As I approach my 10th year attending New York Fashion Week, I’m starting to look back at previous seasons and reflecting on how much has changed over the years. I’ve been shooting Street Style in Toronto since 2013 but my first NYFW was September 2015. Since then I’ve noticed things become more and more commercial. In 2015 the blogger / influencer race was just heating up. I feel like it peaked in 2017 and has slowly evolved into something different by 2019. Of course this could all just be a matter of perception but I do think Instagram and TikTok have contributed to these changes. I remember Instagram only Introduced 4:3 image format (non square) in August of 2015, just weeks before Fashion Month got started. New York Fashion Week was hosting some pretty big names back then. There is definitely a lack of international designers putting on shows in New York and that ultimately reducers who is attending the shows. Names like Zimmerman, Givenchy, Delpozo, Moschino, Hugo Boss, Longchamp are just a few of the designers no longer showing at NYFW.
I will likely take a break from New York Fashion Week in 2024 and possibly return in 2025.