Feb. 13 marks the beginning of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, New York’s biannual style spectacular. As always, it promises to attract some of the world’s top designers, models and celebrities in an atmosphere that is equal parts The Devil Wears Prada, Pret-A-Porter, and La Dolce Vita… with a bit of Clueless thrown in for good measure.
Since they’re intended mostly for retailers and press, the shows at Fashion Week aren’t open to the public; a large handful of security men in front of the Bryant Park Tents, where the shows are held, will swiftly remind you of that if you show up ticketless.
For mere mortal fashionistas, getting a precious invitation to one of those runway shows is, quite simply, impossible. But you’re in luck. Tonic has a top-notch team of experienced Fashion Week reporters in the tents and devouring the runway spectaculars. We’ll be filling our pages with news, photos, videos, inside scoops and much more. Glamour and decadence — with a Tonic twist — are only a mouse-click away, from launch parties to post-show toasts.
There are two other ways to actually get Fashion Week tickets this season even if your initials aren’t VIP — and both have a charity component, too. For the fourth time, American Express is offering its cardholders access to a special viewing box at the Bryant Park Tents to watch select shows, including collections from top designers like Narciso Rodriguez and Diane von Furstenberg. Sales from tickets go towards a $250,000 donation the company is making to the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, which helps support young designers. (For those shopaholics amongst us, isn’t it nice to know there’s a way to support fashion with your American Express card that doesn’t involve, say, overspending at Saks Fifth Avenue?)
Even the very back of what’s been dubbed “The Skybox” has a front row feel thanks to an interior designed by Jonathan Adler and an unobstructed overhead view that takes in not just the clothes, but the entire audience of editors, celebrities and snapping photographers. W Hotels also has a Fashion Week offer that includes show invitations at two of its New York properties, one of which is an easy stroll from Bryant Park. The Catwalk Package, as it’s called, includes tickets to a runway show by designers like Tracy Reese and Max Azria, a night in a hotel suite, and even access to the W’s special lounge backstage at the Bryant Park Tents (which is, incidentally, always a good place for star-spotting). Each Catwalk Package includes a donation to Dress for Success, the organization that provides career support and interview-appropriate clothing to women in need.
Admittedly, both of these are pricey ways to get into a fashion show, with American Express’ tickets going for $250 and the W’s package starting at $799 (although that does include a hotel suite in New York.) But if you’ve always wanted to see the runway up close, it might just be worth it, particularly knowing that some of the money goes to a great cause.
And if you prefer to watch Fashion Week for free, curled up in front of your computer in your favorite sweat pants and a ratty tee, be sure to come back to Tonic: we’ll have daily show reports from the tents starting on the 13th. For more information on the American Express Fashion Week Skybox, go www.americanexpress.com. For more information on the W Catwalk Package, go to www.whotels.com/catwalk.