New York Fashion Week moves beyond the runway

NF-Tease: It seems like everyone is getting in on the nonfungible token (NFT) trend these days, and New York Fashion Week (NYFW) was no exception:

• Buy now, pay later provider Afterpay collaborated with five notable fashion designers to create the “Keys” to New York Fashion Week, per STIRworld. This line of NFTs offers its owners exclusive access to NYFW events or merchandise.
• Alo Yoga debuted a line of NFTs alongside its first ready-to-wear collection during the event, according to Forbes. The brand also partnered with Snap to allow show attendees to try on the collection via augmented reality mirrors powered by the social platform.

Seeing the future: While some remain skeptical about NFTs and the metaverse, Paula Kilgarriff, a Web3 fashion retail activation consultant, believes they are the next wave of retail. “The future store is dynamic and is a downloadable immersive interactive experience for customers/community to interact with the brand and have a say or stake in their products and services,” she told Forbes.

Fitting in: Even those outside the fashion world got in on the fun:

• As an extension of its “Guess Less, Sell More” campaign, Intuit Mailchimp debuted a new capsule collection and pop-up shop featuring five designers selected by the Black in Fashion Council.
• Financial services company TIAA partnered with designer Felicia Noel on “Dre$$,” a couture gown and cape made with $1.6 million in fake currency. The dress represents the potential amount that women lose out in retirement savings as a result of the wage gap.

It’s Vogue’s world and we’re just living in it: As one would expect, Vogue outdid itself for this year’s event, throwing an all-out street fair in the Meatpacking district that celebrated the diverse sights, sounds, and tastes of New York City.

Food and fashion: As attendees strolled along the Vogue World event on West 13th Street, they were greeted by a mix of iconic couture and cuisine:

• Ralph Lauren handed out soft-serve coffee ice cream and draft oat lattes
• Fendi gave out baguettes in celebration of the 25th anniversary of its baguette bag
• Banana Republic provided samples of banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery

The fun doesn’t stop there: The main event was more like a parade than a fashion show, opened by tennis legend Serena Williams in a floor-length silver gown and cape, followed by stunt cyclists, a college drill team, a dance troupe, and 200 supermodels from every era. A Lil Nas X performance closed out the ceremonies.

Beauty isn’t skin deep: Beyond the spectacle, this event stood out for another good reason: it was a celebration of diversity. In the past, Vogue has been criticized for its lack of diversity (within the office and on the pages of its publications). But, like New York City itself, this event featured individuals from different races, sexualities, genders, ethnicities, and physical presentations, per The New York Times.

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