Every fashion month, designers present their latest collections and the streets are filled with stylish gals who are photographed in their amazing outfits.If you are a fashion enthusiastic, then you already know how things work in this industry, but i realised that a large number of people don't understand the mechanism.So to make things clear, i thought it would a great idea to tell you how this concept started and how it works.
You would think that cities like Milan or Paris would be the ones to initiate this idea, but the first time someone organised something like this was in New York City in 1903 by a shop called Ehrich Brothers.Its purpose was to attract middle-class ladies into their store.
Ehrich Brothers fashion presentation
By 1909, many department stores were holding fashion shows of their own called "fashion parades couture salons" that helped them become more popular gaining more clients.In 1920s, the shows were held in the shop's restaurant during launch time and tea time and were more dramatic than they are now.They had a main theme and were accompanied by narrative comentaries.
But the first official fashion week was held in New York City in 1945, because people who worked in the fashion industry were unable to travel to Paris where they got their inspiration from.In Paris, there were organised shows where designers showcased their couture collections.So, during World War II, the idea was to distract these people from the French fashion.The fashion week was actually called "The Press Week" and it was organized by fashion publicist Eleonor Lambert.American designers were showcased to fashion journalists and the whole event turned out to be a huge succes.As a result, Vogue started featuring the work of American designers too in the magazine.
New York Fashion Week 1943
Eleaonor Lambert
Fashion Month takes place twice a year in the four fashionable cities of New York, London, Milan and Paris which take place in the exact order.Each city gives has one week (the fashion week) to showcase the collections of those designers whose fashion houses are based there.The first fashion month is the one for the Autumn/Winter (Fall) lines which takes place in February.The second fashion week is for the Spring/Summer collections and it starts in September and ends in October in Paris.
The Menswear collection take place in January in London and Milan in less than a week, followed by a short week in Paris.The Spring Menswear collection happes in June
The Haute Couture shows are held only in Paris by a small number of fashion houses.Christian Dior,Elie Saab, Jean Paul Gaultier, Ralph&Russo, Valentino, Atelier Versace, Armani Prive, Alexandre Vauthier, Zuhair Murad, Chanel an Viktor&Rolf are among the ones that prepare for haute couture.The term was first used in 1945 and means high sewing consisting in exclusive custom-fitted clothing which are made by hand and are very expensive because of their high quality.The haute couture fashion shows take place in January (before the Autumn/Winter collections) and June and it has to present at least fifty original designs for both day and night.
Pre-Fall
Besides the two fashion monts, designers choose to show inter-seasonal collections starting with the Pre-Fall lines which take place before the Autumn/Winter shows and ending with Resort/Cruise which takes place before the Spring/Summer shows.These collections are not presented on the catwalk, but in salon presentations.
Resort
At the fashion shows are invited editor-in-chief's of the biggest fashion magazines, it girls, bussines people and anyone else that is a part of the fashion industry.The fashion houses recieve reviews for their shows.After the presentations, every brand makes ad campaigns for both seasons and the clothes presented on the catwalk can be seen in the best fashion magazines like Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Elle.
The fashion shows are not the only important part of the fashion month.Street style fashion is a trend that became big lately and everyone expects to see the most stylish women on the streets before and after the fashion presentations.Women like Miroslava Duma, Anna dello Russo, Elena Perminova and Olivia Palermo are just a small part of those who are photographed every year.
images via google
