Vivienne Westwood joins fresh lineup in NYC September runway calendar

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Jul 26, 2018

Vivienne Westwood has joined a trio of European houses who will show collections during New York’s next runway season, in a significant win for the city’s fashion week.
 

Westwood will stage a presentation exclusively for buyers between noon and 2 p.m. on Sept. 6, the opening day of the seven-day NYC season. She joins Longchamp and Escada, as fellow Europeans showing in America’s fashion capital. However, Westwood will also stage a fully-fledged runway show in Paris on Saturday, September 28th for both press and retailers in the French capital.
 
“We are very happy to have major international players like Vivienne Westwood, Longchamp and Escada coming to New York. They are clearly interested in the huge market here. Though we know that nowadays brands bounce around, and show in different cities to reach different markets, which makes lots of sense. This all happened quite organically,” said Steven Kolb, the president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the governing body that oversees fashion in the USA and organizes the show calendar.

Also significantly, NYC will welcome back two of the top ten creative fashion houses of the United States - Rodarte and Proenza Schouler – who both had staged their most recent shows in Paris.
 
“I said at the time when they went to Paris, and this was seen as fashion’s big disaster story that they had left and that somehow New York was dead, that this was all about trying different business models. That’s why this is a nice homecoming,” added Kolb.
 
In a significant move, Kozaburo Akasaka – the highly acclaimed LVMH Special Prize winner - will stage his next show in New York, on Tuesday, Sept. 11.
 
Though not listed on the official calendar, Tom Ford will kick off New York Fashion Week, with his women’s show on women’s show Wednesday, Sept. 5, at 8 p.m.
 
In other big news, as reported, Ralph Lauren will hold his half-century show at Central Park on Friday evening; while Badgley Mischka fetes his 30th anniversary with a Saturday show.
 
Among other novel developments, Studio 189, a sustainable collection by Rosario Dawson that was a Lexus + Fashion* Initiative winner, will hold a show for the first time. While several emerging designers will also make debuts:  SCAD alum Christopher John Rogers, and Marina Moscone, known for her understated luxury.
 
All told, there are 100 shows and presentations on the official schedule, climaxing with Marc Jacobs on Wednesday Sept. 12, evening. Meaning that for the first time in eons there will now be a gap day between the New York and London runway seasons.