History

Because "the topic of fashion shows remains to find its historian",[1] the earliest history of fashion shows remains obscure.
In the 1800s, "fashion parades" periodically took place in Paris couture salons.[2]

American retailers imported the concept of the fashion show in the early 1900s.[2] The first American fashion show likely took place in 1903 in the New York City store Ehrlich Brothers.[2] By 1910, large department stores such as Wanamaker's in New York City and Philadelphia were also staging fashion shows.[2] These events showed couture gowns from Paris or the store's copies of them; they aimed to demonstrate the owners' good taste and capture the attention of female shoppers.[2]
By the 1920s, retailers across the United States held fashion shows.[2] Often, these shows were theatrical, presented with narratives, and organized around a theme (e.g. Parisian, Chinese, or Russian).[2] These shows enjoyed huge popularity through mid-century, sometimes attracting thousands of customers and gawkers.[2]
In the 1970s and 1980s, American designers began to hold their own fashion shows in private spaces apart from such retailers.[2] In the early 1990s, however, many in the fashion world began to rethink this strategy.[2] After several mishaps during shows in small, unsafe locations, "[t]he general sentiment was, 'We love fashion but we don't want to die for it,'" recalls Fern Mallis, then executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.[2] In response to these shows, the New York shows were centralized in Bryant Park during fashion week in late 1993.[2] Lately from the 2000 to today, fashion shows are usually also filmed and appear on specially assigned television channels or even in documentaries. [3]