The Tents (2012)

I found this selection on Netflix. I was not exactly sure what to expect. I was a little disappointed, but really this documentary does what it sets out to do--provide an overview of the origins and the growth of New York's Fashion Week for the eighteen years it was housed in Bryant Park.

If you hope to see whole collections by U.S. designers or lots of celebrities, this is not the film to watch. The Tents only provides (numerous) glimpses of both, just enough to give you a feel for what transpired.

If you want a definitive history of Bryant Park's very successful role in the promotion of Fashion Week as provided through interviews with many of the participants involved, this film is for you. Snippets of interviews with organizers, producers, designers, models, sponsors and fashion fans reveal how an audacious idea became an integral part of the fashion culture and a significant influence on the global fashion seasons.

Also discussed are various factors that have influenced Fashion Week during those years--digital cameras, social media, and Project Runway.

The Tents is filled with anecdotes that range from lighting miscues to the intrusions of the real world (e.g. the death of Alexander McQueen and 9/11).

As New York's Fashion Week prepares to move to Lincoln Center, this film provides a nostalgic look at an era many will identify with and others will want to visit.