Chris Benz is Skipping Fall Fashion Week
Ask any editor about his or her favorite New York Fashion Week presentations each season, and you’re likely to hear Chris Benz‘s name come up a lot. The pink-haired darling is a top pick not only because he has colorful, inventive presentations, but also because he’s truly charming (read: not a diva) and plays host to a fun-loving, eclectic scene that often includes celebrities like Susan Sarandon and Johnny Weir.
This February, however, Benz has announced he’s taking a hiatus from Fashion Week, and from the Fall 2013 season overall.
Why He’s Skipping: For the Spring 2013 season, Benz set a bold new direction for the line, which included overhauling the pricing of his collection. While Benz has been playing in the high-end designer playpen, this new collection would fall in the more affordable, mid-range category, which would appear to suit his fan base far better. When we spoke to the designer backstage at his presentation in September, he explained his thinking this way: “For this season, we thought: We have so many great fans and have such a fun following … I really felt it was important to expand the collection and make the price point a bit more accessible.”
Understandably, a move like this is not without some fits and starts, and it sounds like Benz is taking the opportunity here to spend a bit more time honing the process. Here is the official statement from the label:
Following a successful first collection at the contemporary price point, CHRIS BENZ will be expanding its branding, enhancing its infrastructure and preparing for additional business ventures. This deeper dive into the contemporary market necessitates taking a break from the Fall 2013 season, to prepare for a positive future.
How It Affects You (and Benz Lovers Everywhere): From the sounds of things, Benz will not only be taking a break from showing at Fashion Week—which can be stressful and sometimes unnecessary in an age of digital lookbooks and market appointments—but he’ll also be taking a break from the Fall 2013 season completely. This means that you won’t be seeing much (if any) new Chris Benz fall merchandise on the shelves come August and September, though the designer’s ongoing projects and collaborations will continue, according to the brand’s statement. There may also be “new strategic partnerships” on the horizon, per the label, so be on the look-out for the label possibly teaming up with other retailers and labels this year. (Benz teamed up with eBay, for example, on a special CFDA holiday collection, so he’s experienced in such matters.)
Related: Watch Chris Benz Discuss His Spring 2013 Collection, New Direction at Fashion Week
