By Jocelyn Noveck for AP News via CBS 6 Albany
NEW YORK (AP) — No celebs packing the front rows. No paparazzi chasing models down the streets. No stiletto-heeled crowds. No crowds at all, actually. Is there even a point to doing New York Fashion Week in 2020?
Well, yes, say organizers: It’s about economic survival.
“Ultimately fashion is a business, and Fashion Week is a platform for designers to do business,” says Steven Kolb, chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, which organizes the semi-annual event. “So this is about jobs … it’s about people’s livelihoods. It’’s about moving forward, but cautiously, with safety in mind.”
With that key priority in mind — safety — the CFDA has been pushing designers to go digital this Fashion Week, which begins Sunday evening and lasts through Wednesday. It’s going to be virtually all virtual: Fewer than a handful of labels have decided to show in person. They include Jason Wu, Rebecca Minkoff and Christian Siriano, the latter showing in far-off Connecticut. There will be heavy restrictions in place, from distancing to masks to in some cases, required COVID tests.
For the 70-odd designers offering so-called “digital activations,” there’s a new platform from CFDA, Runway 360, where people can watch the shows and designers can connect in various ways with buyers and consumers — what Kolb describes as a modern version of the old tents in Manhattan where the industry once gathered during Fashion Week.
The “week” will even include a version of the annual CFDA Awards — usually presented with fanfare at a glitzy June gala, but canceled this year. The winners will be announced by video on Monday.
A number of top designers, though, have opted out entirely. Among them is Marc Jacobs, the great showman of the industry, who traditionally closes out Fashion Week with his wildly creative runway shows. Read more from CBS 6 Albany.
