娱乐英语新闻:NY Fashion Week adds gloss to recession

NEW YORK, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- With all its glitz and glamor, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (MBFW) kicked off on Thursday under theiconic tents at Bryant Park. Celebrities, fashionists and industry moguls swarmed into central Manhattan to take a first glimpse at designers' Spring 2010 collection.

But as the rest of New York City still trembles from the economic recession, the fashion industry appears to have put on its best face on and come out fighting, or strutting.

    "This is going to be a terrific week and I think that we're all looking forward to an energized industry that's starting to feel a little bit better and more confident about the economy," Senior Vice-President of MBFW Fern Mallis told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

Models present creations at the BCBG Max Azria Spring 2010 collection during New York Fashion Week Sept 10, 2009

    While each designer featured at this season's Fashion Week had the chance to cut back on production costs, no one had.

    "This is part of their marketing budget (and) an important part of their business," Mallis said. "Designers at the level we're talking about all need to put on a show to let everybody know what their vision is."

    "It's a way people get to know and talk about what they're doing (and) it keeps them front and center," she said.

    How times have already changed.

    During MBFW in February, just several months after the economic recession hit, well-known designers like Betsey Johnson and Vera Wang scaled back their shows by displaying their fall 2009 collections on mannequins rather than on live models.

    Producing a show at Bryant Park during MBFW can run anywhere from 26,000 U.S. dollars up to 50,000 dollars depending on the size, said Mallis.

    "They can spend a fortune on top of the line super model, they can spend a little less money on developing new, young fabulous faces," she said. "They can put in huge production value or they can just send those clothes out simply. It's up to them and their own budgets."

    Since the economic recession hit, the fashion industry has been grappling with how to accommodate for a 26-year high unemployment rate.

A model presents a creation at the BCBG Max Azria Spring 2010 collection during New York Fashion Week Sept. 10, 2009.

According to the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the average U.S. consumer purchased 64 articles of clothing and seven pairs of shoes in 2008, compared to 67 articles of clothing and eight pairs of shoes in 2007.

    Mallis acknowledged that for the most part the fashion industry-- advertisers, designers, and retailers -- had to narrow down, focus, and spend their money wisely so as not to pass the buck off to consumers.

    "The retailers have made adjustments in cutting back on orders and being a little bit more focused and I think the designers have been a little bit more focused also," she said. "They're not going to be sending out anything that is gratuitous and just extra for the sake of it."

    "Everybody is focused on the prices and making sure that nothing is out of line with what's going on in the world," she added.

    This season, the grand opening of New York's Fashion Week is accompanied by Fashion's Night Out, in which some 700 retailers and designers are staying open late and pulling out every trick in the book to encourage consumer spending -- a plan to save the industry, no doubt.

    Mallis is largely considered the mastermind behind New York's Fashion Week, which was organized in 1993 under the auspices of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

    Then, it was known as "Seventh on Sixth," and provided a platform for American designers to become competitive players within the global fashion community, especially with French designers, who were considered the crme de la crme.

    Acquired by IMG in July 2001 and now called IMG Fashion, the company under Mallis' leadership currently produces Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami Swim.

    This year's semi-annual New York Fashion Week, which is followed by fashion weeks in London, Milan and Paris, features 63 shows in three tent in Bryant Park, as well as 12 off-site shows around the city.

    "I anticipate a lot of pretty clothes (and) a lot of colorful clothes," said Mallis. "I don't know why but I'm thinking we're going to see prints and dresses."

    Besides prints, bright colors and an enticing mix between feminine and masculine styles, another noticeable trend has hit the runways -- a growing number of Asian designers, a group Mallis said is commonly referred to as "The Asian Mafia."

    "They are some of the most talented designers working right now in our industry, everybody from Jason Wu and Doo Ri to Philip Lim to Derek Lam and Richard Chai," she said.

    There's also another new trend for MBFW on the horizon.

    Mallis, who is credited with bringing Fashion Week to Bryant Park, said the 2010 show will take place at Lincoln Center, the home of the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Ballet, and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

    With a note of acceptance in her voice, Mallis said that after 13 years, Fashion Week had "worn out" its welcome at Bryant Park.

    Nevertheless, as fashion tends to do, Mallis put a bright and glossy sheen on MBFW's new home.

    "We'll be moving to a world class, iconic location and fashion will be able to have its collections on platforms and stages, rubbing shoulders with opera and the ballet, theater and film and some of the best arts in the world," she said. "How bad could that be?"