New York Fashion Week confirmed to go ahead in September

New York Fashion Week (NYFW) will go ahead in September albeit withextra safety measures, governor Andrew Cuomo has confirmed.

The event will take place between 13 - 16 September in “strictcompliance” with New York State health and safety guidelines. This includescapping the number of people at outdoor events at 50 and indoor events at50 percent capacity with no spectators.

“New York City is the fashion capital of the world and New York FashionWeek celebrates the ingenuity of this city, and our unmatched creativetalent,” Cuomo said in a statement. "When Covid-19 hit New York, so many ofour cherished events were forced to cancel or be postponed.”

New York City was the epicentre of the US' Covid-19 pandemic back inApril, at one point accounting for around one-third of all cases reportedin the country.

Cuomo continued: “The pandemic is far from over, but we're proud tosupport event organizer IMG in moving forward with NYFW, in adherence withstrict state public health guidance. Safety, as always, is our top priorityand we commend the hosts, and all participating designers, for theirinnovative, New York Smart solutions to bring this event to life.”

New York Fashion Week gets green light

It comes following the mass cancellation of physical fashion weeks andtrade shows in recent months due to the pandemic, with organisers insteadscrambling to launch digital iterations of the events. This upcoming NYFW,like other leading fashion weeks, will feature a mix of live and virtualfashion shows, presentations, and other content.

Leslie Russo, executive vice president of IMG's Fashion Events Group,which runs NYFW, said: “We are grateful to governor Cuomo and hisleadership for their swift, successful response in fighting the spread ofthe coronavirus, which has now set the standard of excellence for ournation.

“The past six months have been exceedingly difficult for the fashionindustry, and we are proud to offer an avenue for designers, models,stylists, hair and makeup artists, photographers, production teams - ­andthe innumerable other professionals who work in, or adjacent to, thefashion industry during New York Fashion Week - to safely get back to workthis September.”

Photo courtesy of Mao PR