A New Fashion Week Gets In Full Swing

A New Fashion Week Gets In Full Swing

By:  Hope Wilkos, Writer

No, you don’t need to look at your calendar. It isn’t February and it isn’t September, but something big is on the horizon and heading this way.  The neighborhood of Soho within the Manhattan area is feeling that flurry of activity that usually is characteristic of a Fashion Week.

It quite possibly could be the next big event in fashion. New York is welcoming an inaugural Fashion Week, to take place on a bi-annual basis, and it is called New York Fashion Week: Men’s. The event will be a standalone showcase for American men’s fashion. The event was newly announced earlier this year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), the highly respected organization that also just happened to launch this event as well. It will take place from July 13, 2015 through July 16, 2015, debuting Spring 2016 collections. The majority of activities will take place at Skylight Clarkson Square, classified as the crown jewel of raw venues within the borough of Manhattan. Having 60,000 square feet on ground level, this positions the venue to be able to accommodate every type of activity that these four days have to offer, from fashion shows to designer informal presentations.

What is the reasoning behind another Fashion Week in New York? American menswear has never been stronger or more creative,” said Steven Kolb, CEO of the CFDA. “There are many reasons the CFDA is launching New York Fashion Week: Men’s. It gives the designers a business platform to show during their market dates and is an opportunity to demonstrate the collective talent of an important segment of our industry.”

With backing from some of the most solid sponsors in the fashion and manufacturing industry, success is imminent. Amazon’s fashion sites made up of Amazon Fashion, East Dane and MyHabit, along with Shinola, an American luxury company, are presenting sponsors. Other big news about New York Fashion Week: Men’s is the partnership of the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Fashion GPS.  This will be a more technologically streamlined process to allow participating designers to use Fashion GPS for all of their guest management functions which ranges from invitations and RSVPs to digital seating. Maximizing efficiency with digital guest management has been placed as a priority following the CFDA’s purchase of the Fashion Calendar.

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“We are very pleased to partner with Fashion GPS,” said Steven Kolb, CEO of the CFDA, “collaborating with Fashion GPS is another way to help us serve the needs of the industry, especially now that CFDA owns the Fashion Calendar.”

The designer lineup for New York Fashion Week: Mens’s promises to give guests and attendees a wide range of trend-setting and forward thinking individuals.  So far, the finalized list includes Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Rag & Bone, Public School, Billy Reid, Todd Snyder, Michael Bastian, Ovadia & Sons, Robert Geller, Duckie Brown, Patrik Ervell, Thom Browne, Orley and Kent and Curwen, with more names to be confirmed shortly. Especially excited to be showing his collection here in the United States is John Varvatos, who made headlines previously in his announcement to move his runway show from Milan to New York. A strong participant in the newly created fashion week also happens to be Tommy Hilfiger, a Council of Fashion Designers of America board member.  With his roots firmly planted in the fashion industry, he has been a powerful advocate in having a Men’s Fashion Week for some time.

So grab your guy and remember to check out the web, beginning on July 13th, to catch some of the hottest fashions for men for the upcoming season brought to you by designers with a foothold on fashion innovation and creativity.