A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, that allows fashion designers or "houses" to display their latest collections. Catwalks/Runway shows are typically the highlight of fashion week. The most prominent fashion weeks are held in the fashion capitals like Milan, Paris, London and New York.[1] In the early and mid 2000s, fashion weeks sprang up around the globe to draw attention to designers elsewhere.[1]
Characteristics
In the major fashion capitals, fashion weeks are semiannual events. "Autumn/(Fall)" fashion weeks, showcasing designers' fall collections, are held January through March, and "spring" fashion weeks, showcasing spring collections, are held September through November. Fashion weeks must be held several months in advance of the season to allow the press and buyers a chance to preview fashion designs for the following season. This is also to allow time for retailers to arrange to purchase or incorporate the designers into their retail marketing.
Fashion weeks are attended by buyers for major stores, editors of fashion magazines, the media, celebrities, and members of the entertainment industry. In years past, fashion weeks were predominantly for "the trade only"; however, today they are entertainment and media events. They may incorporate live musicians, celebrity guests, lavish galas and charity events, and a few allow the public to purchase special passes to see the runway shows or attend expositions which display handbags, jewelery, shoes, hats and cosmetics. Many important fashion design schools participate in the shows, as well.
Some fashion weeks can be genre-specific, such as a Miami Fashion Week (Swimwear), Prêt-a-Porter (ready-to-wear) Fashion Week, Couture (one-of-a-kind designer original) Fashion Week and Bridal Fashion Week, while Portland (Oregon, USA) Fashion Week has taken on a green hue to become the world's first sustainably produced fashion week showing eco-friendly designers from around the globe.
History
The earliest fashion week, held in New York City in 1943, was designed to attract attention away from French fashion during World War II, when fashion industry insiders were unable to travel to Paris to see French fashion shows.[2] Fashion publicist Eleanor Lamber organized an event she called "Press Week" to showcase American designers for fashion journalists, who had previously neglected their innovations.[2] (Buyers were not admitted to the shows and instead had to visit designers' showrooms.[2]) Press Week was a success, and fashion magazines like Vogue, which were normally filled with French designs, increasingly featured American fashion, However after the war, people returned to Paris, and to other fashion "superpowers" London and Milan, for the new fashion weeks that had emerged, at this point in time, these four cites and even to the present day, control the fashion calendar, which in the aspects of the buying side, and journalistic side, is good, as it means less travel and the ease of simply jetting from New York, to the next in line London, then to Milan and lastly Paris in the space of one month, for buyers abroad, the convenience of this arrangement has meant that due to the proximity of London to Milan and to Paris, it means the fashion week is getting even more important.
The one major criticism is, is that talented designers from emerging fashion weeks like Los Angeles or Sao Paulo, do not get the same recognition as the designers that show in the traditional four fashion weeks, of Paris, London, Milan or New York. It also means that the established designers 'rule' the market, and new designers such as those from lesser economically developed countries, may not be able to open a slot in the fashon week schedule, in the four fashion capitals, hence, although maybe possesive of talent, their abilities to showcase this are severely hindered.
Cities with fashion weeks
The following list includes fashion weeks that are internationally or nationally notable.
City  | Name | Date established |
|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | Amsterdam International Fashion Week | 2004[3] |
| Athens | Moda Athena | 2004[4] |
| Auckland | New Zealand Fashion Week | 2001[1] |
| Bangkok | Bangkok Fashion Week | 2005[5] |
| Barcelona | Barcelona Fashion Week | |
| Belgrade | Belgrade Fashion Week | 1996[6] |
| Berlin | Fashion Week Berlin | 2007[7] |
| Buenos Aires | BAF Week | 2001 |
| Cape Town | Cape Town Fashion Week | 2003[8] |
| Copenhagen | Copenhagen Fashion Week | 1964 (Unknown in its current form) [9] |
| Hong Kong | Hong Kong Fashion Week | 1968[10] |
| Johannesburg | Joburg Fashion Week | 2007[8] |
| Kiev | Ukrainian Fashion Week | 1997[11] |
| Kuala Lumpur[12] | Malaysia Fashion Week | 2007-2008 |
| Lahore | Pakistan Fashion Week | 2007 |
| Lisbon | Moda Lisboa/Lisbon Fashion Week | |
| London | London Fashion Week | 1961 (1993 in its current form) |
| Los Angeles | Los Angeles Fashion Week | 2003[13] |
| Madrid | Madrid Fashion Week | 1984 (Known as Pasarela Cibeles until 2006) |
| Melbourne | L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival | |
| Mexico City | Fashion Week Mexico | 1998[14] |
| Milan | Milan Fashion Week | |
| Moscow | Russian Fashion Week | 1994 (2003 in its current form)[15] |
| New Delhi | India Fashion Week | 2000[16][17] |
| New York City | New York Fashion Week | 1943 (1993 in its current form)[2] |
| Oslo | Oslo Fashion Week | |
| Paris | Paris Fashion Week | 1973 in its current form |
| Portland | Portland Fashion Week | 2003[18] |
| Prague | Prague Fashion Week | 2002[19] |
| Reykjavík | Iceland Fashion Week | 2000[1] |
| Rio de Janeiro | Fashion Rio | |
| Rome[20] | Rome Fashion Week | |
| San Francisco | San Francisco Fashion Week | 2004[21] |
| Santiago | Pasarela Santiago | 2006 |
| São Paulo[22] | São Paulo Fashion Week | 1995[23] |
| Singapore[24] | Singapore Fashion Week | |
| Sydney | Australian Fashion Week | 1995[8] |
| Tehran | 2006[1] | |
| Toronto | L'Oreal Fashion Week | 2001[25] |
| Tokyo | Japan Fashion Week | 1985 (2005 in its current form) [26] |
| Vancouver | British Columbia Fashion Week | 2004[27] |
| Zagreb | Zagreb Fashion Week | 2003 |
Glasgow Fashion Week- Glasgow Scotland
