New York Fashion Week

New York Fashion Week
Genre clothing and fashion exhibitions
Frequency semi-annually
Location(s) New York City
Inaugurated 1943
Founder Eleanor Lambert
Milagros Schmoll walks the runway at the Custo Barcelona Spring 2009 show in New York.
Model at the Staten Island Ferry during a photo shoot with Fashion Photographer: Victor Quinteros

New York Fashion Week, held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events (generally lasting 7–9 days) when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press and the general public. It consists of numerous branded events, including New York City Fashion Week[1] Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York[2] and MADE Fashion Week,[3] as well as numerous independent fashion productions around town.[4] It is one of four major fashion weeks in the world, collectively known as the "Big 4," along with those in Paris, London and Milan.[5][6] Although these are the four most established, there are numerous smaller fashion events around the world.

New York Fashion Week is a citywide series of twice-annually occurring fashion events, which has multiple producers.[4][7]

Origin

The first New York Fashion Week (which was then called "Press Week") was the world's first ever organized fashion week. First held in 1943, the event was designed to attract attention away from the French fashion during World War II, when fashion industry insiders were unable to travel to Paris to see French fashion shows.[8] Fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert organized an event she called "Press Week" to showcase American designers for fashion journalists, who had previously neglected their innovations.[8] (Buyers were not admitted to the shows, and instead had to visit designers' showrooms.)[8] Press Week was a success, and fashion magazines like Vogue, which were normally filled with French designs, increasingly featured American fashion.[8]

Location

In 1993, the Council of Fashion Designers of America consolidated New York Fashion Week by staging it in a cluster of white tents in Bryant Park.[9] The event was branded with the trademark 7th on Sixth, which was in 2001 was sold to IMG.[10] In 2010, IMG moved the tents to the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.[11]

Admission to shows at New York Fashion Week, whether in the tents or offsite, is typically by invitation only.[12]

History 2000–present

2009

Outside entrance, Spring 2009 New York Fashion Week

At the Fall 2009 Fashion Week, the public got a taste of technology as it is shaping the future of fashion. It is not only making it cheaper and easier for designers to create their collections, it is also saving them travel time as many broadcast their lines over the Internet. Many designers opted to not only market online but also sell exclusively online. Designer Norma Kamali and the Polo Ralph Lauren Rugby brand both have an application for the Apple iPhone. In the Vivienne Tam show, models walked the runway carrying Hewlett Packard mini notebook computers instead of the expected handbag. Mercedes-Benz officially became the sponsor of the event, and New York Fashion Week was called "Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week" from then.

Because of the recession affecting most of the world, designers were stepping outside of the box for fall 2009. In previous years, fashion houses would be expecting costs up to $750,000 to produce a quality runway show. The idea of using mannequins to display clothing was used by established designers Betsey Johnson and Vera Wang as a way to cut model and runway costs - even the mannequins themselves can be rented instead of bought.[13] Mara Hoffman, Sergio Davila and Nicholas K saved 40 percent of their costs by combining their separate lines into one show. Another trend seen during fall 2009 Fashion Week was recession friendly fashion. A number of pieces displayed were items that could be worn in the fall and carry over to the spring. A popular staple was bold color dressed that could be worn over a turtleneck in colder weather and stand alone in the spring; convertible blazers were introduced by Vera Wang and Karen Walker as a way to get double the wear out of one piece.

2010

Yigal Azrouel runway show at satellite venue, Spring 2008 New York Fashion Week

Due to increasing pressure from Bryant Park management, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week was hosted in Damrosch Park at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts for the first time in September 2010. In addition to the new location, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week partnered with Fashion GPS, a new technology that offered quick seating and check-in for guests at the shows.[14]

2011

The 2011 Mercedes-Benz Fall Fashion week collection will be showcased starting the second week of February and will be held at the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts.[15] The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts offers an additional 17,000 square feet of space, but the location change is still receiving mixed reviews.[16]

There initially appeared to be a trend toward darker and more somber designs.[17]

2012

Dates for the 2013 shows were September 5–12, 2012 (Spring/Summer 2013)[18] and February 7–14, 2013 (Fall/Winter 2013).[19]

2013

The Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2014 shows at Lincoln Center ran from September 5–12, 2013, although independent shows began a day earlier.[20] On November 4, 2013, IMG announced that it is outsourcing production of its New York and Miami fashion weeks to LDJ Productions.[21][22]

2014

For the February 2014 New York Fashion Week, the Tory Burch brand was the first to use Google’s Lightbox, which is Google’s custom brand exchange, to livestream video of the runway show.[23] Also in February 2014, Dr. Danielle Sheypuk became the first wheelchair-using model to appear in a show for New York Fashion Week; she modeled for designer Carrie Hammer. [24] In September 2014, Karen Crespo became the first quadruple-amputee to walk at New York Fashion Week, also for Carrie Hammer. [25]

On December 12, 2014, a New York state court approved a settlement in a lawsuit by community activists over whether allowing the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week tents in Damrosch Park was a violation of the public trust doctrine. In accordance with the settlement, the City of New York, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts agreed not to renew their contract with IMG. As a result, the February 2015 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week will be the last one staged in Damrosch Park.[26]

2015

In 2015 actress Jamie Brewer became the first woman with Down syndrome to walk the red carpet at New York Fashion Week, which she did for designer Carrie Hammer.[27]

See also

Other fashion weeks:

References

  1. ↑ "New York City Fashion Week". newyorkfashionweek.nyc. Retrieved 2015-02-21.
  2. ↑ "Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York". Newyork.mbfashionweek.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  3. ↑ "MADE Fashion Week". MADE Fashion Week. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "New York Fashion Week Schedule - Shows by Day and Designer". Nymag.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  5. ↑ Bradford, Julie (2014). Fashion Journalism. Routledge. p. 129.
  6. ↑ Dillon, Susan (2011). The Fundamentals of Fashion Management. A&C Black. p. 115.
  7. ↑ Bauknecht, Sara (2013-02-05). "WhoWHATWhereWhy: Why does New York Fashion Week matter? - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". Post-gazette.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Fortini, Amanda (2006-02-08). "A brief history of the fashion show". Slate.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  9. ↑ Spindler, Amy (31 October 1993). "Designers Turn New York Into a Fashion Big Top". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  10. ↑ Horyn, Cathy (6 February 2001). "Front Row: Designers council sells sponsorship of New York Fashion Week to IMG, the sports management and marketing company". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  11. ↑ Wison, Eric (2 February 2009). "A New Home for New York Fashion Week". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  12. ↑ Chan, Sewell (6 September 2007). "Fashion Week: Not Open to the Public". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  13. ↑ "Mannequin and Clothing Rack Rentals". The Shop Company. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  14. ↑ Odell, Amy (August 19, 2010). "Three Ways to Check In to Fashion Week With Lincoln Center’s Fancy New Computer System". New York Magazine.
  15. ↑ "Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week: Location". Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  16. ↑ Shapiro, Bee (September 2, 2014). "Lincoln Center Loses a Bit of Luster Lincoln Center Falling Out of Favor With New York Fashion Week Presenters".
  17. ↑ "Peter Som Tones It Down". New York Times. February 11, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Schedule". Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  19. ↑ "Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York". Newyork.mbfashionweek.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  20. ↑ "NYFW Spring 2014 Schedule: All The Shows To Know, By Date And Designer". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  21. ↑ November 5, 2013 (2013-11-05). "IMG Announces Fashion Week Changes - WWD Fashion Features". WWD.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  22. ↑ "LDJ". Ldjproductions.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
  23. ↑ Brown, Rachel (11 February 2014). "Tory Burch Linking With Google's Lightbox for NYFW". WWD. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  24. ↑ Lankston, Charlie. "Dr. Danielle Sheypuk the first wheelchair-bound model in NYFW lands her debut clothing campaign | Daily Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
  25. ↑ Jessica Probus (2015-03-07). "A Quadruple Amputee Walked The Runway At New York Fashion Week". Buzzfeed.com. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
  26. ↑ "New York Fashion Week Booted Out of Lincoln Center". New York Times. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  27. ↑ Jessica Probus, Stephanie McNeal. "Meet The First Woman With Down Syndrome To Walk At Fashion Week". BuzzFeed.

External links

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