[Image: Bryant Park, New York /Artwork: designslinger]

The presenters of New York Fashion Week, aka Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, have packed up
their tents (literally) after showing the latest creations of some of the America's top designers. The extravaganza, which dominates and overwhelms the industry a few times a year, is just one of a series of ready-to-wear and couture runway shows that occur in the big fashion centers each Spring, Summer and Fall. The shows have become promotional and marketing behemoths for individual designers and the multi-billion dollar industry that supports them.

It wasn't always this way. Granted, wealthy women throughout history have had the means to
buy clothing created especially for their income and social class, and designers designed specifically for this luxury market. As far back as the 1860s, American women of means went to Paris at least twice a year for the latest in Parisian couture. The House of Worth, was the ultimate in 19th century designer wear, and if you could afford to dress in a season's worth of Worth, you were one of the worthy few. Paris set the bar for this exclusive clientèle and since the customer pool was small, the fashion show was an intimate affair that catered specifically to this limited group.

[Images: House of Worth dresses, metmuseum.org /Artwork: designslinger]

As retailing became a bigger and larger enterprise, with the arrival of the department store on
the scene, merchandisers from the big U.S. emporiums set sail across the Atlantic. They arrived in Paris with an eye on the couture collections for the "inspiration" in manufacturing private label clothing for the middle, to upper-middle class consumer. To complete the circle, they began presenting their own shows in specially designed salons within the store, in an effort to mimic the Parisian experience as closely as possible.

The Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940 changed the art and fashion world forever. The iron grip that
the French had maintained over these cultured fields came to an abrupt end. New York emerged as the new world center for creative arts, and in the early 1940s the first organized fashion shows appeared on the N.Y. scene. They were designed to make it easier for ladies of leisure, department store buyers and the press, to gather together under one roof and see new work produced by American designers. But, they were still pretty small affairs, and designer's still showed in their individual showrooms. However, the die was cast for the big, bold fashion event.

[Images: Christian Siriano & Badgley Mischka dresses, Imaxtree photo's via nymag.com /Artwork: designslinger]

The ready-to-wear lines were presented last week, the fancy couture shows for those select few
who can spend $10,000 or more on a single dress are held in the summer. Some designers and houses still show individually but also participate in the mega affairs. Department stores still hold smaller events known as "trunk shows" but they are going the way of the dinosaur. So, the corporate organized, branded to within an inch of its life runway show has become the industry standard. It has democratized the fashion world in a sense. The pageant itself is open to a lot more people than the old fashioned Mrs. Astor crowd, though a ticket to a Bryant Park show is harder to get than a Broadway hit on a Saturday night. And, more designers than ever have the chance to get their work out, and into, the broader universe. The traditional fashion capitals have three to four of these big convention-style events a year, but as big marketing firms have taken over the format, shows occur in cities around the globe. This is a good thing for design in general, and as always, the show must go on.