A day in the life of FashionUnited editor Kristopher Fraser
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Kristopher Fraser joined FashionUnited in 2015, and serves as the publication's New York Editor. Based in New York City, he handles the content for the entire New York City market. He's one of our many international editors who helps make FashionUnited run.
Describe a day in your life:
I'm usually up by 8:30 a.m. I naturally wake up at that time. I do a little bit of yoga when I wake up just to get the body and mind going. After that, I go through all my work e-mails. Once I'm done doing that, I read all the news headlines for the day to see what's going on in the world of fashion and business. My go-to morning publications are WWD, Fashionista, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and occasionally Reuters. It's important not to just read the fashion and style sections of The New York Times or the Wall Street Journal, I read the business and technology sections too. The world of fashion is so interconnected to those other worlds, people often forget this. I always try to make sure we have all the big news headlines covered, and in this second half of the year I've also been focusing on getting us more content on emerging designers and fashion companies.
My morning consists of getting articles done, and my afternoons usually involve contacts with people I have networked with to do stories on their brands and communicating with PR firms to see what new things their clients have going on. Afternoons are occasionally reserved for interviewing people as well. Evenings are for fashion events I'm invited to, which can include anything from press preview parties to rooftop parties for fellow fashionistas. Also, in the gym about four or five days a week. I guess you can say I lead a very glamorous life.
What was your first Fashion Week like?
My first Fashion Week was of course, New York Fashion Week. Sometimes I like to make a joke that I was an overnight success story, because I was hired as FashionUnited's New York Editor three weeks before New York Fashion Week fall/winter 2015. I'd only graduated college nine months ago, and out of the blue I applied for this job, got hired, and started doing runway criticism. A lot of people only see the glamour of Fashion Week, with the photos and videos from the runway shows, the celebrity encounters, and the afterparties, but they don't realize that's an entire week in which you don't sleep. A typical day during Fashion Week for me can be from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. the next morning. And of course, I always make sure the reviews are done in a timely fashion, I put a very fast turnaround time on those. While it is the most glamorous time of my life, it is very exhausting, but as the correspondent for New York, I make sure to attend as many shows as possible. My first Fashion Week I remember getting a few invitations for a lot of major brands like Dennis Basso, Lacoste, and Reem Acra. Getting those invites from those iconic brands or red carpet designers is always a milestone, it's affirmation that you've made it.
What advice would you give someone trying to break into the fashion industry?
I get asked this question religiously. First off, ask yourself two things: do you have a tough skin, and do you really want it? If you are hesitant on either of those questions, this probably is not the industry for you. If you have answered yes to both of those, then my main piece of advice for you is persistence. You will have the doors slammed more times in your face than you will have them open, but if you really want it, you will do everything possible to make it happen. My second piece of advice is an acronym I call ABN "Always Be Networking." The fashion world is smaller than you think, and you may only be three degrees of separation or less from someone who could make your career takeoff. Every runway show, party, and press event is an opportunity to be networking, so take advantage of it.
What's your favorite thing about your job?
Oh, playing dress up of course. I have a very, very extensive clothing collection. Some of my favorite brands include Paul Smith, Comme des Garcons, Phillip Lim, and Hugo Boss. I don't own sweatpants or shorts, so there is never a day or moment where you will see me dressed down. I'm all about the head-to-toe designer everything. My outfits of the day were a hit during New York Fashion Week: Men's last season. I ended up on Getty Images twice! I do a lot of bright colors and patterns. I take a lot of inspiration from Italian street style. My one rule for every outfit I select is "Dress like other people want to be you." It's an important philosophy to live by.