Fashion Week moves uptown

It’s a new era for New York City’s fashion world.

After being held at Bryant Park since 1993, Fashion Week is officially moving this week to a new home: Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park.

Some elements of Fashion Week, starting Sept. 9, will feel similar — a conscious decision by producer IMG — but the overall vibe has shifted along with the move uptown.

“It’s more fresh and elegant, modern and slick,” said Christina Neault, executive producer of IMG Fashion.

The giant white tents, a symbol of September and February in New York, are still housing shows, and their rental costs ($15,000-$50,000) mirror Bryant Park’s, Neault said. IMG has also added a space called The Box for non-runway presentations.

In February, designers waxed poetic about Bryant Park’s final season — a move prompted by the Bryant Park Corp.’s annoyance with the frenzy of  Fashion Week — and some lamented Lincoln Center’s distance from the Garment District. But the majority of designers who have typically shown at Bryant Park have moved to Lincoln Center, with a handful opting out.

“I will never forget Bryant Park but Lincoln Center is a bigger venue that will allow for Fashion Week to continue to grow,” designer Rebecca Taylor said.

Another change this season is updated technology. In the past, paper invitations littered editors’ and buyers’ desks, but this season 80 percent of designers are using Fashion GPS, which electronically tracks RSVPs, seating charts and the like. IMG is underwriting the cost for designers, Fashion GPS CEO Eddie Mullon said.

Fashion GPS also changes the shows’ check-in system. Instead of speaking to a publicist holding a clipboard, guests should bring their printed-out seating assignment cards or invites (delivered via e-mail) to Lincoln Center and scan them at a kiosk or with a staffer for entrance.

But the new system won’t totally quash Fashion Week’s famous crowds.

“I don’t think we’ll ever alleviate that completely [nor do we] want to because that’s sort of the excitement of a fashion show,” Neault said.