The Tents Of Fashion Week For Fall 2014 Were Icy Cold, And It Wasn’t The Snow

It was a snow-filled fashion week in New York as fashionistas jumped over icy puddles and mountains of slush to reach the Fall 2014 tents. This season is a little different as many designers have opted to show their collections off-site and the guest lists have gotten tighter. Did Mercedes Benz succeed in returning to its exclusive roots, or was that decision simply icy?

Some of the biggest names in fashion, like Diane von Furstenberg, Michael Kors and Zac Posen, showed their high-end collections off-site, snubbing the tents of the Lincoln Center. You could barely swing a Chanel purse without hearing a reporter or publicist complain about the travel between shows during the week.

Cabs were scarce, and the snow and slush were relentless the past week as the fashion crowd traveled uptown to the Lincoln Center, to downtown Manhattan and even, dare I say it, Brooklyn, for the Alexander Wang show.

To say this season was icy would be an accurate description. As a member of the media, one had to use a side entrance at the tents, and you couldn't climb the gracious stairs of the main entrance. The main foyer area of the tents was poorly lit and the new configuration was confusing. While the free diet coke and vitamin water poured freely, the tents seemed empty, almost lonely, with a feeling that you wanted to get in and out as quick as possible.

Meanwhile, some things during fashion week will never change. Most, if not all, of the shows ran fashionably late, women still wore shoes that were not weather appropriate and the photographers from the pit of the runway still yelled at everyone in the front row to “un-cross your legs”.

A lot of the shows were live-streamed, making it harder for reporters to hit their own traffic goals. It was more difficult to get backstage for designer interviews, and everyone seemed a little flustered with all the changes.

Speaking to a publicist I have worked with for four seasons, I was able to validate my suspicions when she turned to me, exhausted, and said “no one will be at the tents next season.”

While that sort of statement was said off-the-record and in conversation, it made me wonder whether this was the beginning of the end.

Backstage, Dennis Basso told IBTimesTV that he loves the tents, feels comfortable there and had no intention of leaving.

The future of fashion week may change forever, or it may continue to be a choice for each designer. Regardless, one thing is certain: The running around this season definitely took the glamor out of the fashion; but on the bright side, I gave my high-heels a much needed break for the week.