The coronavirus pandemic continues to have a significant impact on the way we experience fashion events worldwide. Now, the world’s attention is drawn to New York Fashion Week Fall-Winter 2021. Similar to the Spring-Summer 2021 season, the February schedule, which runs from Sunday, February 14 to Wednesday, February 17, is almost entirely digital. In response, New Yorkers have traded their finest designer outerwear for their most luxe loungewear. After all, when the street style hype quiets down, and front-row fashion altogether disappears, is it worth dressing up to watch runway presentations from bed?
Fashion week is traditionally a private industry event, but the world’s happenings have expanded designers’ reach far beyond the eyes of buyers and fashion journalists. In the COVID-19 area, 15-minute-long in-person shows have been replaced with various digital formats: films, social media live streams, lookbooks, virtual reality, and more. This New York Fashion Week, there are only two socially distant in-person shows on the lineup. Jason Wu kicks off fashion week on Sunday, February 14, and Rebecca Minkoff presents on Tuesday, February 16.
The CFDA will stream the rest on the nonprofit organization’s digital platform, Runway360, and nyfw.com. It’s free to experience the shows and no invite is required —but at the very least, we recommend signing up with your email for extra perks. The CFDA allotted each designer a 30-minute virtual showcase slot. To ensure that you don’t miss the live stream of your favorite show this NYFW, take a screenshot of the events schedule below. But if you miss your favorites or would rather watch after the fact, you can rewatch them on the aforementioned websites.
Below, find some more answers to questions you might have about NYFW Fall 2021.
What Is the American Collections Calendar?
This past January, CFDA chairman Tom Ford renamed the New York Fashion Week calendar “American Collections Calendar,” as it outlines American designers showing outside of the NYFW Fall 2021 dates and in other countries. In a letter sent to members, the designer wrote: “While the CFDA will continue to encourage American designers to show in New York during New York Fashion Week, we recognize the need for some to broaden their global visibility. In the past few years, many of our members have chosen to show in Europe, Asia, and other key markets and in many cases off-calendar. The events of the past year have only highlighted the need for flexibility within the fashion system.”
How is TikTok involved in NYFW Fall 2021?
TikTok teamed up with IMG Fashion, making the NYFW organizer the “official editorial partner of TikTok Fashion month,” per a report from WWD. This partnership will magnify the global fashion week’s impact on the app’s users. Likewise, it makes global fashion weeks more engaging for consumers.
