NYFW In a Nutshell

This article is a collaboration piece between Arete S. and Ben K.

New York Fashion Week (NYFW) is the inaugural fashion show/week to the remaining three fashion weeks, each held in London, Milan and Paris respectively. NYFW is often thought to be more informal than the other three, with younger, more contemporary designers and influencers joining the show. This year, NYFW began on September 6 and lasted until September 11, with numerous social media influencers in the audience. Fashion shows of different designers are held in different venues, one of them being the Shed, which is owned by a real estate agent, Stephen Ross, who hosted a Donald Trump fundraiser event this August. It caused many designers and brands such as Rag and Bone to change venues a month before the event, as the designers refused to support those “whose motivation seems nothing but $$$,” (visit here for more information).

Aside from the venue controversy, there have been many changes to this year’s NYFW, including Tom Ford becoming chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). Tom Ford, founder of the brand Tom Ford and creative director of Gucci, is trying to make NYFW and New York fashion in general more global. In an article published by Fashion United (visit here for more information), Ford discusses the problem with designers in New York. He mentions how when a designer stays in New York, they cannot become global. If they go to Paris, they become global. This year, with NYFW 2019, he aims to introduce designers of all backgrounds into the world, and not just New York.

Along with the newer designers and brands introduced to the world with the NYFW, influencers such as James Charles and Nikita Dragun have been invited.

Our journalist Arete S. had the fortunate oppotunity to interview Sara J. Ho, the emcee of her own show “Sara’s Show” and the founder of Institute Sarita. Ho was in the top list for the most successful women under 30 on Forbes’ list and has her own distinct interest in etiquette and fashion. As successful as she is, NYFW no doubt threw a branch of opportunity for this young lady to attend the 2019 show. Ho claimed that the theme for this year’s show was Expressionism and Individualism, which was much stronger than the theme of last year’s show. This exclusive and unique theme also led to the “bold statements, bright colors, plenty of makeups” that made the entire show stronger and more impressive, as claimed by Ho. However, when asked if there was anything unexpected about the show this year, Ho stated interestingly that “[she] never ha[s] any expectations when [she] go[es] to Fashion Weeks.” This really proves how fashion weeks, being as unique and bold as they are, never conforms to people’s predictions and opinions. Rather, they are exclusive works from designers that have their own understanding of fashion. The variety and surprise this brings is what makes Fashion Weeks the topic of the season. This also explains why Ho was not pressured or scared of judgements at during the preparation for the Fashion Week. All she was concerned about was “getting the right picture for social media”. 

Talking about social media, Ho came in direct contact with many of the famous influencers in the current online world. One which she had an individual conversation with was James Charles, a make-up artist with 16.6 million subscribers. Ho claimed that one key mindset of being involved in such an exclusive environment is to “not take it too seriously and just enjoy the moment.” That is also why she greeted James Charles like a normal friend and ended up “having an awesome chat.” 

Aside from media influencers, Ho also came into contact with fashion designers, celebrities, and super models. Ho also met Wenle Yu, a Hong Kong celebrity and the CEO of his own brand Common Sense (CMSS), and Tommy Hilfiger, the founder of Tommy Hilfiger cooperation during the Fashion Week, and claimed that they were “so much fun to work with”. Later she also saw the Hadid sisters on the runway show. When asked about the influences that all these people bring to the fashion show, Ho laughed and stated that “no matter what people say about them, they are the true icons.”