It's the last week before life becomes tipsy turvy. Fashion Week in NY begins on the 5th and goes through the 12th, marking the beginning of a hectic season (with Milan and other cities following). But I am not sure if it is going to be as crazy as years past.
Last season, Mayor Bloomberg started talking about moving the shows from Bryant Park to some where along the West Side Highway (if you are familiar with NYC, you know that everyone hates trekking out there). Though FW will be at Bryant Park again this season, there are going to be 50% less designers showing.
Normally, there are about 130 shows throughout the 7 days of fashion. This season, there is only about 70. Many (i.e. Chado Ralph Rucci) are opting to only show in Paris this year because of the dramatics. Others decided to do previews before fashion week (I worked on the Theory show last week) and others just are skipping NY altogether. Fashion Week is/was a big money maker for the city. I'm thinking the threat of moving it from Bryant Park to no-man's-land (the West Side Highway) was actually like the city shooting themselves in the foot.
Your thoughts?
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Comments: 16
Additionally, I think the fashion industry is being confronted with the same new dynamics of other industries: Internet. Any designer can "do a show" online and not have to pay nearly as much to be seen as he/she would if they transport the whole
troupe all over the globe. While the couture crowd will always want to be on scene, it's cheaper and easier for an editor/reviewer to watch online. As perfect? No. But in this age of planes being late, cancelled, overcrowded and expensive, I can easily see corporate budgets snipping travel costs this way.
Still... it would be interesting to see what would happen if Bloomberg decided to move the whole thing to a more comfortable location.
But cost is a factor for new designers. Just to do a presentation (not a full show) can cost $50K. Technology may not have as much of a play in this as you may think. Due to the nature of the business, many of the editors and reporters want to get up close and personal with the deisgners and the clothing. Many designers opt to have private showings with the editorial world where they don't even have to move anything. Just throw the clothing on a model and call it a show.
Lynn, I think you are right, we may be seeing an end of an era.
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I will see what the schedule holds, Amanda in regards to PR 2007.
Heather, that's exactly my point. Can the city deal with it for just a week? We'll see what happens now that it's been cut down in size.