The shows for designer partnerships

Fashion designers, many of whom have already left the box when it comes to choosing their show locations for New York Fashion Week, are now truly on their own.

IMG said Friday that it is making some major changes to the organization of New York Fashion Week. It will pivot from producing a centralized location for NYFW: The Shows to concentrating its efforts on facilitating brand partnerships and creative collaborations between brands and designers. It appears to offer tailored support to suit designers’ needs all year round.

Through Focus, IMG’s in-house creative and production agency, the company will continue to devise and produce fashion shows, consumer experiences, tastemaker dinners and events worldwide. The plans for organizing conversations with designers and brands are not yet final.

Last December, IMG said it would leave Spring Studios as the official center of NYFW: The Shows, setting up a new central location in the Starrett-Lehigh Building at 601 West 26th Street in Chelsea for the fall 2024 season in February. It also leveraged the consumer-oriented NYFW Backstage at 21 Greene Street and NYFW: The Showrooms at High Line Nine, all produced by Focus.

Before the most recent shows in February, Spring had been the central hub since February 2018.

Although Spring and, more recently, Starrett-Lehigh had been its official home base, designers—especially most of the major ones—continued to hold shows all over New York City, in Brooklyn, Chelsea, the Upper West Side, Roosevelt Island, Midtown. and the Upper East Side, often back to back, making it extremely difficult for showgoers to get to everyone they wanted to see on time.

During the most recent shows in February, Starrett-Lehigh was used by fifteen designers over five days, with most of the NYFW shows held at various locations around the city.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America owns the Fashion Calendar and is the organizer of the official New York Fashion Week schedule. Last February, the official NYFW schedule featured more than 70 confirmed designers, while additional collections were presented digitally and by appointment.

The New York fashion shows have moved several times over the years, from the tents in Bryant Park, to Lincoln Center, to Skylight at Moynihan Station, to Skylight Clarkson Square, before landing in Spring, and then to Starrett-Lehigh.

Historically, the central location has been the venue for runway shows and presentations, retail pop-ups, digital activations and designer partnerships. There were several rooms available for women’s fashion shows and presentations.

IMG said it is committed to continuing its long-standing support of designers in bringing their creative visions to life as they find ways to showcase their collections.

Since February 2020, IMG has provided more than $20 million in funding to American designers through initiatives such as the WME Fashion Alliance and by organically integrating brands into NYFW and providing designers with funds to help offset costs. Other initiatives include NYFW’s Small Business Grant in partnership with Empire State Development, which awarded $500,000 to 10 independent designers in 2022, and the Black in Fashion Council Showrooms, which has helped raise awareness of, among others designers Theophilio, Diotima and House of Aama.

In the meantime, Australian Fashion Week will not be affected and IMG will continue to produce and operate a central location at Carriageworks. Australian Fashion Week, presented by Pandora, kicks off on May 13 with a schedule of more than 55 live events, featuring designers such as Carla Zampatti, PE Nation, BEC + Bridge, in addition to talks and programming throughout the week.