N.Y. FASHION WEEK RESCHEDULED, LONDON AND PARIS TO GO AHEAD

September 12, 2001Sep 12, 2001, 11:00 PM GMT+1

New York Fashion Week, cancelled in the wake of terrorist attacks on the US, has been rescheduled for late October, and London and Paris Fashion Weeks will go on as planned. The week-long New York event was in progress when the tragedy occurred, and most major designers had not yet presented their collections. The unseen presentations will now hit the catwalk on October 22.

Though there was widespread support from the industry for the cancellation of the New York events - “It was absolutely the right and appropriate decision to cancel the shows in New York under these circumstances,” said Givenchy president Marianne Tesler - spokespeople insist that shows in London and Paris will not be disrupted. London Fashion Week will begin on Monday. “The mood in London is fairly sombre, of course, but we are going ahead with the collections,” says the Chairman of the British Fashion Council, Nicholas Coleridge.

However, many of the top models, English fashion editors and stylists who were due at the event are unable to leave the US because there are still no transatlantic flights from the States. Several designers are undecided about whether to show their collections and it is believed that some may cancel their presentations entirely.

The Chambre Syndicale, the overseers of French fashion, said Paris Fashion Week will take place in October as scheduled, albeit with much-heightened security. “It’s our responsibility to go forward,” said Chambre president Didier Grumbach.

Though the event has been confirmed, it is unclear whether all the designers will participate. Yves Carcelle, president of the fashion division of French luxury conglomerate LVHM, which had two retail outlets destroyed in the attacks, said his priority was not the latest collection, but those who may have been affected by the tragedy. “Apparently all our staff is okay. First we focus on people, and any of their family problems, and then we focus on any future business conditions. We are not thinking of shows today.”

Backstage at the Marc Jacobs show, one of the last presentations before NY Fashion Week was cancelled

"First we focus on people...We are not thinking of shows today," says the president of LVHM, the French luxury conglomerate that owns a number of labels, including Christian Lacroix

Top models, designers and stylists are unable to leave the US because there are still no transatlantic flights from the States

Sign up to HELLO Daily! for the best royal, celebrity and lifestyle coverage

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.