The Fashion Week Drama Continues!

Last week we continued with the hoopla over the worldwide fashion week scheduling conflict and it only gets worse with an update from fashionista.com.

The Spring 2013 show season clusterf*ck continues. The CFDA and the BFC reacted immediately after the news came down from Milan’s Camera Nazionale della Moda on Friday that it would show its members’ spring 2013 collections September 19-25, essentially eating into two of New York’s planned days and completely eclipsing London‘s whole five-day schedule.
Diane von Furstenberg, the president of the CFDA, sent out an open letter to the fashion community yesterday. She was rather conciliatory in it, stating that the show date hoopla was a “misunderstanding” and that she was “convinced it will be resolved.” But don’t think she’s going down without a fight. She also told WWD:

All of a sudden, on the second Thursday next September, we finally have the good side, and now they want to make us pay. I think this is ridiculous. We are a community of designers. I would like to believe that what we have created with the CFDA — the sense of family and community — is something we can do worldwide. We are all designers, we are all in the same industry. We compete with one another but we love and support each other. That is what it should be.
Confused yet? Here are the main points of the disagreement:

-The CFDA and BFC maintain that there was an agreement reached in 2008 that the shows would always start in New York on the second Thursday in September, with subsequent cities showing in succession after that. Mario Boselli, the head of Milan’s Camera Nazionale della Moda, said he “proved” that no such agreement existed–at least in writing–by producing 2008 paperwork regarding show scheduling, WWD reports.

-The CFDA doesn’t want to start the shows a week earlier (the first Thursday in September) because Labor Day is on that Monday, and it presents challenges to the designers to get their shows ready on time. New York designers had to show the Thursday after Labor Day this past season, because it happened to be the second Thursday in September, so it can be done. It’s just far from ideal.

-Milan doesn’t want to show a week later because they think it will affect their production schedule and ability to get product to retailers in time (which frankly seems a little silly because Paris always shows into October and they don’t seem to have an issue with delivery.)

-The British Fashion Council, which represents London’s designers–and whose designers arguably are the ones really getting the shaft in this whole thing–can’t change its dates because of venue availability due to the Olympic and Paralympic games which are being held in London.

-Paris is staying out of it, though to make this work as the CFDA hoped (with New York starting the second Thursday in September), they would have had to move their dates a week later, too. But they didn’t.

So what are the potential outcomes?
1.) New York capitulates and moves its shows back a week, and sucks it up by showing the Thursday after Labor Day.

2.) London also sucks it up and moves back a week, and hopes for venue availability.

3.) Milan and France move their dates five days later–it’s not even a full week, because London only shows for five days–and continue with the “second Thursday in September” start date.

4.) Everyone is stubborn and nothing changes, forcing editors and buyers to take sides.

WWD tried to talk to designers, but no one wanted to comment. Some sources at the CNMI, who wanted to remain anonymous, claim the BFC never communicated the diffuculties they were having with the Olympics and venue scheduling. There was also the suggestion that New York try to condense its fashion week into five days, because it’s “too long as it is.” Now those are fighting words!

So stand by. We’re certain that someone is going to end up switching dates to make this work, it’s just a matter of who.

We Say...Let The Best Garments Win!

Catching up where we last left off with, 'Seems like there aren't enough catwalk hours in a day', Hayley Phela of Fashionista.com says that...

"Fashion month is about to get a whole lot messier.
A few days ago, it was reported that Milan had put forth Spring 2013 Fashion Week dates that would conflict with London and New York Fashion Week. In response, Condé Nast’s International chairman Jonathan Newhouse had personally written to Mario Boselli, head of the Italian Chamber of Fashion, threatening that none of his Vogue editors (including those of the American, Italian and French editions) would be allowed to attend Milan if the dates were moved. Honestly, we thought that was that: If Condé Nast wants to throw its weight around, it will probably come out victorious. We thought that, at the least, a compromise could be made, since this is after all an industry employing thousands of people and not a case of sibling rivalry. But we were wrong.

Milan has essentially told New York and London Fashion Week to go fuck themselves. According to WWD, the Milan Chamber of Fashion decided today that it would stick with its proposed dates, and that Milan Fashion Week will run from Sept. 19-25 next fall. Since New York is set to run from Sept. 13 to 20, and London from Sept. 21 to 25, Milan Fashion Week will bite into New York’s show dates and completely eclipse poor London’s.


This announcement comes on the heels of the CFDA’s letter posted on WWD yesterday, reasserting their position that they cannot, and will not, shift their Fashion Week dates any earlier. The letter cited the “Second Thursday Rule,” a pact that states New York Fashion Week will always start on the second Thursday of the month and a pact that the CFDA asserts was agreed upon by the British Fashion Council, Chambre Syndicale, and Camera Nazionale della Moda in 2008. Unfortunately from there the letter devolves into a classic case of he said, she said: “As you may have read, the dates for showing the spring-summer 2013 collections are now being disputed. Milan is claiming that the agreement was for three years only. This is not the case; the agreed-to schedule was always meant to be a long-term/permanent one.”

Does anyone else feel like this seems more akin to a power struggle between high school’s most popular clique, rather than a matter of conflicting schedules in a major industry? Boselli’s attitude certainly isn’t helping to fix that. The head of the Italian Chamber of Fashion told WWD, “Let the best one win.” Well, that’s certainly mature.

On a more serious note, though, we really can’t see how this can be allowed to happen. Will Vogue editors–especially Vogue Italy’s team–really be made to forgo Milan Fashion Week? How will London Fashion Week, who boasts considerably less designer star-power, be able to compete with big names like Prada and Dolce & Gabbana showing at the same time? On the other hand, how will the Italian labels–especially the young ones that depend on Fashion Week to bring them international exposure–be able to cope with none of Condé Nast’s editors in attendance? More importantly, how awkward will the Fall 2012 shows in February, be?"

Never Enough Time For Fashion On The Calender In Milan!

Seems like there aren't enough catwalk hours in a day especially for London's fashion week which is struggling to attain coverage after New York's Fashion week was given a schedule shuffle. Dhani Mau over at fashionista.com side whispers the full story below.

New Fashion Week calendar shakeups are forcing fashion capitals to battle it out.
Earlier this season, reports surfaced that regular fashion week schedule conflicts were causing problems (or “model crises“) for London Fashion week, with models not making it to London or being summoned to Milan early. While it seemed London Fashion Week’s fate was the least certain, Milan is also now in trouble with Condé editors threatening to skip it altogether because of a broken pact.

The problem is that New York pushed their September fashion week to September 13, 2012 to avoid conflicting with Labor Day and causing production problems. Milan says that schedule leaves them without enough time to put their wares into production and get them delivered on time for spring 2013. So, Milan has announced dates that would overlap with poor little London.

However, in a new, exciting twist, Condé Nast has taken a stance against a Milan Fashion week schedule change if it conflicts with London or any other city’s shows. Condé Nast International chairman Jonathan Newhouse literally wrote to Mario Boselli, head of the Italian Chamber of Fashion to inform him that Vogue editors (worldwide) like the schedule the way it is. From WWD:

[Vogue editors] like the schedule the way it is presently organized. We at Condé Nast do not want the schedule to be changed. We very much oppose moving the Milan shows earlier so that they overlap or conflict with the London fashion shows — or with the New York fashion shows or those of any market.
They will not under any circumstances abandon the London or New York shows if the Milan shows are moved earlier.
The best way to avoid having a problem is to maintain the schedule as it is now.
Wow. While they obviously have a lot of power, Condé does not control the fashion calendar. Apparently, the “governing bodies” of each fashion week (CFDA, British Fashion Council, Italian Chamber of Fashion and Chambre Syndicale) reached an official agreement in 2008 to begin each season on the second Thursday in February and September. However, according to WWD, “Milan’s Boselli claims the second Thursday rule was only for a three-year period, and thus expires this year, while the CFDA and the British Fashion Council maintain it was a permanent pact.” And also, “Some Europeans suggest that Milan and Paris could end up standing together on the issue of dates,” as they are both strong fashion capitals.

So, what is Paris‘ stance? The head of the Chambre Syndicale, Didier Grumbach, tells WWD that they are willing to compromise and are mainly just concerned that women’s ready-to-wear isn’t pushed too close to couture.

So, to recap: The U.S. and England are united on one side, while Italy is in clear opposition and France seems cool with whatever, but may side with Italy. (How insane is this??)

Conde has been pretty clear about which side they’re on, so it sounds like it all depends on how much Prada needs Anna Wintour in the front row. The Guardian raises an interesting point, arguing that the current show calendar is antiquated to begin with and “at odds with the needs of the modern fashion industry.”

Whose side are you on?