ATTN: NEW YORK FASHION WEEK STARTS TOMORROW!
Which fashion shows to watch out for... who's not showing this season... new designers to watch... and are we done with sweatpants and slippers?
If you go to fashion shows long enough – and I’ve been to my fair share – you tend to end up sitting next to the same people.
Almost all the time.
For me, that person — a frequent seatmate — is Steven Kolb, CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America – otherwise known as the CFDA.
Steven Kolb, Photo credit: BFA
For many years, Steven has been a trusted source – someone I call on for advice and information.
Steven Kolb and Alina Cho at the Oscar de la Renta fashion show, February 10, 2020, Photo credit: Getty Images
Equally important, he’s just an all-around nice guy – a rare bird in fashion, someone who is universally liked.
New York Fashion Week starts tomorrow. So, I wanted to know...
What can we look forward to? Who are the new designers to watch? What is the state of fashion? And, are we out of sweatpants and slippers for good?
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK: THE SHOW MUST GO ON
ALINA CHO: Let's talk about New York Fashion Week. The official dates are [tomorrow], February 11th through the 16th.
STEVEN KOLB: That’s right.
ALINA CHO: With everything that's going on, COVID and the like, what's the state of New York Fashion Week in terms of physical shows this season?
STEVEN KOLB: It's full on. Just to step back to September [2021], we had one of the most successful, well-received fashion weeks in many seasons.
Tory Burch Fashion Show, September 12, 2021, Photo credit: Ali Slatkin
Michael Kors Fashion Show, September 10, 2021, Photo credit: Getty Images
Tory Burch Fashion Show, September 12, 2021, Photo credit: BFA
ALINA CHO: Well, there was a lot of excitement.
STEVEN KOLB: Yeah because we were all locked in, right?
ALINA CHO: Right.
STEVEN KOLB: And so, we were ready to come back out. And we took great time and concern to invest in safety and health protocols.
ALINA CHO: So, what does that mean?
STEVEN KOLB: Well, that meant proof of vaccination. It meant wearing masks when someone wasn't walking a runway or eating, drinking, social distancing. The vaccination was the big piece of it.
ALINA CHO: Right, you must be vaccinated to attend a New York Fashion Week fashion show.
STEVEN KOLB: Yeah, not just attend, but walk, work, any time you're in that physical space. And everyone took that very seriously.
ALINA CHO: Of course.
STEVEN KOLB: And I can tell you, I was speaking to Anna [Wintour] recently, and she was asking me about the shows. And she said to me, and she's told me this more than once, and I've heard it from other editors, too. It’s like, "My team, we want to go to shows. We are ready to go to shows.”
SO, WHO’S PUTTING ON A FASHION SHOW THIS SEASON... AND WHO’S NOT?
ALINA CHO: Tom Ford announced recently that he would not close New York Fashion Week, as he usually does. It's a show that many, many people look forward to. And so, it was disappointing. However, given his explanation, it made sense.
STEVEN KOLB: He doesn't have clothes to show. It's as simple as that. I mean, he said it more elegantly than that, but his design team in LA and his factories in Italy were hit hard with Omicron. Tom basically got shut down. He just didn't have the manpower, the people power to have the collection…
ALINA CHO: … ready in time.
STEVEN KOLB: And we knew that that could happen [to designers].
ALINA CHO: And Thom Browne recently announced that he will show [on April 29th], closer to the Met Gala. And what was the reason he cited for that? I don’t recall.
STEVEN KOLB: Well, Thom's was twofold. When we released the [fashion week] calendar, Thom Browne was not on the calendar.
ALINA CHO: But I know that he was talking about February 14th.
STEVEN KOLB: Oh, yeah. He was planning on showing in February, but he also had logistical challenges.
ALINA CHO: And then, for him, of course, it's exciting to show just before the Met Gala as well. So, there is that.
STEVEN KOLB: Yeah.
ALINA CHO: Having said that, who are the big designers who are showing in person this season?
STEVEN KOLB: Tory Burch, Michael Kors, Carolina Herrera/Wes Gordon, Coach, Proenza [Schouler], Gabriela Hearst, Joseph Altuzarra. And then you have young talent like Sergio Hudson.
ALINA CHO: So, it's a full schedule.
STEVEN KOLB: It's a full schedule.
NEW DESIGNERS TO WATCH
ALINA CHO: I think one thing that the CFDA does very well is mentor new talent. The CFDA Awards is the Oscars of fashion. And for people who don't really follow fashion that closely, they might not know that Christopher John Rogers won CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year, which is essentially the top award of the night.
Christopher John Rogers with his CFDA Award, November 10, 2021, Photo credit: BFA
STEVEN KOLB: When I met Christopher, he was still working for Diane von Furstenberg. And he came to my office with his laptop and showed me images. He won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund [in 2019], which is our young talent program.
ALINA CHO: That’s right.
STEVEN KOLB: I remember when he was in the Fashion Fund, [there was a] newspaper critic who questioned why we had Christopher in the Fund. Not that this person was questioning his talent, but at that point, he didn't really have any distribution. He was still fresh.
ALINA CHO: And so, what was your answer to that? "We see promise"?
STEVEN KOLB: Yeah. I mean, sometimes when you are looking at the future, you're not always looking at the P&L or the business plan.
ALINA CHO: Of course.
STEVEN KOLB: You're looking at the talent.
ALINA CHO: Generally speaking, what are you looking for?
STEVEN KOLB: I think it all starts with a point of view that's unique. And it builds off that.
ALINA CHO: Yeah, right.
STEVEN KOLB: If it feels repetitive of something that we've seen or seems to be too inspired by something we know, there's not a lot of originality. So, point of view is really originality and creativity, right?
ALINA CHO: Right.
STEVEN KOLB: So, the creative voice, that's important. And then I think the ability to represent yourself, how you are your own muse or your own spokesperson, and how you communicate and really present your work and your collection.
ALINA CHO: Well, in this world, that's more important than ever, right?
STEVEN KOLB: Yeah, it's more important.
ALINA CHO: Who are some other designers you have your eye on?
STEVEN KOLB: Peter Do is a good example. He was nominated for [CFDA Emerging Designer of the Year] this past year.
ALINA CHO: I love what he does.
STEVEN KOLB: He didn't win it, but Peter's amazing. And his show last season was a standout show.
Instagram: @the.peterdo
I think he is an incredible talent.
ALINA CHO: Rising talent.
STEVEN KOLB: I think the brand Collina Strada, Hillary [Taymour] is the designer there. She's doing some really amazing things around the circular economy and sustainability. Had a beautiful rooftop garden show in Brooklyn last season.
Instagram: @collinastrada
Well, Victor Glemaud, of course. We love Victor.
Instagram: @glemaud
And Sergio Hudson, who…
Photo credit: Getty Images
ALINA CHO: … who dressed Michelle Obama for [President Biden’s] inauguration. That was quite an outfit.
WHERE DOES FASHION GO FROM HERE?
ALINA CHO: Let’s talk about the state of the industry. There was a time, not too long ago, when we thought sweatpants and slippers were going to be the way of the future. Thank God we all want to get dressed again. But having said that, the fashion industry took a big hit. Where are we now?
STEVEN KOLB: Look, I speak to members of the CFDA — designers — and they tell me that business is good. And I think that what we saw happen in the pandemic was the strong survive and the weak don't, and I mean that in a business sense.
ALINA CHO: Right.
STEVEN KOLB: I think with our industry, specifically American fashion, it’s very open to anyone who has an idea and the wherewithal to make a collection. So, maybe there was too much in the system?
ALINA CHO: I agree. I mean, I think a lot of people felt that way, that a pruning, so to speak, was not necessarily a bad thing.
STEVEN KOLB: No, no, not a bad thing. And I think it was actually a good thing. And I think for people who found themselves on the side of not being able to continue their business, it probably was a good moment of reckoning, "Okay, there's other things that I can do.” And so, we saw a shrinking, or pruning is a good word. I was going to say colonic, but that's probably…
ALINA CHO: Well, it gets the point across.
STEVEN KOLB: Yeah, yeah. So, we definitely saw that. And I think those that were fluid in their thinking, quick in adapting and changing — whatever your plans were in 2020, they went out the window — and you had to start from scratch.
ALINA CHO: Of course.
STEVEN KOLB: And I think the brands that did that are the ones that we see now having success.
ALINA CHO: One final thing — excited to go to shows? I am.
STEVEN KOLB: I love shows. And the other thing about shows, as much as I love the collections, it's great because, as you know, I see you on the runway, we get to chat, or I get to see other folks in the business. And so, as much as the business is the clothes, there's a lot of business happening in those front rows.