It’s officially the first week of September, so you know what that means: Fashion Week! As New York Fashion Week (NYFW) is quickly approaching, there are many changes to expect this year. Diane Von Furstenberg stepped down as CFDA chairman after 13 years, which left big shoes to fill. And with Tom Ford being appointed the new CDFA chairman, he changed the New York Fashion Week calendar. It is now condensed down to 6 days instead of 8 days. After he was first appointed in March, Tom said that New York Fashion Week was one of the first things he wanted to change. This year the Spring/Summer 2020 collection will be shown from September 6th-11th, with a preview day shown today: September 5th. This new schedule has caused controversy among different facets of the industry.
A shorter schedule means more timely days. On Tuesday alone there are 33 shows spread across the city.  Those shows are either overlapping or very closely timed within one another. Tommy Hilfiger’s show is at the Apollo in Brooklyn at 8:30PM EST and Pyer Moss’s show is in the King’s Theater in Queens at 9:30PM EST. Going from Brooklyn to Queens on a normal day is not that feasible in a short amount of time. Various editors are also complaining that their schedules are so packed that they can’t attend to upcoming designers emerging on the scene. There are too many shows packed into one day that there won’t be much time for much else. However, there are some positive factors to this change as well.  According to Steven Kolb (CFDA President and CEO), “We listened to feedback from both the domestic and the global fashion industry to tighten and strengthen the Official New York Fashion Week schedule, I am excited for the strong September lineup which will continue to showcase and celebrate the creativity and diversity of American fashion.” This new schedule is keeping up with the current events with around the same timeframe as Paris, London, and Milan Fashion Week. This will also hopefully bring more attention to Manhattan and bring in an influx of international buyers and reporters. There have been berating comments about NYFW being too long through the years and this shorter timeframe will hopefully revamp the fashion scene in New York this year and years to come.
Personally, I agree with Tom Ford’s methods for fashion week and I think he is an adequate follow-up to Diane Von Furstenberg. I have followed him throughout his career. I loved what he did for Gucci in 90’s ultimately revamping the brand when sales were low. Ford is a good businessman who is not afraid to take risks. He gives back and believes in the product. Times are changing and the fashion industry should adapt with the times. New York City is one of the biggest fashion capitals globally with a lot to offer. In past Fashion Week’s there were too many shows and the time was stagnant. It sure was time for a change because NYFW was heading toward a path of obscurity.  Judges being more inclusive on brands they choose to display in their shows will now make it more coveting to spectators. Also lets face it, 8 days is a long time and costly to those traveling and those involved with the shows. Hopefully this will bring more traffic to fashion week internationally and domestically. There are also other opportunities to show lines throughout the year such as private fashion shows and the Coterie Trade Show, one of the trade shows that run during that time. This year the Coterie Trade Show is being held September 15th-17th at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan This way buyers can still see your line they are not only at fashion week.
I know it might be tough to see all of the shows this year so I found a way around this. If you don’t want to miss a show, IMG and Endeavor Streaming are showing a live stream in real time that will show 60 runway shows for the duration of Fashion Week. It is free to register and free to watch for everyone. Don’t miss a moment of this year’s NYFW, starting tomorrow (with pre-shows today)! This way if you are juggling which shows to attend or just want to see the current collections, you now have the opportunity to do so.  See link below:
https://welcome.nyfwallaccess.com/
NYFW: All Access app.