The runway shows can really put a financial strain on a new business. Every year, there's always someone who has gone out of business who was showing the year before. People see the glamour, but it's a business. Fashion is a tough business.
I always say the two most unpopular bits of advice I give people are to go work for someone else before starting your own label and to not do your own runway show when you're first starting out, unless someone else is paying the bill,
Fashion week gets so cluttered that if you've never heard of a designer, why go to the show? So we put them together in one presentation. Stores are more competitive. Consumers are starting to go into stores and see that the clothes all look the same.
The importance of Fashion Week is really the exposure because the fashion industry is so competitive. It's key exposure, a really important moment in the spotlight for a designer at any level.
