September 2019 – I’m in New York with family celebrating the life and legacy of my Grandma , Lorraine Burns – walking around Times Square with my sister seeing the models and photographers everywhere from fashion week. We thought to ourselves how cool it would be to experience that. The fashion, the intensity, the chaos, the LOOKS – a few months later , we were BOTH blessed with an opportunity to be a volunteer. What are the odds? We were so diligent in emailing, and contacting the coordinators to make sure we were a part of this event, and it worked. My sister was asked to be a part of celebrity stylists Ted Gibson’s team , she got the contact info for the lead volunteer coordinator and passed it on to me- I landed a greeter and usher position for the fashion shows!!!
December 2019 Our positions are confirmed and we are given a schedule. This is a volunteer position so it’s not compensated, neither is your flight or stay- Not to mention everything you have to buy for the trip from toiletries to outfits, it’s Fashion Week, not the time to slack off in looking the absolute best. It’s also the holidays- and I have a 9 year old. Yikes. . . I pushed to sell so much Queening merchandise in order to be able to afford to do everything. I released new products, I ran specials, worked my full time – OVERTIME . And I Was able to execute everything, and found a round trip ticket to LaGuardia for $110!
January 2020 Now if I plan on going to NYFW my website has to be together. Because how else can they know what I’m doing and what I’m about? I wanted more than my Instagram profile because I know my brand is a movement. So I had to invest time and money into making sure Queening reflected in all social media aspects. The Queening new year was just around the corner , I’m getting my looks ready for fashion week, trying not to stress out, but getting really anxious at the same time. There’s so much preparation , my knee is still healing from an injury, SEND HELP.
February 2020 It’s the Queening New Year. Website has launched, officially . I’m heading to NYFW- I have my outfits together, and I styled my sister as well.
The first day , in the meeting I’m upgraded from usher greeter to front check in desk. Our call time is 8am for the next few days, and late is not an option. It is 28 degrees outside, we have very few breaks, and we are leaving the venue after 9pm every day. But the connections I made and the experience was unforgettable . Being behind the scenes of a fashion show in NY, during fashion week is indescribable, I was there also to network and promote my brand. I ended up learning a lot about myself during the trip and that was the most valuable part.
I learned to stop doubting myself. Why am I still surprised when people see the Goddess in me? It shouldn’t come to shock that I attracted some very important people and turned the heads of powerful individuals in the industry. I have to learn to be humble. I deserve everything coming to me, but I won’t stop striving for even more. I had to put faith in myself because I was in the city alone and they didn’t care if you got lost, if there was traffic, you had to finish your makeup- there were no excuses. I had to plan and manage my time, and I was really proud of myself. I walked around with my head held high, like the Queen that I am, and for most of the week that spoke for itself. People were asking me who I was, what was I in charge of, where I’m from, who I work for, etc. I barely had to talk about my brand, I was talking about myself and my life and that made people interested in what else I had to offer. My website picked up so much traffic just thru word of mouth, and my social media posts of course. Speaking of social media posts- I learned more ways to use to my advantage which is very beneficial when branding. I was able to see so many different styles of fashion that just fueled my creative juices even more. I was able to be take direction and explore instead of being in charge, it was a nice change of perspective and I feel like I was able to learn a lot about myself in different roles. I came back with a new passion and push to continue my pace of documenting the journey of Queening, I am fueled with new energy that I can’t wait to spread across my brand.
I also got an idea for fashion while I was on this trip. Since I had to invest in outfits for fashion week, I’m going to want to wear these items again! I can’t afford to only wear things one time- but I can mix it up! I will be showing different ways to repeat some of my looks from #NYFW so make sure you check back for those! Enjoy these photos from my time in Manhattan .