KFN unfurled phase one of its multiphase initiative to reimagine New York Fashion Week at an industry event Thursday morning at The Standard Hotel.
KFN (KF Fashion and N4xT), cofounded by Imad Izemrane, is a strategic partnership formed to reenvision NYFW and build a future-forward platform for American fashion. KF Fashion is an extension of Kilburn Media, a diversified media and entertainment company with investments in film, TV and content-driven ventures. N4XT Experiences acquired LA Fashion Week in 2022, and specializes in creative direction, brand strategy and experiential programming at the intersection of fashion, beauty, gaming and culture.
Among those in attendance were Steven Kolb, chief executive officer of the Council of Fashion Designers of America; Prabal Gurung; Rachel Scott of Diotima; Bethann Hardison; Maxwell Osborne; Dao-Yi Chow; Aaron Potts; Edvin Thompson; Henry Zankov, and Jackson Wiederhoeft.
Izemrane, along with Leslie Russo, founder of the The Culture Shop (who was earlier president of IMG’s Global Fashion Events Division), outlined their vision for New York Fashion Week.
“Together we assembled a team that is best in class, and I couldn’t be more excited about what we’re going to share with you today,” said Izemrane. Since Jan. 3, they have been working around the clock to develop the platform, he said.
Russo said when they first discussed doing a new platform for NYFW, “something I didn’t think I was going to do again,” they determined that the first thing they need to do was get investment. The second was that they were going to have to build consensus with the industry, and the third was starting with a clean slate in order to make this successful. She said they went to stakeholders in the industry, such as Kolb, Hardison and many established and emerging designers. “And we wanted to come up with something rooted in this idea that New York Fashion Week doesn’t really belong to any one entity. It belongs to everyone in this room,” said Russo.
At the center of the transformation is the introduction of The Venue Collective, a decentralized network of multiple venues [in close proximity to each other in Manhattan] built to alleviate the operational and financial challenges that have long made NYFW inaccessible to many designers. Russo said each designer will be invited to participate in the Campus, and will be able to choose from one of KFN’s fully contracted venues to host their show at no venue fee cost. Along with a free/no-fee venue, KFN will provide comprehensive support that includes Backstage technical floor plans for hair and makeup, dressing and model lineup, procurement of backstage rentals and equipment, first looks equipment, full backstage installation, street permitting (where required) and wireless show communications system. The end-to-end support is designed to allow designers to focus entirely on creativity, rather than logistics or overhead expenses.
Steven Kolb, Bethann Hardison, Leslie Russo and Imad Izemrane.
Courtesy of KFN
Russo told the audience that in order to develop a plan they went on listening tours and held roundtable discussions. “We really collected a lot of information from the industry,” she said. They also met with people from the government and the Economic Development Corp. They came up with a list of things that they needed to solve, such as elevators, funding, how many fashion weeks are needed to support designers, and how expensive it is to produce a show.
“Being invited into the early stages of the KFN information-gathering sessions wasn’t just refreshing — it was powerful,” said Gurung. “Designers’ voices were sought out from the start. That level of inclusion signals that KFN isn’t just building a product, it’s building a culture that values creative intuition, practical insight and diverse perspective.”
As part of this initiative, designers are being asked to commit to three consecutive seasons. The multiseason approach is intended to bring support to the fashion calendar while allowing brands to build momentum and deepen audience engagement over time. Applications are now being accepted by KFN. The officials noted that the response has included early commitments from both established names and rising talent.
Last May, WME Fashion pivoted from producing a centralized venue for NYFW: The Shows to concentrating its efforts on facilitating brand partnerships and creative collaborations between brands and designers. WME Fashion officials declined to comment.
Russo and Izemrane pointed out that the CFDA remains the official organizer of NYFW and will continue to manage the fashion calendar while contributing its own programming and strategic input.
“We welcome what KFN is doing to support the industry at large, which is aligned with the mission of the CFDA,” said Kolb. “This model makes NYFW more accessible and efficient and helps designers overcome logistical hurdles while freeing them to focus fully on their creative potential.”
Kolb told WWD that he thought the plan was really thought out. “For me what I care about mostly is the Venue Collective. I’m interested in making sure that venues are available to designers who need them and want them and could benefit from them.” But he said while some designers will still want to do their own thing, a lot of designers could benefit. “I love this idea of not being a central venue,” and he liked the idea that the venues they showed are all in Manhattan.
He also said that city and state support is something with which the CFDA has had great success. “When you look at what kind of money is coming in, that really has to be managed by an organization like the CFDA because you really want to make sure you’re using that investment in a way that is broad and not too isolated,” he said. “As they look to more money, that has to be a joint effort, and they know that.”
Russo noted how NYFW provides a big opportunity for New York City. On average, during fashion week, those living in and visiting New York spend about $2,500, and it’s still the highest revenue-generating event in New York.
Russo said phase one will be launched in September, and they hope the platform will be fully realized by the end of 2026. One of the key issues they grappled with is whether NYFW needs a central venue. She said depending on whom she speaks with, there are strong feelings on both sides of this debate. “On one side, a central venue provides one location that makes logistics easy, financially unburdens designers with operational costs and gives a centralized place for fashion week activities to take place in the industry together.” The other side is fashion shows are no longer exclusively for the purpose of showcasing collections to editors and buyers, and although that is vitally still important and the primary function, the show now has to tick a lot of other boxes for fashion designers, such as creating social media content, and serving for their ad campaigns and look books, said Russo.
Russo said there are a variety of formats that are included in the Venue Collective to address the idea that NYFW is not a one size fits all model. She said the Venue Collective will include formats that include runway venues, salons and showroom space.
KPN plans to launch a franchise where they will host editor and buyer salon breakfasts each morning of the five days at no cost to the designer other than the styling of the models and the clothes themselves. This is strictly for editors and buyers. In addition, they will create a Showroom Center, which provides a curated program for designers and brands across a variety of categories, including accessories and jewelry to showcase their collections in a by-appointment setting. This has been successfully tested with the Black in Fashion Council.
Russo said that future phases will introduce a fashion and entertainment platform including cultural programming, public activations, nightlife events and integrated digital experiences aimed at expanding NYFW’s impact. They envision an American fashion festival that runs parallel to NYFW’s opening weekend. They envision it as a two-to-three-day festival. She said they will partner with Kilburn Media (which created World of Barbie) and create a multimedia exhibition every September, which will celebrate American fashion. They expect this to begin in September 2026.
The final phase of the platform will be a centralized digital platform that brings the community together. She said they are working with Brandon Ralph, formerly of Code & Theory, and his new company, The UQ.ode, to build out a smart AI-powered fashion week system that seamlessly integrates the brand schedule, community happenings, and major events all curated into an app by you. It can give you information, such as what are the stores I can visit, and restaurants I can eat at, who could I connect with, who else is around right now?
Following the presentation, Russo told WWD, “I don’t know [that] we’ll get all the designers in season one. I think we’ll have a collection of designers who want to take advantage of the property. There may be some that say, ‘I don’t think that these are the venues I want to use.’” Right now they have 12 venues on hold. They’re hoping to have 15 to 20 venues. “What we want to do is support those who are already on the Fashion Calendar and need the support,” said Russo.
Asked if they’ll be looking for sponsors, she said, “We’ve diversified our revenue model and where the revenue comes from with things like consumer ticket sales and partnerships with nightlife. It’s going to be a diversified revenue stream. She said they will also go after sponsors. “But we won’t necessarily do it the way it’s been done before. It will be much more customized because you’re not in a central venue,” said Izemrane.
He said a lot of brand partners want to reach not just the trade, and have asked how do they get their customers involved? “So it’s not just the industry wants a new model on how brands interact, it’s the brands themselves,” said Russo.
