soup is coming to a boil.
The Steps I’ve taken to produce a concert.
I am producing my first-ever concert which takes place next Saturday, March 29th. The concert is called “Little Cubicle Concerts”, drawing obvious and copious amounts of inspiration from NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series.
You can read about the early conception of this idea in this article, here. But this February has been all about diving into logistics, promo, and rollout.
I started by creating a sign-up form, asking for music samples, band name, promo materials…the basics. I blasted the sign-ups to my socials and Substack newsletter, and invited all of my Songwriting Workshop attendees to apply.
By the way, if I had encouraged you to apply and you haven’t heard back from me regarding this first show, I extend my warmest regards. Please understand that you are indeed being considered for future shows, and that you can expect a personal email from me, soon. My original intention was to do this outreach first week of March, but my two back to back losses and subsequent grievance periods this month have thrown me off course, you’ll have to excuse me.
I’ve leaned on my pals Josh & Kathleen, the founders of Studio Jams, in the development of this show. Our talented friend and fellow Little Cubicle Concert-performer Ally of the Break Bread Band created the promo poster, Kathleen has handled the marketing rollout and the Luma invite, and Josh has been tremendously helpful with concert-logistics, communications, and finalizing our Little Cubicle lineup.
And guys! I cannot believe it’s finally happening. I am so proud of what we are creating and I can’t wait to show you what we have in store. I am taking this as an opportunity to invite everyone to the show next weekend, Saturday 2-5pm at Verci, 12th floor.
You don’t need a high social following to manifest cool stuff.
Now. To wrap up this article and bring things full circle, I want to drive the point home that you do not need a massive Instagram following, or a certain college degree, or any one particular thing to mainfest things that seem completely out of reach for you—which in my case was NYFW, a brand trip, making music, producing a concert.
Remember, I am a computer science major who works in magazines, a self-taught musician who hosts songwriting workshops, a nine-months-in journalist who gets invited to the most insane events imaginable, and literally just a girl who shamelessly wants to be a pop star. None of these things make sense. I am not an influencer, most people have no clue who I am. But the ones who do, matter, and the ones who do, are what make my life so extremely enjoyable, even during one of the hardest months of my life.
I am making all of my projects work by being intentional, focused, and surrounding myself with people whom I respect, who respect the things in me that I respect most about myself. If I leave you with anything, it’s to start today by forging your own path, and owning that path. Get gritty and stake your flag in it. If you’re trying to copy other people and it’s not working, that’s probably a good thing. It’s the universe telling you that you are an original, and your story is just getting started.
As always, free to shoot me an email to ask questions, say hi, or provide feedback on any of the things that I’ve said in this article, past articles, or irl. I love communicating with my readers and I am excited to see this community growing and growing.
Your Friend,
Sofia
👏