New York Fashion Week is about to turn 75 (the first official show in the news was held in 1943), and with 151 shows in nine days, many designers are questioning the future of this biannual event. “We are facing the end of an era,” designer Diane von Furstenberg said in a recent interview. "But it's nothing to miss. The future is more exciting."

The future may be exciting, but for many industries, the past is more worthy of pondering and admiration. In this article, you'll see a slew of fashion industry celebrities reflect on their experiences: the good, the bad, the embarrassing, and the ones you'll never forget.

Happy ignorant boy

DIANE VON FURSTENBERG

The first time I attended a fashion week, I didn’t even realize it was a fashion week. It was in 1973, when we were at the Hotel Pierre. I still have a picture from that time of me wearing one of my wrap dresses that had snake print on it. I was with Jerry Hall and my kids, who were very little at the time.

CAROLINA HERRERA

My first show was in 1981 at the Met. Someone was playing a Cole Porter tune, and it seemed like the entire New York fashion world was here: Diana Vreeland, C. Z. Guest, Nan Kempner, Jerry Zipkin, Consuelo and Rudi Crespi. Bianca Jagger and Steve Rubell are here too. They didn't let Steve in at first because he didn't have a tie, so he went to Bergdorf Goodman and bought one before he came in again.

MICHAEL KORS

My first show was the fall show in 1984 at the Tower Gallery on 18th Street on Sixth Avenue, where Bed Bath & Beyond is now. On the day of the show, I walked into the gallery and the art was still there and the walls were royal blue. That blue one made me collapse. I asked the gallery owner if we could take down all the art, paint the walls white, and hang them back up the next morning after the show, and he agreed. But no one told me at the time that YouQi’s smell could basically smoke the audience to death.

DONNA KARAN

It was 1974 and I had just received a phone call saying that Anne Klein had passed away (Donna Karan and Louis Dell’Olio were Anne Klein’s designers). No one had ever bothered to tell me how sick she was. I was angry, but no one really talked about cancer at that time. That week was also the week my daughter was born, and I was still in the hospital, and a lot of people called me and asked me, “When are you going to come back to work? I said, "Don't you want to know whether I'm giving birth to a boy or a girl?" ”

STEPHEN BURROWS

My first show was the spring show in 1969 at O Boutique on Park Avenue South. That boutique was established by artist James Valkus. There were paintings, sculptures and my clothes on display, all made in the basement of that store. The show was held in a window facing the street. Our R&B music gets the mood going. There were many people standing inside the house, and many more standing on the sidewalk outside watching. There's a lot of clothing that's very unisex, with patchwork leather, suede dresses and pants, chiffon and knit tops, shirts and T-shirts, all available in store next week. My team was operating upstairs and I was in the basement and I never saw the show.

ZAC POSEN

The first time I showed my fitting was in February 2002, I previewed it in my parents' living room. I used money borrowed from friends and family, as well as money I had saved from selling lemonade on Spring Street when I was a child. I used this meager amount of money to complete my first set of works.

ALEXANDER WANG

Our first fashion week show was in the fall of 2007, in a warehouse in Chelsea. It was very busy backstage. I remember our director who was in charge of casting the models was freaking out because all the models and makeup artists (who are also good friends of mine) were eating greasy pizza, and he kept yelling, “Where’s Alex! "I was eating pizza too. I didn't know what to do.

For the fall 2007 show, “I remember our director who was in charge of casting the models was freaking out because all the models and makeup artists (who are also good friends of mine) were eating greasy pizza, and I was eating pizza too. "September 6, 2016. Image source: Videofashion News

MIGUEL ADROVER

Quentin Crisp is my neighbor and we used to have breakfast together in the diner. He told me many times that he never cleans and the dust in his room is a part of his life. When I heard the news of his death, my heart broke. Later, when I saw an old mattress in front of his room, I realized, "Oh my God, these must be Quentin's sheets!" We dragged his mattress to my basement and unpacked it. It doesn't look very dirty outside, but it's really dirty inside. There were bugs everywhere and we all got rashes. It doesn't matter, I'm always trying to repurpose things. This is my attitude towards this very "disposable" world.

JOSEPH ALTUZARRA

The first time I appeared at Fashion Week was in the fall of 2009. The whole process cost us $3,000. We found a small gallery in Chelsea and we made a deal with the gallery. We pay the gallery owner a small amount, and then we give his assistant a dress. The backstage is very small, more like a warehouse with a bathroom. We have 15 models and 19 pieces of clothing. My mom made cookies for the models backstage and that was the food that was served.

RIO URIBE (Gypsy Sport)

My first show was in September 2014 in Washington Square Park, showing spring 2015 clothing. It was a very public show. I spent a lot of time in Washington Square Park. I met a lot of people in the park (who came to the park regularly) and I ended up including them all in my show. Bongo drummers, cello players, gymnastics instructors, break dancers, they all came. The energy of the show was amazing. It feels very New York.

LAURA MULLEAVY（Rodarte）

Our first show was the fall 2006 show at the Ukrainian Institute at 79th Street on Fifth Avenue. It's very hard to get people to come out and leave the place where most of the show takes place. But because we're from California, we don't know, we don't understand the city, and we don't know how to prepare for a show. We spent a long time in the hotel at night thinking hard, "What style should a show have? How should it be organized?" At that time, we felt that we had entered an abyss.

DONNA KARAN

The turning point was 1985, when I left Anne Klein. At that time, I told my boss: "I want to set up a small company." These womenWear shirts in the office all year round. I asked myself, "Where are the gender differences? Where is the comfort? Are there clothes that can be worn from morning to night? How do you pack a wardrobe into a bag when traveling?" This is the origin of Seven Easy Pieces.

I asked myself, "Where are the gender differences? Where is the comfort? Are there clothes that can be worn from morning to night? How can I pack a wardrobe into a bag when traveling?" This is the origin of Seven Easy Pieces. September 6, 2016. Image source Videofashion News.

NORMA KAMALI

A pivotal moment for me was the day the sleeping bag outerwear was born. That was in the 1970s. I was with a hippie guy who was really good-looking but kind of dumb, and we would go camping all the time. It was always cold at night in the woods, and one night I wrapped myself in my sleeping bag when I ran to the bathroom. As I was running I was thinking, "I need to add sleeves to this thing."

When I got back to my studio, I unzipped my sleeping bag and laid it flat on the ground. I wanted to use every inch of it, and that's exactly what I did. It became the inspiration for the jacket.

After 9/11, we made a lot of sleeping bag outerwear with all the fabric we had. These were sold. You’ll see a lot of people wearing them to bed in airport lounges and hotel lobbies. This jacket kept us afloat at the time.

MICHAEL KORS

The hairdresser for my first show was a friend who had never done a fashion show before. He didn't even know there was such a thing that tested his hair and makeup skills. He gave each model a completely different look. There's no similarity at all. But the models, Iman, Dianne deWitt and Mounia were very supportive.

JOSEPH ALTUZARRA

We only have 6 pairs of shoes, so when the first girl comes back, we have to give her shoes to the next person. If the girl's feet are not that size, we stuff tissue inside. We spent the entire show on our hands and knees.

MICHAEL KORS

It was crazy backstage that day. I bought 3 pairs of black Maud Frizon flat shoes at Barneys and 3 pairs of Charles Jourdan high-heeled shoes at Bergdorf Goodman. That's it. We had 6 pairs of shoes in rotation throughout the show. We had to wait for a girl to get off the catwalk, take off her shoes, and then put the shoes on the feet of the next girl.

JOSEPH ALTUZARRA

We have no lights, no warm-up, no heating. Basically, it was me, the stylist, a friend of mine, and a photographer who came 2 hours in advance. He helped us get the light to ensure that no matter where the model came out, it would be bright and visible. The sound comes from a speaker.

RACHEL ZOE (stylist turned designer)

New York in the early 1990s was dominated by supermodels and designers: Calvin, Donna and Marc. At that time, the stylist was just the background and could not attract much attention. No one knows who we are. That's good: I'm always doing things behind the scenes.

Then, as it happens, things, pop culture, and my relationship with Hollywood changed. I moved to the front row. Around 2003 to 2004. I'm still a starry-eyed, fashion-obsessed girl. Stylists are on the rise, and stars are beginning to make their own choices. But I never felt that my existence had any special meaning. Even now, I feel like I'm the kind of person who goes to a show and no one remembers me. Recently, I said to the person next to me, "Hello, I'm Rachel." She looked at me and said, "I know." I felt a little stupid.

MICHAEL KORS

There were no cameras at that time, so you couldn’t see the audience while standing backstage. But I could hear the applause after every departure. Then I discovered Polly Mellen, the editor of Vogue, who was always the one who took the lead in breaking the silence and applauding.

ALEXANDER WANG

People went crazy after the show, clapping, cheering, and even throwing things in the air. It's like a football game.

JOSEPH ALTUZARRA

When it was over I walked out and saw everyone standing - there were no chairs. It was a very sweet moment.

MICHAEL KORS

In those days, I walked out after the models. The audience was buzzing, and the girls cheered, smiled, and clapped along with me. It's hard for people to actually participate in a show now, they're too busy looking at their iPhones.

Friends on the high platform

ANNA SUI

It was February 1991, an era with many famous models. Naomi, Linda, all my friends came to support me. Steven [Meisel] and Paul [Cavaco] took on the whole process with me. André [Leon Talley] was talking all the time, commenting on the clothes and the models. It all happened so fast, I remember it like a dream. When it was over, I remember our eyes meeting with Paul's,Then we both started crying.

Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista in the iconic fall 1991 show. September 6, 2016.

THAKOON PANICHGUL

My first show was in the spring of 2005, in a photography studio on 18th Street in West Chelsea. The place was very small and the time wasn't ideal. I was very worried that no one would come. But Julie Gilhart, the fashion director at Barneys, told everyone "Thakoon's show is worth seeing," and Sally Singer did it in Vogue, and we got a lot of attention.

MIGUEL ADROVER

In 1999, Vogue took away two items from my collection, a miniskirt made from a LV bag and a skirt made from anacondas. That one is real leather, about 14 meters long. It smells disgusting too. Steven Meisel came to shoot these two items. They disappeared on the way back from the shoot, and Vogue gave me $12,000 as compensation. I used that money, money from a loan from my father, and some money that Lee [Alexander] McQueen lent me to do a second show.

CAROLINA HERRERA

Bill Blass helped me find models: Iman, Alva Chinn, Dianne deWitt. That show was very charming. It was the 1980s, and elegant women were not afraid of being called elegant.

JASON WU

In September 2008, we handed over our spring collection. We went to a gallery called Exit Art. This is the first time Anna Wintour has come to our show. All my fantasy clients are here too. Michelle Obama's team also reached out to us, before she was first lady. I designed 3 outfits for her and she wore them all. One was a white linen dress with tiny black dots embroidered on it, which she wore to Barbara Walters' Thanksgiving interview. That feeling! Awesome!

RALPH LAUREN

I remember in the early 1970s, Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta and John Weitz invited me to attend Eleanor Lambert’s fashion event with them. I was still doing menswear at the time, maybe I had just started doing womenswear. I was very young at that time. But my show was particularly successful. After that Bill said to Oscar, "If you don't want to be taken away from someone, never invite dogs and kids." I was the kid they were talking about.

(Translator: Wang Mengyao)