Anyone strolling through Manhattan these days, for example along 33rd Street, corner of Ninth Avenue, near Penn Station, will occasionally come across young, tall, beautiful women, some with briefcases under their arms.

One stops, her long legs tucked into stylish leather pants, and she greets a man with two kisses.

"How

are

you?" - "I'm on my way to a casting!" - "So nice to see you!" And so on.

Johanna Dürrholz

Editor at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Magazin

  • Follow I follow

It's starting this Saturday, and anyone who hears the young woman with the long legs talking so happily might think it was just a normal New York Fashion Week, for which this city is known: with a week full of glamour, shine and party.

A week in which you don't think about tomorrow and certainly not about protection against infection, a week in New York City, that incredible collection of giant towers and glass palaces and party-loving visitors.

A week in which the models are still fresh and rested, excited about the upcoming season and not yet as tired as at the end in Paris, after stops in London and Milan after weeks of just traveling and walking and wearing too much make-up.

An electrifying atmosphere once prevailed in the cities of the world preparing for fashion weeks.

What could be nicer and more lavish than a week of shows, parties and fun with no deeper meaning?

After two years of the pandemic, models and agencies, organizers and designers are anxiously asking themselves: Can we have carefree fashion fun again this year without a guilty conscience?

"I think so," says Julian Niznik.

He is a director at IMG Models, the largest modeling agency that also produces many runway shows in New York.

But: “There are many hurdles.” Of course, that starts with the controls.

All models must be boosted, there are strict requirements for visitors and participants.

A French IMG model, for example, has just recovered and her doctor doesn't want to boost her.

"She now has to adhere to a strict testing protocol." Recovered isn't boosted.

Another problem that New York Fashion Week has had for a long time: some designers don't even come.

Calvin Klein is not showing any shows, Tom Ford has canceled his New York show at short notice, Marc Jacobs prefers to show off his baking skills on Instagram, and many American designers are planning their shows in Europe.

Because the old world is such an important market for many designers that they want to be present there.

The German fashion weeks know the problem: Many local fashion brands prefer not to show themselves in Berlin (or Frankfurt), which is simply due to the lack of coolness of the German fashion weeks - the fashion industry in Germany has not always been held in such high regard as in Italy or France.

But New York is certainly not lacking in coolness, and certainly not in the glam factor.

As in all areas of life, the pandemic brought a problem to the surface at New York Fashion Week that has always existed subliminally: the city is far away from the fashion capitals of Europe, it is huge and outrageously expensive.

After all, nothing is as New York as a bunch of young, beautiful women rushing from casting to casting with their portfolios under their arms and Starbucks cups in hand, and still find time for a chat and a kiss on each cheek .