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
3.1 Phillip Lim RTW Spring 2016
Phillip Lim celebrated his 10th anniversary with a set collaboration with Maya Lin and a collection of dusty…
Houghton RTW Spring 2016
Summer of '69 was the lens for Katharine Polk's collection, which took an ethereal, romantic direction for…
Jeremy Scott RTW Spring 2016
Jeremy Scott sent a punchy pastiche of Sixties-meets-Eighties looks down his spring runway.
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Adeam RTW Spring 2016
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Jenny Packham RTW Spring 2016
Jenny Packham was inspired to balance the masculine and the feminine in her spring eveningwear collection.
Tommy Hilfiger RTW Spring 2016
Tommy Hilfiger channeled vacation vibes with an island romp inspired by Mustique.
Carolina Herrera RTW Spring 2016
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Opening Ceremony RTW Spring 2016
Modern dance, ballet, architecture and exotic travel all merged in Carol Lim and Humberto Leon's eclectic…
Francesca Liberatore RTW Spring 2016
Francesca Liberatore's spring collection explored the human heart and all of its facets.
Prabal Gurung RTW Spring 2016
Prabal Gurung paid tribute to his home country of Nepal with fluid silhouettes in hues of orange, rose and…
Edun RTW Spring 2016
Danielle Sherman married references from the Kuba tribe in Africa and Thirties fashion for her Edun spring…
Georgine RTW Spring 2016
Using color-blocked spandex, Georgine Ratelband took a nontraditional approach to eveningwear for spring.
Jonathan Simkhai RTW Spring 2016
Country-meets-city was the concept for Jonathan Simkhai's feminine collection with intricate lace…
A Détacher RTW Spring 2016
A Détacher's Mona Kowalska riffed on the poof sleeve on printed looks with a vintage vibe.