New York Fashion Week
Two times a year, in February and September, a series of fashion events/shows take place in New York City, displaying some of the world’s most famous and talented fashion designers and talent. It is one of the ‘Big 4’ fashion weeks and is widely regarded as one of the world’s most important fashion events. The week usually lasts 7 to 9 days, and during that time, numerous foreign fashion collections are shown to the press and the general public. The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) launched it in 1993, however the fashion week trend had begun in London, UK, in the 1980s.Following the popularity of ‘Press Week,’ which began roughly 50 years before to the creation of New York Fashion Week in 1943 for the same reason. It is arguably the most important of all the fashion weeks across the world, and many designers aspire to walk the runways. It has expanded to the point where the New York Fashion Week events were sold for $2.3 billion in 2013 and have grown much more since then. Many venues throughout the city host various events as many designers present their collections in locations that relate to their designs, with many designers choosing for edgier runway settings than the classic ones that we are all familiar with.
Paris Fashion Week
Paris Fashion Week is another of the ‘Big 4’ fashion shows; while not being as well-known as its counterparts, it nonetheless attracts a large number of great designers and world-class models to walk down the famed runways. The Big Four events begin with London Fashion Week and conclude with Paris Fashion Week. In 1973, Haute Couture and Men’s Fashion together organized the first recognized Paris Fashion Week. The event was actually a fundraiser to help restore and support the Palace of Versailles, with a goal of raising $60 million. Designers from the United States and France participated in the event, including Stephen Burrows, Yves Saint Laurent, and Hubert de Givenchy. The French designers each held their own showing and catwalk whereas due to errors, the American designers had to share and collectively hold one showing with Paris as a common theme. Since the first show many years ago, fashion week events have grown a lot in popularity and are now visited by many people from all around the world.
