Preparing for N.Y.’s fashion week
Posted by Lucky on Feb 10, 2010
NEW YORK — Starting Thursday, New York City will become even more stylish than usual as the Big Apple prepares to open the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
The event is huge in New York. Throughout the events’ eight days, nearly 100,000 people will pass through the famous white tents in Bryant Park. The week alone will bring in $466 million for the city.
This edition of Fashion Week will be particularly symbolic as it is the last one to be held in Bryant Park, located in Midtown, after 17 years in that location. As of next September, Anna Wintour and her disciples will relocate to the Lincoln Centre in the Upper West Side. The move is being made due to space constraints at the current venue.
This year, a Canadian label will have the honour of kicking off the show, with the Mackage line being featured in the first show on Thursday at 9 a.m.
“It’s all an opportunity,” said Montreal’s Elisa Dahan, who launched the line of coats with childhood friend Eran Elfassy 10 years ago.
The stars took notice quickly and the coats are now part of the New York City scenery. In their Manhattan showroom, things are getting hectic; fashion magazines always visit the designers before checking out the shows. So far, they have been visited by Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, In Style and Marie Claire.
“So far, the reactions are good, they like the product,” said Dahan.
The pressure is even higher this time around as the duo is preparing to launch their first collection of lady’s wear.
“After 10 years of coats, it was the right time, we’ve always wanted to be a life style brand,” Dahan added.
This will mark the company’s third show in New York, something that isn’t cheap to do. Stars such as the cast of Gossip Girl have been invited to attend.
Why put yourself through the trouble?
“Because we want to show the world what Canada is capable of doing,” said Dahan, whose line now has a permanent home in the form of a boutique in the Meatpacking District on Washington Street, as well as one on St. Germain Boulevard in Paris.
Other Quebecers are also set to take in fashion week. Claude Morais, a former stylist and model who founded Griffin in 2004 with his American boyfriend, Brian Wolk, will be on hand. Rad Houani, 27, is also from Montreal and will be participating in his fifth New York show. Houani is being talked about as one of the fashion world’s up and coming stars. The two designers, however, will be presenting their lines elsewhere than Bryant Park.
Starting Thursday, the show will take place as much behind the scenes as in the front rows. According to website , it costs as much as $100,000 to attract stars like Beyonce or Rihanna to a fashion show. These shows, on average, last 20 minutes.
This week, check out the Red Dress show on Thursday night, which raises money for cardiovascular diseases amongst women. Every year, stars are matched up with designers for the show. This year, Heidi Klum, Felicity Huffman, Jewel and Kim Kardashian, among others, are taking part.
The next day, Naomi Campbell is organizing a large charity show, Fashion for Relief, to benefit Haiti. In a rare opportunity, the public will have access to the tents, though they will have to buy tickets. Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, will serve as presenter. The clothing sported by the top models will then be auctioned off.
The Marc Jacobs show is always one of the most popular and difficult to get into. This year, the designer is reaching out to a wider audience by broadcasting the show on his website (marcjacobs.com) on Feb. 15 at 8 p.m.
And with controversy a mainstay at the event every year (last year it was the appearance of escort Ashley Dupre), it seems the stars of the reality show Jersey Shore may try to steal some attention. It would appear the group is trying to get tickets for the shows.
