In the past few years, many of the traditional bastions of power in high fashion have been shaken. Just the last 6 months has seen declarations of bankruptcy from Barney’s and Opening Ceremony, two high-end multibrand stores that supported avant-garde, up-and-coming designers. Technology has shifted consumer interest from brick and mortar and magazine editors are no longer the definitive tastemakers they once were. Instead, trends are set and bought online, and metabolize at a rate much faster than ever before. Like legacy publications and retailers, in order to stay relevant, New York Fashion Week, which was held this past week in Manhattan, has had to reinvent itself.
In the past few years, IMG, the talent agency turned media and events company that produces NYFW, has brought in brands and talent from across its network, broadening the event to include programming around sports, business, beauty and more. (Like IMG, Studio 71 started as a talent agency, but we’ve expanded into areas guided by the interests of our clients.) Until 2015, Mercedes-Benz was the presenting sponsor and namesake of fashion weeks in New York and cities around the world. But post-acquisition (IMG was bought by WME in 2014), and post-rebranding to simply New York Fashion Week, IMG’s reach can be felt in the variety of the event schedule, which now includes things like a Visa-sponsored startup pitch competition and “Designed to Compete,” a panel on women in sports. Another property in the IMG portfolio, the Miss Universe Organization, showcased pageant winners in a panel on “The Evolving Standard of Beauty.” For the first time this year, in an effort to court interest from Gen-Z, IMG invited TikTok creators to attend shows and take over accounts run by NYFW. Engagement on TikTok is marginal compared to NYFW’s presence on Instagram (@NYFW and @FashionWeek, have a combined following of more than 4 million), but the move signals an interest in reaching beyond a high-fashion audience.
All this comes at a time when traditional designers no longer view NYFW as an essential part of their business strategy. Even Tom Ford, chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the organization that sets the schedule for official NYFW shows, didn’t participate. Instead, Ford showed his spring collection in Los Angeles to coincide with the Academy Awards. Philip Lim, who has participated in NYFW since 2005 decided to host a “house party” at his lower Manhattan store instead of doing a runway show, citing it as an opportunity for him and his team to realign values and reconnect with customers. For those who opt to stay in NYFW proper, sponsors can provide the resources needed to stage large-scale shows. Take for example Christian Siriano’s runway show last Thursday, which was produced in partnership with BMW, fashion week’s new automotive partner, and the Warner Brothers film Birds of Prey.
Fashion week has always been a place to see and be seen, something that’s valuable in an age of so much online engagement. In a recent interview with trade site Glossy, Leslie Russo, executive vice president of IMG’s fashion events group called NYFW, “the ultimate media platform.” For brands, it’s tempting to think that a big event will be a better investment than a series of smaller, more targeted campaigns. At Studio 71, we do a little bit of both, with an emphasis on authenticity. Lilly Singh, a star who started in digital and successfully crossed over into IRL (she was one of a handful of creators at last year’s Met Gala), is a good example of someone who bridges the gap between the fashion world and real life.
