So What Is Men's Fashion Month All About? Let Us Explain.

Source: (clockwise from top left) Pitti Immagine Uomo; Loic Lagarde/Flickr; Jacopo Raule/Getty Images; Catwalking/Getty Images (Prada); Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images (Bottega Veneta); Janita Laguna/Flickr; Zoë Timmers/@zobolondon (all via Bloomberg)

You never forget your first.

Donna Karan was mine.

I am referring to my first fashion week experience, of course.

It was February 2004 and I was about six months deep in to my post-college journalism career. I was an editorial intern at Men’s Health magazine at the time and had to drive in to Manhattan from their headquarters outside of Allentown, Pennsylvania, because a good friend and mentor needed a last-minute plus one for a work dinner. I remember changing in a parking garage right outside the Holland Tunnel into the dressiest thing I owned: a strapless, fully-sequined, little black dress my mom bought me at Dillard’s for a sorority function. The shoes (and I am still ashamed, even now) were not a pair of fantastic “going out” stilettos (you know, the kind that can make a grown woman look like a baby giraffe learning to walk). Instead, I selected an entirely weather-inappropriate pair of strappy, slip-on kitten heel sandals with thin belt buckle straps. Not only were they a bad idea, they were ugly. In my defense, I had just moved from a college town in Florida where flip flops were not only handed out at orientation, but also acceptable at most events through graduation, your wedding, and retirement.

Anyhow, the friend’s “work dinner” ended up being an “intimate charity dinner” (by fashion standards, that means fewer than 50 people) hosted by InStyle magazine at Karan’s Upper West Side apartment. The zen-like loft was buzzing with ludicrously charming and impressive people like Kelly Ripa and Demi Moore, breaking bread and complimenting Donna on the Francis Bacon painting in her entryway and the views from her wraparound terrace. And then there was me—wine in hand, tumbling down the steps to the first floor.

Yep. I fell down a staircase.

My stylistically-challenged fashion debut ended with me in a puddle of Pinot Grigio at the foot of an iconic designer’s (carpeted!) stairs. Luckily, society photographer Patrick McMullan was somewhere else, distracted by Demi not eating something.

I nearly died. Death by kitten heel—and shame.

But nonetheless I was sold. I knew I wanted to be an invited guest at that table. And since then (over a decade, wow!), I’ve made a legitimate career out of playing dress-up with humans.

And now I’m inviting you to be my plus one.

For the next month, I’ll be in Europe for the fall/winter 2015 men’s collections. It’s a new fashion first, and a trip I’ll be taking bi-annually (always in January and June) to be an ambassador of fashion for not only Bloomberg, but you, too.

London Fashion Week starts today, followed by the tradeshow Pitti Uomo, then Milan Fashion Week, and the circus culminates with Paris Fashion Week at the end of the month. These are the fashion weeks where designers like Giorgio Armani, Dunhill, Zegna, and Dior will unveil their new seasonal collections for men—and where I will get inspired as to what trends and fashion moments to bring back to you.

Check in with me here daily and expect plenty of slideshows and reviews, plus real-world interpretations of what’s coming down the runway, from both me and my team of influencers. Reach out on Twitter and Instagram at @nixcruz with your fashion week questions or comments, or via good ol’ e-mail here: nscrews@bloomberg.net.

Now I have a plane to catch, so more on what we have planned and what I am excited about, below.

Some of my snaps of fashion weeks past. Source: Nic Screws via Bloombeg

Source: (clockwise from top left) Richard Bord/Getty Images (Maison Martin Margiela); MR PORTER; Anirudh Koul/Flickr; Zoë Timmers/@zobolondon (all via Bloomberg)

The Basics

Now only in it’s sixth season, London is the jumping off point for the twice-a-year spectacle now known within the industry as Fashion Month. Literally, it’s a nearly three-week circuit of runway shows, presentations, and schmoozing (including the most vital of the cross-cultural life skills: double-cheek air kissing). When Burberry returned to the British capital just three seasons ago (after years showing in Milan), they became the hometown heroes—it helped lead the charge to put London in the top tier of menswear style cities.

The Designers

Dunhill, Belstaff, Burberry, Gieves & Hawke, Craig Green.

The Highlights

What am I looking forward to personally? Besides my stay at The London EDITION, you mean? I can’t wait for dinner at the Ham Yard Hotel with the Burberry team after their show on the last night. Professionally, I’m definitely looking forward to the launch of MR PORTER’s Kingsman collection (ALL CAPS is a thing now with British luxury brands). It’s a collaboration between the high-end online retailer, film director Matthew Vaughn, and costume director Arianne Phillips, who created all the looks seen on Colin Firth and co. in the forthcoming film Kingsman: The Secret Service (out Feb. 13). Phillips used some of the UK’s most praised heritage brands, like Mackintosh for coats, George Cleverley for shoes, and (my favorite) Turnbull and Asser for shirting. I’m also excited to see collections by a couple notable first-timers: Aquascutum returns to the show schedule with a new head of design, Coach had their first-ever men’s runway show this morning, and John Galliano is showing his first couture collection for Maison Martin Margiela

Our Coverage

We have a great UK-based street photographer, Andreea Bodgan (Instagram: @andreea_bogdan), snapping street style in front of London’s ever-booming hotel scene (expect unassuming locals mixed with the pea cocking fashion enthusiasts). Also look for a photo essay featuring some of the city’s most stylish and dynamic hotel lobbies by another local photographer, Zoë Timmers (@zobolondon). Her iPhone-only photography will also be featured daily on our Instagram (@BloombergPursuits) with the hashtag #lobbiesoflondon.

Source: (clockwise from top left) Pitti Immagine Uomo; Jacopo Raule/Getty Images); Pitti Immagine Uomo; Bruce Stokes/Flickr (all via Bloomberg)

The Basics

Most people associate Pitti Uomo with street style photography of impeccably dressed Italian men (usually sitting on a wall outside the Fortezza da Basso, cigarette in one hand, iPhone in the other). But the twice-yearly tradeshow in Florence, Italy does actually have a legitimate professional purpose—it’s a place of business, a setting for building relations between throngs of international retailers, editors and menswear enthusiasts. It also promotes the best of Italian fashion and manufacturing, along with supporting new talent from around the globe. But the street style is pretty great.

The Exhibitors

Where to start (besides the Main Pavillion)? Isaia. L.B.M 1911. Massimo Alba. Church’s. Allegri. (And that’s just the Italians. Japanese designers also have a strong, ever-expanding presence.)

The Highlights

Each year Pitti Immagine (the organizer of Pitti) picks a guest designer to host for a runway show. This year, Italian label Marni (which just turned 20 last year) is in the spotlight. They also invited the younger, luxury-streetwear brand Hood by Air as a special guest to host a showcase of their avant-garde collection. Last, but certainly not least: the Brunello Cucinelli dinner is always the invite of the season. This year it is at Palazzo Corsini and sure to be spectacular.

Our Coverage

We’ve commissioned photographer Margarita Chiavara (Instagram: @margheritachi) to capture the classic street style of Florence’s most dapper older men. Properly inspired, Bloomberg’s associate market editor, Moti “The Metro Man” Ankari, will show you how to capture the “Pitti Look”—patterns on patterns, plus expert tailoring—stateside with a how-to styling guide featuring clothes from Manhattan’s Suit Supply.

Source: (clockwise from top left) Janita Laguna/Flickr; Catwalking/Getty Images (Prada); Bert Kaufmann/Flickr; Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images (Bottega Veneta) (all via Bloomberg)

The Basics

This is where a lot of the usual suspects show, the designers we’ve come to know as the kings of luxury: Armani (Giorgio and Emporio), Versace and even American heavyweight Calvin Klein. But in growing years, it’s also become a platform to support young talent as well.

The Designers

Bottega Veneta, Prada, Neil Barrett, Brioni, Gucci.

The Highlights

The runway shows in Milan are always a special experience, but so are the smaller-scale presentations by some of Italy’s finest accessory (or accessory-heavy) brands. I’m really excited to see what’s new with Valextra, Bally, Trussardi and Tod’s. Plus, I’m hoping for a Ansel Elgort sighting at the Prada show, as he was just announced as one of the faces of their spring campaign. And then there’s the possibility of Justin Bieber (a.k.a. the new Marky Mark). But if neither of them show up, there will surely be a Jonas brother appearance (because they love a front row moment, so much so that I’m convinced that they would show up for the opening of an envelope if there was a cameraman nearby to document it).

Our Coverage

We will be sharing some of our favorite looks and trends from the shows, daily, plus showing men outside some of Milan’s most frequented and favored cafes. We’ll explore both what they are wearing and drinking.

Source: (clockwise from top left) Kristy Sparow/Getty Images (Thom Browne); Loic Lagarde/Flickr; Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/WireImage (Kanye West);  Rindoff/Dufour/Getty Images (Louis Vuitton)

The Basics

Paris closes the gentleman’s catwalk season with some of the most buzzed about (and sometimes controversial) names in menswear: Hedi Slimane for Saint Laurent, Kim Jones for Louis Vuitton, Rick Owens and Alexandre Mattiussi for AMI (a personal favorite).

The Designers

Lanvin, Hermes, Valentino, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent.

The Highlights

See designer list above. Plus: Thom Browne for good measure (slash free theater) and Galliano’s first menswear collection for Maison Martin Margiela.

Our Coverage

We take to the streets to show off the fashions away from the runways, exploring some of the artistic enclaves and up-and-coming neighborhoods.

Nic Screws is the style director at Bloomberg. She never drinks white wine at work parties anymore (especially if the Jonas brothers are there). Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

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So What Is Men"s Fashion Month All About? Let Us Explain.