The death of New York Fashion Week has long been lamented, but the events of last week appear to be proof of life.

Sure, there are still problems. Homegrown talents like Peter Do, The Row and, most recently, Gabriela Hearst have decamped to Paris. Former mainstays like Oscar de la Renta and Marc Jacobs now show off-calendar. Shows in hard-to-access locations on the far west side of Manhattan and in the Brooklyn Navy Yard have made programming into something of a week-long schlep.

These challenges were crystalised in a joint report by McKinsey and the nonprofit Partnership for New York City, published on the first day of fashion week this season. It points to a “deflation of NYFW on the world stage” due to the decentralisation of venues, the prohibitive costs of putting on a runway show and an overall lack of engagement with the city itself.

Over the past week, however, New York Fashion Week has proven its critics wrong. The big moments this season felt more grand than before — just look at Ralph Lauren’s equestrian showcase in Bridgehampton, which included a one-night-only recreation of his famed Polo Bar restaurant, or the surprise performance by Wu-Tang Clan, brought together by Tommy Hilfiger on a decommissioned Staten Island ferry.

Marquee shows from Alaïa and Off-White, both of which typically show in Paris, as well as the arrival of Swedish minimalist favourite Toteme, signalled the strength and desirability of the American market. Domestic talent, in the form of a small but influential cohort of indie brands, exhibited their aesthetic worlds in their own idiosyncratic ways, whether that’s through Eckhaus Latta’s rambunctious dinner party or Willy Chavarria’s runway ode to democracy. New York mainstays put their commercial success on display — Coach sent a wide range of bags down the runway, from oversized backpacks to top-handle satchels covered in doodles, and Tory Burch brought back its Reva flat, a style that catapulted the brand to success in the late aughts.

Beyond the runway, the energy percolated across the city in the form of events and activations, engaging other segments of the fashion industry. Florentine retailer LuisaViaRoma opened its first international outpost with a splashy party on Sept. 4. The next day, J.Crew recreated the iconic New York restaurant La Côte Basque in the basement of the New York Public Library. Thom Browne, Kering and Loewe with Saks also hosted dinners throughout the week, each just as star-studded as the last. Rival influencer monetisation companies ShopMy and LTK both hosted events, the latter for the first time since before the pandemic.

If anything, this New York Fashion Week flaunted its hometown and brought back an excitement that hadn’t been felt in years. The perfect early autumn weather didn’t hurt either.

“People were just really excited and having fun last week,” said fashion writer Rachel Tashjian. “It felt convivial, rather than like a grind.”

Behind-the-scenes, there were critical logistical improvements. In response to growing complaints about the difficulty of getting between shows, the Council of Fashion Designers of America teamed up with Google this season to charter a bus that took attendees from show to show. It was overall a big hit, even with the traffic. And more so than in past seasons, shows tended to run on time (or at least, within 30 minutes of their supposed start time), with few exceptions.

To be sure, it wasn’t a perfect week. The sheer star-power — Alaïa was one of the few shows to start late because it was holding the runway for Rihanna to arrive — or production value of the events often overshadowed the clothes themselves.

And in this iteration of NYFW, it seemed that a big name or a big budget was the surest ticket to success, which posed challenges for small brands trying to break through the noise.

“New York Fashion Week has been known as a place to discover new brands, and some of that discovery aspect is now gone,” said Gary Wassner, founder of financing firm Hilldun Corp.

And though many attendees were grateful not to have to make the trek to the Starrett-Lehigh building, or brave Spring Studio’s elevator lines, some emerging designers missed those hubs, which were operated by IMG. Knitwear designer Nia Thomas said showing as part of Black in Fashion Council’s showroom last season at Starrett-Lehigh changed the trajectory of her business.

“Editors who didn’t know us came and discovered. They started pulling samples immediately, my DMs were blowing up in the weeks after from stylists,” said Thomas. “That type of exposure is massive and you can’t put a price on it.” This season, Thomas was not invited back by the Black in Fashion Council. After having trouble securing a workable location and sponsors, she opted to bow out presenting entirely.

As it gets more expensive and logistically difficult to stage shows, brands must think harder about whether they really need one. A runway show isn’t always the best format every season for small brands and sometimes even larger ones. A number of brands favoured small gatherings rather than traditional shows this season, for instance. Todd Snyder invited about 50 people to his runway inside Le Rock restaurant; Eckhaus Latta coordinated with its guests to walk the “runway” at a dinner event in a loft in Tribeca.

The intimacy of these events also underscored the closeness of the fashion community in New York City — another reason why this season felt reinvigorated, insiders said.

Eckhaus Latta’s dinner was a great example of a brand demonstrating its cultural prowess, said Tashjian. “They’re saying, ‘We’ve really built something that’s not just an aesthetic but a sensibility and a group of very dedicated customers,’” she added.

As the global luxury industry flounders amid tepid consumer demand this year, Mytheresa continues to buck the trend.

The luxury e-tailer finished its fiscal year, which ended in June, with sales up 10 percent to €841 million ($927 million) and €26 million in adjusted earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, it announced in its full year earnings call on Thursday.

Despite the relatively strong results, Mytheresa wasn’t completely immune to market volatility: In the first half of its fiscal 2024 that ended last December, the company reported paltry sales growth of 5 percent to €385 million, and its adjusted earnings fell 77 percent to €7 million, as excess inventory forced it to increase discounting, though it was able to reduce markdowns in the second half of the year

Also in the second half of the year, Mytheresa ramped up its focus on its top spending clients, wooing them with exclusive capsule collections from brands like Loewe, Brunello Cucinelli and Bottega Veneta, as well as in-person events, such as a a two-day yacht cruise with Valentino in Nice for 35 customers. Its highest spenders accounted for 39 percent of overall sales for the full year, and the average amount spent per transaction topped $700 for the first time in the e-tailer’s history.

Mytheresa also generated 20 percent of sales in the US in 2024, a region many luxury brands and retailers are underperforming in. In the US, “there’s a market opportunity for customers that want to shop high-end luxury at a very elevated level,” said Michael Kliger, Mytheresa’s chief executive. “The size of the offer at department stores, online and physical, seems not to capture this audience well enough.”

Mytheresa’s customer experience strategy continues to help it benefit from its competitors’ struggles. But as the luxury sector faces further uncertainty, it has to make sure that its playbook doesn’t become stale. The company’s stock dropped 5 percent on Thursday following its earnings release.

“The main task is really to be focused on these individual customers, and what is the success factor is that they feel cared about and appreciated as a person,” Kliger said. “That’s a challenge in terms of you wanting to do that for many of them but still don’t want to do it in a standardised or cookie-cutter approach.”

The company is already taking steps to prevent any stasis. In September, it hired former Tapestry and Farfetch executive Amber Pepper as its chief customer experience officer. Under Pepper’s leadership, Mytheresa will introduce events centred around networking, bringing together clients in leadership positions in art, business and entertainment for dinner to meet and connect. The e-tailer will also increase its number of personal shoppers — who offer top customers styling services and handle tasks like product returns on their behalf — in the US, Europe and China, Kliger said.

Mytheresa is reportedly looking to acquire rival Yoox-Net-a-Porter from Richemont, which could help expand its assortment of covetable brands. (Kliger declined to comment.)

Mytheresa expects sales to grow as much as 13 percent in 2025.

“That’s what everyone has to do in this industry; keep [customers] excited and interested, and one key element of this being emotional. That’s the source of excitement. That’s the source of desirability,” Kliger said. “It’s an emotional state, and past success doesn’t guarantee future success. But we are pretty confident.”

The Council of Fashion Designers of America has announced nominees for its annual fashion awards, which will take place on Oct. 28.

Thom Browne is nominated in both the womenswear and menswear categories and Tory Burch is up for womenswear designer of the year (which she has yet to claim) and accessories designer of the year.

The rest of the nominees for Womenswear Designer of the Year are Diotima’s Rachel Scott, last year’s Emerging Designer of the Year; Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler and Marc Jacobs. A notable omission is Khaite’s Catherine Holstein, who took home the Womenswear Designer of the Year Award in both 2022 and 2023.

Alongside Browne, the Menswear Designer of the Year nominees are Mike Amiri’s Amiri, Emily Adams Bode Aujla’s Bode, Todd Snyder and Willy Chavarria, who won the prize last year. Burch, Khaite’s Holstein, Ana Khouri, Coach’s Stuart Vevers, and Raul Lopez’s Luar are the nominees in the accessories category.

Nominees for the Shop With Google Emerging Designer of the Year award are Tanner Fletcher, Jackson Wiederhoeft, Connor McKnight, Presley Oldham and Zankov. A number of other figuers will also be honoured with special awards at the ceremony, including photographer Annie Leibovitz, Schiaparelli designer Daniel Roseberry and Michael Kors.

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Lemme, the supplement brand founded by Kourtney Kardashian, announced Thursday that it is set to enter the lucrative weight loss industry by introducing an “all-natural” GLP-1 — also known as the hormone found in the very popular weight loss drug Ozempic — supplement.

Despite the name, Lemme’s GLP-1 Daily does not actually contain the hormone. Instead it is made using natural ingredients such as Eriomin lemon fruit extract, Supresa saffron extract and Morosil red orange fruit extract, meant to mimic its affects. The capsules aim to “reduce hunger and cravings and support healthy weight management.”

The capsules will be available to purchase on the brand’s website beginning Sept. 16 and will be sold via a subscription-model priced at $72 for a month’s supply.

Lemme is just the latest wellness brand attempting to take advantage of the growing demand for weight loss products. Hims & Hers launched a weight loss division in December of last year, and rolled out GLP-1s in May. For the brands that are able to make it work, there’s major potential: It’s forecasted that the GLP-1 market will be worth $100 billion by 2030, according to J.P. Morgan Research.

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