Hailee Steinfeld Takes New York Fashion Week By Storm With Teen Vogue's Andrew Bevan

Growing up as the baby of my family, I always daydreamed of having a little sibling. Luckily for me, my tenure at Teen Vogue has enabled me to play sartorial big brother to a bevy of budding beauties over the years. Although I'm not one to pick favorites, I can't help but feel an extra kinship with actress Hailee Steinfeld, whom I first met in 2011. Fresh off her Academy Award–nominated performance in True Grit, she was my date to The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala honoring Alexander McQueen. Meeting at a real-life ball really raises the bar for a friendship, so this past fall, when Hailee asked if she could tag along with me for her first New York Fashion Week and contribute to our website (check out her posts on teenvogue.com), of course I was excited to oblige.

Fashion week often loses its luster to the inevitable exhaustion it induces—especially after you've been doing it for twelve seasons (ahem). Fortunately, this time I had an energetic sidekick to live vicariously through.

As Hailee oohed and aahed at the spring collections of Marc Jacobs, Rag & Bone, Peter Som, Chris Benz, Erin Fetherston, and Tommy Hilfiger, it was hard not to let her genuine, not-too-cool-for-school excitement rub off on me. "They're all graciously welcoming me to their world," says the fifteen-year-old California native, adding, "It's crazy how much time and energy go into a ten-minute show."

One designer holds an extra-special place in her heart. "Being front row and backstage at Prabal Gurung's runway show is such a thrill!" exclaims Hailee, who's seated by her current fashion girl crush, my friend Kate Bosworth. "It was such an amazing moment when I wore his dress to the 2011 Golden Globes, since we were both breaking out."

She cites hanging with yours truly as one of her week's highlights, but not even I could compete with the starlet's coveted seat at Diane von Furstenberg's dinner party: surrounded by the legendary designer herself, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (talk about taking Manhattan), and Google founder Sergey Brin. "It's a surreal moment—something I'll tell my grandkids about, for sure!" Hailee later reminisces.

With her upcoming premieres for Romeo and Juliet, costarring Douglas Booth, the sci-fi thriller Ender's Game with Harrison Ford, and Can a Song Save Your Life? with Keira Knightley, Hailee, who has a glowing red-carpet track record, has her wardrobe work cut out for her in 2013. "Actors plays different characters in every project they do. Though it has nothing to do with my craft, the red carpet gives me the opportunity to show who I really am and be myself," says Hailee, who loves Miu Miu, Louis Vuitton, and Opening Ceremony but relies on Topshop, H&M, and Tory Burch for her everyday duds.

So how does this busy lady find a daily balance? "My mom taught me to live by the three ps: to always be passionate, persistent, and prepared. It can be tough at times; I guess I work better under pressure [another p!]," she explains. "School is most important, though, and always comes first. I get it all done somehow." Style and smarts—Hailee gets an A+ in my book!