When you think of the word "fashion", the first place that springs to mind is probably Paris. The world capital of haute couture, Paris has rightly earned its reputation as a leading city in the fashion realm. However, did you know that New York City was actually the first to host an organized fashion week, and that more people work in the fashion industry in New York (around 175,000) than in Paris? It is no wonder, then, that the twice a year New York Fashion Week continues to generate buzz and excitement. Here is a peek back at the origins of the event, as well as an in-depth look at the Spring 2010 Collection, which was just shown on September 10-17, 2009.

The very first New York Fashion Week was held in 1943, during World War II. Called Press Week, it was intended to take advantage of the fact that Paris, the international capital of fashion, was cut off from America by the war. Press Week was the invention of publicist Eleanor Lambert who had been hired by The Dress Institute in 1940 to help promote American fashion. At the time, New York was a major apparel manufacturing center, but its designers were unknown. The fashion press from the United States went to Paris for the haute couture shows in the spring and fall, and the cuts, colors, and hemlines shown there became the basis for what the average American woman would be wearing the next season. Parisian designers were international celebrities, while homegrown talent went largely ignored, even by the local press. Eleanor Lambert set out to change this.

The advent of World War II was seen as an opportunity by the garment unions, manufacturing concerns, and department stores in New York City. They saw Paris's misfortune as their chance to finally push it off of the world stage and to make New York the focus of the fashion world. The New York Dress Institute set up a fund into which ½ of 1% of the cost of each union-made dress would go for advertising. They had the right idea, but it was not until Eleanor Lambert came along that their concept was brought to fruition.

The advent of World War II was seen as an opportunity by the garment unions, manufacturing concerns, and department stores in New York City. They saw Paris's misfortune as their chance to finally push it off of the world stage and to make New York the focus of the fashion world. The New York Dress Institute set up a fund into which ½ of 1% of the cost of each union-made dress would go for advertising. They had the right idea, but it was not until Eleanor Lambert came along that their concept was brought to fruition.

Ms. Lambert was already well versed in the art of fashion promotion, thanks to her work representing American designers Claire McCardell, Norman Norrell, and Hattie Carnegie. She saw that what American fashion designers lacked was not talent, but publicity. When she was hired by the Dress Institute, Eleanor Lambert came up with a three part plan to help boost the image of New York designers in the American press and to put them in the forefront of the consumer's mind. Her first step was to begin the Best Dressed list, a ranking of the most stylish men and women which is still compiled annually even today. Secondly, Ms. Lambert designed the Coty Awards (the current version of this is the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards), which were given out to the most talented young American designers. The third prong of Eleanor Lambert's fashion blitzkrieg was the invention of Press Week.

The purpose of Press Week was to bring all of New York's fashion designers together in one place twice a year to show their collections to the fashion press, who would in turn write up what they saw and get American retailers and customers excited about New York designers. The first Press Week, held in a building on Seventh Avenue, was not exactly a smashing success. Of the 150 journalists Eleanor Lambert invited, only a little over a third deigned to attend, even though she had offered to cover their expenses. However, Fashion Week did eventually take hold, and over the years it moved to larger and larger locations, including a big theater on Sixth Avenue, a hotel auditorium, and eventually to the current location in Bryant Park in 1993.

Although Paris recovered from its slump after WWII with the launch of Dior's iconic "New Look" in 1947, New York did make its impression on the fashion world. If Paris is the headquarters for haute couture, then New York reigns supreme as the center of designer ready-to-wear (otherwise known as prête-a-porter). In today's world, haute couture is still the most inspirational branch of fashion, but the ready to wear is where the profit is. And that is why Fashion Week is such a major player on the world fashion scene twice a year.

After the New York Fashion Week was consolidated into the famous white tents in Bryant Park it became about much more than just a chance for American fashion designers to showcase their latest collections to the press; it became a glamorous event at which one could see and be seen. The front row of the fashion shows are magnets for celebrities, and the pictures that go into the fashion and gossip magazines of the famous faces are just as popular as the images of the new clothing styles. Admission is not open to the general public, and there is a definite pecking order about where attendees are seated for each show. Celebrities are a big boon for the designers. The more famous people who you can get to come to your show, the more free press for your collection. Not only that, but one of the best ways for a designer to become a household name is for a movie star to wear his one of his creations on the Red Carpet during award season. Renee Zellweger has worn so many dresses by her favorite designer Carolina Herrera that it has almost become a joke come Academy Award time each year.

Interest in New York Fashion Week has also been spurred on by the rise of fashion websites, including those that are the internet arms of well-known magazines like Vogue and In Style. This year the number one way to keep up-to-date on the latest rounds of each designer's offerings was via instant Twitter updates. Television shows like Project Runway have also generated more interest in the world of high fashion among average Americans. Celebrity sightings were down at Fashion Week this year, but there were still plenty of famous faces in attendance, including Michael Douglas, Joan Rivers, and Ivana Trump.

New York Fashion Week, which this year was called Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, was kicked off with an event called Fashion's Night Out which was sponsored by Vogue, the C.F.D.A., and the City of New York. The event was a celebrity studded celebration which was focused, naturally, on shopping the night away at designer boutiques in Manhattan. It was also a fundraiser for the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, which just goes to show that fashion is not all about vapid consumerism.

A good thing, too, because getting people to fork over big bucks for designer outfits has become a big challenge in the current economic climate. Designers have been forced to re-evaluate their approach to their collections. Some, like bridal gown maven and lifestyle designer Vera Wang have opted to show their new designs in smaller venues outside of the Bryant Park tents in both the spring and fall of this year. Others have cut back their runway shows from around fifty ensembles to forty. And yet, there are those who believe that the new prevailing mood in the country has not been all bad for fashion; it has forced designers to pay more attention to creating styles that are not only exquisite, but also wearable and with appeal that will endure for more than one season. Clothing has become less about the fantasy of the fashion designer, and more about finding a way to bring his or her vision to life in a way that is broadly accessible to many women.

The influence of one very interesting trend that has emerged in the retail sector during the economic downturn was broadly evident during the Spring 2010 collections in New York: accessories are hotter than ever. While clothing sales have been very depressed, sales for accessories have remained steady in areas such as jewelry, belts, and boots. In fact, luxury icon Henri Bendel has stopped selling clothing at its flagship store in New York to clear more room for better performers like accessories, gifts, and beauty products. Clients are looking for stand out pieces (perhaps as a way to breathe new life into some of last year's outfits), and the designers are obliging with dramatic new crystal necklaces, bold bracelets, fabulous Swarovski Crystal earrings, and belts that make a statement. According to the head of the non-profit Accessories Council, "consumers want bold conversation pieces", and designers did their best to deliver. One accessory that drew a lot of attention was the pearl studded hair scrunchy shown by Marc Jacobs.

There were plenty of other trends that emerged for spring in the most recent Fashion Week, although there was not one overwhelming new trend that one can point to as the "must have" item for spring. In general, there were a surprising number of long sleeves for a spring collection, as well as a lot of shimmer. Many of the styles could be worn year round, not only in the spring. Seasonless dressing makes sense for both the odd changes in the climate over recent years as well as for the economic realities of the day (fewer early spring vacations to tropical destinations equals less demand for resort style clothing in February in New York). In addition to the usual black (and of course grey at Calvin Klein), there were some pops of bright colors like acid green, yellow, fuchsia and purple, as well as some wild patterns. There was an outstanding fuchsia ruffled strapless evening gown by Oscar de la Renta and an eye popping peacock feather patterned dress at Diane Von Furstenberg.

Perhaps the biggest trend seen was dresses (it was not a big year for separates) featuring all sorts of fabric manipulations, such as ruffles, swags, pleats, balloons, and drapes. Many dresses featured several of these intricate arrangements in combination. Ralph Lauren showed some magnificent periwinkle chiffon dresses with light shimmery beadwork and multi-tonal ruffled and layered skirts. At Carolina Herrera shimmering silks in shades of rich purple and bronze were worked into asymmetrical evening gowns with complex fabric treatments. And yes, there were a few styles that one could easily imagine seeing on Renee Zellweger at the next Hollywood award show.

One piece garments were widely shown, building on the jumpsuits and rompers that were all the rage during the summer of 2009. Of the few separates shown, jackets with bold shoulders were the most prominent. The inspiration is 1980s Dynasty toned down to a wearable scale for the everyday woman. Something else that had a touch of the '80s to it was the popularity of formfitting dresses with cut out slashes covered in a sheer fabric. Michael Kors did a number of these dresses, primarily in black, but also in more surprising colors like pale aqua and a ladylike light blue. As one Twitter updater said, it is time to start loving your body now, because come spring, there might be a lot of it showing! The cut out illusion dresses have a sharp architectural flavor that is an interesting contrast to the floaty ruffles that dominated the other end of the spectrum.

There was one designer in particular who seemed well positioned to weather the current economic climate. Tory Burch has built an immense following since the launch of her collection in 2004. She defines her vision as "attainable luxury", and with prices staying mostly under $400, her pieces are regarded as affordable splurges by fashionistas who might not want to spend thousands on a new dress by Ralph Lauren this year, but need something new to wear to the Hamptons in 2010. The Tory Burch line tends towards preppy with an eclectic/bohemian twist. For Spring 2010 she showed a lot of neutrals with some pops of color like shocking pink, as well as interesting textures like a chunky crocheted eyelet. Apparently the powers-that-be are expecting Burch's vision of modern classic affordable luxury to be just what buyers are seeking in the coming season; her show was well attended by buying teams from Saks, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman.

The rest of the collections shown at Fashion Week were as varied as the designers themselves. No one vision or theme stood out as dominant. At Proenza Schouler, the design duo of Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez showed a wild assortment of garments with feathers and sculpted shoulders. Even wilder was the group of designs shown by Anna Sui, who has never been known for being restrained with her choices of colors or patterns. The Spring 2010 collection was no exception; Anna Sui's love of 1960s psychedelic prints was in full effect. Bold florals mixed with checks in shades of black and white, and deep mysterious purples. Like the other designers, shimmery fabrics made an appearance in Ms. Sui's designs. Unlike the other designers, she sent models down the runway accessorized with headgear like marching band hats and sequined cat masks. Perhaps the whimsical attitude of the designer is why a few of the models for Anna Sui actually dared to crack a smile during the runway show.

The overview of New York Fashion Week would not be complete without mentioning one of the favorite designers of First Lady of fashion Michelle Obama. Narcisco Rodriguez was awarded the prestigious title of the "Mercedes-Benz Presents" designer. Organizers say he was so honored due to his "dedication to quality materials, unique style, and innovative design". Previous winners of the award include Monique Lhuillier, Badgley Mischka, and Chado Ralph Rucci, among others. Rodriguez has won legions of celebrity fans like Sarah Jessica Parker and the First Lady due to his precisely crafted dresses with streamlined architectural cuts. His collection for Spring 2010 was executed in his signature black, white, and beige tones, with the occasional red dress for contrast. The stand out pieces from Narcisco Rodriguez were those which incorporated the trend of sheer cut outs in the dresses.

Many other of the best known American designers participated in the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, including Isaac Mizrahi, Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, Nanette Lepore, and Zac Posen. Even for those women who are not customers of high end designers like Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, New York Fashion Week has relevance; the trends that made their appearance on the runways of Bryant Park will be the same ones showing up next spring in mainstream stores like J Crew. The high fashion designs of New York's best and brightest will also be seen sashaying down the Red Carpet at Hollywood award shows and premieres, in the parties feature in Town and Country, and if you are lucky, maybe even in your closet. It turns out that Eleanor Lambert was right when she dreamt up New York Fashion Week; America does have an immense pool of talented fashion designers, and all they ever needed was the right forum to showcase their fabulous creations.