Hugo Boss opts out of New York Fashion Week

By

Kate Dingwall

Published
Nov 21, 2016

Hugo Boss’s women’s line Boss will not be showing at New York Fashion Week. CEO Mark Langer said the fashion house will be taking “strategic steps to orient its creation, marketing and communication activities more pointedly towards menswear.”  

The announcement follows this morning news that Vera Wang is also skipping NYFW next year.

Ingo Wilts, chief brand officer of Hugo Boss told British Vogue that “Our womenswear is, and will remain, a key component of our medium-term growth strategy, and the creative input offered by Jason Wu remains extremely important to us.We value his work very highly. However, it is essential that we achieve a better balance between our menswear, which has traditionally been so pivotal for us, and our womenswear.”

Langer announced in late October that the house will cut brands like Boss Orange and Boss Green and focus on two lines: BOSS, known for their upper-premium business wear, and HUGO, a brand for the trendier, youthful consumer.

Langer, who was appointed in May of this year, took the reins from Claus-Dietrich Lahrs. While Lahrs invested heavily in womenswear during his time at the house, Langer has put the focus on premium men’s clothing. Langer stated in Late October that he will be closing the house’s unprofitable stores and will cut $55 million of annual costs.

For several seasons now, New York's Fashion Week has been in upheaval, and several designers have changed their approach to it.

In September, in the last edition, Derek Lam, French designer Sophie Theallet, Diane von Furstenberg and Kate Spade avoided fashion shows and instead opted for presentations in which models stand still so they can be observed more easily.

Others such as Theory chose to present their collections after Fashion Week by organizing individual viewings.