Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
To me, only NYC is a fashion capital, none of the rest.
The best fashion cities, that would be different. Depends on what we are measuring. Street style? That’s arbitrary. High need shopping? Boutiques?
I think any large urban city would automatically be at the top just due to the size, diversity, and number of shops. So that would include Los Ángeles, Miami, Dallas, Chicago, etc.
To me, only NYC is a fashion capital, none of the rest.
While NYC is the overall fashion capital, fall/winter collections dominate the fashion scene there for most of the year due to the climate. Miami (a much warmer climate), on the other hand, is a spring/summer fashion stronghold, which why I think Miami is worthy of mention.
While NYC is the overall fashion capital, fall/winter collections dominate the fashion scene there for most of the year due to the climate. Miami (a much warmer climate), on the other hand, is a spring/summer fashion stronghold, which why I think Miami is worthy of mention.
Miami is not a bad choice. It has a lot of shopping, modeling agencies and beach vibe that influences its fashion.
My #1 pick for North America is Montreal. New York would be #2 as I find it a little too "the Smiths vs the Jones" for my liking. I prefer both the classy and the care-free, spirited, artistic Parisienne flare that is distinctive of Montreal styles. https://www.kraywoods.com/blogs/our-...fashion-trends
.
Zoisite, this is a hilarious bit of Canadian boosterism.
Having been to Montreal, the fashion scene is a tad frumpy due to the climate and the derivative nature of Canadian culture. Appealing to another city’s fashion culture doesn’t do much for Montreal, and there is nothing “care-free, Parisienne, distinctive, spirited, or artistic” about nonexistent “Montreal fashion”. It’s typical tacky club attire is as fashionable as it gets. Those are empty buzzwords you’re just throwing out, LMAO, they could be used to describe any fashion scene in the world.
Characterizing New York fashion as “the Smiths vs the Joneses”…wtf does that mean? It has a fashion legacy that stomps anything Montreal has to offer.
Dumb Canadian boosterism that reads like it comes from someone who doesn’t know fashion and is only praising Montreal because “French speaking = Fashionable”, or something.
The fashion you see in NYC and surrounds is the fashion you’ll see in London or Paris, but the fashion you see in Montreal is…usually the fashion of NYC (or even Philadelphia) from 5-7 years ago.
Yup. Euophiles who don’t understand fashion and think fashion is inextricably linked to the words Milan Paris London or Monaco. It’s a very 1960s way of thinking. Even then-it was wrong..e.g. blue jean denim
Might overlap with the crowd who thinks “understated , practical and durable” should be weighed above all else in regards ’mature’ fashions, lol.
It’s a very 1890s way of thinking, lmao. America was already one of the dominant players in western fashion by the 1950s.
Right. That makes Dallas a Fashion MARKET, and not a Fashion Capital.
Since Dallas is so full of high end retailers, Dallas people are known to love to dress up and be fashionable; of course Dallas is not on the level of a NY, LA, or Miami but it's definitely one of the most stylish, best dressed cities in North America.
Apology for bringing back a 2 yrs old thread.
Secondly, why do people put Miami in the same league as NYC/LA as the influential fashion cities?
Miami has been improving, Chanel recently had its ready-to-wear held in Miami but overall Miami is mostly still a niche market for swimwear & resort fashion. While resort is a big market with a lot of money involved, it’s not yet to the influence of twice a year ready-to-wear that trickles down from high end designer market to high street fast fashion brands like Express/FOREVER 21.
Also, fashion “capitals” don’t necessarily mean shopping. Just like you cant be a great fashion executive or buyer or planner or merchandiser or designer because you love shopping. It takes more than that. In order to be considered a “capital”, you need to have talents, showrooms, wholesale, productions (many labels manufacturer overseas but that’s why you need production teams who serve as the liaison between the house and the factory people. The communication is constant, meticulous and requires the impeccable attention to detail or you’d be wasting money on inspection and poor result.) and the local garment district. Additionally you need press, modeling agencies, fashion show production industry, artist reps for makeup/hair stylists/photographers/stylists . Having local design schools are definitely a plus because fashion is an industry that feeds off young energy and the constant need for renewing/recycling ideas/revamp the brand images..-the whole nine yards. While even the minor league cities such as Nashville and Austin have their own Fashion week, the quality and the talent pool vary.
Just because there are Gucci and Chanel in Columbus OH, doesn’t make it a fashion city, never mind a capital. (But funny how Columbus happens to be where the monster co.Victoria’s Secret is at!)
NYC will always be the biggest dog in the game, there’s no other way around it, even if you begrudgingly hate the city. It will always be with the other 4 big dogs: Paris, Milan, London and Tokyo (my ranking based on the global influences, creativity and talent pool. Massive Japanese talents such as Rei Kawakubo of Comme dés Garçon, Kenzo, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto all had to either start their career, went to school or had the fashion shows held in Paris to gain the global success/recognition.)
Los Angeles, up until 2000 and up, still wasn’t in the same league as NYC. Like Miami today, L.A back then mostly was, sadly speaking, known for Juicy Couture and Kitson. (There were selling like mad but they weren’t high fashion.) However, unlike Miami today, LA had the endless supply of pop culture influence/Hollywood money and glamour/rock n roll inspired attitude to attract many talent, young and old. LA also had many local artists such as Liz Goldwyn (the MGM connection) pushing for the designers and their communities to elevate LA to be the major league player. Early 2000 was also the era when Hollywood celebrities replaced the so-called super models/top models to be on the magazine covers. American Vogue placed someone like Britney Spears on the cover, Hollywood influence started to generate power in fashion to LA (instead of NYC where most super models were based.) then LA started to take off. LA also has its own garment district, schools like FIDM supplied young talents, more West Coast-based publication such as InStyle became very popular and brands like Badgley Mischka were everywhere. (That’s also when the annoying E!Channel and the dumb Fashion Police shows were all over the place.)
I am having trouble coming with the 10 North American fashion “capitals”. Fashion cities, perhaps. But not capitals.
Fashion these days has also become more urban, diverse and far less WASPY-driven. The past narrative of the WASPY or NY Jewish socialites attending the designers’ fashion shows/soirées for them to influence the Midwest housewives or a career woman in D.C was probably long gone. Now you have “influencers”, social media promotion, nepotism celebrity offsprings and more inclusions on different sizing/skin colors/gender identify. When you have an old guard brand like Tiffany featuring Jay Z & Beyoncé, you know fashion has come a long since the days of Bebe Paley and Brook Astor.
Personally I miss the old days. I miss back then fashion still portrayed a sense of escapism and fantasy (shown in particular in Haute Couture.) where the super models had their own distinctive look and allure (George Michael Freedom 90 vidéo anyone?!) and designs were supposed to be daring and out there, instead of being concerned if they would get cancelled.
I also don’t understand people like Jessica Simpson and Kristin Cavalli made banks from their “design”. How?!
I’d venture to guess the leading (can’t come up with 10) fashion capitals in North America (in ranking) are:
1: NYC 2: Los Angeles 3: Toss between Toronto and Chicago (that’s not saying much.) 4: Mexico City 5: Miami
Lastly, high fashion will always be Europhile, at least in our lifetime, whether or not you like it.
Remember though that places like NYC are cold climates, and that means the dominant collection of the year would be fall/winter collections. Spring/summer collections, on the other hand, tend to thrive in warmer climates.
I've been to a lot of big cities: Chicago, Vegas, LA, Atlanta, Austin, Miami. Just can't compare to NYC.
The fashion sense in other cities is just too behind the NYC stage. NYC is the fashion capital of the US. The closest I would say is LA but I hate LA fashion. The look there just not very diverse.
Zoisite, this is a hilarious bit of Canadian boosterism.
Having been to Montreal, the fashion scene is a tad frumpy due to the climate and the derivative nature of Canadian culture. Appealing to another city’s fashion culture doesn’t do much for Montreal, and there is nothing “care-free, Parisienne, distinctive, spirited, or artistic” about nonexistent “Montreal fashion”. It’s typical tacky club attire is as fashionable as it gets. Those are empty buzzwords you’re just throwing out, LMAO, they could be used to describe any fashion scene in the world.
Characterizing New York fashion as “the Smiths vs the Joneses”…wtf does that mean? It has a fashion legacy that stomps anything Montreal has to offer.
Dumb Canadian boosterism that reads like it comes from someone who doesn’t know fashion and is only praising Montreal because “French speaking = Fashionable”, or something.
The fashion you see in NYC and surrounds is the fashion you’ll see in London or Paris, but the fashion you see in Montreal is…usually the fashion of NYC (or even Philadelphia) from 5-7 years ago.
It’s blatantly obvious that you have never been to Montreal if that is your take on the city. You are showing your true troll colours!
I’m sure that you have already been banned and are now trolling under another different name.
The fashion you see in NYC and surrounds is the fashion you’ll see in London or Paris, but the fashion you see in Montreal is…usually the fashion of NYC (or even Philadelphia) from 5-7 years ago.
This might have been true up through the early 2000s. But this mindset to me is all but outdated since ~2010 or so.
General fashion in Montreal on the average inhabitant is fairly similar in Montreal in my opinion. Does NYC have a better fashion scene? Yes. Do I think NYC has the edge on younger people who a bit more fashion forward? Yes. But 5-7 years behind? No way. That's the way it was prior to the internet.
The differences that you see now are not TRENDS from NYC taking 5-7 years to reach Montreal. Because the current trends are all over the internet, fashion blogs, tiktok, instagram etc. and can be found in ANY major city.
Where NYC shines is more on high fashion or people stepping out of those trends on an individual basis. But in no world could I agree that Montreal is 5-7 fashion years behind NYC. I just haven't seen the fashion world work like that in over a decade.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
