So long Bryant Park, hello chaos.
On the eve of the Bryant Park tents being dismantled for the last time, thousands of fashionistas and people came to the park for So Long Bryant Park, the official goodbye party, complete with sobbing uncontrollably and drinking…and not in that order. From what I know, getting that party together was like pulling teeth from sponsors. But, since Fern Mallis was on the case…there was no way those tents were going out without a bang and some booze.
So what’s next for New York Fashion Week? Will everyone run to Lincoln Center because Anna Wintour deems it the thing to do? Will the cooler, more independent designers stay in the Meatpacking District and support the MAC & MILK initiative? Will there ever be peace in the Middle East? Who knows. Oh…if it were that simple. There are so many venues vying for rental fees throughout the city, at least the Meatpacking District is a cohesive neighborhood that speaks to the fashion industry. Mazdack Rassi is keen to engage the district as a place where fashion lives. What you get around Lincoln Center is Fiorello’s, Barnes and Noble, Madonna and an UGG store. I used to live there.
Fashion is a circus after all. And certain rules do apply.
Now that they are filming a one-hour special for Fashion’s Night Out, you know that Anna will probably pull off some fabulous presentation at Lincoln Center that will feature all the participating designers in the new uptown Big Apple Circus tents in an effort to show the industry that it pays to pay top dollar. I do know is that the Meatpacking downtown design initiative will have a vibe all it’s own and will pull together their resources to prove that downtown is where it is at. (When you are not forced to be uptown.)
Anyhoo…change is in the air. They will both have advantages. The only disadvantage I see is Ninth Avenue as the thoroughfare between fabulous and groovy. Yikes. With the Lincoln Tunnel and theater traffic…the best times to show are the morning and early afternoon. The two factions should get together with Ruth Finley at Fashion Calendar to figure some of that quagmire out. It’s only fair to the press and buyers to consider their schedules. Let’s the games begin.
