Insider's guide: Fashion Week

LONDON, England (CNN) -- It's Fashion Week season. Last week was New York Fashion Week, and this coming week it's London's turn, before the traveling bandwagon of models, designers and celebrities visit Milan and Paris.

Each year we are treated to an identical raft of images: Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour looking unhappy in dark glasses in the front row; Victoria Beckham looking hungry, also in the front row; an out-of-place looking man, also in the front row, such as Orlando Bloom or John Travolta; models "strutting" on the catwalk looking hungry and angry; newspaper editorials condemning size zero models.

But what does Fashion Week actually mean and why year-in year-out does it make the news?

Fashion Week is essentially an event for the fashion industry showcasing designs the fashion houses have been working on for the upcoming season.

The shows are usually full of buyers from major department stores who decided what looks to buy, and magazine fashion editors who decided how to incorporate the new season's look onto their pages.

While these shows are ostensibly trade events, it's become popular to feature them in the media because of the amount of celebrities that attend. Hence there are always two types of photos from fashion week: the clothes on the catwalks and fashion celebrities watching the clothes on the catwalks.

CNN spoke to a fashion insider who said each Fashion Week had a different atmosphere. Of the four major fashion weeks, New York is "well organized" but "boring" and the most mainstream.

Milan because "it's a dull city" doesn't have great parties but its takes its fashion seriously with labels like Prada, Dolce and Gabbana and Roberto Cavalli showing.

London is seen as the "edgy fashion week," featuring street wear, up-and-coming designers and the occasional big name.

"London has shows all over the place. You might be in an underground car park or at the docks racing round from one side of town to another-- you're constantly being challenged," she said.

But Paris is the biggest and best of them all. It's the last show of the season and our fashion mole tells us "it's chaotic, crazy and with great parties."

Expect the chicest clothes in Paris and the best clutch of designers. E-mail to a friend

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