With less than a month to go, we can’t wait for the kickoff of New York Fashion Week. We always get excited to see the new styles and how designers incorporate technology into those looks. This September though, NYFW finds itself in a very different position versus 12 months ago. The marquee fashion event not only has a new look this year but has also been kicked out of its home for the past 5 years and has lost its title sponsor. Change isn’t always bad though, and after several years of stagnation, the question is whether these shifts can help bring some of the gleam back to the New York event or has NYFW become passé.
In 1993, NYFW moved from press events scattered around NYC to a consolidated event with a centralized venue in Bryant Park. Bryant Park was chosen not only because it is a crown jewel of NYC, visited as much by tourists as by Manhattanites, but also because of its proximity to the garment district (the original name of the event was 7th on Sixth). After over 15 years of growing popularity, Bryant Park could no longer accommodate NYFW and the event moved uptown to Lincoln Center in 2010. The move to NYC’s Upper West Side was controversial, with
many feeling the venue was too large and the surroundings too staid; many designers decided to host their own runway shows and avoid the tent. There was beginning to be an air amongst designers that it just wasn’t cool to show at Lincoln Center. Attendees to main venue also weren’t pleased, turned off by the abundance of unrelated sponsors (Kohler) and inconvenient location in relation to off-site shows, which by 2014 numbered at approximately 200. The collective feeling was the event was becoming less and less relevant. In fact, Pret-a-Reporter reported that a top Hollywood publicist was overheard saying, “I would only let my actresses go to London or Paris shows. New York’s just not as important or A-list.”
Last year a group of “parks advocates” filed a lawsuit against the city claiming that Fashion Week destroyed the small, almost completely paved, park that housed the event. The suit 
seemed odd given that other events used the space in a similar manner and for longer stretches of time. But Mayor de Blasio folded to the requests and settled the lawsuit; NYFW, which brings an economic impact of nearly $900 million into a neighborhood, had to find a new home. This year IMG, who organizes the main tent, will utilize two spaces. One closer to the garment district, within the James A. Farley Post Office, and another oddly located in an isolated block next to UPS’s distribution center in way-west-SoHo.
Soon after it was announced that Lincoln Center would no longer host NYFW, Mercedes stepped down as the title sponsor of the event. Originally thought to be a negotiation ploy, Mercedes left the event they had attached their name to since 2009. The reasons for the parting of ways has not been revealed but it is interesting that Mercedes continues to be a title sponsor of other IMG organized fashion weeks. At the eleventh hour (read: this week) it was announced that Lexus will fill the role previously occupied by the German auto maker. The Japanese company is hoping the association with fashion will continue to help it compete against BMW and Mercedes. Interestingly Lexus also announced this week that they were working on a “no haggle” system for selling cars to target Millennials.
For the broader NYFW (the parts that take place outside of the IMG venues) there is also a new logo this year. The CFDA, which is regarded as a governing body of New York’s fashion industry, worked with agency Redscout to create a new logo to unify NYFW. The logo utilizes colors from NYC’s flag and incorporates breaks in the letters reminiscent of stitching and city streets. The branding is designed to help connect all of the various shows occurring around NYC.
As if those weren’t enough changes, to help bring some edginess back into IMG’s venues during NYFW, the company acquired MADE Fashion Week in March. MADE was founded in 2009 to support emerging designers and provide them with a place to show their work. The leadership team behind MADE will continue to oversee the organization and will also consult with IMG on broader events.
All of these changes are occurring as NYFW is facing a major identity crisis. Once a premiere event for the trade, designed for people who channel fashion to consumers, the design showcase is becoming more and more of an in-real-life advertisement. There is a growing consumer focus with online publications live blogging shows, live internet video streams, and the general public being able to attend. Designers are spending more and more effort to make their runway show an entertainment event; the question is whether it makes sense for buyers and editors to attend shows that are increasing targeting consumers. Unfortunately, trying to straddle the line between the two satisfies neither audience.
With so many changes this year, it will be interesting to see if NYFW, both as a whole and as an IMG event, can rediscover who it wants to be. What is clear is that all organizers need to get on the same page, find a voice, define their audience, and make it easier for attendees to navigate the 350+ shows. We are curious to see the reaction to this year’s event!
