“Fashion Week” is often closely related to innovative designs, elegant runway models, and the most creative looks. However, the 2023 New York Fashion Week (NYFW) was the opposite of what people hoped for.
As more footage of the shows appeared on social media by participants of the event, millions of people became increasingly disappointed. Tiktoker Danny (@nomoredanny) went viral for featuring clips of the lacklustre walks and outfits, revealing the subpar reality of the high-end fashion event.
Furthermore, replacing professional models with social media influencers backfired completely; the aim was to attract more attention and media press to the event with influencers on the runway, but their modeling experience did not meet the industry’s traditionally high standards. American social media personality Paige Niemann was one of the influencers featured in the show; to many, she looked like she was skipping and flailing her arms around while walking down the runway due to her lack of training. Despite the backlash she received, Paige continued to share NYFW content on her social media accounts. These examples were merely the tip of the iceberg, as the public believed there were worse problems.
On multiple occasions, for instance, there were numerous intruders storming the shows. The most significant example was seen at the Creators Inc. show when a bystander, who dressed outrageously, snuck onto the runway, pretending to be a model, before being removed by security. People online applauded the man for crashing the already disastrous show, claiming his modeling was better than many of the influencers featured. Other intruders somehow went unnoticed, such as Canadian-American influencers The Nelk Boys, who also snuck into the show wearing matching suits with black wings.
Adding fuel to the fire, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — known as PETA — protesters strutted into the Coach show holding signs that read, “Coach: Leather Kills”, with the intention of spreading awareness about animal cruelty in luxury fashion. This protest failed in the end when security managed to escort them out of the show.
Fashion Week, previously the most respected and highly anticipated fashion event of each year, turned out to be one of the saddest publicity stunts in modern fashion. Rather than a showcase of avant-garde designs and beautiful runway walks, we received a series of disappointment and chaos. Many are hoping the fashion industry will take note of this year’s disaster as a lesson for the quality, authenticity and values that truly matter.
