A Sneak Peek at the New Home of New York Fashion Week in Lincoln Center

Following the end of Fall 2010 runway shows, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in NYC bid adieu to its longtime home at Bryant Park to head for a new park next season (September 9-16, 2010): Damrosch Park in Lincoln Center. The move will feature a more 21st Century appropriate venue than the previous cobblestoned, cramped one, including more digital services, bigger show spaces (there will be 3 runway venues) and more seating, better accessibility to public transportation, and more on-site and surrounding area resources (translation: a less retarded and slow badge pickup process; more places to sit between shows, hopefully, than cross-legged on the ground next to the Mercedes cars on display; a less Lord of the Flies check-in system at shows; a press room that's bigger than a bread box; more on-site wi-fi Internet access; and better dining options than the nearby deli or table-free Starbucks across the street). "This is a very exciting day for us," says Peter Levy, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of IMG Fashion Worldwide. "The move has allowed IMG to reinvent and improve so many aspects of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week as well as develop a stronger link to the surrounding facitilies and spaces available at Lincoln Center and the neighborhood. This is the first season in what we are confident will be a long run at Lincoln Center."

And lucrative.

The almost 250,000 attendees at Fashion Week generate a massive amount of economic activity for NYC to the tune of $466 million in direct visitor spending, contributing $1.6 billion in annual tax revenue to the City's fashion industry. More than $40 million annually is spent on meals at local restaurants; nearly $30 million on taxis, Town Cars, and public transportation; and an additional $56 million at area hotels - so for the businesses surrounding Lincoln Center specifically the restaurants, hotels, and retailers as well as the thousands of caterers, security, and service workers staffing the shows, relocating Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week will result in seriously stylish economic benefits. "We are delighted to provide Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week with a new home and an extraordinary array of possibilities," adds Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Director of Fashion, Lincoln Center. "Over the past few years, Lincoln Center has undergone a transformation, resulting in a campus that is aesthetically spectacular as well as extremely accessible. We look forward to providing the fashion industry with one central location for activities in and around the tents. In addition, we plan to welcome consumers with a dynamic array of opportunities to engage with the art of fashion."

- Lesley Scott

(image of Fashion Week at Bryant Park: source)

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