Blenheim Shifting Sept. Schedule of New York Premier Collections

NEW YORK — Blenheim Fashion Shows, producer of the New York Premier Collections, said Friday it will change the dates of its next edition to coincide with those of the New York hotel shows — Sept. 25-27.

“I think this will best serve the fashion community,” said Marshall Lester, chief executive of Blenheim’s U.S. operations. “The interests of the buyers are paramount in the exhibitors’ minds. By unifying the dates, we can virtually guarantee that all of the buyers can see all of the exhibitors showing in New York.”

The show, staged at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, was originally scheduled for Sept. 18-20, a week before the Fashion Coterie and Showroom exhibitions.

Lester said he hoped the Fashion Coterie and Showroom shows would not change their announced dates.

Elyse Kroll, president of ENK productions that produces the Fashion Coterie at the Plaza Hotel, the most established of the three shows in question, could not be reached for comment.

Responding to Premier’s date change, Patricia Tubiana, creative director of Very Important Productions, which produces the Showroom Show at Le Parker Meridien, said: “We’re flattered.”

Immediate reaction in the trade was favorable.

Barbara Kramer, an owner of the showroom Gabriel & Kramer, which exhibits at both the Coterie and Premier Collections, called the change “great.”

“It’s good in the sense that it unifies a proper market week,” she said, “but it puts the question up to the buyers in terms of time. Properly shopping both shows [Premier and Coterie] in three days will be tricky.”

Kramer said she has not decided whether she will now continue to exhibit her lines — which include Gaultier Jeans, Andrea Sargent and Amy Chan Smart Things — at both shows or just one.

“I found the Premier show was good for my sophisticated lines and the Coterie better for some of the younger lines,” she said. “I’ll have to discuss this with my partner.”

“There are so many shows, stores just don’t know which to go to,” said Beth Silverstein, better-to-bridge merchandise manager for the Doneger Group buying office here. “The Coterie and Showroom coincided, so it made sense to hit both. Stores would ask who should they come in to see.”