New York Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week in its modern iteration was started by Fern Mallis and Stan Herman in 1993.
New York Fashion Week kicks off fashion month, and is followed by fashion weeks in London, Milan and Paris in February and September. Spring collections are historically shown in September, while fall collections are historically shown in February.
New York Fashion Week evolved from Press Week, which began in the '40s. Eleanor Lambert founded Press Week to showcase American fashion during World War II when editors couldn't travel to Europe. The event helped promote American fashion when many major European fashion houses were on hiatus during the war.
Press Week went on for decades. Then in 1993, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) took over the event, and then-president Stan Herman and executive director Fern Mallis consolidated the citywide events into what became known as New York Fashion Week. It was initially rebranded with the trademark "7th on Sixth."
Throughout the '90s and 2000s, New York Fashion Week was held at Bryant Park in pop-up tents. In 2011, New York Fashion Week left Bryant Park and migrated to Lincoln Center. In 2015, after New York Fashion Week's organizer WME/IMG's contract with Lincoln Center ended, the event was split between Skylight Moynihan and Skylight Clarkson. After Moynihan underwent construction for Penn Station to expand in 2017, Clarkson was the primary venue until 2018. From 2019 until the present, Spring Studios has been the main venue for New York Fashion Week, though a large percentage of designers choose to show off site.
Major American designers have made their runway debuts at New York Fashion Week, including Michael Kors, Christian Siriano, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Prabal Gurung and Anna Sui.
The event has seen some historic fashion moments, such as Ralph Lauren's 50th anniversary show in 2018, when he transformed Central Park's Bethesda Terrace into a runway, drawing everyone from Hillary Clinton to Oprah to watch. There was Marc Jacobs' show for Perry Ellis in 1993, which many saw as the birth of '90s grunge. The show ultimately got Jacobs fired, but the pieces were so popular he reissued them in 2019. In 2000, Alexander McQueen hopped Stateside for a collection he showed on the West Side of Manhattan, famously dropping his jeans at the end of the show to reveal American flag boxer shorts.
New York Fashion Week: Men’s
Feng Chen Wang Men’s Fall 2018
Wang explores what home means to her for her fall collection.
Private Policy Men’s Fall 2018
Haoran Li and Siying Qu referenced Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" for their thoughtful collection.
Abasi Rosborough Men’s Fall 2018
Whether or not technology creates a utopia or distopia was the concept behind Abasi Rosborough's runway debut.
Carlos Campos Men’s Fall 2018
The designer showed a mariachi influence this season.
Krammer & Stoudt Men’s Fall 2018
The designers used a genderless cast.
Taakk Men’s Fall 2018
Designer Takuya Morikawa's first New York Fashion Week presentation for Taakk featured augmented, off-beat…
C2H4 Los Angeles
Name: C2H4 Main message: For the first of two collections shown this season, designer Yixie Chen mixed…
Tom’s New York Days
Tom Ford's gone vegan (with a side of sugar), is rethinking fur, and loathing red carpet politics. And — oh…
Todd Snyder Men’s Fall 2018
The collection had a very romantic feel this season.
Ovadia & Sons Men’s Fall 2018
The line drew inspiration from thrift-store references.
Willy Chavarria Men’s Fall 2018
The mood was dark and somber.
Bode Men’s Fall 2018
Emily Adams Bode’s presentations always have a cinematic effect. She lets attendees in on a world that’s…
Diplomacy Men’s Fall 2018
The brand offered its unique take on street culture.
Bristol Men’s Fall 2018
Name: Bristol Main message: Luke Tadashi looked to an autobiography written by his Japanese grandfather…
Tom Ford to Show Men’s at New York Fashion Week
This marks the first time the designer will participate in the men's portion of the calendar.
