Dates Changing for S/S 08 NYC Fashion Week

[kimair]

from wwd...

The New York show dates will definitely shift in September.

The Fashion Week Advisory Committee sent out a letter on Tuesday to inform the fashion community that New York’s next fashion week will kick off on Wed., Sept. 5 and end at sunset on Wed., Sept. 12.

The move will avoid having shows on Rosh Hashanah, the first night of which is Sept. 12. The spring 2008 shows had originally been scheduled from Friday, Sept. 7 to Friday, Sept. 14, which would have clashed with Sept. 12-13 Jewish holiday.

For complete coverage see tomorrow's issue of WWD.

 

[peacelover142002]

Wow. Big shift.

But at least they'll start that much earlier.

Thanks, kimair.

 

[BaroqueRockstar]

that make sense

 

[kuba01]

What does fashion week have to do with a Jewish holiday? Is it illegal to have shows on a religious holiday?

 

[ilaughead]

^No, but it's polite. Nobody would want to go to a business convention on Christmas, would they?

 

[D'Felipe]

^No, but it's polite. Nobody would want to go to a business convention on Christmas, would they?

True, but mind you presidents day just past here in the states on monday but do believe every milanese show was covered on style.com... it just goes to show who drives the fashion industry in N.Y.

Thats all I'll say... .. ...for now.

 

[kuba01]

^No, but it's polite. Nobody would want to go to a business convention on Christmas, would they?

True. Just curious, who is on the council that decides this? Is it mostly individuals who are Jewish and therefore representing a cross-section of the community?

 

[peacelover142002]

True, but mind you presidents day just past here in the states on monday but do believe every milanese show was covered on style.com... it just goes to show who drives the fashion industry in N.Y.

Thats all I'll say... .. ...for now.

President's Day isn't a religious holiday. Who celebrates it, besides car companies? Everyone just sees it as a day off.

 

[brian]

^LOL, agreed [even though i still had to work ]

 

[kimair]

more on this, from wwd...

Designers and fashion show producers better stock up on the aspirin.

A major headache could be on the way following the decision to definitely move New York's spring shows two days earlier this September. And the shift raises the prospect that New York Fashion Week — already an unofficial marathon of up to 11 days — could become even longer.

The Fashion Week Advisory Committee — executives from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, IMG Fashion, the Fashion Calendar and other industry leaders — sent out a letter to inform the fashion community that New York's next fashion week will officially kick off on Wednesday, Sept. 5 — only two days after Labor Day — and end at sunset on Wednesday, Sept. 12. The move was made so the shows would not clash with Rosh Hashanah, which begins after sunset on Sept. 12.

The spring 2008 shows had originally been scheduled from Friday, Sept. 7 to Fri*day, Sept. 14.

In recent seasons, the New York schedule had become relatively predictable, except for a few minor tweaks here and there. Diane von Furstenberg kicked the week into high gear on Sunday, Carolina Herrera and Oscar de la Renta showed Monday morning and afternoon and were followed by Marc Jacobs that evening. Narciso Rodriguez took the Tuesday night slot, Calvin Klein Collection was presented on Thursday afternoon and Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan headlined the final day. The Groundhog Day nature of it all gave editors and buyers — particularly those from out of town who need to make travel arrangements far in advance — a security blanket.

But the coincidence with the Jewish holiday this September threw a wrench into the works. The committee had sent out a survey in December with three options: the shift from Wednesday to Wednesday, a move of shows to October after the European collections or leaving the calendar as is. The majority polled were in favor of the first option.

Now comes the hard part. Reorganiz*ing the calendar is bound to become a major undertaking over the next few months. While the most logical solution would be to simply shift the entire schedule as it has been by two days, many major designers are vowing to stick to their day and time slots.

Earlier this month, Marc Jacobs president Robert Duffy said he would keep the designer's show on the Monday night of fashion week, no matter how the dates shifted. Duffy couldn't be reached for comment on Wednesday, but it is widely believed he will keep his word.

Ironically, the same holds true for von Furstenberg, whose September show will still take place on Sunday, Sept. 9.

"I think this is very unfortunate and does not please me at all," the CFDA president said from Paris on Thursday. "I am working to delay the dates and not advance them, but this is the reality for this one time. Thankfully, it will happen at a season that we have a lot of design time ahead, so my advice [to designers] is, "Order your fabrics early.'"

As part of the Wednesday to Wednesday timetable, the committee will look back to the September 2004 schedule, when it faced a similar shift, as well as to calendars from the past few seasons to take the increased number of designers showing since then into consideration (earlier this month, more than 200 collections were shown as part of New York Fashion Week in a period that stretched from Wednesday, Jan. 31 to Saturday, Feb. 10.). In September 2004, for instance, Carolina Herrera showed on Thursday, von Furstenberg and Tuleh took slots on Friday, Donna Karan and Marc Jacobs showed on Monday, Calvin Klein on Tuesday and Ralph Lauren on Wednesday.

"The strategy we are putting forward is not so much the two-days-back strategy," Steven Kolb, CFDA's executive director, said. "It was more a look at what happened in 2004. We used the last time this happened and the most recent season as a reference. It dawned on us that that should be the strategy, which accounts for the fact that the calendar is much fuller and has expanded to include international designers as well."

Even though no official statement has been made, it looks like Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week will remain in Bryant Park through September, and is unlikely to move until a new, permanent site is found.

Kolb said the CFDA would be working closely with IMG Fashion and the Fashion Calendar "to have a more coordinated approach to scheduling shows."

But even so, Kolb conceded there would be some reshuffling that could become a major challenge.

"I think it will be a very complex process," he said. "We are organized and have thought this out fully. I think it will be a challenge, but when you look at what the options were, there was no other choice. The consensus across the board was that it was the only choice. There will be some challenges and we will deal with it case by case."

There is also speculation that Ralph Lauren is looking to secure a weekend spot for the September shows that could be tied in with a big bash to celebrate his 40th anniversary in business. A spokesman for the company said a date for the September show had not been set.

"The reality is, some designers are not going to move and some are," Kolb noted. "Then there are special circumstances for designers that the advisory committee will take into account. Each designer will have an independent evaluation. The key is to have a coordinated effort between IMG, the CFDA and the Fashion Calendar."

Because of the growth of fashion week in recent seasons, the committee advised in its letter that there would be fewer time slots to work with and pleaded with designers to be cooperative. However, with so many off-schedule shows this past season, there is the potential some designers may decide to show either on Tuesday, Sept. 4, or even after the end of the official calendar.

"For some, it might be a good idea to consider showing in presentation format over a two- to three-hour time period, as opposed to producing a runway show, to maximize the opportunity for editors and buyers to see your collection," the letter said. "And it would help greatly with scheduling if established designers were able to move forward to the beginning of the week to help draw the international press and retailers."

But the earlier-than-usual kickoff is sure to send some designers into a tailspin.

Doo-Ri Chung said, "I better get started on ordering fabrics now. Since Italy is closed for most of August, this really adds to the pressure for the spring deadline."

Bud Konheim, chief executive officer of Nicole Miller, said his company planned to stick with showing on opening day and would plan accordingly.

"Everyone will have something to say: 'We can't get any fabrics from Italy. Italy is closed,'" Konheim said. "It's all a question of planning. You can plan around anything. Maybe there will be one item you can't get the piece goods in for that will miss the runway and the world will survive.

"I think our industry gets in a flap about things that logically don't make a difference," Konheim said.

The CFDA's Kolb said there would be weekly meetings, and no slots would be confirmed unless the CFDA, IMG and the Fashion Calendar were in agreement.

"One of things we said is that we have more shows and less time and that should be the encouragement to some designers, particularly the younger designers, to have a smaller presentation," he said. "We are also encouraging some of the big-name designers to go earlier as they would be a good anchor to draw the international press and buyers sooner rather than later."

In addition to voting for the date shift this September, the poll also made a case for keeping the shows ahead of Europe's.

"We fought hard to be the first city to show each season, and the majority of those designers surveyed did not feel that it would be in the industry's best interest to give up that prestigious spot," the letter stated. "For most designers, a time slot after London, Milan and Paris would be detrimental to business, as it would be extremely difficult (if not impossible) to ship to stores in time."

 

[zamb]

NY Fashion Week, Spring 2008 calendar change

From: Fashionweekdaily.com




(NEW YORK) Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week here has received a two-day bump forward. The memo below, issued Tuesday by the Fashion Week Advisory Committee Tuesday, announced that next season, New York’s Fashion Week will begin on Wednesday, September 5, and end on Wednesday, at sunset, on September 12, in order not to conflict with Rosh Hashanah.

FROM: Fashion Week Advisory Committee
TO: All Members of the New York Fashion Community—designers, show producers, public relations companies
DATE: February 20, 2007
RE: NEW YORK FASHION WEEK—September 07 Changes
The Fashion Week Advisory Committee, consisting of representatives from the CFDA, IMG Fashion, Fashion Calendar and various other industry people including designers, editors and show producers, has been faced with a difficult decision regarding the dates for September '07 Fashion Week. As currently scheduled, shows would take place in direct conflict with Rosh Hashanah.
The Committee initiated discussions and distributed a survey to the industry before arriving at a decision. It is the consensus of the industry that it would be inappropriate and disrespectful to schedule Fashion Week in conflict with this important holiday. It was also the consensus that this issue be resolved by starting the shows two days earlier, and having the New York Fashion Week begin on Wednesday, September 5th and end at sunset on Wednesday September 12th. This is similar to the schedule of the September '04 shows, when the industry was also faced with this conflict.
We fully realize this shuffling of dates will be challenging for various reasons—mainly because Fashion Week will now commence immediately after the Labor Day weekend—but the majority agreed this is the best solution.
In a related issue, the majority of those surveyed also agreed that for New York to move to mid-October, after the European shows, would not be a good idea. We fought hard to be the first city to show each season, and the majority of those designers surveyed did not feel that it would be in the industry’s best interest to give up that prestigious spot. For most designers, a time slot after London, Milan and Paris would be detrimental to business, as it would be extremely difficult (if not impossible) to ship to stores in time.
As we begin to schedule the September '07 shows on the Wednesday to Wednesday timetable, we will refer to the calendar from September '04, as well as the calendars from the past several seasons, to help guide us in finding time slots that will work best for all involved. Designers and companies scheduling for the season should be aware that there will be a reduced number of time slots to work with; therefore industry-wide cooperation is imperative.
For some, it might be a good idea to consider showing in "presentation" format over a 2-3 hour period, as opposed to producing a runway show, to maximize the opportunity for editors and buyers to see your collection. Also it would help greatly with scheduling if established designers were able to move forward to the beginning of the week, to help draw the international press and retailers.
The CFDA and IMG Fashion will be working very closely with Fashion Calendar in scheduling the shows this season and it is in your best interest to inform CFDA and IMG Fashion as well when setting your date and time on the calendar. We trust that everyone will be flexible, accommodating and understanding so that our combined efforts are a success for New York Fashion Week—and thank you, in advance, for your support.

 

[Xone]

any info about the new location of the shows???