Countdown to Gucci, Milan, September 24. Note the famously prompt Anna Wintour already in her seat.   (Photo: Benjamin Lowy)

This is how it begins: a pristine, empty runway, several rows of spotless seats. Hours later, this room will be jam-packed with editors and buyers, notebooks propped on their slender knees, and celebrities angling to have their picture taken by the swarm of photographers jockeying for position. Soon it all becomes clear: This is the shoe, the bag, the dress, the face. Alexander Wang, whose pre- and post-show photo diary appears in the following pages, knows that feeling; so too does our girl of the season, Anna Selezneva. Fashion Week happens only twice a year, which leaves plenty of time for anticipation.