Why won’t anyone sponsor a NYFW bus?

Welcome to The American Thread, a recurring column on the fate and future of fashion in the US, written by Vogue Business editor-at-large Christina Binkley. To receive the Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here.

Steven Kolb, the long-time chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), last week posted an Instagram story seeking a marketing sponsor for New York Fashion Week. It’s an indication of the struggles facing American fashion.

Kolb’s post, which he also placed on his LinkedIn, Facebook, X and Threads, asked his followers for ideas to enlist a sponsor for a bus that could ferry NYFW press and buyers between the Spring/Summer 2025 shows. It would be similar to the buses that operate across Paris and Milan fashion weeks. “DM me,” he pleaded.

I texted him. How much money was the CFDA seeking? Roughly $75,000 to $100,000, he replied — enough to cover the lease, operations, and some extras or overhead. Had he pitched to beauty and fashion companies, or sought support outside of the fashion industry — banks, pharmaceuticals, media, Amazon?

“All of it,” Kolb replied.

Kolb represents an industry group whose annual awards show for fashion excellence rivals the Oscars for its red carpet. Last year’s CFDA Awards were sponsored by Amazon Fashion, hosted by actress Anne Hathaway, and honoured Serena Williams as Fashion Icon. The $360 billion US apparel industry is expected to grow by 2.1 per cent annually over the next several years. American fashion is a high-profile, sexy, desirable industry that draws close attention from millennial and Gen Z shoppers alike

Now, this influential organisation is offering a premier marketing opportunity — a mobile wrap-around billboard that could place its sponsor in front of a young and fashion-hungry public — for what is a paltry amount of money when it comes to corporate marketing budgets.

If it comes to be, the bus would criss-cross New York City, pulling into the throngs that wait outside even the most minor of the 71 shows on the official NYFW calendar (which was released on Monday). It could be an instant backdrop for the celebrity arrivals, influencers, selfie-takers, street-style photographers and looky-loos who gather outside shows.

Back in the ’90s and noughties, an era viewed by old-timers with rose-coloured glasses, NYFW’s tents at Bryant Park were inundated with sponsors who sought to get in front of the week’s attendees. Evian handed out bottles of its mineral water, while Mercedes-Benz inserted its name, dubbing the event ‘Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week’, and placed a glitzy new car inside the tents’ entrance. Beauty brands set up mini salons and manicure booths. Later, Lexus ferried VIPs from show to show.