New York Fashion Week costs are astronomical for designers

World Today

Photos by Fernanda Calfat, Frazer Harrizon for AFP; John Minchillo, Seth Wenig for AP.

New York fashion week beats out other fashion cities like Milan, London and Paris making the city a hub for the biggest fashion event of the year. Shows take months of planning and can cost, at minimum, around $100,000 to organize.

New York Fashion Week costs are astronomical for designers

New York fashion week beats out other fashion cities like Milan, London and Paris making the city a hub for the biggest fashion event of the year. Shows take months of planning and can cost, at minimum, around $100,000 to organize.

One of the biggest expenses for designers during New York Fashion Week is the venue. The Lincoln Center which is the official home of New York Fashion Week charges around $15,000 for a smaller space and up to $50,000 for a larger space. Other costs include production and public relations, stylists, hair and makeup and paying the models. Sponsorships help out with costs, but they doesn’t always pay for everything.

“It does cost a lot. The venue, especially this time, we’re in Lincoln Center. The venue, the PR, the models, everything. The makeup. Everything you look at in 20 minutes could cost a lot of money and many months of efforts.” Fashion Designer Vivienne Hu said.

It is possible to cut costs by choosing a different location that costs less, but popular advice is to stay where the other designers are.

“I think all designers should unite together and give convenience to the press, so they can see all the other designers at the same time. If you travel downtown, uptown, like Brooklyn, it’ll be so hard for other designers you know. It’s already very difficult you know, sharing models, sharing many things.” Fashion Designer Vivienne Tam said.

New York Fashion Week has also become a big hit online, generating the most Internet searches compared to other fashion shows around the world. With all of the high exposure, designers see the reason for the high costs.