Sitting a row behind Vogue’s Anna Wintour at Diane Von Furstenberg, partying with public relations powerhouse Kelly Cutrone at a People’s Revolution party, and dressing supermodels backstage at the Erin Wasson RVCA fashion show, are just a few highlights from SMU senior Lucy Akin’s New York Fashion Week adventure.
 

The fashion-obsessed advertising major secured her fashion week invite through her internship at Dallas boutique V.O.D., the trendy Victory Park shop that carries lines from Isabel Marant and Vanessa Bruno to Alexander Wang, Luella and Repetto.
 

At V.O.D, where Akin is paid in clothes instead of money, since August and her bosses’ invitation to attend the Fall 2010 shows at New York Fashion Week was a dream come true.
 

“It has been amazing,” said Akin, sitting behind her sleek stainless steel desk at V.O.D. less than 24 hours after her return from New York City.
 

The jam-packed four day trip included stops at VPL, Preen, Michael Angel, Diane Von Furstenberg, Suno, Jenni Kayne, Araks, Ohne Titel and Jeremy Laing, just to name a few.
Akin’s favorite show of the week was Alexander Wang, the edgy women’s wear designer who launched his first collection in 2007. Wang’s Fall 2010 Collection included looks inspired by men’s wear with a dark underworld twist Akin describes as “Goth Wall Street.”
 

“For spring he did the side braid that was really pretty,” Akin said. “Well, this time he gelled their hair to their foreheads all the way down covering one eye – literally caked to their heads.”
 

The collection and entire production of the Wang show were a hit with Akin, who describes the experience as “surreal.” “I loved the music, the lighting, the set-up and it was so good for people-watching,” Akin said.
 

Just as the clothes and trends evolve on the runway, Akin noticed the explosion of new media at fashion week. The talk in the tents was centered on the timely death of famed fashion designer Alexander McQueen and the boom of bloggers that have replaced magazine editors and celebrities in the front row.
 

Akin caught glimpses of bloggers turned fashion celebrities Bryan Boy and Tavi in their wacky fashion week best.
 

“He was wearing these Margiela sunglasses the kind that wrap around your head, latex leggings, giant off-white fur with crazy combat boots,” Akin said of Bryan Boy, the young blogger who sat front row at Diane Von Furstenberg. “I saw him like six times in one day in that stupid outfit.”
 

Thirteen-year-old fashion blogger Tavi, who types her fashion thoughts on StyleRookie.com and skipped school to attend fashion week, also entertained Akin with her quirky wardrobe choice. “Tavi had blue hair and was wearing a turban,” said Akin of the pint-sized fashionista she spotted interviewing models and designers at Alexander Wang.
 

Not only did the amount of bloggers in attendance take Akin by surprise, but so did the abundance of twitter updates happening before her eyes.
 

“It was really funny because I would be on Twitter reading the tweets, and it would be The Cut (New York Magazine) at the same show as me tweeting about stuff that I was watching,” Akin said.
 

Blackberries and iPhones were everywhere, and those “twittering” were of all ages. “At the Diane Von Furstenberg show, this old decrepit woman was literally on her iPhone twittering,” Akin laughed. “She was like, ‘music is blasting like Coco Chanel type jackets.'”
 

Fall’s biggest trend to be on the look out for is yet again leggings. “They were doing a lot with leggings in the fall shows — they are paneling them or they are going to be suede,” Akin said. “Leggings are not going away at all, they are just changing. ”
 

She said the fashion savvy crowd was already ahead of the game decked out in leather legging galore, along with fur and combat boots. The red head with a great sense of personal style admits that packing for fashion week was not an easy task.
 

“I thought about it for two weeks and I was stressing out,” Akin said of styling her fashion week worthy wardrobe. “When it finally came time to pack my friend came over and I showed her all of my different options I had thought of.”
 

The well-thought-out packing must have paid off because the SMU student was snapped several times by photographers entering and exiting shows.
 

“I was late for DVF because there was so much traffic, so I had to bust in,” Akin jokes. “I had my sunglasses on and I was running up the stairs while all of these people were watching and taking pictures.”
 

She said people dressing over the top and making a scene was just another exciting part of fashion week. “The nice thing is everyone is dressed crazy, so at the end of the day dressing crazy is the norm,” she said. “So that makes it even harder, you really have to look crazy like a Tavi with blue hair and a turban.”
 

“You have to standout,” Akin said. “Especially if you’re a little intern from Dallas.”