What is Fashion Week?
Fashion week is the time of year when designers showcase their upcoming collection for a select audience. This is mostly a group of magazine editors, brand/retail executives, photographers and celebrities. Some of the shows are even streamed online for those who cannot attend. If you have been to a fashion show you know it isn’t open to the general public (though, if you throw up some velvet ropes there will still be a line of people eager to get in).
Designers have about 15 minutes to impress their VIP guests. They may have the entire runway to themselves or they may share it with other designers in the same venue. Fashion week is also an opportunity to see and feel the materials, patterns and textures of a new season’s collection. Often, buyers will go back to the designer’s showrooms afterward and make purchases for their stores.
Generally, a runway show will consist of 30 to 40 outfits modeled by models walking down the catwalk in a row. A designer might close the show with his or her most famous model (think Kendall Jenner at Balmain or Cara Delevingne at Chanel). The designer might come out to take a bow at the end of the show. There might be music playing in the background, and the whole thing could last anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes.
The most important part of a fashion show is the feedback from the audience. A great review can mean a big splash in the media and lots of sales. A negative review can be disastrous, especially for a smaller brand.
While some fashion is meant for broad audiences—New York showman-extraordinaire Isaac Mizrahi’s budget-friendly designs are a case in point—the best designers (like Rei Kawakubo of Commes des Garcons or Junya Watanabe of Jil Sander) are working with formal properties of fabric and cut in an innovative way that is appreciated by a small community of connoisseurs. That’s why it’s so satisfying to them when a well-placed editor, writer or celebrity applauds the newest creation.
Fashion Week started in 1943 when Charles Frederick Worth, an English designer who had clients all over the world, wanted a different way to showcase his clothing than just in drawings. He started the idea of holding a series of fashion parades for his wealthy clients in Paris.
Today’s fashion weeks are similar to the original ones held in Paris and later in New York, with each city hosting its own week. But there are now numerous other fashion weeks around the world and many brands choose to skip them entirely, opting instead to present their collections to customers directly, either through their own stores or through e-commerce channels.