In general, designers need to be creative in ensuring events are appropriate to their needs during the financial crisis, said Fern Mallis, senior vice president, IMG Fashion, which produces Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Bryant Park. IMG will move to larger space—87,000 square feet compared with the current 70,000 square feet—in Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park in September 2010.

“Maybe they can just use less costly paper for invitations, or e-mail instead of mailing them, but it’s time for them to reinvent, change and refocus,” she said.

Companies can reduce expenditures for shows by trimming the number of lines they display and eliminating excess, she said. “If instead of 50 looks they can do 30, and that saves on fabric, accessories, zippers, models, labor—everything.
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“We’ve been living in the days of the Roman Empire too long,” Mallis said. “Now it’s time to do things a little smarter.”

That’s what Vera Wang, who had shown in Bryant Park tents since 2004, is trying to do by moving her runway event to her new boutique in SoHo.

Wang said the decision “just makes sense. I didn’t abandon the tents. I have always been a supporter of CFDA and IMG because I believe in American fashion. But when 1,300 people come to a show, they can’t see beautiful stitching. Entertaining at a tent is like entertaining at the Super Bowl.”

Her setting needs to be intimate, with no “bells and whistles,” and should emphasize “details, not the awe of a massive runway show,” the designer said. “I’ve always worked ‘micro’ on my clothes, but had to work ‘macro’ for shows. Now I’m doing 10 percent macro and 90 percent micro.”

Kolb said Wang’s decision is astute.

“Vera just opened a beautiful new store in SoHo, so why wouldn’t she make it the centerpiece of her collection when she worked so hard to get it up and open?” he said. “It’s a creative way to bring attention to the business growth she’s had, and is a positive, not negative thing.”

In another sign of the times, designers are cooperating in an effort to maximize marketing benefits and lower costs, even sharing venues when needed, said Kolb, noting Michael Bastion was invited to show at Charles Nolan’s downtown studio. “That’s a case of a designer helping another designer, and I think there’s more of that happening in a creative way,” he said.

Three newer brands joined in one presentation: Nicholas K, Sergio Tavila and Mara Hoffman showed at the tents on February 15 in a show created by publicist Kelly Cutrone, CEO of People’s Revolution, who cited the need for brands to cooperate to save on expenses.

“Even an off-site show ‘for nothing’ means paying $10,000 for a location, $7,000 to $10,000 for lighting, $7,000-$10,000 for hair and a generator for 20 blow driers; you need to pay for a permit—and all of a sudden the show you planned for nothing has cost $35,000,” Cutrone said.

“The marketing mentality today has gone from the ‘Me Generation’ to the ‘We Generation,’” she said.