New York Fashion Week’s Fall 2016 collections recently wrapped up last week.  One of my favourite designers is Diane von Furstenberg and this season she chose not to present a traditional runway show.  Rather she had an intimate presentation at the DVF headquarters located in New York’s Meatpacking district.  A handful of models including Karlie Kloss and Jourdan Dunn were on hand wearing pieces from the collection.

The models danced to the sounds of disco tunes and interacted with Diane in a way that made people almost forget about the clothes. It was more like a party. The beauty of this type of presentation is that it allows the audience to see how the clothing works well in real life.  Runway shows are so orchestrated and well put together that sometimes it’s hard to imagine if the clothing is functional or just for show.

Normally after the presentation of a collection, it’s not available for sale to consumers until the next season.  This year, a group of designers decided to get into the direct-to-consumer business.  That means all the items in the collection could be purchased right after the presentation. DVF had the items live on her website shortly after the collection was viewed.  It’s not surprising that this is the direction some designers are taking.  We live in a world where images are seen immediately in social media and buyers are ready now.  They don’t want to wait another six months to get the items they want. I predict this will be the way of the future for all designers over the next few years.

Watch the video below to see more of the presentation.