Kanye West is getting slammed by fellow New York Fashion Week designer Anne Bowen for adding a last-minute Sept. 16 runway presentation to the already full schedule.
“We have been prepping for a year for this at considerable financial, labor- and commitment-cost to our company,” Bowen told Women’s Wear Daily. “Our show date has been scheduled for months and has been on the Fashion Calendar for weeks. We went through all the proper channels to make this a reality. And just yesterday we learned that Kanye West is having a show at the same time on the same date as ours.”
Bowen’s show was originally scheduled for Sept. 16 as well, but she’s now forced to move her own show back a day.
“In order for our show to have any significance, we now have to move our date and time which is a logistical nightmare,” she said. “Three days out from our originally scheduled time.”
Bowen continued to express her outrage at West, saying that she believes the people who have been working hard at making NYFW run smoothly are being stepped on by the rapper.
“Kanye knows he is a media sensation and it is just not ethical to do this,” she said. “It’s like we are David and he is Goliath. We have put our heart and soul into our show, and should not be stepped on like this.”
“We’re scrambling like crazy and it’s costing us a lot of money,” said Bowen’s publicist, adding the hassle of cancellation fees and trying to secure the same models and photographers. “And now we have to re-invite the press…We sent out printed invites by hand, and they’re useless. We’re trying to contact everyone by email.”
According to Women’s Wear Daily, Bowen isn’t the only fashion designer who is upset about the last minute schedule change — Naeem Khan, who dresses Beyonce, Carrie Underwood, and Michelle Obama, will have to present at the same time as West.
Khan’s spokesperson told WWD on Sunday, “I can tell you that as of now, the show is going on as planned.”