After several muted seasons – and in spite of the death of designer Alexander McQueen on its opening day last Thursday – New York Fashion Week would appear to become back with a vengeance. With a lot more shows than last year and a lot more than 100,000 individuals expected to watch a runway show, this 7 days is one of the most important in the calendar for a business that generates $10bn in wages for that 175,000 New Yorkers who work in it.
But in a sector whose fortunes are so connected to the ups and downs from the wider economy, is fashion truly booming?
Eric Gaskins, a New York fashion designer for two decades, says: “When the economy gets really tough, instead of tightening the collective manner belt, designers grow like a fungus,” adding that a lot more doesn’t necessarily mean better.
The growth in designers is not commensurate to the quantity of financing obtainable, he says. “It wasn’t ever simple to raise money, but eight to 10 many years ago, venture capitalists were everywhere.”
Gaskins puts this declining interest from financial backers down to the truth that numerous who invested within the sector got their fingers burnt and have been unwilling to return.
Lawyer Denning Rodriguez, whose firm Pearce LLP specializes in working with designers and the luxury goods business, says: “Obviously you can find investors which are willing to cope with losses because of their relationship with the designer and affinity for fashion. Nevertheless, whether a particular investor has the financial resources to cover long-term losses is another question.”
When it comes to cash, Keren Eldad, manner marketing director for the LA Times, says that potential clients aren’t putting their money where their mouth is in spite of the economic recovery: “On the one hand, they’re looking to become spending a lot more on marketing, but the dollars aren’t there yet.” As to sales rates, she admits that “anything is much better than last year” but says it’s too early to tell how 2010 will turn out.
A normal at the Bryant Park tents, which have played host to the official New York Manner Week for the past 17 years, Eldad believes that the exhibits she has observed so far during the week, which runs until Thursday, are disappointing.
“I was expecting a lot of color, a lot of attitude, but that has not yet materialized. Correct now everything is grey, or beige. Designers are playing it so safe and catering to the buyers and not the [magazine] editors.”
In an industry notorious for costs, such a move is possibly not surprising, and is also reflected within the push to use alternative venues to Bryant Park, the official house of New York fashion 7 days run by event organizer IMG.
One alter has been the rise of “Mac & Milk,” a joint venture between make-up firm MAC and Milk Studios within the city’s Meatpacking District. Rather than charging designers upwards of $25,000 to stage a fashion show as IMG does, Mac & Milk offers free space to designers and free make-up. But the designers have to become chosen by the organizers, creating exclusivity.
An additional phenomenon is the rise from the presentation over the catwalk show – essentially a two-three hour installation of models wearing new collections, which journalists and buyers walk around, rather than the other way around.
Connie Wang, associate editor of Refinery29, a New York-based manner blog says it is “more efficient on time” and allows editors to pop by and “actually spend time looking at the clothes”.
But one thing Wang is seeing less of is the goody bag, the sought-after prize for numerous an attendees.
Still, it’s not all bad news. Right after two seasons away from the Bryant Park tents, Starbucks has returned as the official coffee provider, ousting McDonald’s. Maybe the good times truly are back.
