Hot on the heels of rumors swirling late last year that longtime headline sponsor Mercedes-Benz was threatening to cut ties with New York Fashion Week, matriarch and momager Kris Kardashian swiftly brokered a deal to lock down an iron clad partnership contract that would see her clan overtake the event commencing February 2015.
While this might just be me purely speculating in an attempt to explain the madness of this season, fashionistas everywhere were left stunned and scratching their heads over the Kardashians apparent takeover as unofficial brand ambassadors of the event’s FW15 offering. The family’s descent on the Big Apple’s bi-annual style assault comes as the Lincoln Center says goodbye to its pairing with event producer, WME-IMG, which plans to relocate the week to an unconfirmed venue downtown in September.
Back in November, some speculated that the purported breakup on IMG’s five-year contract with the car maker was part of a negotiation tactic ahead of the site shakeup, but it was soon confirmed that Mercedes-Benz had in fact pulled out as title sponsor for the tent shows. IMG is currently tipped to snap up junior hipster offshoot, MADE Fashion Week – the in-demand downtown show series offering an alternative to NYFW, with a focus on emerging designers. The slated acquisition forms part of a sustained effort to regain a chunk of NYFW’s slipping street cred, which has suffered amid the shift in show attendee composition to include bloggers and celebrities, coupled with the decline in the week’s exclusivity factor.
Additionally, Curbing the Catwalk overheard a pair of Mercedes-Benz corporate show attendees lamenting the fact that this would indeed be the last time they would be gracing the event with their presence over double margaritas, hence confirming the uncertain future following the split.
In a bizarre twist of events that seemed as unlikely as Anna Wintour selecting Kim and Kanye to grace the cover of Vogue last year, this fashion week, seeing 19-year old Kendall walk in every show known to man (and even in the ones she did not, there was sure to be a six-degrees-of-separation Kendall-related Tweet about it). Meanwhile, younger sister and newbie to the world of plastic surgery Kylie is acting as her understudy when the overnight model-of-the-moment was otherwise engaged.
Playing for the blue team, we saw Kim mishandling baby North’s front row meltdown while the toddler was strapped in a Kanye-designed baby bullet proof vest, perched courtside during the rapper’s Adidas show, which played out to the beats of the egomaniac’s newest ditty, of course.
Flanked by Beyonce and Wintour at the athletic label’s show – both whom appeared highly unimpressed by the child’s showdown – the unlikely celebrity/reality TV star/Vogue editor-in-chief front row shared real estate represents the mix of high-and-low culture which many have criticized is partially behind New York falling behind its European fashion week peers in terms of prestige and exclusivity. And don’t forget Mommy Kris – who saved Kim from having to deal with her daughter’s tantrum by rushing her to the nearest nanny – whom is far from absent on the scene, ensuring she remains in the headlines by maintaining an aggressive presence on social media.
Another alarming trend concerning fashion week veterans this season is the influx of attendees sporting their children as their draw-card accessory. From David Beckham chaperoning three-year old daughter Harlow to mother Victoria Beckham’s runway event to the Toronto-based style blogger whose baby’s wails cut the intro to the finale at the Christian Siriano show like ice – critics have voiced their disdain for the recent adoption of fashion week as an alternative to daycare.
The Kardashian/West infiltration of NYFW comes amid chatter that some celebrity talent agents are suggesting their client’s attend fashion weeks across the pond in lieu of Manhattan’s lineup, taking a view that London, Paris and Milan’s style chops have gained more relevance and street cred in recent years. The thinking behind the shift? That New York’s shows have become too accessible and increasingly bland, in addition to losing a chunk of its former A-list shine.
Queue the Kardashians’ debut.
Other signs that the wheels are falling off the wagon of the former Bryant Park-located market darling on the global fashion month scene include the relocation of the Lincoln Center’s media pit – formally a focal point inside the venue’s main hub – to a much less prestigious roped-off section next to the cafeteria in the lobby of the adjacent music hall, where the increasingly rare remaining fashion reporters punch out reviews while their blogger counterparts swan off to the day’s hottest events after fulfilling their daily Instagram duties.
Within the Lincoln Center itself, the vibe is a lot more subdued, with a noticeable drop off in promotional events and material from sponsors, giving the location a somewhat tired feel. Stationery powerhouse Papyrus – which formerly partnered with illustrator Bella Pilar to design the event’s program and had personally attend to sign cards from her line for the brand on site – appears to have also dropped the ball a little this season. For FW15, the brand’s bi-annual complementary card imagery has been reduced from a stylish custom-sketched fashionista to a generic butterfly number, plucked from Papyrus’s existing offering.
Pilar’s handiwork is also notably absent from this season’s program, which has the look and feel of a high school graphic design project.
On a positive note, all signs are pointing to the future of the event resulting in it parking itself firmly in the vicinity of Chelsea and the Meatpacking District, where many designers have opted to show their collections in recent years at venues such as Milk Studios and Chelsea Piers. Many of this week’s prized street style shots have been snapped around these increasingly in-favor neighborhoods, where the fash pack preened their peacock feathers in colorful garb despite Arctic winds, heavy snow and surging Uber prices – all signs that the cool kids are keen for IMG to relocate downtown. Another site rumored to be on the short list for next season is Washington Square Park, which has the benefit of neighboring the popular sister hotspots and offering Uber-alternative transport options.
Perhaps the most telling sign that IMG’s love fest with Mercedes Benz and the Lincoln Center has come to an end can be summed up by the site’s surprising most coveted freebie this season, seen shoved into the designer handbags of the show’s attendees – packets of Tide Pods Detergent (a far cry from the coveted goodie bags of years gone by).
Tide – which claims to be a ‘sudsy cleaner, stain fighter and brightener all in one’ – may be adept at refreshing your wardrobe’s fashion week threads. But the product could also be symbolic of NYFW’s mission to cleanse revamp itself to regain some much-needed kudos and fresh-faced appeal on the monthly circuit.
One thing’s for sure – while the Kardashian’s presence may be highly successful at raising the week’s social media presence and mainstream press coverage – one can’t help but be left with an uncomfortable grimy taste in their mouth amid the clan’s saturation of NYFW this season, which many say overshadowed the designers’ collections and detracts from the broader event’s intended purpose.
But then I guess there’s the complementary packet of Tide to remove the grease from any residual tarnish associated with that… #cleanasawhistle #kimandanna.
