The Tents: Are They In or Are They Out?

IMG, the organizers behind Mercedes Benz fashion week in New York have announced the new additions to the tents. They are: 3.1 Phillip Lim, Herve Leger by Max Azria, Iodice, Araks, Mara Hoffman, Rubin Singer and Malan Breton. Fashion editors who were shut out of the Philip Lim show last season (I sneaked in with Gilles Bensimon and Anne Slowey from Elle) will breathe a sigh of relief.

Where to show the shows is one of the things that editors and designers divide most strongly on. Some designers feel the need to find a venue with "attitude." They have no qualms about asking attendees to go to the outskirts of Paris, say, for a show at 10pm at night (that inevitably will start at 11pm). For people who only attend one or two shows a day, that's OK. But for the people in the trade -- i.e. the buyers and journalists who spend months of their lives every year doing this -- it is increasingly seen as a sign of a lack of respect.

Take the recent Dior haute couture show, (which I happened to like). It was shown as usual in the middle of a park in the outskirts of Paris. Because I was there unofficially (i.e. paying my own way), I didn't have a driver. But I had on flat shoes, so I figured 'how bad could it be?' (You know it is going to be somewhat bad when you get a map with your invitation.) The interior of the venue was lovely, draped in black, with two pools of water, but frankly we could have been anywhere. (As another writer said, "I wouldn't mind so much if there were horses trotting in the background.")

Afterwards, it was bad. In the midst of the mist of the mist before impending rain, I asked a Paris-based journo what people without cars do. She pointed to the bus stop. It was a 15 minute wait for a packed bus that took us to the furthermost stop on the metro. The driver seemed amused, but the photographers hauling camera cases, stools and whatever else they have in those big silver cases, were not. I was more bemused than annoyed but only because I didn't have any pressing appointments.

What's the net net? Just this. Congratulations to those who opted for the tents. The working horses of the industry thank you. And to those of you paying over the odds for a venue with attitude? It's time to consider if you're really getting value for money.

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