NY Fashion Week, New Home

It’s hard to imagine NY Fashion Week NOT being at Bryant Park, but the powers that be in the Big Apply decided it was time for a change.  The event, which brings 232,000 attendees, will generate new economic activity for New York City businesses, accounting for more than $466 million in direct visitor spending and contributing to $1.6 billion in annual tax revenue to the City’s fashion industry.

Personally I think Bryant Park is slightly more sexy than Damrosch Park, and I’ve only just mastered the subway system so that I no longer end up in Queens.  But a change is a-comin’.

“The move to Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center is the culmination of a working partnership between the Mayor’s Office, NYCEDC, IMG, Lincoln Center, and the Department of Parks and Recreation,” said Patrick M. Murphy, Director of the Fashion/Retail Team at the Center for Economic Transformation at NYCEDC. “The enhancements to the tents, the ability to stage additional presentations, along with access to major transportation routes, and the connection with the Lincoln Center brand will be a terrific boost for the fashion industry, and will have a positive economic impact for the event and the City.”

 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center, which will be held from September 9 to 16, will implement a number of technical enhancements to adjust with the changing needs of the fashion community. These upgrades include; a gracious lobby to better accommodate designer guests, press and industry professionals; modified runway theaters and modular designer spaces that support advanced production capabilities; expanded lighting and digital design resources; new décor and increased venue/runway sizes and seating enhancements. The event will continue to host three runway venues, and has added a fourth presentation space for designer presentations, industry forums, press conferences and other activities. The venue cost to each designer will remain the same as in previous seasons of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

IMG Fashion will extend ‘the Tents’ original mantra to ‘organize, centralize and modernize’ into the digital realm, launching a new  Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center website and suite of digital services that provide expanded capabilities for designers, press and attendees. 

The improvements include a new designer centric website and updated registration and credentialing system synchronized with designer seating. Great news for those of us who have to wade through the throngs of crashers to get our seat assignment.

It will be interesting this fall to see how they work out the glitches that are sure to happen as a result of such a big move and new technology.  So long as the food and lounging nearby are fabulous, and I can shoot out between shows for a quick trip to shop for the latest trends, I’ll try to survive it.