This week is the kick-start of the Fashion Season, when designers present their Spring-Summer 2016 Collection to the press, buyers and the general public. Fashion Week always starts in New York. But how did it become so big, and why does it take place in New York and not elsewhere?
Before World War II, American designers got little attention from the press. Fashion journalists would attend Paris Fashion Week and report the new trends to the American fashion newspapers. However, in 1943, when World War II struck France, reporters were no longer able to travel to Paris.
That is when prominent fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert took a chance and created an event called Press Week in New York. She organized this event in one single venue, presenting American designer collections exclusively to the press. The event put them in the spotlight and showed that American designers also had talent.
At that time, buyers were not invited to the shows. They had to make appointment with the brands to discover the collections after Press Week. Yet the first edition was a success, and fashion magazines were soon filled with photos of American designers’ latest creations.
Apart from the location and buyers, Press Week back then and Fashion Week today already looked very much alike. Press Week continued through the late 50s. After that, designers presented their collections independently for three decades. Then, in the 1990s, they were regrouped by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and it became what we now know today.
Sources:
A Brief History of New York Fashion Week, by Erin Skarda
A New Era for New York Fashion Week, by Feifei Sun
Picture credit: Aileen Doan
Je n'y connais pas grand-chose en matière de mode vestimentaire, mais de quoi nos derrières auraient-ils l'air aujourd'hui si les États-Unis ne nous avaient pas apporté le *blue jean* !? Je n'ose l'imaginer. Thank you, America.