What it's actually like to attend New York Fashion Week, according to models, influencers, and other attendees

If you look at photos and videos of the event on social media, you'll see sparkling runways, models with stunning makeup, and celebrities wearing standout outfits in the audiences of shows.

But as is often the case, the reality of the event isn't always as sparkly.

During the fashion festivities this season, I asked models, influencers, and other attendees for their thoughts on what New York Fashion Week is really like.

While they all agreed that attending the fashion event is a lot of fun, they also said there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes that people might be surprised to learn.

"The events, the after-parties — if you compare them to Milan and Paris, New York is the best," she said.

Some of the top parties this season were hosted by GQ, Rebecca Minkoff, and Pandora.

"People think you come in and sit for hours, but no," Newby said. "You gather — it might take an hour for everyone to roll in — and then you sit for six minutes, maybe not even that long."

"This is my first time attending NYFW, and the thing I was surprised about is actually how friendly everyone is," fashion and beauty creator Hana Martin said. "It's a really nice vibe here, everyone talks to everyone, and I'm enjoying it so far."

Dawn, a Brooklyn-based drag queen, agreed and pointed out that audiences aren't only made up of celebrities. They're mostly filled with regular people and fashion creatives.

"The people involved are actually a lot cooler and nicer than you'd think," she said. "It's not as pretentious as it's made out to be."

First, Lefévre said that fashion shows are "so fast." And second, she noted that people don't linger around them for very long.

"You're in and out," she said. "As soon as the show is done, you're out to the next."

She also pointed out that runways can be extremely crowded before shows start, something she says you quickly get used to.

"I feel like a lot of people get nervous or anxious their first time because there's so many people and it's chaos," she said. "But you'd be surprised that after the first day, you're fine."

"It's essentially an industry trade show," stylist Odera Nkem-Mmekam told Insider. "It's really not that glamorous. People get very very stressed out and run around like crazy people for a week."

Flaviana Matata, a model from Nigeria, agreed. She described New York Fashion Week as "extremely hectic" and said models often have to change their outfits in the car between events.

"It's crazy and not as glamorous as everyone thinks it is," model Carmen Solomons added, noting that sometimes it's hard to make time to eat proper meals. "It's tiring."

In many cases, he said, you don't get to watch the show and go home. Instead, many people are filming content, doing interviews, hosting photo shoots, and laying the groundwork for bigger projects they'll work on when they leave.

"The people you see attending are oftentimes doing a lot of work on the back end, and whatever you see on social media is not even 10% of what fashion week really is," Fall said.