Fall Fashion Week: It's Here!

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week will bring a slew of clothing designers to Lincoln Center from September 8th to the 15th.  Over 95 designers including Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Vivienne Tam will send their Spring/Summer 2012 collections down the runway this season. Fashion forecasters expect to see the usual bright spring and summer colors as well as paler earth tones on the catwalk.  Hemlines and overall fit should tend toward the conservative side, with longer skirts and looser pants replacing miniskirts and jeggings.  Light, polka-dotted fabrics and girly nautical looks will be incorporated into play suits and cropped jackets belted with rope ties.  Trend watchers also predict new takes on the 70s and color blocking styles from the previous Spring/Summer collections.

In recognition of its one-year anniversary at Lincoln Center, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week plans to reveal a new façade and various other upgrades at its venue.  Using lighting panels and natural light, Lobby tent designers will create a sleeker, more intimate vibe to contrast with the traditional grand architecture of Lincoln Center.

New York began hosting Fashion Week in 1943 when World War II prohibited American designers from traveling to the Paris shows. Originally called Press Week, the New York fashion event gave American designers the opportunity to debut their clothing lines.  After the war, all shows returned to Europe, but in the 1990s New York Fashion Week was reestablished as a seasonal event.

For those interested in seeing Fashion Week who didn’t make the exclusive guest list, YouTube and Maybelline New York return this season to stream the shows live via YouTube’s Live from the Runway channel at www.youtube.com/liverunway starting Thursday, September 8th.  The channel will also keep viewers updated on show schedules, backstage looks, interviews, trends and more.