I know that some designers such as respectable Mr Oscar de la Renta made a major contribution to the idea of strict editing of the audience at the NY MB Fashion Week this time. As a journalist who attended more than 50 events and fashion shows this season and as a regular at the NY Fashion Week, I must congratulate IMG and all those people who orchestrated the whole series of events in a most efficient manner. Waiting in line for the shows to begin, I was very happy to see around me only people heavily and deeply involved in the fashion industry; not anymore those with an epidermic relationship to it. Inside the tents I saw journalists, active stylists, buyers and photographers; not anymore the “Circus of Fashion,” as Suzy Menkes once put it. And it was a great pleasure to feel that I’m included in this elite of people actively involved in the business of fashion and contributing to its evolution.
IMG organized the Fashion Week after great scrutiny of all the parameters which previously diluted the idea of the perfect fashion experience. Although a great effort had already been made since the event moved to Lincoln Center – through the use of the barcode check-in system – the elimination of the so-called show-crashers or tent-crashers remained a problem! Increasing control and basically putting bar code readers at the entrance of the tents, this problem was diminished to a great extent. Guests with their bar-coded invitations could only enter the tents, and it was even more modern to see most of the time these people holding just their iPhones with a scanner-friendly version of their barcode to pass the gates! Most of the designers and PR people ensured that just before the show you’d received the barcode through an email, so this was all you needed to get in.
Timewise, it was also more efficient, since less people were waiting in line and were seated much faster! I found out that this time there was on average a quarter of an hour less delay for those waiting in line to get in. Also there were fewer standing people since, only relevant people were invited to the shows. People who deserved to be there received the greatest services so as to be able to enjoy the shows, get the necessary material and really absorb the essence of the events! And the whole check-in system spanned more than one venue on sites chosen throughout NYC to host the MB Fashion Week shows and presentations. It was more professional and efficient that ever!
Even getting outside the tents, you could see more relevant people, not those ones who come to stare and take some pictures for their amateurish personal blogs. Chilly weather helped a lot in making the events look and feel even more exclusive! Only if you were crazy enough for fashion did you battle the snowstorm and headed to the tents! Inside, there were fewer bloggers invited but the ones who managed to be there are determined professionals who are full-time dedicated to their website, write meaningful content and offer a precious insight to the world of fashion. People feared that bloggers would be set aside by the designers, but that wasn’t true. Those who write well on a regular basis and have a strong, interesting opinion, were all there! It turned out I was one of them and was very excited to explain to people around me that if you produce great content for your blog, you are uniformly appreciated by designers and media alike.
Being dedicated to the fashion industry gives you many unexpected privileges but these shouldn’t be the only forces driving you. Love for fashion and a deep knowledge of the topic is mandatory here! So once more I would like to thank IMG and the MB Fashion Week for making my life easier as a professional fashion editor and giving me an amazing experience beyond any other pleasure! I hope they maintain this attitude of carefully editing the audience and wish this can be the paradigm for the other fashion weeks on earth!
xxx
Elena Sendona
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