On Tuesday July 14th we officially acquired the Fashion Calendar from Ruth Finley, founder and publisher of the calendar and master planner of New York fashion events for the past 65 years.
CFDA’s acquisition of the Fashion Calendar is a natural fit for the organization as it supports our mission to strengthen the influence and success of American Fashion Designers in the global economy. Although we have always supported the Fashion Calendar in the scheduling of shows and resolving of time conflicts, CFDA began to take a more active role in the process last September when we launched NYFWList, a mobile and desktop tool designed to bring the Fashion Calendar online for the first time since its’ inception.
In acquiring the Fashion Calendar, our mission is to deliver improved organization and efficiency in the scheduling of New York Fashion Week and industry events throughout the year. We plan to further develop robust digital tools that deliver improved organization and efficiency in the scheduling of New York Fashion Week and industry events throughout the year. Additionally, we will implement a formal calendar for scheduling of pre-collections.
The Fashion Calendar will continue to operate as a paid subscription service with revenues applied to the overall infrastructure and management of the Fashion Calendar.
The formal transfer of the business will take place on October 1 2014, at which point we will take full responsibility for scheduling New York Fashion Week, starting with the February 2015 (Fall 2015) shows. In the interim, scheduling will continue to be operated by Ruth Finley and her team at the Fashion Calendar office.
The Fashion Calendar will operate under the same principles on which Ruth Finley founded it. Mrs. Finley will stay on as a consultant and advise the CFDA on scheduling developments. Mary Hackley, who has worked at the Fashion Calendar for 12 years, will join the CFDA staff to manage scheduling of the Fashion Calendar.
Stay tuned for more updates about the Fashion Calendar as we prepare for the full transition of the schedule to CFDA in October 2014.
