What the thing is
A semi-annual, week-long series of fashion collection presentations in Manhattan for buyers, press, and the public.
Where it came from
Press Week, founded in 1943 by Eleanor Lambert, press director of the New York Dress Institute, to divert attention from Paris during WWII travel bans.
What it gets right
It established American design as newsworthy at a moment when French fashion was inaccessible. It gave journalists a curated, city-wide platform to cover domestic talent.
What it gets wrong
It never called itself ‘New York Fashion Week’ in 1943. That name arrived decades later. Calling the 1943 event ‘the first NYFW’ misattributes the branding to its origin.
Why it matters now
Because it reveals how wartime constraints catalysed infrastructure—not creativity—and how branding lags behind function by nearly fifty years.
Is it worth your time
Yes—if you care how American fashion gained institutional visibility during wartime, and how that visibility was later formalised into a global industry fixture.
