Episode 19: Fashion Week Unveiled: The What, Who, Where, and How of the World's Ultimate Style Showcases

0:01 Hey, hey, hey, welcome to this week's episode where I am going to be talking about Fashion Week. So this is going to be a two part series. In the first part, we're going to introduce Fashion Week. So it is titled “Fashion Week Unveiled: The What, Who, Where, and How of the World's Ultimate Style Showcases”. And so we're going to do an introduction of Fashion Week, what it's all about, how it's organized, how often it happens, all those good things. So, come on in, grab your pen and paper and be ready to take some notes. And in the end, listen for how you can engage your students in Fashion Week.

0:56 You're listening to Marketing EdVenture, the hub for business, fashion, marketing and other CTE educators who integrate marketing into the learning experience. I'm your host, Jacque’ Walker. Each week, I'll cover marketing, education concepts, strategies, tips, trends, frameworks, and other information to equip you to connect your classroom to digital natives while cultivating an engaged learning environment. So come on into the room, where your favorite beverage snacks and even your cell phone are all welcome.

1:36 Hey, so today we're talking about Fashion Week. This is the best time to talk about it because we're in the midst of Fashion Week for the fall 2024 lines right now. So what is Fashion Week? Well, Fashion Week is a time when designers in various regions have an opportunity to showcase their collections, what they've been working on their creative masterpieces for the world to see. And it's an opportunity for buyers in the media to be exposed to what is up and coming in the fashion industry.

2:22 I said regionally previously. So that leaves you probably asking the question, like where is Fashion Week held? Well, there are four major regions in which Fashion Week happens. And those regions are New York, London, Milan, and Paris. Now, the fashion shows aren't limited to those four areas. But those are the four major regions that attract the celebrities, the retailers, and all of the hoopla that surrounds Fashion Week. So let's talk about that a little bit.

3:10 So Fashion Week, you might want to know when it started. Well, it initially started in New York in 1943 by Eleanor Lambert who was the first known publicists for the fashion industry, she decided during the World War Two era to have all of the media to come to New York to see what fashions Were coming out with the designers were coming up with and it was just a way to generate more talk and focus around us designers. Because Paris has always been known as the fashion capital of the world. So she decided to bring journalists to New York to spotlight the fashion of American fashion designers. So New York started in 1943, however they became under the organization of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, in 1993. And they really became more organized in the 1950s. But currently, they are led by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and that came into play in 1993. Now London, and I'm gonna say these in the order in which the Fashion Week's occur. Generally they hit New York first, then London then Milan and then Paris. So London started their Fashion Weeks in 1984. And then Milan started theirs in 1958. And Paris started In 1973, and they are known as the first organized Fashion Week, they were the first one to build a council to organize their Fashion Week.

5:17 Alright, now that we know what Fashion Week is and where it's held, let's talk about how it's organized. Who organizes these four major regions? So starting with New York, as I mentioned before, it is governed by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Now that was started by Eleanor, the one who started Fashion Week. Eleanor Lambert, she started it in 1962. However, it did not take over Fashion Week until 1993. All right, and the number of members, for the CFDA seems to be the largest out of any other regions; they currently have about over 500 members, which are the designers that make up the body of the CFDA along with the board members, which are notable names, I must say. Let me pull that up over here. Notable Names are Tory Burch, Tommy Hilfiger, Norma Kamali, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Tracy Reese, Vera Wang, and Diane Von Furstenberg. That may be a little bit older than some of you who are listening to this. But those are some people who make up the board of the CFDA. All right now, other information going forward. For London, it is the British Fashion Council and it consists of about 221 members. And that was just a couple of years ago, so I'm sure it's grown since then. The Milan council that organizes their Fashion Week is Camera Nationale Della Moda Italiana. Okay, I know that I probably butchered that name, but that is the governing group for Milan and there's over 200 companies that are governed by that group for Ready-to-wear and men's fashion. And then finally, we have Paris. Now the Paris organization is called Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode is for short is FHCM and they have three chambers. One is for men, then it's Ready-to-wear, and the other is for haute couture. Their chamber was originally or the council was originally established in 1868 as the Ready-to-wear, and it was then changed over to the Federation. And then the other chambers were added at different dates. So it consists of the three different chambers of fashion, and it currently has about 100 Members. I'm surprised that the numbers are a little low. I have to dig a little bit more for some more research to see. But that's what I've been able to find. Alright, so those are the four organizations that oversee Fashion Week for the four major regions of fashion.

8:53 There are processes, there are applications that have to be provided. There are invitations that have to be made for some areas. And then all of these have foundations that they have organized within the organization to fund designers, budding young students who are desired to be designers, and then other industry areas, and then philanthropy and on and on and on. And they are nonprofit organizations so they have to raise funds for the Fashion Weeks and everything that they do. So those are the organizations who put on the Fashion Weeks. Now all the other fashion shows and things that go on outside of these four major organizations are independent. I'm sure they have some type of establishments that help fund their fashion shows and if you're talking about like an independent designer then they're looking at funding themselves. I know UPS did a great job or has been doing a great job over the last few years funding some of the designers. So definitely look up UPS, and Fashion Week for New York to see how they're funding minority designers. This year, there was a focus on black designers, and last year, it was Hispanic designers. So it's great that these organizations are helping these designers go for their dreams. So that is the organization of Fashion Week.

10:39 Hey, EdVenturous Educator, did you know that CTE Month is in February? Well, in honor of you, I am giving away free fashion marketing resources. Every Friday in February, I will have a drawing. And I will provide a free fashion marketing project or activity to the winner. So go on to my description or in the show notes and click on Giveaway so that you can get your name in the hat. I look forward to all the wonderful winners that we're going to have. Now back to the show.

11:20 So you may be wondering, how often is Fashion Week because it seems like you may be hearing about Fashion Week often throughout the year. And it is multiple times a year mainly in the fall and in the spring. So what happens is that the Fashion Week that is presented, it's always presenting trends for the next season six months ahead of time. And this is because the buyers need an opportunity to make decisions for their companies, and then get the apparel, accessories, shoes, all those things manufactured. And it also gives the media an opportunity to begin to talk about these fashion forecasts. So that the general public, the industry knows what's coming down the road in fashion. So in the fall, they are showcasing Spring/Summer. And in this spring, or I guess early winter, or late winter, they're showcasing fall, Fall/Winter. So whatever showcase is happening at that time, they're projecting the fashion and the trends for the next season. So there are three kinds of Fashion Weeks: there's a haute couture week, there's a Ready-to-wear week, and there's a men's week. So the haute couture takes place twice a year, in January for the following Spring/Summer. So January, of course, is winter. So it's for the Spring/Summer season. And then it also shows in June or July for the Fall/Winter season. Okay, so their runway tends to be a bit shorter than the Ready-to-wear in menswear. Okay, and then for the Ready-to-wear. You'll see those being showcased in March for the Fall/Winter. And then in September when we have the big four Fashion Week that we always highlight. They're showing trends for this Spring/Summer of the following year. And then the men get to have their own showcase, their own Fashion Week because many have not necessarily been highlighted in all of the other Fashion Weeks. So they have a Menswear Fashion Week. That is in the fall, the Fall/Winter collections are presented in January. So you notice that there's a longer runway for men's fashion. And then the Spring/Summer collection is showcased in June.

14:24 Now there may be various reasons, men, you're talking about tailoring and a lot of things. There's just not as many manufacturers out there making men's clothes. So they may need just a little bit more lead time. But, women's clothing tends to be pretty fast produced and in high demand as well. Whereas menswear is not as in high demand as women's wear. That's how often Fashion Week happens. So really, for a designer, they're looking at presenting something two times a year. And I guess it depends on what type of designer because it could be a designer who just focuses on, you know, Fall/Winter. And then there could be a designer who is really focused on summer, Spring/Summer. But the buyers are really for companies looking to make purchases two times a year for those two different seasons. And that's how your Fashion Weeks roll.

15:34 I hope you've enjoyed this first part of the two part series for Fashion Week. As I stated, There are activities that would be available, but you have to tune in next week to part two, because I will go over how you can engage your students with activities, projects and things that are related to Fashion Week. The students really love it, it's a great opportunity for them to extend their knowledge and awareness of the fashion industry. So come on back for part two next week. Have a wonderfully blessed day.

16:19 Thanks for listening to Marketing EdVenture. Remember to subscribe, rate, review and share this episode with someone you think could benefit from the information shared here today. If you have any questions or want to connect with me, find me on Instagram at marketing adventure. All links and resources discussed in this episode can be found in the show notes at marketingedventure.com.