The Runway

Changing of the Tents

I remember the days when showing in Fashion Week was limited to only the highest of elite snobbery. Only the best editors and the best designers even had a chance of showing the goods to the public, let alone having their own article in Vanity Fair or Harper’s Bazaar. You had to be the best of the best to even start dreaming a dream so big.

Those days are long gone now.

As of now, it seems anyone can get a tent. The Kardashians are showing their Bebe line. Seriously, how is anything from the Bebe line worthy of a showing in any tent? If anyone knows the line, you will know that the entire line consists of rhinestones, stretch satin and velour in a size to small for the wearer. In an hour, a time that could be devoted to any up and coming designer with any ounce of creativity could be showing their new line. A “reality star” will be taking their place instead.

QVC, the late night shopping channel you only watch at 3 a.m., will have its third live-broadcast show this year with no front row. Not that you would understand with the email they sent:

“Also, if you and a guest would like to view the actual show the reason why we can not put you front row is because you are stuck to stay the entire show since it is a live broadcast without commercials. However, we can escort you and your guest inside and have seats that you will definitely have prime viewing. These seats will allow you to go in and out of the show at your leisure.”

Essentially, if you want to see the best angle of the show, stay home and watch on our channel – great way to motivate those to go to your show, QVC. These are only the two biggest gripes. There will be other catastrophes, such as Spanx lines for women and men and a pop-up restaurant. Nothing says high-couture glamour like a pop-up restaurant. Not only is it bad for the designers, it is not any better for the writers and editors either.

It’s pay-for-play – if you have the money and the pull, you can grab a front row, $650 seat, or you can do what last year’s high-class call girl scandal Ashley Dupree did and crash a prolific fashion designer’s show. Many high profiled fashion editors are steaming mad because they no longer hold the power they used to have – fashion bloggers are taking their seats.

The Independent reports of a recent backlash of famous 13-year-old blogger Tavi Gevinson as an online fight broke out when Tavi’s oversized bow headpiece blocked the view of British fashion style director of Grazia Paula Reed in the second row of the Christian Dior show. She tweeted her view through Tavi’s bow. The irony of the situation was that a teenage girl had a better view than that of a senior writer who has put in more than 20 years of work to get in that second row.

Senior fashion insiders believe that blogs have turned into mouthpieces for fashion brands – basically, free press for designers. Sarah McCullough, Selfridges’ creative concepts manager sees how this is affecting the industry: "It's mind-blowing that bloggers like Tavi are at the couture shows and being showered with all kinds of gifts,” McCullough said. “It has soured things a little bit for me."

Though McCullough sounds right, she sounds a bitter about changing times to really take her seriously. Robert Johnson, associate editor at GQ, has more of an unbiased opinion. "Bloggers are so attractive to the big design houses because they are so wide-eyed and obsessed, but they don't have the critical faculties to know what's good and what's not. As soon as they've been invited to the shows, they can no longer criticize because then they won't be invited back."

Is this the beginning to a completely new era of Fashion Week?  Will a blogger ever have more power than say, Anna Wintour? Will they let just anybody have a tent? With changing technology, it could be close to a reality that is all too real. The iPad, which claims it will revolutionize all forms of media, could be changing the way magazine glossies work. With real time updates and no need for hype of a collection months in the making, bloggers could be seeing even more recognition. Is it up to the dying industry magazines to make the necessary changes or are they destined to fail? Only time will tell … but you can be sure that the online media will name the last one standing.