New York Fashion Week: Why Designers Still Cash Out to Show Their Collections

In 1993, the Council of Fashion Designers of America's (CFDA) first modern New York Fashion Week was intended to showcase the biggest trends in the industry for department store buyers and fashion editors.

Since then, NYFW has evolved into an offline and online spectacle, but its long-term health is in doubt. NYFW’s value has been undermined over the years by controversial model casting, divided runway sales strategies, and a dearth of designer talent.

No matter how many punches NYFW takes, designers pay to partake

Designer Tanya Taylor says that participating in NYFW sets her company back at least $100,000 per season. “I’ve tried everything to try to get under that number,” she tells me, “but that’s our gauge of what we need to...put forward a quality effort that speaks to how much we care about the brand.”

Other designers harvest money trees. Christian Siriano told Vogue Business that his shows cost between $125,000 and $312,000 to produce. Forbes estimates that the “average” show costs at least $200,000. In 2011, Marc Jacobs reportedly spent at least $1 million to showcase his fall collection. That’s $1,750 per second for a show lasting under 10 minutes.

“When our investors go through the numbers, it’s really hard for them to see actual return,” Siriano said this year.

The payoffs are more immediate for designers who follow a see-now, buy-now model. Within days, they’ll know if their pieces have resonated with consumers. “We like to make sure we’re not just doing this for an ego boost—it’s actually leading to tangible results and sales,” designer Rebecca Minkoff tells me.

Designers have another motive

Some say direct sales are secondary to building brand affinity with customers online. It doesn’t matter if the clothes sell—customers just need to see the garments and learn the designer’s name.

That leads to excess. At fashion week, designers try to engineer Twitter moments with guerilla celebrity castings (Alexander Wang, prior to its NYFW departure) or dresses that double as memes (Viktor&Rolf). Most often, it’s a set, a stunt, or a combination of the two. In one memorable example, Calvin Klein buried its entire runway in popcorn. (Calvin Klein shuttered its runway division in March because it was too costly to maintain.)

Mass retailers make their own catwalks

Exclusion from the CFDA hasn’t stopped other retailers from hosting NYFW Lite, where the runway looks a little bit more like your average Sunday mall run.

• DSW hosted a “Runway Redone” show on Wednesday featuring a more size-inclusive cast than you’d see on the official runways.
• Target is re-releasing its 20th anniversary collection of items from previous designer collaborations nationwide on September 14, shortly after NYFW’s close.
• H&M debuted its budget Moschino collaboration with a live streamed fashion show last October. Three Hadid children and Naomi Campbell walked its runway.

The big takeaway: Despite all the baggage NYFW carries and the costs of getting on the schedule, companies find its benefits outweigh its pitfalls. If success can be counted in views and likes, new customers are one carefully calibrated post away.

Want more on NYFW's evolution in the social media age? I've got all the details here.