Let's Talk New York Fashion Week
I’m gonna be honest, I had to do some research for this blog post. I am definitely guilty of just following my favorite designers and being surprised to see that it’s Fashion Week again! Which is the case now. Fashion week happens two times a year, in February and September. The term “Week” in Fashion Week I would say is subjective since these fashion shows don’t really occur in just one week, more like over the course of three weeks. This weekend (Sept. 8th-12th) is New York Fashion Week and the following weeks until October are Fashion Weeks in all the major fashion cities. If that wasn’t enough confusion, this year’s September Fashion Week is showcasing Spring to Summer 2022. You may be thinking, but Ambar it’s Fall 2021! Well, one of the major attributes of the fashion industry is to always stay ahead and in this case, we are about half a year prepared. If you were interested in seeing some trends for the upcoming Fall, you would have to check out last year’s February Fashion Week Summer to Fall 2021.
Anyways all of this “when is fashion week” talk got me thinking, what is fashion week and how did it begin? It is speculated that the first fashion show happened in 1903, New York at a specialty store called Enrich Brothers. But back then it wasn’t some elaborate show with stage design and lighting, more like designers would hire women to walk around in their clothes in promenades and public places. Your average marketing strategy to lure wealthy customers into buying couture. By 1910, fashion shows or what they called “fashion parades” became more popular and had more thought put into them. Yet it was still marketed in a way of exclusivity until the 1920s, which is when fashion shows became more mainstream. In 1943 during World War II, a well-known fashion publicist named Eleanor Lambert decided to organize something called “Press Week”. “Press Week” was lamberts way of trying to influence people on the importance of fashion and the creators behind it. More importantly, Lambert wanted editors to highlight and pay attention to these American designers that were freeing themselves from the French influence. In turn, magazines like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar began including designer’s names and their designs, paving the way for the First New York Fashion Week.
Though today, Fashion Week is something much much more than that. Fashion shows and on the runway are not the only places to see fashion but now even the streets themselves. People fly from all over the world to attend these events and to get to show off their own fashion talents. And thanks to the internet and social media, we get to watch all the fashion craze from afar on our screens. So even if you may not have the means to attend these events or even buy from these couture designers, it doesn’t mean you can’t have a fashion show of your own. I especially like watching fashion shows to see how I can turn a runway outfit into my own, using what I have. The world really is your runway.
External Links about the history of Fashion Week and dates to look out for!
https://slate.com/culture/2006/02/a-brief-history-of-the-fashion-show.html
Comments
Post a Comment