New York Fashion Week Will Happen Next Month, But Outside Or Without An Audience

Praise Fashion Jesus (AKA Billy Porter)! Governor Andrew Cuomo says New York Fashion Week is a go, but runways will need to be made coronavirus-safe. So shows will either be outside (where the audience will be capped at 50 people, and ideally chained together so they won’t blow away with the wind), or inside without an audience. But, um, what’s the point of a fashion show if it’s not attended by a bunch of bitchy, dead-eyed tastemakers?

NYFW will also go virtual, with “live-streamed runway shows, exclusive designer-related content and cultural programming”. That’s according to a statement made by Leslie Russo, the executive VP of IMG’s Fashion Events group (via CNBC):

“The past six months have been exceedingly difficult for the fashion industry, and we are proud to offer an avenue for designers, models, stylists, hair and makeup artists, photographers, production teams — and the innumerable other professionals who work in, or adjacent to, the fashion industry during New York Fashion Week — to safely get back to work this September,”

I feel terrible. Here I was focusing on pathetic have-nots like Robert DeNiro and Tori Spelling, and I completely forgot about the fashion industry (apart from good guy mask makers like Michael Costello and Christian Siriano).

New York Fashion Week is indeed a major revenue source for the city. It nets $900 million a year, and more than $500 million in tourist spending. Approving the event is just another step in re-opening NYC, which was once the COVID-19 epicenter of Amurrica.

Models better be extra careful walking down those runways! Maintain a good six feet of distance between themselves and the other girls, lots of hand sanitizer, and no sharing food backstage! Meh, I think they’ll be OK with that last one.

Pic: Wenn.com