Phoenix Fashion Week

Know as fashion’s most comprehensive collection of women’s apparel, accessories and footwear, WWDMAGIC showcases more than 2,000 emerging to established labels across every pricepoint and trend. Presented in collaboration with Women’s Wear Daily, WWDMAGIC features expert fashion forecasts, exclusive networking events, cutting-edge seminars and all the styles of the season. Phoenix Fashion Week travels to Las Vegas every season looking for the next “it” designers as a part of the 12-City Designer Tour.

It’s always great to see friendly faces among the 1,000’s of vendors setup each day, and we happened to spot one such stylish local, fashion blogger Esmirna Tapia of Platforms for Breakfast.

We had the chance to catch up with her recently and find out how she came to be an “Official Blogger” during WWD Magic, speaking on blogging panels and receiving loads of exposure with local roots:

Tell me about your background as a fashion blogger: “I began writing this blog in 2011 because being the creative soul that I am, I needed an outlet to express myself through daily thoughts and happenings. I ended up being too busy with school that I neglected it, posting sporadically whenever I remembered to. Finally, after a year of following other fashion bloggers, I decided I wanted to rebrand my blog, and start fresh with a new concept. I wanted to document all of the different outfits I wore weekly in order to someday look back and see how my personal style progressed. I wanted to inspire others and give them the opportunity to reach out to me with any questions or styling advice they may need.”

How did this opportunity to be a featured blogger at MAGIC come about? “I actually found out about this opportunity through the WWDMAGIC Instagram. They required you to choose a brand that was going to be showcasing their items at the Las Vegas Convention Center, write up an article about them, and they would choose 18 finalists to go into a final round based on the creativity of the post. From there, people had to vote for you to be one of the eight finalists to get the prize- roundtrip to Vegas, access to the WWD MAGIC show as an official blogger, and tons of goodies from some of the brands that were there! I finished in first place, bringing in 608 votes in almost 2 weeks (people could only vote once every 24 hours, so it was a bit stressful)!”

What was the experience like? How did you prepare? “It was amazing, especially since it was my first time there (and what a treat to go as an “Official Blogger”)! The bloggers all had to speak on different panels-some regarding a variety of topics in social media, others were where we had to talk about trends, and we even had the chance to get one-on-one conversations with our audience. I got to walk the floor, talk to different brands, buyers, and even had the opportunity to meet a few celebrities! Overall, I was a bit anxious about the whole thing beforehand, but I had the opportunity to talk to other bloggers who had been there previously been there and that completely eased my nerves! I hope I get to do it all over again next season!”

What were some of the takeaways or learning lessons from it? “I learned so much at MAGIC; I underestimated how much work goes into the whole thing! From building the booths to learning just where everything was! I left feeling very fortunate that I got to experience the show, since you obviously can’t get in the Las Vegas Convention Center without being somewhat involved in the fashion industry (buyer, etc.). There was so much I finally comprehended when it came to being a buyer and a brand representative, and it was overall a very eye-opening experience!”

How did it feel to be a local blogger out of Arizona featured at the largest retail trade-show in the world? “It was truly amazing! Arizona is not really known to be huge on fashion, so being able to have gone as a local blogger was a unique experience.”

Cheers to you, Esmirna! If you love her style, check out her fashion blog at: http://www.platformsforbreakfast.com/

Article by Lauren Pfingstag for Phoenix Fashion Week

“Your Resource For All Things Fashionable”

http://www.phoenixfashionweek.com