How New York Fashion Week is evolving to keep up with the times

[KENNEDY FELTON]

“The look this year is anorexic. We don’t want you to be anorexic, just look it.” THESE ARE THE WORDS MODEL COCA ROCHA SAYS A MODELING AGENT TOLD HER WHEN SHE WAS JUST 15 YEARS OLD IN THE EARLY 2000S – a time when the fashion industry heavily prioritized ultra-thin figures.

SHE’S NOT ALONE. MANY MODELS HAVE SPOKEN OUT ABOUT THE INTENSE PRESSURES TO FIT A NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE STANDARD… ESPECIALLY BEFORE THE INDUSTRY BEGAN TO EVOLVE. BUT AS NEW YORK FASHION WEEK GETS UNDERWAY… THE RUNWAY HAS TRANSFORMED IN MORE WAYS THAN JUST MOVING AWAY FROM THE WAY IT USED TO BE.

FOR DECADES… FASHION HOUSES PRIORITIZED SIZE 0 AND 2 MODELS – MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR PLUS-SIZE OR EVEN MID-SIZE MODELS TO BREAK INTO MAINSTREAM RUNWAY SHOWS.

BUT THE 2010S BROUGHT A SHIFT. WITH INCREASING FOCUS ON BODY IMAGE AND EATING DISORDERS… THE INDUSTRY FACED PRESSURE TO EMBRACE SIZE DIVERSITY. ACCORDING TO THE FASHION SPOT’S DIVERSITY REPORT, NEW YORK FASHION WEEK’S 2022 SPRING/SUMMER RUNWAYS FEATURED 49 PLUS-SIZE MODELS. WHILE THAT NUMBER PALES IN COMPARISON TO THE THOUSANDS OF MODELS THAT TAKE PART IN FASHION WEEK… THE NUMBER WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT FROM PREVIOUS SEASONS. AND IT’S NOT JUST SIZE… THIS SAME STUDY FOUND THE NUMBER OF MODELS OF COLOR ROSE 34.6 PERCENT FROM SPRING 2015 TO SPRING 2022.NEW YORK FASHION WEEK IS ALSO NO LONGER JUST FOR THE ELITES – INFLUENCERS HAVE TAKEN OVER. BY THE LATE 2010S… SOCIAL MEDIA CREATORS BEGAN MAKING THEIR WAY INTO EXCLUSIVE RUNWAY SHOWS. FAST FORWARD TO TODAY… AND BRANDS AREN’T JUST INVITING THEM… THEY’RE *COLLABORATING WITH THEM. FROM BACKSTAGE INTERVIEWS TO FRONT-ROW SEATS… INFLUENCERS ARE SHAPING HOW FASHION REACHES THE MASSES… LIKE THIS REALITY TV STAR TURNED INFLUENCER WHO HELPED GENERATE MILLIONS OF VIEWS BY CONDUCTING RED CARPET INTERVIEWS FOR TORY BURCH.

AND FOR THOSE WHO CAN’T SCORE AN INVITE? IN RECENT YEARS… BRANDS HAVE EMBRACED LIVESTREAMING TO MAKE RUNWAY SHOWS MORE ACCESSIBLE – ALLOWING AUDIENCES TO EXPERIENCE FASHION IN REAL TIME. BEHIND-THE-SCENES CONTENT… RED CARPET Q&A’S… AND INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCES ARE REDEFINING THE WAY PEOPLE CONNECT TO BRANDS.

AND GONE ARE THE DAYS OF SIMPLE CATWALKS. MANY DESIGNERS ARE TRANSFORMING VENUES INTO IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES – FROM REPURPOSED STATEN ISLAND FERRIES TO FULL-SCALE THEATRICAL PERFORMANCES. FASHION ISN’T JUST ABOUT CLOTHES – BUT THE STORYTELLING BEHIND THEM. DESIGNERS USE SET DESIGNS TO BUILD A NARRATIVE AROUND THEIR COLLECTIONS – LIKE TOMMY HILFIGER DID FOR THEIR SPRING/SUMMER 2025 SHOW LAST YEAR. AND WITH INFLUENCERS TAKING OVER MANY SPACES… AN EXTRAVAGANT SET ISN’T JUST A BACKDROP… BUT A POTENTIAL VIRAL MOMENT WAITING TO HAPPEN WHICH IN TURN IS BETTER EXPOSURE FOR THE BRAND.

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK RUNS TWICE A YEAR… IN FEBRUARY AND SEPTEMBER… SHOWCASING THE LATEST COLLECTIONS FROM TOP DESIGNERS. IT’S ONE OF THE “BIG FOUR” GLOBAL FASHION WEEK EVENTS – ALONGSIDE LONDON… PARIS… AND MILAN. WITH HUNDREDS OF DESIGNERS… THOUSANDS OF MODELS AND AN EVER-GROWING DIGITAL AUDIENCE… IT CONTINUES TO SET THE TONE FOR THE FUTURE OF FASHION.