New York Fashion Week Will Look a Little Different, Again - Barron's

A model walks the runway for Jason Wu during New York Fashion Week in September... — A model walks the runway for Jason Wu during New York Fashion Week in September 2020. The upcoming NYFW will include a series of online presentations punctuated by small, socially distanced shows, as well as talks, classes, and exclusive merchandising.
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Designers such as Jason Wu, Proenza Schouler, and Rebecca Minkoff will unveil their fall 2021 collections as part of New York Fashion Week, which begins Sunday.

Of course, packed shows and coveted first-row seats aren’t possible during the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, the week will include a series of online presentations punctuated by small, socially distanced shows, as well as talks, classes, and exclusive merchandising.

The biannual event is organized by IMG, the talent and event management company based in New York that owns NYFW: The Shows and NYFW.com, and the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the official keeper of the fashion week calendar, which was rechristened as the American Collections Calendar in January. Runway360 is its virtual home.

In September, NYFW: The Shows was the first event with a live audience back in New York, according to Leslie Russo, president of fashion events and properties at IMG.

“It was part live, part hybrid. And we’ll continue that obviously this February as well,” she said.

Shows will be live streamed from Spring Studios in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, along with events featuring artists, influencers, and fashion thought leaders, according to the NYFW: The Shows schedule, which was released Wednesday. Many shows will also be broadcast on the CFDA site.

“We typically have in a live season about 60 to 70 shows and events, but we also do all the cultural conversation around fashion—shows, talks, programming, talent—which is the underpinning to all the activity that happens over the course of a fashion week,” Russo explains.

This year, that starts with a virtual boot camp with the on-demand fitness brand AARMY, with model and trainer Akin Akman. The brand will also end the week, featuring its workout collection and a meditation session.

The week also brings a series of conversations, starting with a Monday chat with two Inauguration designers.

“ Sergio Hudson, who dressed Michelle Obama at [President Joseph Biden’s ] inauguration, and Alexandra O'Neill [of Markarian ], who dressed First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will do a talk with [journalist] Tamron Hall on what that moment was like.”

“Well Suited,” a podcast with Nikki Ogunnaike, the digital director of Harper’s Bazaar, and journalist Lola Ogunnaike, is launching as part of NYFW: The Shows. The sisters will discuss Art and Style on the World Stage with artist Kehinde Wiley on Tuesday evening.

“They are launching an original fashion podcast with us, inviting cultural icons and incredible artists to talk about style and the cross-cultural current between fashion and art,” Russo says.

Guests will include playwright Jeremy O. Harris, actor Cynthia Erivo, and chess champion and comedian Elsa Majimbo.

Jason Wu, the 38-year-old a Taiwanese-Canadian designer who dressed Michelle Obama on several occasions, including the first and second inaugurations of her husband, will present one of the few socially distant shows on Sunday. As always, details of the upcoming collection are under wraps in advance of the show, but in September Wu transformed the roof of Spring Studios into a tropical oasis inspired by the beaches and jungles of Tulum, Mexico.

Wu is also one of the featured designers in the Drops, a daily unveiling of exclusive merchandise drops, which will be immediately available on NYFW.com, Russo says.

“There will be runs of items from Rodarte, Prabal Gurung, Jason Wu,” she explains, adding that the limited-edition merchandise will tie the event together “whether you're sitting in your apartment or you’re showing up live.”

Sergio Hudson, who dressed Michelle Obama (right) at President Joseph Biden's inauguration, will do a... — Sergio Hudson, who dressed Michelle Obama (right) at President Joseph Biden's inauguration, will do a talk with journalist Tamron Hall on what that moment was like.
Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Despite the location of the audience, Russo points out how important fashion week is for designers. That’s especially true during the pandemic, when many brands have been struggling.

“We felt it was really important not to sit seasons out and to really show up for the industry in an effort to help designers continue to showcase their collections and move inventory,” she says.

New York Fashion Week has always been a launching pad for up-and-coming designers, and this year is no exception.

“NYFW is important in supporting emerging designers. It gives them a platform to showcase their work on a large scale that would be challenging to engage otherwise,” Markarian’s Alexandra O'Neill said in an email. “Ensuring the success of these American brands is vital to the survival of New York’s Garment Center, especially so during these unprecedented times.”

This year, the roster of emerging talent includes New York City-based Colin LoCascio, whose “landmarks” are “bold colors, fun prints, and vivid colors,” according to his website, and Nahmias, a men’s sportswear brand from Los Angeles.

In addition, NYFW: The Shows has partnered with the Black in Fashion Council to showcase designers of color throughout the week.

“We worked with them to have their first town hall take place on our channels, but also launch the showrooms to help Black designers have a space to show their collections,” Russo says. “We started with three last season and we expanded this season… [and] we'll continue doing with them into the future.”

Some notable designers are sitting this season out, including Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, and Tory Burch. Over the last few years, designers have looked to show collections independently.

That trend was the reasoning behind the CFDA’s rebranding of the New York Fashion Week schedule as the American Collections Calendar, according to an announcement last month from the nonprofit’s chairman, Tom Ford. The calendar and the Runway360 site will now include all American designers, regardless of location or collection release date.

“We recognize the need for some to broaden their global visibility,” Ford wrote. “In the past few years, many of our members have chosen to show in Europe, Asia, and other key markets, and in many cases off-calendar. The events of the past year have only highlighted the need for flexibility within the fashion system.”

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