Draft Episode for Feb 12, 2025

Summary

The Glossy Podcast: New York Fashion Week in Review

Release Date: February 12, 2025
Host: Danny Parisi
Guests: Zofia Zvaglinska (International Reporter), Jill Manoff (Editor-in-Chief)

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1. Introduction

In the February 12, 2025 episode of The Glossy Podcast, host Danny Parisi, alongside international reporter Zofia Zvaglinska and editor-in-chief Jill Manoff, provides an insightful recap of New York Fashion Week. This episode marks the culmination of a six-part series dedicated to the event, offering listeners a comprehensive overview of the week’s highlights, emerging trends, and the evolving dynamics within the fashion industry.

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2. Overview of New York Fashion Week

Danny opens the discussion by noting a significant shift in the scale of New York Fashion Week compared to previous years. He observes a noticeable reduction in the number of participating designers:

“The official schedule only had like 50 something designers on it. And even a year or two ago, it was like in the 70s.”
— Danny Parisi [00:58]

This downsizing is contrasted with Paris, which continues to expand, creating a unique dynamic within the global fashion calendar.

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3. Scaling-Down of the Fashion Week Events

Jill Manoff echoes Danny’s sentiments, highlighting the more intimate nature of this year’s events. She references specific designers who opted for smaller presentations or postponed their runway shows to September:

“Nobody cares about February. And I was like, whoa.”
— Jill Manoff [03:56]

This strategic scaling down allows designers to allocate resources more effectively, focusing on larger, more impactful shows later in the year.

Zofia adds that the traditional runway presentation has evolved, giving smaller brands alternative ways to connect with their audience outside the confines of Fashion Week:

“There's so many opportunities now to connect with customers outside of Fashion Week... the cost side of things has been shown time and time again that maybe a Runway isn't always the best way of spending a small brand's money.”
— Zofia Zvaglinska [05:45]

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4. Trends: Fur and Leather

A notable trend this season is the resurgence of fur and leather in collections. Jill discusses designers like Stacy Bendette, who are returning to real leather and suede:

“Stacy Bendette saying that they're moving back to real leather and the real suede for the first time in years.”
— Jill Manoff [07:44]

Zofia comments on the quality of faux furs and the sustainability concerns surrounding faux leather:

“Fake furs have gotten very, very good recently... I think faux fur is much better quality and more common than faux leather, which... is like basically plastic, which has its own issues.”
— Zofia Zvaglinska [10:15]

This debate reflects the broader conversation about sustainability and ethical practices in fashion.

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5. Sports Influence on Fashion Week

The intersection of sports and fashion was another highlight, particularly with the timing of the Super Bowl overlapping with Fashion Week:

“Destroyer of Worlds... had their show... right in the middle of the game. Like counter programming a little bit.”
— Danny Parisi [15:02]

Zofia notes the subtle incorporation of sports elements in collections, even as major sports figures befriend fashion brands:

“Stuart Bevers, who's the creative director for Coach, actually reposted something from Jalen Hurts, like, literally right before the show, him carrying one of the Coach Empire bags.”
— Zofia Zvaglinska [16:07]

This blend signifies the growing synergy between athletic aesthetics and high fashion.

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6. Memorable Shows and Moments

The episode highlights several standout shows and moments from the week:

• Altazara: Jill praises the brand’s luxurious textures and rich accessories, noting it as “Joseph's best show in years” (07:17).
• Coach: Noted for innovative bomber jackets and dealing with external protests related to PETA (07:44).
• Tia Adeola: Danny mentions the use of fur on the runway, raising questions about its authenticity and sustainability (09:33).
• Unique Models: Controversial appearances by figures like Maye Musk and Anna Delvey, who showcased personal narratives alongside their fashion statements (12:11).

Zofia adds her appreciation for designers like Collina Strada and Sandy Liang, who infused nostalgic and playful elements into their collections (12:39).

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7. ROI: Is Fashion Week Worth the Investment?

A central theme of the discussion revolves around the return on investment (ROI) for designers participating in Fashion Week. Danny questions the financial and promotional value of maintaining costly shows:

“Is it worth the investment? Like, everyone I talk to complains about how expensive it is to do a show.”
— Danny Parisi [18:46]

Jill shares insights from her interviews, highlighting that for some designers, the value lies more in community building and brand presence than direct financial returns:

“It's inspiring, it's something that people are going to repost at the same time, it's promotion for what they're trying to sell... content and community was the reason they mentioned as opposed to like any sort of a dollar value.”
— Jill Manoff [20:33]

Zofia reinforces this by explaining how larger brands leverage Fashion Week for cohesive brand moments, while smaller brands face challenges without centralized infrastructure:

“Most of the shows are held in one location... it allows the designers to share the venue, basically. And I'm sure that also keeps the costs down.”
— Zofia Zvaglinska [23:28]

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8. Sponsorships in Fashion Week

The role of sponsorships emerged as a pivotal factor in offsetting the costs of participating in Fashion Week. Jill discusses unique sponsorships, such as Hidden Valley Ranch's involvement:

“Hidden Valley Ranch is having a moment on TikTok... they were trying to reach new audiences and took advantage.”
— Jill Manoff [24:44]

Danny emphasizes that not all sponsorships are random or desperate measures; some are strategic partnerships that align with brand goals:

“I feel like the, my sort of assumption whenever I see like a really random sponsor is like, well, maybe they really needed money or something. But that's clearly not always the case that it's like a brand thing that makes a lot of sense.”
— Danny Parisi [24:29]

This trend is likely to continue as brands seek innovative ways to maintain visibility without exorbitant costs.

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9. Personal Gratification for Designers

Beyond financial metrics, many designers derive personal satisfaction and fulfillment from participating in Fashion Week. Alina Liu’s perspective underscores this sentiment:

“She was like, frankly, I wanted to do a show because when I was a kid I wanted to be a designer and so now I'm here... it makes me happy to do it.”
— Jill Manoff [26:03]

This intrinsic motivation reflects the passion and dedication driving the creative force within the fashion industry.

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10. Conclusion and Future Coverage

As New York Fashion Week concludes, the hosts reflect on the evolving landscape of the fashion industry, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and community. They tease upcoming coverage of London, Paris, and Milan Fashion Weeks, promising continued in-depth analysis and industry insights.

“If you haven't listened to our New York Fashion Week podcast that we've done in the last week, go back and listen to them because we had some really cool guests.”
— Danny Parisi [28:04]

The episode wraps up with a reminder for listeners to subscribe and leave reviews, ensuring they stay informed about future trends and discussions in the fashion world.

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Key Takeaways

• Reduced Scale of Fashion Week: A noticeable decrease in the number of designers and a shift towards more intimate presentations.
• Resurgence of Fur and Leather: A controversial return of luxury materials, balancing between traditional aesthetics and sustainability concerns.
• Sports and Fashion Synergy: Increased collaboration and aesthetic blending between athletic brands and high fashion.
• ROI and Sponsorships: Designers grapple with the high costs of participation, with sponsorships emerging as a critical support mechanism.
• Personal Fulfillment: For many, the intrinsic rewards of showcasing their work outweigh financial considerations.

This episode of The Glossy Podcast offers a nuanced exploration of the current state of New York Fashion Week, highlighting the industry's resilience and adaptability in the face of changing dynamics.

Transcript

[Danny Parisi]

Hello and welcome back to the Glossy podcast. This is our New York Fashion Week in Review episode. I'm your host, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi, and I'm joined by our international reporter, Zofia Zvaglinska, and our editor in chief, Jill Manoff. Hello, guys.

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

Hi.

[Jill Manoff]

Hi. Do we sound tired?

[Danny Parisi]

Good to see you both. Yes. Jill and I have been running around New York Fashion Week the last couple days. Zofia has been covering from afar in London. And then, Jill, also you have another job title that was just added. You're now also editing our sister publication, Modern Retail. So I don't know where you find the extra 25 hours in a day to do it, but you are now editing two publications, which is pretty cool.

[Jill Manoff]

Yeah, thank you. Exciting week for sure.

[Unnamed Speaker]

But yeah, happy to check Fashion Week.

[Jill Manoff]

Off our list and kind of focus on the new job. But it has been fantastic and excited.

[Unnamed Speaker]

To talk about it with you guys.

[Danny Parisi]

Yes. And it definitely is funny timing that you started like a huge new responsibility as also New York Fashion Week is happening. But now New York Fashion Week is winding down. We've got a little bit of a gap before London Fashion Week, which I think we've talked about before. The schedule's a little weird. Normally they kind of go right into each other. But we've got, I think, like a week and a half before London starts. So I wanted to do a little recap to cap off of our series of New York Fashion Week podcasts. Over the last week, we've recorded six episodes dedicated to New York Fashion Week, interviewing designers and fashion experts about the week and about the shows and all sorts of things. You should go back and listen to those if you haven't. And then this will be our sort of recap, just us fashion glossy fashion team talking about what we saw and heard and some of the trends and interesting things we saw. Lots to talk about. I think the first big one is that New York was just kind of smaller than usual. Joe, we've talked about this quite a bit, but the official schedule only had like 50 something designers on it. And even a year or two ago, it was like in the 70s. And before that, I'm sure it was larger. It definitely felt larger back in 2018 when I was just starting to cover it. It's definitely scaled down quite a bit. Zofia was telling me before the recording that London has kind of also scaled down a little. Meanwhile, Paris is hoovering everybody up and Paris keeps getting bigger. So it's a little bit of a weird vibe. It's a little more low key. I mean, maybe start with you, Jill. What do you think is behind that? And did you get that feeling when you were out?

[Jill Manoff]

I definitely got that feeling.

[Unnamed Speaker]

I got that feeling this February.

[Jill Manoff]

This week, more than in any other February where, you know, we knew that Tibby was one of the designers that said they're only doing a fashion show in September. February, they're going to do something smaller this year. They did a. They brought in press. It was very intimate to come into a kind of a raw space where they had kind of a makeshift Runway show. It was just the model walking, and they had a couple of different vignettes where different models were posing. There was good photo opportunities and also a chance to speak with Amy, the designer. However, anyway, off track. I heard more designers saying who were doing presentations, say, we're only going to be doing a Runway in September. And also, off the record, I'm not going to say the name, but an influencer told me the way that they worded it, this is not our Super Bowl. September is our Super Bowl. It's clear in my engagement, they said, this is a little extreme, but they said, nobody's engaging. Nobody cares about February. And I was like, whoa. Definitely some of my. My own posts that were from some of the bigger shows, they got some great engagement. But anyway, I could definitely see the two extremes of the two of the two weeks. So hopefully, like, we always talk about what's the future of Fashion Week, but maybe it's like, what's the future of February or Fall Fashion Week? It's also kind of shocking because, you know, fall fashion is the fun fashion in my book. And that's where, you know, September issues and all of those things are built off of. So it definitely does serve a purpose.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah, I mean, I think the. The statement that nobody cares or is engaging about February is a little bit of an exaggeration. But I definitely think you're right that September feels like a bigger deal for a lot of designers. I mean, multiple people told me pretty much explicitly, like, we're doing something small in February so we can save money to do something big in September. Definitely some intimate affairs, I would say, like, small presentations in, like, intimate, cozy venue, which I think is fun. And for a reporter, it's nice to get a little bit less chaos and a little easier time getting to talk to the designer. So it's nice for that reason. But you could tell that, like, it was. It was scaled down, and then in September, they'll scale it up. Zofia, what do you make of that? Especially given what you told me about London kind of having a little bit of a similar situation?

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

Yeah, I think that Fashion Week, as a kind of traditional Runway presentation has evolved quite a bit. I think that there's so many opportunities now to connect with customers outside of Fashion Week, to connect with press outside of Fashion Week. There's the whole kind of social media side of it, too, where only certain brands really get a lot of traction from streaming Runway shows. So for smaller brands, it might just make a bigger impact for them if they focus on, I don't know, networking or a small dinner or something where they're more bringing their brand fans in for one kind of big time Fashion Week event and then the other one September or February, dependent on whatever they want. That's the one where they'll be doing a proper Runway and kind of putting their attention into building out an actual event. I think the cost side of things has been shown time and time again that maybe a Runway isn't always the best way of spending a small brand's money.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah, that's definitely true. And I should also say that I don't think there's nobody, or at least one of the things I heard from people is that a lot of the big brands, the star brands, are moving to Paris or whatever. But I definitely think there's a good amount of big brands that are still showing in the US and even in New York, but they're just sometimes not showing during New York Fashion Week. I think the off calendar schedule is, I think, also maybe making New York Fashion Week feel a little skimpier, like I think Ralph Lauren showed a couple months ago. Jill, you got to go to some of the bigger shows. You went to Tory Burch, I think you went to Coach. How were those?

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah, and Altazara.

[Jill Manoff]

They were fantastic. There's definitely, I would say, extremes in terms of production value and in terms of media that's supporting you in the seats. But those ones were clearly, like, hip and happening and. And all of the editors that I sat next to that I was talking to, there was positivity. I mean, they were. They were talking about, like, the highlights. I heard Kalina Strada was one, and I heard Kate obviously was one.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Some of those I didn't get to go to.

[Jill Manoff]

But yeah, the vibe was great and the big shows were big, I would say. I mean, there wasn't. It wasn't a Chanel level of production in terms of, like, big, big sets. None of that happening. And that definitely is more so common. I Think in Paris. So, yeah, again, different extreme.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah. Did you guys have any favorite shows or interesting shows? Anything that just stood out to you or looks or moments or whatever you want to. However you want to take it. Jill, you want to start?

[Jill Manoff]

Oh, sure. Yeah. Again, I love Altazara. There was chatter among the editors around that that was Joseph's best show in years. You know, complete looks. They're doing shoes. They're doing this bold gold jewelry. So that was shown a lot with the cuffs and the necklaces. So handbags, full looks. There was a lot of texture. It felt very luxurious and rich. It was beautiful. And that felt a little intimate because it was kind of in a little.

[Unnamed Speaker]

A smaller room kind of.

[Jill Manoff]

I think it was like a carpeted area. It was just like. It felt lovely. And some of my favorite looks. I really like what Coach is doing with their little shrunken bomber jackets. Like, I mean, there I. I mentioned this in my little video we're doing for Social that PETA was outside protesting. It was. That was the drama that I. That I experienced during the week, that before the show started, you could hear somebody. I don't know what exactly was happening, but there were some. It sounded like somebody was in pain, like, yelling outside. And I was like, what is that? And somebody said, I think there are protesters. So that was interesting. But there's a lot of work. I think we're going to talk about fur. There was a lot of talk about leather, and that had to do with stuff. Stacy Bendette saying that they're moving back to real leather and the real suede for the first time in years. And that had to do with Kate showing leather. And. And at the same time, Peter's there. But Stacy Bendette was like, if we're gonna spend money, we're spending more on everything else anyway.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Might as well do it up, you.

[Jill Manoff]

Know, speaking of inflation. Anyway, there are a variety of reasons, and maybe she is going for that more 1%. Anyway, I'm going all over the place, but.

[Danny Parisi]

No, that's okay. We can. We can come back to favorite shows, because I do want to talk more about fur and leather. I saw a lot of fur just on the street, like, just people wearing it. And. And at some of the shows, like, I went to the Tia Adeola show, and there was fur there. I'm not 100% sure if that was real fur. It looked like real fur, but I don't know for sure. But, yeah, I totally feel like after the big wave of designers, like, getting rid of fur, some even Getting rid of leather over the last couple of years, I feel like that's just rolling back along with lots of other forms of social progress. Feels like it's just turning back the clock a little bit. Zofia, what did you think of the return of fur or maybe the rumblings of the return of fur and leather and stuff like that?

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

Yeah, I mean, fake furs have gotten very, very good recently, so I think it'd be hard to spot whether something is real or not. It's still such a luxury silhouette that it's very hard for designers not to want to kind of take part in that. So as long as kind of doing that in the right way and potentially, you know, with. With Coach, obviously that's more around their accessories, but I'm sure with other brands as well, there's been issues with kind of supply chain around leather and as a result of that, around fur as well. So, you know, as long as they're not stepping over any lines there, I think that there's. There's still a good thing to come from. From having fur on the Runway and even better if it is made out of alternative materials.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah. And like you said, I think faux fur is much better quality and more common than faux leather, which I feel like despite, you know, some really cool stuff with like, pineapple leather and, you know, like the fruit based, plant based, I think a lot of what people call fake leather or vegan leather is like, basically plastic, which has its own issues. So leather, I think, is a much harder one to shake.

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

[Unnamed Speaker]

And the notion of fur. Dennis Basso was on the podcast talking about his show, and I was like, you came to market or you launched with a focus on fur. I think you still do it. And I was kind of hesitant to ask. He was very unabashed about, yeah, we do. It was just like, unapologetic. And then on the leather front, in terms of sustainability, per Stacy, she was saying, like, the real stuff these days is more sustainable. A former fashion director that was sitting next to me at the Tory. Tory Burch show, we got to talking about it as well, and she was saying that she thinks the real leather could even be cheaper these days, which could be a reason for brands to go there.

[Danny Parisi]

Oh, that's interesting. I want to circle back to our favorite shows or memorable moments. There were two notable, I would say maybe controversial models on the Runway. One, which we were just talking about before the recording, was Maye Musk. The mother of Elon Musk, walked in the Jusui shell and did not want to answer any questions about her son, which I'm like, I don't know what you were expecting. Of course people want to ask about that. And then also, did you see at the Elena Velez show, Anna Delvey, the, like, famous con artist, walked in the Runway with her, like, ankle monitor visible on her. Her ankle. Oh, and the reason I thought of this just now, Jill, is because you were talking about being sort of unapologetic and like, I feel like openly, you know, ankle monitor, very visible, not hidden. Like, yes, this woman is a convicted criminal, but like, we don't care. It's. That felt very unapologetic to me.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah, that's interesting. I wasn't at any of those shows, but I was thinking about models that were controversial. I didn't see any. However, I would just say that it'll be interesting when the reports come out about the state of diversity, because what I saw in terms of models was just the usual token 3 that we all know and love. And the rest were pretty skinny mini.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah, yeah. Zofia, were there any shows or moments or anything that you found particularly memorable?

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

Yeah, I mean, I think that Collina Strada and Sandy Liang keep kind of pushing the nostalgia and kind of childhood angle, which I thought was really interesting. There was some, like, Polly Pocket inspirations there, some very cute flat soled boots that I thought were very cute as well. And little bit of like a Maison Margiela tabby kind of esque thing, which also seems to be popping up a lot. Think that I don't know that copyright issue is never going to go away, but I think it's something that keeps coming back through other designers that having a tabby shoe apparently is not just a one brand thing. And then, yeah, in terms of more adult kind of presentations or ones which are a little bit more workwear focused, I really liked form. I thought their outerwear was really good. And to be honest, even Tory Burch, the outerwear there was really, really good as well. And obviously with it being such a cold fashion week and everyone wrapping up, I think that that appealed to me as well.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah. Another one that I really liked. Well, two more Manse. So Manse. Some of the looks from that show I thought kind of played with that British tan trench coat, like, Burberry kind of look, but deconstructed in different ways that I thought was very cool. And then a designer I didn't know much about, but I had a great time talking to him, Chooks Collins, who's a Nigerian British designer. Had this really cool long, like berry colored overcoat on one of the models that I was like very obsessed with. I think it was my favorite, like, singular piece. I wish that I could own a coat that purple. Cause it was very. It was really cool.

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

I have to check that.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah. Look at what? Look it up. It was a really cool collection. Let's talk about the sports connection. A little bit of this on the Runway. Lapointe did their show like on a basketball court, which I thought was very cool. Obviously athletes are always like in the front rows on the runways. And we've talked a lot about the overlap between sports and fashion. I think the biggest thing is that the super bowl happened right in the middle of the week, which is not uncommon since they're both in February. But it is a little bit disruptive. I feel like. I mean, I had to go straight from shows to a Super bowl party after. And I know some designers had shows that evening during the game, which is kind of bold. Destroyer of Worlds, a pretty cool brand. Had their show at like 8pm on Sunday right in the middle of the game. Like counter programming a little bit. I don't know. Did you guys sense any of that kind of sports intrusion into the week?

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yes. Yes. I went to. On Sunday night, Pat Bow had a dinner at Casa Cipriani and Full House. It was very lovely. But it was funny. I. We all looked around and we're like, look at all these women who don't care about the Super Bowl. It went all night. Like we missed the whole. The whole Super Bowl. Yeah. Nobody even talked about it other than that funny little notion like nobody cared. I didn't see any other direct, I guess, references to the Super Bowl. I did see a lot of sporty aesthetics, like we talked about with Tory Burch is always good for kind of a trouser slash track pant. She had a lot of those. My favorite. It was interesting. I called it the Sneaks Effect, which is Sneaks is the brand by the Spanx founder that it's basically a high heeled sneaker. Jonathan Cohen had a collaboration with Larude. They called it the boxing shoe. The boxing boot. It was very much reminiscent of what Sneaks is doing. So maybe that's an up and coming trend that. I mean, it's not the worst thing. I think it's cute, but yeah, that's all I saw.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah. Zofia. Anything?

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

Yeah. I mean, I thought it was quite interesting that Stuart Bevers, who's the creative director for Coach, actually reposted something from Jalen hurts, like, literally right before the show, him carrying one of the Coach Empire bags. It feels like some brands, anyway, are very tapped into, like, the whole walking into the venue, like, the stadium, and, like, all of the different fits that are happening there. In terms of the runways themselves, I felt like it was quite, quite separate. Like, most of the presentations were actually focused on outerwear or party wear. It wasn't particularly sports inspired. I think, obviously, without Wali Chavaria showing this season, there was also less of a sports influence, because I know he's called onto it in the past.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah, I definitely agree. I think the runways in general, I saw a lot more tailoring and suiting and less kind of sportswear. I think the biggest fashion moment of the week that was not actually at New York Fashion Week was definitely Kendrick's jeans, which I am going to be writing about this week. I'm talking with JNCO Jeans later. I was at the super bowl party, and multiple people asked me because they know I write about fashion, like, should I buy JNCO jeans or JNCO Jeans back? So I feel like that was, like, a big moment for menswear and for flared jeans for men. So I will be. I will be writing about that later this week.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Interesting. Like, I think his performance got the worst reviews. I didn't see it. I have no idea how it was. And then it's like. Like, still, everybody wants to look like him and be him. What's he wearing?

[Danny Parisi]

The jeans were cool. I thought it was a great performance. I really enjoyed it.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Oh, I gotta watch it. I don't know what I'm talking about.

[Jill Manoff]

Go ahead.

[Danny Parisi]

No, it was good. I think you would like it. Okay. Last thing I want to talk about. This is always the perennial question at New York Fashion Week. We were asking all the designers that we talked to, which is just. It's like, not the sexiest question. But I do think it's an important one, which is, is it worth the investment? Like, everyone I talk to complains about how expensive it is to do a show. It's such a big ordeal. Even a small little presentation thing. Like, we were talking about brands doing something small to save up for September, but even a small thing in New York City is, like, really, really expensive. And so it's always the perennial question of, like, is this even doing anything for us? I mean, in the old days, you would do the show because that was the only way to get buyers from, like, Neiman Marcus or whatever to see it. But now there's, like, a million other ways, and you Know, I think that's been a looming question, at least for as long as I've been covering Fashion Week. Like, is it worth all the money and time that goes into it, especially if you're not like a Ralph Lauren or a Louis Vuitton who's got tons and tons of money. Joe, what did you hear from some of the people you talked to about this?

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah, I think we did plan to go in with this question. I think I mentioned to you guys, I thought it was so funny because it's like were asking creatives, I asked a lot of designers these questions. I said, what's the roi? Some of them had never heard that expression or, you know, what do you mean? And a lot of them were like, I don't think about that. I just, I'm just doing my creative thing. And so I think that a good conversation, valuable conversation that we had on the. On the glossy podcast for New York Fashion Week was between Jonathan Cohen, he came with his co founder who's the CEO of the company. And they came out of Parsons together and have been kind of working collaboratively the whole time. So thinking business, thinking, letting him kind of express himself creatively. And that good balance, the balance of both worlds was definitely the big answer about how they're getting value out of the show because, you know, it's inspiring, it's something that people are going to repost at the same time, it's promotion for what they're trying to sell. I think content and community was the reason the ROI that that they mentioned as opposed to like any sort of a dollar value. And I think the most specific comment was from Emma Gage, who I interviewed from Melke and she. I interviewed her except that it was so intriguing that Hidden Valley Ranch is doing. Was sponsoring her show which was interesting. But she did share dollars that in. In the past when she had interview or shown at Spring Studios, they paid upward of $70,000. And that's aside from sponsorships, she said and one of the takeaways or why it's valuable and why she continues to do a show is because she's noticed when she does it makes for more, I would say IRL marketing opportunities. People come out for her pop ups, people come out. It's a community builder. But she used it as like more people come to more things when we do this, which is interesting.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah. And so many people mentioned this to me, like not just designers, but PR people and like lots of other people that they all kind of missed the days of like Spring Studios or Bryant park or Lincoln center, like, when the shows were very consolidated, because in addition to it probably would have helped with that feeling of New York being kind of skimpy if everyone was together. But also, it's like, makes it a little more cost effective. I mean, like you said, Spring Studios even is like $70,000 or something. It's not. It's not cheap. But if everyone is kind of sharing one venue, there's a lot of infrastructure already kind of built that is split. Whereas now it's like everyone has to negotiate on their own with individual venues. They have to find venues that aren't already booked by some other brand. And I know it causes a lot of headache. And then for us, the journalists, I mean, it's kind of just annoying to have to go to a show in Tribeca and then go to a show in Bushwick and then go to a show in the Village right after that. It's kind of a pain in the ass.

[Unnamed Speaker]

My bank statement this week says, lift, lift, lift, lift, doordash. Lift, lift, lift, lift, doordash.

[Danny Parisi]

I went to a show. I went to the Tia Adeola show in Bushwick, and it was way out there, and I took the train and then had to walk, like, 10 blocks in the snow. And I was like, why would they make the show so far out there? And then when I got there, I saw a big line of cars, and I was like, oh, right, everyone took a car except me. I was the idiot who took the subway and walked. Zofia, have you talked to anybody about this? The question of kind of getting a good return on a show?

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

Yeah, I mean, it's kind of what I mentioned earlier. You know, I've spoken to bigger brands like Coach before about, you know, why they decide to kind of get involved with Fashion Week. And most of the times it's because they have major kind of brand moments throughout the year. And a show allows them to kind of present those big moments together cohesively. So it makes sense for them. I think, nowadays, the smaller brands, as you said, without the kind of centralized infrastructure, which is something that we do still have in London, most of the shows are held in one location. It allows the designers to share the venue, basically. And I'm sure that also keeps the costs down. The prices in New York would have risen significantly since COVID So I think that reformatting it is not just a kind of option. It's almost a necessity for brands. And that's why, I think, also why you're seeing such a big divide in the kind of new York Fashion Week brands where there's certain brands who you regularly see every time on the schedule, either because they can do it themselves and they're that big, or because they have regular sponsors. But at the same time, the, the kind of quality of that creativity does end up being criticized as a result, because those sponsors end up getting more and more involved and that can then affect the output, which has a knock on effect on buyers as well.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah, I know. So, Joe, you mentioned the Hidden Valley Ranch sponsor. When was it that Lowe's, the hardware store, sponsored a show? Was that last season or last year?

[Unnamed Speaker]

They definitely were a sponsor, I think, that they sponsored. Yeah. And it's probably a couple years back now. Probably four or so. Three or four sponsored. Rebecca Minkoff, I think they were a sponsor of like Jason Wu at one point. Yeah, that was the time where I started to pay attention to these sponsors because it was like what last season we wrote about only fans sponsoring. So it's like, anyway, sponsors have a reason for Hidden Valley Ranch. If you read my story, the, the designer, Emma reached out to them because in the past Got Milk had been a sponsor for her show and it worked to everyone's advantage because Milk was trying to get in front, expand their audience. Like they had reasons to get in front of this audience. Hidden Valley Ranch, kind of the same thing. They're having a moment on TikTok for one. I don't know if you've seen the Chili's Dipper thing happening.

[Danny Parisi]

No, I haven't.

[Unnamed Speaker]

But Ranch is hot. And so they're kind of leading into the. It seems. And she heard that. She heard they were trying to reach new audiences and take advantage and, and reached out and presented a PowerPoint and went to town. She. She was gunning for this moment. Yeah.

[Danny Parisi]

That's interesting because I feel like the, my sort of assumption whenever I see like a really random sponsor is like, well, maybe they really needed money or something. But that's clearly not, not always the case that it's like a brand thing that makes a lot of sense and.

[Unnamed Speaker]

It'S read as authentic or she had reasons why it was authentic because she's from the Midwest. She's from Minnesota. She was positioning it as a Midwest supper club. And in the past, she, she's always like referencing her Minnesota roots as somebody who's in New York and has this Midwest background. She deems that a differentiator and something that really adds value to her brand. So she's trying to play that up, which is interesting.

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah. I also was talking to A designer who didn't have any sponsors. But we were talking about random sponsors and especially ones that are not super fashion adjacent. And he was saying like, maybe they, maybe that's a perfect sponsor because they're like, sort of more detached from the fashion industry. They don't care as much. They're just like, yeah, here's some money. Put our name on the sign and like, who cares? And like Lowe's or whoever probably has tons of money that they can just like, you know, throw around. So he's like, I would definitely take, you know, the Dill Pickle company, like whatever sponsorship, because they probably don't really care what I do with that with it.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Toyota, was that Christian Siriano Toyota car?

[Danny Parisi]

Yeah, I think we'll definitely probably see more of those. Especially like things are just more expensive. So I think sponsorships will probably be more prevalent. One last thing I want to say about the roi and then we can wrap it up. But I talked to great designer Alina Liu, who was so nice and like, had a great conversation with her. And one of the things she said when I asked her this question of like, is it worth it? What's the return? That kind of stuff. She was open about the fact that a big part of it is just personal gratification. She's like, she's a fairly new ish designer. I think her brand's only a couple years old. And she was like, frankly, I wanted to do a show because when I was a kid I wanted to be a designer and so now I'm here. She was like, there is a value to just. It makes me happy to do it. It doesn't lose us a ton of money or anything, so it's worth it. And I definitely think if you're running a huge billion dollar company, I'm sure you need to just expenses and stuff. But there, there's definitely, I think, value to the individual designer, the personal satisfaction, the artistic expression of being able to do a show.

[Unnamed Speaker]

So yes, I was considering in this briefing today there was definitely a theme, like you were saying, with people referencing like their play, living out their dream. Basically. Like when I was a kid, I really like, this is what I dreamed of being in New York. XYZ and ooh, the designer of Campilo said the same thing. Also Melki, also Christian Cohen, when I introduced him, they all said that. And then at the same time, it was just very wholesome this season, like the, the people who came out with their kids. I think the Chloe designer probably kicked this off when all the buzz came was sparked when she. She nuzzled her kids at the end of the show. But Sandy Liang did it. Altazara Coach and I went to a party at Philip Plein's townhouse, and he kept referencing, like, how his kids are upstairs and how he's basically, like, I don't know, not a changed man. But he was just saying, like, I do this all for my kids. A lot of talk about the kids in the interview. It was so cute. Anyway, that is sweet.

[Danny Parisi]

I wonder if, like, some, some math person behind the scenes is like, the kids play really well. It's good for engagement. Like, mention the kids, bring them out.

[Unnamed Speaker]

It worked for me. I was like, aw.

[Zofia Zvaglinska]

That feels like it's genuine, but let's hope that that's. That's just that on the side.

[Danny Parisi]

I'm sure it is. I'm. I'm sure it is. All right, well, I think that's all the time we have, but I always have fun doing New York Fashion Week. Thank you guys both for being here and sharing your your thoughts from your experience through the week. We will be doing London Fashion Week coverage soon. We'll be doing Paris and Milan coverage later when those weeks start. We will be talking about all those weeks on the podcast. So stay tuned for all that. If you haven't listened to our New York Fashion Week podcast that we've done in the last week, go back and listen to them because we had some really cool guests. But I think that's all the time. If you're listening, don't forget to give us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. That helps us out a lot. Don't forget to subscribe to the glossy podcast because you'll hear interviews with industry insiders every Wednesday and week. Interview episodes every Friday. Thank you, Jill. Thank you, Zofia, and thank you for listening.