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
Chanel Hosts NYFW Pop-up for Boy.Friend Watch
Chanel will open a pop-up boutique in the Meatpacking District during NYFW to celebrate the launch of its new…
Jeremy Scott Collaborates With Melissa on Runway Show Shoes
Jeremy Scott and Melissa have linked on shoes for Scott's spring 2016 fashion show.
Malone Souliers Collaborates With Novis, Enters Nordstrom
Malone Souliers will enter its first U.S. Collaboration this season, providing footwear for Novis' spring…
WWD Recommends
New York Fashion Week Events
Here, a few of the new, noteworthy or otherwise quirky happenings.
M. Martin Gets Personal With Illustrated NYFW Invites
Envelopes featured hand-drawn portraits of the fashion editors and buyers to whom they were addressed.
Givenchy’s NYFW Ticket Giveaway Stirs Media Frenzy
As of press time, sources could not confirm the exact metrics, including how many people have applied for…
Glamsquad’s Fashion Week Focus
A limited-edition campaign from the on-demand beauty services app is offering complimentary makeup touch-ups…
New Yorkers Clamor for Pre-fashion Week Piercings
New York Adorned piercing artist J. Colby Smith will see more than 400 patrons who will collectively spend…
Misha Nonoo Forgoes Runway Show for Instagram Presentation
Misha Nonoo will forgo a pass on a runway show in favor of presenting new designs on Instagram.
Macy’s to Host Its Own Show for New York Fashion Week
Department store giant Macy's announced Monday that it will host its own event for New York Fashion Week…
Bridget Foley’s Diary: CFDA, NYFW and the B-word
In anticipation of NYFW, the CFDA unveiled its new fashion week logo, the result, Steven Kolb said, "of the…
Epson Showcases the Power of Print
In the age of instant everything, ready-to-wear collections are increasingly tired by the time they’ve…
NBA Brings Competition to the Runway
NBA players have a reputation for embracing fashion on and off the basketball court, so it only makes sense…
NYFW: Mercedes-Benz is Out
Mercedes-Benz is ending its title sponsorship for New York Fashion Week (NYFW). After the Fall ’15…
New York Fashion Week Evicted from Lincoln Center
New York Fashion Week is getting the boot from Lincoln Center, its home for the last four years. On Friday…