After 17 months of waiting, NYC’s fashion crowd will finally get its front-row fashion experience back.
New York Fashion Week is poised to return Sept. 8 to the 12, but not without some changes. The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has announced that the event will be exclusive to those who have been fully vaccinated. Guests aged 16 and under will need proof of a negative COVID-19 test result.
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Citing a recent boom in COVID-19 cases due to the contagious Delta variant, the announcement follows the City’s latest requirement for proof of vaccination when residents enter gyms, restaurants and other indoor spaces. According to a statistical report from NYC Health, approximately 55.2 percent of NYC residents have been fully vaccinated.
“Together, we encourage the broader industry to follow suit and protect the wellbeing of our fashion community this September," a NYFW spokesperson is quoted in a report by Business of Fashion. "We will closely follow updates and recommendations from the CDC, New York State and City, releasing comprehensive health and safety guidelines in mid-August."
Christian Siriano, Moschino, Michael Kors and Coach are among those scheduled to show during the week-long event. According to the report, designers will be responsible for enforcing the rule with staff, models, publicists and makeup artists. Mask requirement mandates, meanwhile, have yet to be announced.
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No doubt the industry at large is eager to get back to an in-person setting. COVID-19 shutdowns and restrictions changed the face of runway fashion in 2020, pushing many designers to get creative and present collections via high-production films and digital presentations.
Paris Fashion Week was forced to go completely digital in January of this year, before vaccinations were widely available, so proof of vaccination is certainly a step up. This won’t be fashion’s first in-person event, though, as Shanghai Fashion Week welcomed guests in April.
Visit NYFW online to learn more about this year’s schedule and health advisory commitments, and read more about the recent announcement via BoF.
Photography by: Edward Berthelot
