She first thought of the idea a few years back when a producer for a show she was working on accidentally ordered a transparent tent. While it "looked like a giant condom" outside the Bryant Park Grill, construction workers, professionals and other passersby were enthralled and stopped to see what was going on, she said.

"I'm not trying to disrespect the fashion industry. I'm not trying to put a show in the middle of a football field and make a spectacle of it," Cutrone said. "But I see a lot of designers spending a lot of money—that frankly they don't have—to put on a show and give free content to questionable media like Iloveearrings.com or whatever."

Vanessa Bismarck, whose company Bismarck Phillips is producing 12 shows this season, isn't opposed to the idea of emerging designers courting consumers in the tents. "I can totally understand and relate to young designers selling some tickets [not unlike sponsor seats] for whom show expenses are difficult to digest."

Publicist Paul Wilmot is all for selling a limited number of tickets for a charity, especially if they are sold on Facebook or anywhere else that generates online buzz. "I've got news for you: If a show seats 500 people, you can spare 50 seats," he said. But Wilmot isn't championing selling seats for commercial purposes. "If you have got to sell seats for a fashion show, you shouldn't be doing a fashion show. This isn't a Yankees game."

As for what actual consumers think of the idea, the 105 women stopped by WWD said they would buy a fashion show ticket if they were available. Many thought tickets were already up for grabs, but had presumed they couldn't afford them.

Twenty-two others said they had no interest in spending money for fashion shows. Another 11 women were definite maybes, depending on the designer, the price, the location, the time, travel expenses, goodie bags, and one even inquired if taxes were included. One passerby suggested organizers offer a three-show, one-day pass (presumably the fashion equivalent of a MetroCard) and another recommended magazine-sponsored shows with a host of labels.

Celeste Yee seemed to capture the get-all-you-can mentality: "I would only want to go if you get something. If you get a scarf that was designed exclusively for everyone there or they give you champagne and chocolates while you are there. It doesn't have to be expensive, but it has to be exclusive—only for the people who were there. You know, something that you could take back that would let you say, 'This is what I once did and this is what I got.'"

While several respondents said they would pay just to see what they imagined was a circus-like experience, the majority of the affirmatives were specific about which designer they wanted to see. With six votes in his favor, Marc Jacobs was singled out as the most sought-after show. Next in line was Chanel.

The fact is, selling tickets to fashion shows might create a new kind of fashion Darwinism—in both a good and bad sense. What happens to those designers who don't do boffo at the box office? After all, observers noticed many more empty seats at shows this season—even at some of the high-profile brands.

While a few of the women polled said they would pay anything to attend a show, most capped their investment around $50. Of those who pinpointed just how much they would pony up for a ticket, the average going rate was nearly $160. A few high rollers, like a young woman who said she would spend $1,000 to catch a Marc Jacobs show, helped drive up the average.

There were a few surprises along the way, such as the 60-ish self-described Eileen Fisher fan at Bergdorf Goodman who immediately pegged 3.1 Phillip Lim as the show to see. Or the teenage H&M shopper who questioned why someone would want to see clothes they can't afford anyway.

And that might present another major hurdle to the concept, which has been tried before. Two years ago, IMG lost money when it launched Fashion Week Live, a consumer-oriented runway show that featured such models as Naomi Campbell, Gemma Ward, and Tyson Beckford wearing looks from a bevy of American designers. Mallis declined to say how much of an investment the shows in Houston and San Francisco were, but emphasized that timing, staffing and a variety of other factors she declined to discuss came into play. However, the shows were "well-received in those markets," she said.

The show's producer, Kevin Krier, described the 30-minute event, which included a video component, as "a TV version of a fashion show," with guests paying between $100 and $1,000 to attend the show, a VIP cocktail hour, and-or after party. But despite each city's enthusiastic 1,000-person crowd, he isn't sold on the prospect of consumer-friendly shows. "These shows are really designed to allow designers to present their vision for the season to esteemed professionals who have an understanding of fashion," he said. And truth be told, the general public might find some of the more sterile shows with somber models "a little boring," Krier said.

That said, The Heart Truth's annual Red Dress Collection is a big draw for its celebrity-studded catwalk, said Krier, who produces it. "It's really interesting to know that thousands love to be there and we could sell tickets. The show is essentially celebrities walking in the best American designer clothes. It's a lark, but it's a wink to all sorts of entertainment," he said. "We receive 2,000 requests to come to some of the shows we are doing. That is astonishing to me. What we do, and I mean that collectively as an industry, in this economic climate is so important. It is interesting to know there is such hunger for this knowledge."