When the economy started its downward spiral, we guessed Fashion Week would pass with a few less tote bags and water bottles.
Which was fine, as long as there were still macaroons.
Now WWD reports a surge in planned presentations, instead of runways, which we'd actually love. Both Vera Wang and J. Mendel are allegedly exploring runway alternatives while DKNY has gone ahead and penciled in a February 13th presentation date.
This comes exactly one month after the announcement that Donna Karan Collection would forego a model-fronted ad campaign in favor of "re-interpreting" her runway images and that DKNY's ads will no longer feature Vlada, an established model, but it-girl Harley Viera Newton. While we can't know the details of Harley's contract, it's highly unlikely she can demand as much as a well-recognized model.
So when you throw it all together, it appears as though Donna's brands are making some major cuts obvious to the outside world - so who knows what's happening behind the scenes. Unless of course she's just being overly cautious, which might not be the worst thing.
Though we hope no one copies her ad idea, campaigns are way too much fun.
