New York Fashion Week is underway with a full schedule of fashion shows, presentations and events — but not without lots of uncertainty and constant updates.
The upcoming spring ’22 NYFW will be the first in-person fashion week since February 2020, since the pandemic turned the biannual event into live streams and lookbooks rather than the traditional live fashion show.
The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and IMG are following CDC and New York City guidelines to keep the event safe, mandating proof of COVID-19 vaccination and proof of a negative COVID-19 test for minors under 12. They are also strongly encouraging wearing a mask at all times while indoors, except in designated eating and drinking areas or when models are walking the runway, as well as strongly urging reduced guest capacity in all show venues.
“I haven’t seen any [pushback on safety guidelines],” said Georgie Versi, director of events and development for IMG. “I think everybody is really supportive of the precautions and adding in these additional layers of safety measures in order for us to make sure that everyone can come back to work safely and for the fashion community to come together safely.”
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Not every show, presentation or event will be in-person. Though mostly live, some shows will be digital again. Of the shows, 91 will be in-person by invite only and 55 will be live stream + digital-only. Of the remaining 17 shows, 12 are live programming and five are lookbooks on NYFW.com. Some shows are set to be outdoors as well, with multilayered contingency plans in place for weather-related issues.
Even with the uncertainty that this week brings, there are some highly anticipated moments that attendees are looking forward to, like Tory Burch’s Sunday show that is slated to be a block party-style outdoor event on Mercer Street, adjacent to the brand’s new store. Other moments will include Christian Siriano’s show on Tuesday night at Gotham Hall that will feature a live performance and Brandon Maxwell’s Saturday show in Brooklyn, which is likely to have a few unexpected elements. LaQuan Smith will host his show at the Empire State Building. Some shows will still take place at Spring Studios, but there is an additional location for a show at 608 Fifth Avenue, which is being hosted by the Fifth Avenue Association.
“I can already sense this energy that I think is just building with the return of everything,” Versi said. “Having taken a step away from true live events for the last year and a half, I think we are going to see this burst of creativity and also celebration that everybody’s coming back together.”
This story will be updated as events unfold.
