The fashion world was stunned by the news that New York Fashion will be moving to a new location. After two years at its current location, Lincoln Center, New York Fashion Week (NYFW) will potentially move to a new location by mid-2015. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced on November 1 at a press conference that NYFW will move to its new location at the Hudson Yard called the “Cultural Shed.” It will be located on 26 acres on the West Side of Manhattan.
Bloomberg stated to WWD (Women’s Wear Daily) that the current home of NYFW has outgrown its current space. “Fashion Week has grown so much. It’s outgrown Lincoln Center already. It certainly outgrew Bryant Park a long time ago. The fashion industry is part of our diversification plan…It’s an enormous industry that creates a lot of jobs….We need to make sure that we have the venues for these kinds of events and the Cultural Shed is one of those buildings that would be built to be able to handle that along with other events.”
The plan was originally developed to move Fashion Week to Hudson Yard in 2006 by chief executive officer Steve Kolb and fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg (who is the president) of the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America).
The estimated $15 billion project will not only be the home of NYFW, but it will create an art center for fashion, retail and the arts. It will house office building space, a 150-room hotel and 14 acres of public space according to WWD. There is potential that it will hold future theater performances, traveling exhibitions and community events according to the Wall Street Journal online website. Coach is the first retailer is sign to the new developed site. The site will create a 51 story 600,000 square feet building. Coach Headquarters will hold 1600 of their employees in one central location. There have been several rumors buzzing that the high end retail store Nordstrom will be opening their first retail store at the Hudson Yard.
The beginning stages of the project is said to begin in 2013. The future of Fashion Week will be a new and exciting experience for many fashion enthusiasts alike as the development continues as NYFW moves to the Hudson Yard.