Models walking at Pyer Moss’ runway during New York Fashion Week, September 2019. The Covid-19 … [+]
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The Fashion Group International has a long history of providing business-to-business information to its members, dating back to the Thirties, when the professional association was founded. Tomorrow, it will return to its roots with Communiqué, a daily summary with photos and synopses of select New York Fashion Week runway shows, trends and news.
The organization wants to be the eyes and ears of the fashion industry for its global membership. That’s more important than ever this season, the first since last year when the Covid-19 pandemic began, with a return to live events in New York City.
The Fashion Group knows that retailers and buyers may be hard-pressed to travel to Manhattan and its environs as the Delta variant rears its head. Among the 91 designers showing next week will be Gabriela Hearst, Proenza Schouler, LaQuan Smith, Rodarte, Michael Kors, threeASFOUR, Rosetta Getty and Tom Ford.
“FGI has a history all the way back to the Thirties, when we provided business-to-business information,” said Maryann Grisz, president and CEO of the professional organization. “We have minutes in our archives from board meetings from 1936, on. The members were actually talking about [providing] this type of information.”
Grisz said that over the years, FGI has produced written reports and video presentations about the presentation of collections, and that Marylou Luther, a legacy member, for many years penned trend reports.
“Through the pandemic, there’s been so much creativity,” Grisz said. “We felt it was important to acknowledge what’s happening in fashion in a timely way. We’ll have highlights, influences, color stories and new designers. I’ll be attending some of the shows and we’ll be reviewing photography from all of the events.”
Sharon Graubard, founder and creative director of Mint Moda and Nicole Fischelis, fashion and art forecasting and FGI board member, established industry experts, will curate the report, capturing highlight influences, directional and significant style, color and uncovering new talent presented during New York Fashion Week collections.
Hair expert Frédéric Fekkai will be reporting from the trenches and discussing what’s trending for fall from his perspective, while Gary Wassner, CEO of Hildun Corp., will be reporting on new talent and profiling a designer each day, as someone to watch. The missive will be sent to members’ inboxes at 11 pm every night of New York Fashion Week “to make sure we include everything,” Grisz said.
The report is sponsored by Frederic Fekkai, Hildum and California retailer Elyse Walker.
“Being FGI, we need to have somewhat of a presence during fashion week,” said Fischelis. “I thought it was a good idea to do a daily recap, just to talk about key ideas, key looks and key silhouettes, whether it’s a designer or a trend that we see as a through-line by different designers.
“We’ll have daily fashion news,” Fischelis added. “Gary’s company is a factoring company, and it’s a family business. He’s been going to fashion shows for years and helps a lot of companies. It’s going to be very interesting to get his point of view.”
Several New York-based designers who’ve recently been showing in Europe, will present collections in New York this season, Fischelis said, citing Thom Browne and Jeremy Scott for Moschino, which are returning to lend their support for American fashion.
“The buyers need to be on top of the trends. They need to reassess,” Fischelis said, referring to the changes wrought by the pandemic that has consumers dressing in more casual attire. “Designers are creating a new environment and excitement. Incorporating art and fashion is a rising trend. We’ve seen it emerging very strongly because there were so many static presentations.”
“In today’s world there are no singular hair trends per se,” Fekkai told me. “There are many ways people can celebrate their unique hair type in a way that reflects their personality, style, and culture. I’m honored to be a part of FGI’s Communiqué and excited to share my observations of what we experience with our customers with the FGI members.”
“I’m going to choose one relatively new designer each day of fashion week whom I think has great potential,” said Wassner. “In 100 words or less, I’m going to give them a shout out, describe what they’re about.
“FGI is a global organization,” Wassner added. “Many of its members don’t have access to the runways. Information is king these days, so we’re hoping to provide insights and comments on the trends for the season, culled from attendance at all the shows during NYFW. One walks away from a live show with a very different sense of the brand they’ve seen, compared to watching a live stream or perusing a look book preview.”
