Fashion Week

Not gonna lie - fashion week makes me a little miffy.  I actually adore fashion and have an unhealthy penchant for expensive designer cloths - especially Burberry.  However, the one thing I might adore more than Burberry is classical music.  So I like to stroll around Lincoln Center while killing time and listen to Juilliard students or Met Opera patrons pontificating the virtues of Wagner versus Verdi.  It's a place of placid bliss for me.  However, during fashion week, Lincoln Center turns into this pulsating mecca of everything hip and trendy with music that most definitely does NOT include cellos blasting from the speakers! All this being said, fashion week has a noble history and is very important to New York, so let's get curious and questioning.

During World War II, fashion industry insiders weren't able to travel to France to see French fashion.  A fashion publicist named Eleanor Lambert saw this as a fabulous opportunity to showcase the previously neglected American designers and organized a "Press Week."  The very first "Press Week" was held in 1943 and was a huge success, inspiring fashion magazines to include American fashion amongst the French designs!  

By 1994, Fashion Week had become a long standing tradition that created iconic moments such as Calvin Klein launching his underwear line with his name emblazoned on the waistband in 1972.  (This is IMPORTANT STUFF YOU GUYS!  Those CK models are hot!)  In 1975, the model Iman broke the race barrier on the fashion week catwalk.  But up to this point, fashion week didn't have a central location.  It was scattered amongst different venues throughout the city.  In 1993 it consolidated itself at Bryant Park for a weeklong fashion extravaganza.  The shows took place in white tents which became a symbol of fashion week.  Tickets were available by invite only.  

In 2001 Fashion Week was cancelled.  This is because the very first day of Fashion Week that year was the now infamous date of September 11.  After the towers collapsed, they very understandably cancelled Fashion Week.  The next year London's fashion week agreed to switch dates with NY fashion week so that the New York's fashion week did not fall on the first anniversary of 9/11.

(Side note here - there are currently FOUR major fashion weeks - New York, London, Paris, and Milan.)

In 2009, Mercedes-Benz came in as official sponsor of Fashion Week and changed the name to "Mercedes Benz Fashion Week."  In 2010, Fashion Week left Bryant Park and moved to my beloved Lincoln Center where it continues to be held to this day.  Fashion Week continues to break barriers/make history.  This year the very first plus sized designer was shown at Fashion Week.  This designer was Eden Miller.  You can read more about her here.  

Well, I've never been lucky enough to receive and invitation to Fashion Week to watch a runway show.  Perhaps I can keep my fingers crossed for next year.   For those of us who aren't starry enough to get into the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week "tent" - the New York Times provided this lovely peek into what the designers were showing.   

I'm just happy to get my timpani and bass-baritones back at Lincoln Center!:)