The New York Fashion Week (NYFW) is a semi-annual series of events (generally lasting 7–9 days), held in February and September of each year, when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general public. It is one of four major fashion weeks in the world, collectively known as the “Big 4”, along with Paris Fashion Week, London Fashion Week, and Milan Fashion Week.
The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) created the modern notion of a centralized “New York Fashion Week” in 1993. Producers of New York Fashion Week include IMG, The SOCIETY Fashion Week, FTL Moda in conjunction with Fashion Week Online, Style 360, Art Hearts Fashion, Style Fashion Week, and ASC Fashion week among others. The economic impact of New York Fashion Week is estimated at $887 million.
The first NYFW was created in 1943 by Eleanor Lambert, press director of the American fashion industry’s first promotional organization, the New York Dress Institute.
The event, the world’s first organized fashion week, was called “Press Week”, and was created to attract attention away from French fashion during World War II, when fashion industry insiders were unable to travel to Paris to see French fashion shows. It was also meant to showcase American designers for fashion journalists, who had neglected U.S. fashion innovations.
Press Week was a success, and fashion magazines like Vogue, which were normally filled with French designs, increasingly featured American fashion. By the mid-1950s, the event was known as “Press Week of New York”. Spring 1951 (held February 1951) was the 16th Annual Press Week of New York.
Historically we expect to see many brands and fashion designers return to NYFW like: Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Proenza Schouler, Christian Siriano, Brandon Maxwell and many others — while a few may disengage, including Tom Ford, Thom Browne, Marc Jacobs and Rodarte .