Foreign Fashion Designers
Many fashion designers who show their collections at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York are foreign born. A great number come from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. For the class project, I would like to profile some of these designers who show their collections at NYFW and analyze their impact on the fashion culture of New York City. These designers’ lines are often sold in big department stores like Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue, as well as some flagship stores along the major avenues in New York, where they are easily accessed by the everyday people of the city. People are exposed to these designers, but often don’t know their history or country of origin, which can devalue the meaning and story behind the clothing. I think it would be interesting to expose people to the histories of these designers to show that the many influences of American fashion come from foreign artists and designers. Some examples of foreign designers with a large presence in New York include: Diane von Fürstenberg, Prabal Gurung, Reem Acra, Carolina Herrera, Tadashi Shoji, etc.
