A big conversation around New York Fashion Week this season was whether fashion shows are worth it, with designers including Willy Chavarria and Jackson Wiederhoeft recently revealing to the Cut the costs of creating a collection, making patterns and putting on a show.
For young and independent brands, investing in an NYFW show often creates significant financial pressure. Hillary Taymour, the designer behind 15-year-old Collina Strada, has previously been outspoken about the high costs of runway shows. And, as she tells it, NYFW isn’t a suitable marketing tool for every brand. Collina Strada hosted a runway show on Friday,
However, for the young brand Retrofête, the runway remains a key platform for gaining visibility with stylists and buyers, according to CEO Aviad Klin.
Below, Taymour and Klin share more of their takes on the importance of fashion week.
Designer Hillary Taymour: Fashion shows aren’t a fit for every brand
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On Friday, Collina Strada’s Hillary Taymour debuted the brand’s “Stronger” collection in a space featuring a women’s gym, AI imagery and weights made out of squash. The show also featured sustainable materials through partnerships with Ugg and Puma. Taymour said that, for designers, a runway show isn’t necessary if the brand doesn’t have a strong concept.
“[Designers] shouldn’t spend all their money on a fashion show when they don’t have a very strong, impactful idea. If it’s just showing clothes, you shouldn’t do a fashion show,” she said, noting, “I have a theme, I have a motive, I have an idea.”
For Collina Strada’s part, runway shows center on ethical topics like AI and design or the inclusivity issue in fashion, for example.
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The average cost of putting on a show is $400,000, according to Taymour.
Without expert team members, costs can also pile up when planning a show. “If designers are not tapped into industry people, and they don’t have a lead and someone helping them, a show is the wrong move,” Taymour said.
She added, “Sometimes brands can’t make their own patterns, so they outsource. … Then they’re spending a ton of money to make one jacket that is just an editorial piece and maybe isn’t going to sell. It’s like, ‘Could you instead be more savvy?'”
Collina Strada’s main sales drivers are its trousers and jewelry, Taymour said. The brand catered to that demand by introducing four new pant styles on the runway this season, as well as 20 styles of jewelry.
“Half of the brands [at NYFW] would not invest in a show if they felt they didn’t have to,” for exposure, said Taymour. “But I love to show.”
Designers Tommy Hilfiger to Peter Do have shown more commercial styles on the runway this season, with neutral colors and safe silhouettes dominating their collections. But, according to Taymour, “It doesn’t all have to be quiet luxury for you to make money [as a brand].”
“People want to express themselves, and I think I can stay true to my DNA but also adapt to the changing markets,” she said.
Collina Strada has seen consistent growth in its direct sales channel year-over-year.
Taymour believes that the lack of expressive designers and strong catwalk themes at New York Fashion Week will force fashion students and designers to instead showcase their collections in Paris or Milan.
“There are no big fashion houses supporting the youth in New York,” said Taymour. “I’ve been trying to be more involved in giving back to up-and-coming designers. There are a lot of new designers launching brands that … have to learn their lessons and make horrible mistakes and waste a lot of money. There are also these amazing talents that have to take a desk job at some huge conglomerate because they’re not being supported and nurtured by the fashion industry.”
Taymour called out Dion Lee and Vaquera as independent brands that have figured out the business better than most. She expects that many smaller brands will have to right-track the business side of their companies after recent recession woes.
“[My brand] is seeing conservative buys from bigger stores, which is fine because our e-commerce is offsetting those costs that we’re losing,” said Taymour. “I’m very fortunate — I just signed a new lease on a bigger studio so we can have more space to work. The brand is growing and I’m trying to be very conservative with the growth and how to navigate it. We’re spending double the money for twice the studio size, but we have a better workflow and a better workplace for each other.”
Retrofête expands focus to outerwear for fall 2024
This season, NYC-based Retrofête hosted its second runway collection, with a focus on outerwear.
The brand has been worn by Gwyneth Paltrow, Taylor Swift and Jennifer Lopez, and its top markets are the U.S., Italy and Australia. In January 2023, Retrofête opened its first physical retail space — a pop-up on Spring Street in NYC’s SoHo neighborhood. The move was a response to the brand’s customers’ demand for a tangible brand experience, allowing them to see and touch the products firsthand. Retrofête also sells through high-end retailers including Bergdorf Goodman, Revolve, Shopbop, Net-a-Porter, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus.
“We learned so much from hosting our first NYFW show in September. This time, we collaborated with a different production company and we had stylist Alex White style the looks,” said CEO Aviad Klin. “Everything was more seamless and organized and much easier this time around.”
According to Klin, for brands like Retrofête that started out selling in wholesale channels, runways offer the best exposure and can even help justify price increases for products. “Being on the show circuit has helped [boost] the credibility of the brand,” said Klin. “We now get many more calls from stylists, for example, who can take us to the next level. We started selling at a higher price point a few years ago, and people trust the brand enough to buy at this price point.” The brand’s styles retail for $150 to over $1,000.
Since its first runway appearance, the brand has expanding beyond party pieces to create a “total look” featuring complementary outerwear pieces.
“A few years ago, one of our buyers told us, “I’m dying to have a good coat to wear with your dresses,” said Klin. “We had a jacket here and there in the collection, but it wasn’t a big theme. But people loved it when we showed it on the runway, and it was one of the most-pulled items from the PR side. So it really made sense for us to push [the category] further.”
The brand showed eight coats on the runway this season, and it plans to launch more outerwear in its next collection.
