Following the last show and a closing-night party held by IMG Fashion Thursday night, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week concluded its last season at Bryant Park, a run that spanned 17 years and 31 seasons. While IMG, the organizer of the biannual shows, made a statement by bedecking the tents and the official program with farewell quotes from designers, editors, and other fashion bigwigs, many sponsors and shows opted for a low-key approach to set design and decor. However, a few standouts emerged: African style magazine Arise drew inspiration from a variety of places, including Cubist art and Ben Okri's novel The Famished Road; airports influenced W Hotels' backstage lounge, and Isaac Mizrahi presented his collection amid a wintry urban forest set.
Although the tents will return in September at the new location, Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park, there has been little word on how the layout and format might affect the space allotted for sponsors like Mercedes-Benz, W Hotels, and American Express, which offers a private skybox for cardholders and this season introduced a Twitter wall in its lobby lounge.
