Fashion Week It is an important event in the fashion industry and it is the time when the fashion world reaches its peak with fashion shows and the presence of people such as photographers, journalists, stylists and of course celebrities.
Have you ever wondered what exactly fashion week is and what time of the year it takes place? When and where was the first fashion week held?
If you have these questions or any other questions about Fashion Week; This article is for you! Because in this article we are going to answer all the frequently asked questions about fashion weeks.
So stay tuned with Sarak's closet magazine.
What is fashion week or fashion week?
Fashion week is an important event in the fashion industry that lasts for almost a week, during which designers, brands and fashion houses present their latest collections to buyers and media in fashion shows. Fashion weeks are very influential in the future of the fashion industry and the next trends, and photographers, journalists, stylists and celebrities from all over the world gather to attend fashion weeks and watch fashion shows closely.
The most important fashion weeks are in the four fashion capitals of the world, New York, London, Milan and Paris, which attract the most attention and are also known as the Big Four:
• New York Fashion Week (NYFW)
• London Fashion Week (LFW)
• Milan Fashion Week (MFW)
• Paris Fashion Week (PFW)
Apart from these four fashion weeks, other fashion weeks are also held in different cities, including Berlin, Madrid, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Beirut and Dubai.
In general, the fashion weeks in these four cities can be divided into three categories, which are named in order of holding:
- Men's Fashion Week, which includes men's ready-to-wear collections, is held in Milan and Paris, respectively. (Ready-to-wear collections, also called RTW for short, are collections that can be purchased in stores about four to six months after the show.)
- Haute Couture Fashion Week, which is held only in Paris.
- Women's Fashion Week, which includes women's or mixed RTW collections (women's and men's) and is held in New York, London, Milan and Paris, respectively. This is usually one of the loudest and most important fashion weeks.
The named weeks are generally held twice a year as Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter Fashion Weeks.
In recent years, inter-seasonal fashion shows have been held between autumn/winter and spring/summer fashion weeks. These collections are usually more commercial than the main season collections; They help shorten the customer's wait for the new season's clothes and increase the brand's sales. These interseasonal collections, called Resort, Cruise, Pre-Spring, are held before Spring/Summer Fashion Week and Pre-Fall before Fall/Winter Fashion Week. . There is no fixed schedule for these shows in fashion capitals; But they usually happen three months after the fashion shows of the main season.
To complete this list, we must mention other fashion weeks that focus on a specific category; Like New York Bridal Fashion Week, which is different from New York Fashion Week; Miami Swim Week, which features swimwear and swimwear fashion shows, and Jakarta Islamic Fashion Week, which focuses on Islamic fashion.
What is the purpose of fashion week?
The purpose of holding fashion weeks is to promote the latest collections, increase sales and determine the trends of the next season in the world of fashion.
Also, the collections of new brands are seen through these fashion weeks and new and talented designers are discovered.
Are the fashions of the same season presented every week?
no Fashion weeks are always one season ahead and every fashion week presents the next season's clothes. In fact, fashion weeks are held several months before the season to give buyers an opportunity to select, purchase and deliver items to their stores. In addition, this method gives the press an opportunity to review next season's plans, assess public sentiment, and determine future trends. Designers present their fall and winter collections in February and March, and their spring and summer collections in September and October.
In the past few years, this rhythm has changed with the “See now, Buy now” movement. Such collections are available and can be purchased right after the fashion show is over. This movement was created in response to “fast fashion” retailers who copy designs after fashion shows and prepare them for sale faster than the brand itself.
How were fashion weeks formed?
The first sparks of the formation of fashion weeks go back to years ago in Paris. When haute couture fashion was born in Paris around 1850. Charles Frederick Worth, who is known as the father of haute couture, used to invite customers to his atelier for the first time and set up a show of his new collection with the aim of developing sales. Therefore, Werth created the idea to hold such shows twice a year and at a specific time so that all customers and enthusiasts can come at the same time and place to see and buy the latest collection.
In the early 1900s, fashion shows in Paris were very small, private events with limited attendance. These fashion shows were different from what we know today, and usually photography and the presence of photographers were prohibited in them; Because designers were very afraid of copying their designs.
History of New York Fashion Week
In 1903, the Parisian tradition arrived in New York to show customers the latest collection, and the first fashion show in the United States was held by a store called Ehrich Brothers. The move was a huge success, and by 1910 many department stores and designers across the United States had held their first fashion shows, and by the 1920s, fashion shows had become a well-known and accepted way to promote a collection.
Until the 1940s, Paris was still the main center of fashion. American designers, journalists, and buyers traveled to Paris for inspiration and to follow the latest trends; But the arrival of the Second World War and the Nazi occupation made it impossible for these people to travel to Paris.
Eleanor Lambert saw this as a unique opportunity to divert attention from Paris to New York Fashion Week. So in 1943, he launched the first “press week” held at the Plaza Hotel. Lambert ensured the presence of journalists from New York and other cities of the world by paying a salary, and finally the event achieved a remarkable success. This fashion week introduced young American designers to the fashion industry and was featured in magazines including Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.
So in 1943 the first fashion week as we know it today; held.
The first fashion calendar: Ruth Finley (Lambert's PR assistant) launched the fashion calendar. The calendar was a comprehensive guide to fashion week events, ensuring that fashion shows did not overlap in terms of show times. Finley came up with the idea of setting up a calendar for Fashion Week when he saw two fashion writers discussing two fashion shows that were taking place at the same time; Sight. Finlay used this opportunity to organize fashion events and published little pink books called Fashion Calendars.
This calendar became a model for how to schedule and hold fashion weeks today.
In the 1960s, American fashion shows were bigger and more luxurious than before and eventually took the form of today's fashion shows. These fashion shows were held at the same time of the year; But not in one place! This caused the disappointment of many buyers and editors who had to go from one point of the city to another to attend these events. Therefore, considering this problem, Fern Mallis, who was the executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, decided in 1993 to hold fashion shows in the center of Bryant Park.
The move to Bryant Park created opportunities for corporate sponsorships. The biannual event was renamed Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in the late 1990s.
New York Fashion Week remained the only fashion week in the world until 1958 when Milan Fashion Week was established.
History of Milan Fashion Week
Before Milan was chosen as one of the four fashion capitals of the world and hosted the fashion week, Florence was the center of Italian fashion shows. In 1951, an Italian aristocrat started holding fashion shows in Florence. In this event, Italy attracted buyers from America for the first time, and photographers and journalists from all over the world attended the fashion show. This event achieved such success and fame that the streets of Florence faced a serious traffic problem. Therefore, due to the large number of people who came to Florence from all over the world for this event, it was decided to hold such ceremonies in Milan from then on. In this way, Milan Fashion Week was formed by the Italian National Fashion Hall in 1958.
Beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, the works of some Milan-based designers, including Giorgio Armani and Gianni Versace, became very popular and helped cement Milan's position as one of the fashion capitals.
History of Paris Fashion Week
Although fashion weeks did not officially begin in Paris, the city seems to have created the idea of fashion weeks through “fashion parades”; But what did the fashion parade mean? In the fashion parade, shop owners hired women to wear their designs in public spaces to attract customers.
The first Paris Fashion Week in its present form was organized by the French Fashion Federation (Fédération Française de la Couture) in 1973 and was overseen by the founder of New York Fashion Week, Eleanor Lambert.
Battle of Versailles: The first Paris Fashion Week opened with an event called the Battle of Versailles on November 28, 1973. The reason for choosing the name Battle of Versailles is that in this event, which was held at the Palace of Versailles, Paris fashion was pitted against New York fashion.
The fashion show with the interesting name “Battle of Versailles” was actually held with the purpose of collecting funds for the reconstruction of the Palace of Versailles, the cost of which was estimated at 60 million dollars. The legendary event was attended by 700 guests including Princess Grace, Jacqueline de Ribes, Gloria Guinness, Andy Warhol and Liza Minnelli. In this event, each designer had to display eight designs. Yves Saint Laurent, Emmanuelle Ungaro, Christian Dior, Pierre Cardin and Hubert de Givenchy represented France against Anne Klein, Holsten, Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass and Stephen Burroughs from the United States. In the end, America won over Paris by presenting the most avant-garde collections.
History of London Fashion Week
The first official London Fashion Week was organized by the British Fashion Council in 1983. The show was held in a parking lot in West London. Betty Jackson, David Fielden and John Galliano were some of the young designers who started working there.
The event was so successful that the British government officially announced that it would provide funding for its continuation. Even the royal family showed interest in these fashion shows. For example, Princess Diana hosted some designers at Lancaster House in 1985. In 1986, to the surprise of those present, Margaret Thatcher attended this event and despite being a busy person, she stayed there for the whole week.
But despite a successful start, the 1990s proved to be a difficult period for London Fashion Week. The excesses of the 80s gave way to the recession of the 90s. With reduced budgets and enthusiasm, by 1992, London Fashion Week was limited to a small number of designers.
In 1993, for the first time, Alexander McQueen, followed by Stella McCartney in 1995, appeared at London Fashion Week.
What is the connection between fashion week and fashion show?
Now we know that fashion weeks are events in the fashion world during which brands present their new collections by holding a fashion show. Given that a fashion show or fashion show is usually an event where models walk the catwalk wearing new collection clothes; We'll take a closer look at what's happening at these fashion shows during Fashion Week.
Which fashion week does each brand hold its fashion show?
Maybe this question arises in your mind, on what basis do brands hold their fashion show in one of these fashion weeks? Do brands have the right to choose?
In fact, there is no firm and clear law for this issue; This matter mostly depends on which city and country the foundation of a brand is. Generally, most brands hold their fashion show in the fashion week of their home country. Therefore, most American brands present their collections in New York Fashion Week, most English brands in London Fashion Week, most Italian brands in Milan Fashion Week, and most French brands in Paris Fashion Week. It is also a way to support the national economy, designers and retailers of the country. In addition, most of these designers are also members of the National Fashion Council of their country; Therefore, it is logical to hold the fashion show in their country.
Of course, this is a general rule and sometimes brands do not follow this rule based on their own strategies; For example, nowadays many Japanese designers present their collections in Milan and Paris fashion weeks.
Where is each fashion show held?
Fashion shows can be held in different places such as hotels, museums, historical places or nature and open space according to the source of collection inspiration, brand strategy and designer's choice; But they cannot be in a city other than the city where Fashion Week is held.
Today, designers choose the location of the fashion show more carefully and creatively to make a deeper impact on the audience.
How long is each fashion show?
The duration of each fashion show is shorter than you think. A runway takes about 7 to 20 minutes (average 10 minutes). This time depends on the number of looks and the speed of the catwalk. Most of the time, fashion shows don't start on time and usually keep the audience waiting for 20-40 minutes.
How many looks does each fashion show consist of?
There is no limit to the number of Lukes. But in general, each RTW runway consists of at least 20 loks. If the collection includes both womenswear and menswear, this number can increase to 100 looks.
Who goes to the fashion show?
Usually, it is not possible to buy tickets and attend fashion shows for ordinary people, and all participants attend the event with special invitations that designers send to their customers, buyers, journalists, bloggers, influencers, celebrities, other designers, partners and friends. That's why at these fashion shows we always see a number of celebrities who show up to support their designer friend or more likely to promote the brand.
How to watch fashion shows?
The good news is that even if you are not invited to the fashion shows, you can watch them online from the brand's website. Also, in most cases, you can watch the fashion show live through media such as Instagram and YouTube page of the brand.
How much does a fashion show cost?
The cost of holding these fashion shows is very high and reaches millions of dollars. Among the costs that must be paid for holding a fashion show, we can mention model wages, lighting costs, stage design, etc. In many cases these costs are paid by the sponsor.
Do all brands present their new collection in the form of a runway during fashion week?
The most common way of presenting collections is the runway; But it is not the only way. Some designers hold their fashion shows if the models stand with a certain figure and the audience can see the new collection up close. Some designers refrain from holding a fashion show altogether and invite journalists to visit their exhibition instead and see the next season's clothes. In some cases, a fashion show may be held without a catwalk.
What happens after the fashion show is over?
Usually, a party is held after the fashion shows, which is an opportunity for the designers to communicate with their clients, partners and friends in an informal environment. However, not everyone who attends a fashion show necessarily attends the after-party; Because he must have a separate invitation for this party.
After the fashion show and after-party, shoppers head to the fashion week showrooms of their favorite brands and designers to check out the collections; See fabrics and details closely and decide whether or not to buy them.
last word
We hope that we have answered all your questions about Fashion Week in this article. If you have any other questions about fashion weeks, write us in the comments section. We will respond as soon as possible!
Of course, in addition to this article in the closet magazine, complete and up-to-date materials from each season's fashion weeks and analysis of fashion shows have been prepared by the closet team, which you can also read.
References:
fashionunited.com
peacockplume.fr
teenvogue.com
ielfs.com
retaildogma.com
vogue.fr
theitalianreve.com
glamobserver.com
fashinza.com
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