Some Runway Shows Spring Back, Others Fall Behind
New York designers were quietly getting back to business this week after their spring 2002 runway presentations were postponed following last week’s tragedy.
Fewer than half of the 127 runway shows scheduled for the tents in Bryant Park and other locations throughout the city were completed before hijackers flew planes into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. The event’s producers, 7th on Sixth, have rescheduled show dates for Oct. 22-24, but many companies didn’t wait. Larger companies such as Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Nicole Miller and Michael Kors presented their spring clothes in New York showrooms this week. By one count, nearly three dozen smaller designers and fashion newcomers haven’t announced new show dates. L.A.’s Grey Ant is hoping to show during L.A.’s market week in November.
Fear and uncertainty have also taken hold among fashion retailers coast to coast. Many, including Bergdorf Goodman, are reducing or canceling trips to the upcoming European shows that begin in Milan on Sunday. Barneys New York, for example, is giving employees the option of staying home if they are leery of traveling, while two market editors from Conde Nast’s Lucky magazine and four from Mademoiselle have canceled their European trips. At Lucky, the editors already had been reconsidering the value of the shows to the magazine’s coverage, but the new uncertainty helped force a decision, a spokeswoman said.
New York fashion powerhouse Bloomingdale’s is suggesting that employees not travel in the next two weeks “until we evaluate the situation,” said spokesman Anne Keating. To avoid having to send employees abroad, many store executives are asking European designers to bring their collections to New York showrooms.
Enough editors and retailers have canceled that some designers are worried about all the empty seats. Half of the usual audience is expected at Dolce & Gabbana’s hugely popular D&G; show set for Wednesday in Milan.
A weakened economy had already caused several American newspapers, including the Detroit Free Press and the Houston Chronicle, to suspend foreign travel for their fashion reporters. More disruptions may follow as stores and others monitor the unfolding events.
