New York Fashion Week Gets The Green Light
The Runway Show Must Go On: New York Fashion Week Gets The Green Light
New York Fashion Week, when designers in the Big Apple debut their newest collections, has been given the green light by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to take place as the city recovers from its stint as the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic—but with a slew of protective measures in place, Fashion Week will look very different this year.
Models walk the runway at the Raisavanessa show during New York Fashion Weekcon in February 2020.
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KEY FACTS
Cuomo announced Thursday that the shows will go on Sept. 13 through Sept. 17, but all events will be held in “strict compliance” with the state’s coronavirus regulations.
According to the governor’s announcements, no outdoor events will be permitted to host more than 50 people at a time, and indoor events will be capped at half capacity.
Sitting in the coveted front-row at a designer runway show is usually a given for A-list celebrities during Fashion Week, but this year, indoor events will permit no spectators.
Attendees at events will also have their temperature screened at the door, and face masks are mandated at all times.
This year’s schedule will rely more on virtual and live streamed programming, according to a statement.
NYFW is a major money-making operation, and whips up close to $900 million in revenue for the city per year according to a 2015 report.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
“New York City is the fashion capital of the world and New York Fashion Week celebrates the ingenuity of this city, and our unmatched creative talent,” Cuomo said in a statement Tuesday.
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KEY BACKGROUND
Fashion Week in New York isn’t the first to have taken a hit from the coronavirus pandemic—in early 2019, increased concern about the coronavirus having spread to Europe happened as Milan Fashion Week was on, spurring luxury brands like Armani to hold a runway show with no guests in the audience while others cancelled events. Paris Fashion Week, which began immediately after, reportedly saw some usual attendees skip out on the week or go home early out of fear of the virus.
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