As the chatter rises, some have gone as far to declare NYFW dead, while others argue that the tradition still carries its infamous cache.
We dished with some of fashion’s most powerful women in media to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into their stances on the business that drives billions of impressions worldwide. This edition of Standard Talks, “An Inside Look at the Fashion Week Machine”, was hosted by Alyssa Vingan, writer, host of The New Garde podcast, editor, and former editor-in-chief of Nylon and Fashionista. She invited Emilia Petrarca (Writer and Creator of the Shop Rat newsletter), Nikki Ogunnaike (Editor-in-Chief of Marie Claire and host of the Nice Talk podcast), and Rachel Tashjian (Fashion critic for The Washington Post's Style section and creator of the Opulent Tips newsletter) to hold court in Standard Space.
Scroll for highlights from the conversation and tune into The New Garde podcast for more of Alyssa’s insights into fashion’s inner circles.
Nikki: My first Fashion Week was probably when I worked at Glamour.com. I was a Style Editor there. I do look back on it fondly…I was just looking at old photos, and I have a picture of myself with Elaine Welteroth…and I'm wearing these tribute to YSL platform, like heel this big [motions]. It just is so indicative of the time when everyone wore heels and we were all teetering across cobblestone to get to all the shows. It's just like, not that vibe at all anymore, that’s not how people dress now. So I don't miss that in particular. But it was a blast. We were young and going to parties and having a really great time.
Nikki + Alyssa: You should always take the train.
Emilia: My days of basketball shorts and heels are behind me. Comfort [is key]. You will learn from sobbing your way down the street because of blisters that's just not the way to go.
How do you take your audiences into consideration when you're heading into the shows and planning your content?
Rachel: I'm the only person who covers fashion where I work… so when I'm thinking about what I'm posting on Instagram, which is kind of the only social media I use at this point, I'm just thinking about my audience, right? I'm thinking, ‘what do people want to see or hear from a newspaper reporter or a critic?’ I would say I think mostly about my audience in terms of my writing [as well]. It was very different for me coming from magazines. At a newspaper, the separation between the newsroom and the advertising department is incredibly sacred. I don't even know the names of most of the people who work in the advertising department. I don't know the brands that advertise in the newspaper unless I'm reading a paper copy of the newspaper and I'm like, ‘okay, that's interesting.’ That is totally different than the first ten years I spent working in the fashion industry. As a result, that frees you up to really be a sort of voice for the people who are reading fashion coverage and to be their sort of person in the room.”
Emilia: I think for my newsletter, it's more of a diary, and I get the sense from people who've given me feedback that they enjoy going on the ride with me. I try to keep it fun and light - whatever interests me, I'm hoping will interest them. I'm coming at it from more of an outsider's perspective. Most people don't even know that New York Fashion Week is happening. What are the five bullet points that they should know? What is the new brand? What are people talking about?
What has changed about NYFW since you started?
Nikki: The mix of the room is so exciting these days in a way that it wasn’t before. In the beginning of my career, it was like, ‘This is where Vogue sits, this is where Bazaar sits, this is where British Vogue sits.’ And now it's like, is that celebrity sitting with that [editor] because she's friends with her? Because she came with her, who knows? Are you a Substacker or are you an influencer? Are you a podcaster? Are you all of the above, and you're an editor? …I feel like that mix is just making for much more…fruitful conversations. When you're sitting in between shows and chatting about what's going on, it just feels more exciting.Since shows play out in real time via social media, what, in your opinion, is a brand’s main objective when holding an expensive runway show? Why not go all digital? What would be lost if brands stopped showing and spent the money elsewhere in marketing?
Rachel: Such an important element is the community of fashion, and not just in an exclusive way. Who's in the room and where are they sitting - [it’s about] the people who populate and wear the clothes to bring it to life. You know, there's not really anything else. There's no Coachella for fashion. It's Fashion Week. So, you know, you need to have those people in the room, whoever they are, who are talking about and wearing the clothes.
What do you see happening for the future of Fashion Week?
Where you pull your inspiration from? Are you reading any interesting books or watching interesting TV? What are you into right now?
Rachel: I read fashion books all the time. I'm reading one that's really amazing right now called Patchwork by a curator at the [Victoria and Albert Museum] named … Claire Wilcox that's really spectacular. I read fashion books all the time, and I go back and read old fashion stories. I'm working on a profile of someone now. And I just remembered there's this really bizarre, sort of similar profile to what I'm doing where a New York Times writer trails Deeda Blair around Couture Week. Shes eating poached rabbita nd she’s like, ‘$25,000 is too much for a dress.’ I find a lot of inspiration in reading those older pieces and going back to them and just being around the kind of writing you want to do. That’s always helpful.
Emilia: I'm really trying to travel as much as possible. I just got back from Dublin and I learned about something that they call 'the notion'. You really don't want to have the notion, which [indicates] that you are better than other people... so no one's dressed up a lot because they would mean that they have the notion. I got into a long argument with an Irish man... where I was like, 'maybe it's kind of nice to have the notion.' But anyway, it's been really fun to travel to different places. It expands my brain and I'm thinking a lot about the notion now.
What are you most excited about for next week’s NYFW?
Nikki: I'm excited that Norma Kamali is showing…I'm excited that Calvin Klein is back and Christopher John Rogers is back on the calendar. That's all great, but my favorite is always the in-between [moments]. Like, should we go get a drink? Should we just grab a coffee? Should we get some fries at The Standard? That’s always the most fun and informative.
