For new, old and returning designers alike, New York Fashion Week provides the optimal stage to make a statement.
Whether it’s primarily through the collection’s story or through the venue and props, hosting a memorable show is the goal. But as the price tag to produce a noteworthy event becomes increasingly more costly, many brands have had to reprioritize where to spend their time and efforts to get the greatest return on investment. And with this season’s calendar featuring fewer shows than expected, the impact from this week will reveal if the effort is beginning to outweigh the cost.
For many, runway shows still serve an important purpose. On Friday, 5-year-old luxury brand Grey/Ven presented its latest collection in New York’s exclusive Casa Cipriani, welcoming guests to an hour of cocktails and photo moments before steering them to a sun-filled open space to unveil its new ready-to-wear collection titled “The Journey.”
Under the creative direction of CFDA Designer Ilana Kugel, the assortment featured tried-and-true Grey/Ven staples such as earth-tone monochromatic work-appropriate looks, premium leather pieces and elevated basics. The presentation was the first for Kugel. And while many brands have opted out of showing on the traditional NYFW calendar this season, Kugel told Glossy it was important that editors and consumers got to see Kugel’s vision for the brand firsthand.
“There’s so much work that goes into designing a collection — we design six months ahead and there’s a lot of production involved. So, [our team] wanted the opportunity to showcase it and make sure people are able to see and appreciate the work. For me, it’s important to show during NYFW,” Kugel said.
Kugel added that for Grey/Ven, producing a traditional runway show was also a strategic move to introduce its foray into the accessories category. “We’re elevating the brand … and creating a brand you can wear from head to toe, and this presentation showed that,” she said.
Natalie De’Banco, founder and designer of womenswear brand Bronx and Banco, who is no stranger to NYFW, echoed Kugel.
“Every season, you hear people say Fashion Week is dead, but I don’t think they realize the excitement designers get and feel when we can actually show our creative side to the world — because a lot of times, we only have time to design commercial ready-to-wear pieces,” said De’Banco. “Fashion Week is the way for us to express ourselves, and consumers want to see new and exciting things. If we don’t show, the industry is going to become boring.”
“For us, mixing ready-to-wear pieces to appeal to the everyday customer and also having some special and unique pieces that are mainly for custom [customers] and [celebrities] helps us see a return on our NYFW investment,” De’Banco said. That balance earned the attention of WNBA star Angel Reese. During the 2024 WNBA draft, Reese was spotted on the orange carpet wearing a sparkly hooded ensemble by Bronx and Banco, which led the brand to begin working with more athletes. That’s included providing inspiration for Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles’s leotards during the Summer Games.
“Those moments are so special for the brand, and we’ve been getting requests from so many other athletes,” said De’Banco.
As De’Banco and Kugel put it, exposure is still a major incentive for producing a NYFW show, as it can open floodgates of opportunity if done correctly.
For others, it’s about forging connections with independent stylists and loyal consumers, which is more important than ever.
“[New York Fashion Week] wasn’t working for us. And the bottom line is, ‘what works’ means, ‘Is the business functioning? Are you growing at a sustainable level? Are you developing products that are selling through?'” said Jesse Keyes, co-founder of 15-year-old slow luxury brand KZ_K Studio. With the system “set up for young designers to fail,” he said, experimenting with alternative show formats became appealing. And five years into showing on the NYFW calendar, Keyes and co-founder and creative director Karolina Zmarlak shifted to adopt an architecture studio mentality.
KZ_K Studio prioritizes year-round experiences rather than producing a show, which can cost designers up to $300,000. This season, Keyes said, the brand is hosting a Fashion Week-timed event for its stylist partners on February 19. Instead of hosting a big show, the KZ_K Studio team will host live educational showroom sessions in-person and on Instagram, as well as private fittings and intimate gatherings at the brand’s NY headquarters, which features a library bar.
“We’ve demonstrated we can make high-end, very beautiful, very creative clothing, and that buzz created during [NYFW] isn’t profitable for us,” Keyes told Glossy. “Two-thirds of our revenue comes from stylists and direct-to-consumer [sales], so we’re more focused on connecting with that audience.”
While Keyes acknowledges the risk of opting out of NYFW, he said that since the brand has shifted to presenting on its own terms, its growth has been steady and much easier to understand and expand upon. “We never waste anything,” said Keyes.
In the end, the designers interviewed for this story all agreed that showing at NYFW or opting out ultimately depends on the brand’s larger goal, as either choice can have pros — and cons.
Meanwhile, in New Orleans …
Armed with a new fashion editor, the NFL wants to bring the buzzy energy of New York Fashion Week to New Orleans during its 59th Super Bowl weekend. To kick off the initiative, on Friday, the organization collaborated with founder and designer Emily Adams Bode Aujla and menswear publication GQ to host the first-ever GQ Bowl, a livestream red carpet event, to debut Bode’s spring 2025 collection of Bode Rec., the brand’s athleticwear line.
“We’re bringing Fashion Week to New Orleans,” said Kyle Smith, who was hired as the NFL’s first fashion editor last fall. In the role, Smith’s priority is to blend the world of fashion and sports. His first few projects have included working on the GQ Bowl, bringing athletes to last year’s Paris Fashion Week, and solidifying relationships with high-profile fashion brands and organizations.
Ahead of the highly-anticipated show, Smith spoke with Glossy about the GQ Bowl event and what’s to come for fashion in the NFL.
Bringing a slice of Fashion Week to the Super Bowl weekend experience
“[The Super Bowl] is more than just one day. It’s a whole week of culture and sports and now, increasingly, fashion that takes place in the city where the Super Bowl is held, which is why we decided to do the Bode show. Bode, traditionally, is on the New York Fashion Week calendar, but we plucked her right up and said, ‘No, you’re coming to New Orleans.’ We’re bringing Fashion Week to New Orleans, and we’re bringing Fashion Week to the Super Bowl. We’ve been very intentional about this [project], which is why we’re working with GQ, one of the most well-respected men’s fashion magazines, to help post this.”
What’s next for fashion and the NFL
“I don’t want to necessarily say [New York] Fashion Week is going to move to wherever the Super Bowl is, but that’s what’s happening this year. So, who knows. I’ve always dreamed of [the NFL] replicating [NYFW], [and we’re primed to do it]. The NFL has a stage where we uplift upcoming and established designers, and we’re tapping more into the culture this year. If this goes well, I can see the players wanting to be part of this, [for example,] during June Fashion Week when it’s fully off-season. [Sports and fashion] are two industries that have been here since the dawn of time, and they’re not going anywhere. So the fact that they’re [blending] together now means it can only get bigger.”
Leveraging fashion to increase viewership and diversify athletes’ careers
“[My job] is to figure out we can leverage fashion at the league to grow our audience and grow our fan base, and also grow the fan base of players. I love that [the athletes] wear helmets — we love safety. But it stops building that authentic connection you might inherently get in other sports that don’t wear helmets. So [it’s up to me] to think about all of those helmet-off opportunities that we have as NFL fans to connect with the player and build a deeper relationship and grow our fandom with athletes. That’s where fashion plays a big role for us. Sports does really well at selling an authentic fashion story. And then what fashion does for sports is allow us to connect to these athletes on a much deeper level. We want to leverage fashion to tell the stories of our players because there are so many players with so many interests and unique and engaging stories and backgrounds. It would be a miss to not talk about them as individuals. Some players want to use fashion to leverage their stories and marketability. Some players want to be directly involved in fashion and the production and business of it all. [Fashion] also helps with the longevity of [players’] careers after they retire. The average age that an athlete retires is much younger than a lot of other retiring ages. So what do you do then? And a lot of them want to stay in fashion or work in fashion, so starting that part of their career while they’re still playing is the key to having a lasting career after they leave the field.”
