N.Y. Fashion Week sets new trend with shortened schedule

[September 04, 2019]  By Alicia Powell

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Fashion Week is setting a new trend for September with a shorter, more exclusive schedule of fashion designers and brands.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has condensed the official New York Fashion Week calendar from six to five days and nights under the leadership of newly-elected chairman, designer Tom Ford.

"We're conscious of people's time and budget," CFDA President and Chief Executive Steve Kolb told Reuters on Tuesday. "We've gotten feedback over the last few seasons that the longer schedule was difficult for editors and buyers and guests of fashion shows."

For the most part, brands who bore the brunt of the condensed calendar and did not make it onto the official schedule were those with a "very small retail footprint," Kolb said.

"You have to think who as a top editor of a magazine... are they going to want to sit there and watch that show or, as a buyer, are they going to want to sit there and eventually buy that collection?" Kolb said.

Highlights during the week include Tommy Hilfiger and Zendaya's new collection, which will be shown at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, and The Blonds, who will team up with the Broadway musical "Moulin Rouge!" for their show.

New York Fashion Week will officially run from Sept. 6 until Sept. 11.

(Reporting by Alicia Powell in New York; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

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