Models, clothes, designers, runways, all are a part of one of the most famous New York celebrations. To New Yorker’s and fashion lovers alike, New York fashion week is more than just a series of well thought out runway shows, it is a display of art, a display of well thought out and styled pieces that will be worn at the world’s most elite parties. For some, fashion is a creative form of self-expression. It has been this way for centuries, kings and queens would be noted for their luxurious wardrobes and never ceased to impress the public. Now, year’s later fashion has evolved from elegant gowns and overcoats to pants, and jumpsuits, and hats and shirts. Entire magazines have dedicated themselves to keeping up with the latest designers and trends, and now, during the change of seasons, the world’s most fashionable cities host a series of runway shows where designers debut their new collections for everyone to see.
New York was one of the first cities to ever do fashion week. The city became an innovator all on it’s own when it began hosting seasonal fashion shows in the 1940’s. Fashion shows were first organized in France, however it was New York that began to host fashion shows for the public to attend all within a certain time frame. Fashion Week, which originally began as Fashion Press Week, was organized by a young Eleanor Lambert. Lambert was a fashion publicist who worked with American designer’s in New York during World War 2. During that time women were purchasing more clothes because they had been thrown into the work force and had money to of their own to spend on them. The first New York fashion week was held in 1943 at the Plaza Hotel.
It wasn’t until the 1990’s that Fashion week became known as Fashion Week and became a noted event that the world’s most popular celebrities attended. Fashion week gained popularity during this time because fashion lovers were now able to watch fashion week from the comfort of their own home on their televisions. Not to mention the 90’s were known to be some of the most daring years for fashion. Because of advancement in media high priced clothing brand names began to become more popular and because of this people wanted to see what those designers were making. It wasn’t until 2001 that Mercedes Benz became the official fashion week sponsor.
Now Fashion Week takes place all over the world. It is a treat for models, designers and fashion lovers from every corner of the globe. The average fashion week hosts shows for about 40 different designers. It is a special week during September that is documented in every fall Vogue issue. I’m not sure what the thrill is for Fashion Week lovers, for me, it’s being able to see all the fresh creativity the designers have brought for the new season. I love all of it. The outfits are pieced together so beautifully on every model. The clothes are art. They are expressive and the work that goes behind each runway show is tedious and time consuming, however they pull it off so effortlessly. As the great Coco Chanel once said, “Fashion has two purposes: Comfort and love. Beauty comes when fashion succeeds”.