Most big-name brands to be absent from New York Fashion Week

Most of New York Fashion Week's regulars won't be presenting during this season's four-day event, which runs February 14 through 17, with some brands opting to show off calendar, while others have yet to announce their plans. 

Of the big names of American fashion, only Tom Ford will be participating. He will show during the event's final day, February 17, in the early evening, according to the calendar published on Thursday by the Council of the Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), of which the Texan designer is currently chairman. 

In contrast to Paris Fashion Week, which is restricted by a ban on public events, brands showing in New York will be able to prepare physical shows or presentations, but the CFDA has still advised its members to go digital. 

Almost all of the event's collections will therefore be presented online, via the Runway 360 platform launched by the CFDA last season. 

Some designers have nonetheless chosen to host physical presentations, albeit with restricted audiences, such as Jason Wu and Rebecca Minkoff, who will be showing on February 14 and 16, respectively. 

This season, the CFDA is also publishing a "New American Collections Calendar", which features all U.S.-based designers, even those who will present their collections after February 17 or who have chosen to show somewhere other than in the United States. 

Brands showing outside the four-day period covered by the official fashion week include Carolina Herrera, which will be showing on February 22, Coach, which will reveal its collection on February 23, and Oscar de la Renta, which is waiting until March 2 to unveil its latest pieces. 

For the moment, heavy-weights such as Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger, Pyer Moss and Tory Burch, who are usually among the highlights of New York Fashion Week, are completely absent from the calendar. 

Contacted by AFP, a spokesperson for the Michael Kors brand said that the house has not yet determined how it will present its Fall collection.