2013 collections at NY fashion week

CHICAGO - Agence France-Presse

A model presents a creation from the Samantha Wills Spring/Summer 2013 collection at the Fashion Palette New York Runway Show. REUTERS Photo

The spring-summer 2013 collections start coming down the runways yesterday when New York fashion week shifts into high gear with nearly 300 shows and presentations over eight days.

Nicholas K, BCBG Max Azria, Richard Chai and Japan’s Tadashi Shoji are among the first to show at Lincoln Center, ground zero for a dizzying array of events around Manhattan.

Veterans on the schedule include Helmut Lang on Friday; Carolina Herrera, Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs and Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein.

Younger designers and labels are prominent as well, among them are Jason Wu, Alexander Wang and Altuzarra, Thakoon, Zac Posen, Rad Hourani, Phillip Lim and Rodarte on Tuesday.

Newcomers include actress Katie Holmes, embarking on a new life as a part-time designer after her much-publicized divorce from film star Tom Cruise, with a collection put together with full-timer Jeanne Yang.

Running alongside fashion week is Fashion’s Night Out, spearheaded by Vogue magazine in 2009 to sustain shoppers’ interest in fashion in the wake of the post-2007 financial crisis.

Original events

Hundreds of stores and boutiques around Manhattan will be trying to outdo each other with the most original events, from tarot-card readings at Christian Louboutin to homemade charity cookies baked by model Karlie Kloss at DKNY.

New York fashion week is followed by London on September 14-18, Milan on September 19-25 and Paris on September 27 to October 3.