Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week photo by Bryan Bedder for Getty Images
BEHIND THE SCENES
Anatomy of Fashion Week
For all the buzz (and, let’s face it, all the grumbling) about Fashion Week, there’s no denying the unbelievable amount of work it takes to put on a runway event, let alone a week of events featuring many designers, multiple runway venues and entertainment for the guests between the shows.
Recently, I stumbled across a fascinating look behind the scenes at New York Fashion Week. With all the talk of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week leaving Lincoln Center after next February, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune published a story about a Florida-based architecture firm that was hired by MBFW parent company IMG Fashion to study the event and recommend new, more-efficient formats for the future.
Sarasota-based Fawley Bryant Architects Inc. came up with something they’re calling a Piston Design that would allow for efficient movement through four venues and the back of house space. Among the suggestions: create a mix of spaces that could be rented for short- and long-term events and repurpose underserved spaces, like the dressing area, which could be used for interviews following a show.
I’m so used to seeing the final finished product, it’s interesting to take a look at how a Fashion Week is built from the ground up.
And on a completely tangential side note, the MBFW website has lots of great runway and behind-the-scenes photos, as well as a surprising number of photos of security guards pointing the way for guests.
