Dear NYFW, I Hate You. Love, a Native New Yorker.

by Mia Lischin

Image by Spencer Mulvaney

One early September morning, I made my way to Washington Square Park from my apartment in the Lower East Side and couldn’t help but notice the swarms of people outside galleries and niche designer stores frantically whispering and pulling out their phones. Curious, I decided to do a bit of investigating. After making my way through Chinatown and Soho, passing an absurd number of models along the way, I realized that my worst fear was upon me: New York Fashion Week.

I don’t think that NYFW is all bad, even with my controversial opinions about the horror that is fashion week. I, for one, love fashion and one of my favorite things about New York is the space it holds for creativity and for people to be themselves. In theory, I should be a huge fan of fashion week, but in practicality I find it to be obnoxious, pretentious, and inconvenient. Maybe the jaded New Yorker in me is talking, but I have always found fashion week to be parasitic. 

I was born and raised in NYC, but more specifically the Lower East Side. Growing up in the early 2000s, the LES was NEVER cool. It was dirty, bland, out-of-touch, and, honestly, something I was embarrassed to tell my friends when they asked me where I lived. Yet, if you were to walk through the LES (shoutout Dimes Square) on any day during fashion week I can guarantee that you will pass at least two models, a handful of DJs, and one influencer, probably making a TikTok about how to dress like a native lower-east-sider. Neighborhoods like the Lower East Side, East Village, and Soho are all similar in that these previously “uncool” neighborhoods have been corrupted and gentrified by the NYFW crowd, taking up sidewalks for their smoke-breaks and constantly swarming local neighborhood spots, popularizing them until you can no longer go inside without waiting in a 20-minute line.

Though many of my issues with NYFW are based on my own experience and opinions on the matter, there are many bigger issues that NYFW creates for the larger community.

According to a survey conducted in 2020, the estimated environmental impact of NYFW is equal to 240,000 tons of CO2 per year. Keep in mind that this damage comes from one week of events.This not only includes the actual production of the garments, but the emissions created from transportation of models, designers, and the collections themselves, which accounts for 37% of annual total emissions. According to the New York Times, the average fashion buyer’s professional carbon footprint is nearly double that of the average person, with their flying totaling around 12,000 miles per year. When considering the amount of people who are involved in the fashion industry, the outcome of this collective travel amounts to a lot of unnecessary waste and carbon emissions. In terms of global greenhouse emissions, the fashion industry accounts for around 10% as of now; however, if production continues at the current rate, it is on track to more than double by 2050. 

This is another prime example of the elite carelessly creating problems for the rest of us so that they can enjoy their own exclusive, lavish lifestyle. Many of the brands participating in NYFW participate in “greenwashing,”claiming to be sustainable brands, concerned with clean production strategies, yet their participation in these events and the work that goes into them is far from what they preach. The hypocrisy is something that I simply cannot get behind.

In addition to the environmental impact, the exclusivity of the events and the culture that it creates is very off putting and makes me resent it even more. While I completely understand that this is an industry event, only meant for those in the fashion world, I think that brands need to either commit to keeping it that way or allow anyone to fully participate. I can’t count how many times I’ve been walking down the street, and unknowingly walked through an event, causing people to give me piercing side eyes and dirty looks. I mean, if you’re going to have an “exclusive” event in the middle of a busy New York City street, what else do you expect? 

Not only is this entire situation annoying, it’s ironic as well. In the past, NYFW has been about exclusivity, only allowing the top figures in the industry to get a look inside. However, in recent years, there has been an influx of influencers and people not necessarily associated with major fashion names invited to participate in events, calling into question the integrity of NYFW as an idea. The only thing that this does is bring more out-of-towners to the city and give them an opportunity to be loud, rude, and obnoxious.

NYFW also creates a world of inconvenience for people living in the city. This fashion week, seven major streets were shut down for events, creating endless reroutes and contributing to the city's already immense traffic congestion problem.The disturbance to the flow of the city is nowhere near worth how cool your show looks.

To be fair to fashion week, NYFW does have some upsides. The week provides endless opportunities for new designers to break into the industry and make connections. But is all the trouble it causes really worth this? I’m certainly not NYFW’s biggest supporter, and I’ve accepted that maybe I am simply a hater from New York City. Who knows how my opinions will change as February approaches, but for now, I am happy to finally wish New York Fashion Week farewell.