Fashion week

A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, wherein fashion designers, brands or "houses" display their latest collections in runway shows to buyers and the media. Most importantly, these events let the industry know what's "in" and what's "out" for the season.

The most prominent fashion weeks are held in the fashion capitals of the world, the "big four" receiving the majority of press coverage being New York, London, Milan and Paris. Other notable weeklong fashion events are held in cities around the world.

History

There are many fashion weeks worldwide. In 1943, the first New York Fashion Week was held, with one main purpose: to distract attention from French fashion during World War II, when workers in the fashion industry were unable to travel to Paris. This was an opportune moment, as "before World War II, American designers were thought to be reliant on French couture for inspiration."

The fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert organized an event she called "Press Week" to showcase American designers for fashion journalists, who had previously ignored their works. Press Week was a success, and, as a result, magazines like Vogue (which were normally filled with French designs) began to feature more and more American innovations. Until 1994, shows were held in different locations, such as hotels, or lofts. Eventually, after a structural accident at a Michael Kors show, the event moved to Bryant Park, behind the New York Public Library, where it remained until 2010, when the shows relocated to Lincoln Center.

Gisele Bündchen

Gisele Caroline Bündchen (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒiˈzɛli kaɾoˈlini ˈbĩtʃẽj], German pronunciation: [ɡiːˈzɛlə ˈbʏntçn̩]; born 20 July 1980) is a Brazilian fashion model, actress, and producer. She is the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme.

In the late 1990s, Bündchen was the first in a wave of Brazilian models to find international success. In 1999, Vogue noted "The Return of the Sexy Model", and she was credited with ending the "heroin chic" era of modeling. Bündchen was one of the Victoria's Secret Angels from 2000 until mid-2007. Bündchen pioneered the "horse walk", a stomping movement created when a model picks her knees up high and kicks her feet out in front.Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell have stated that Bündchen is the only remaining true supermodel.

Bündchen has also ventured into acting. She played a supporting role in Taxi (2004), for which she was nominated at the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie Breakout Performance and for Choice Movie Bad Guy. Bündchen also had a supporting role in The Devil Wears Prada (2006), and from 2010 to 2011 she was the executive producer of an educational environmental cartoon, Gisele & the Green Team. Bündchen supports many charities including Save the Children, Red Cross and Doctors without Borders, as well as dedicating time to environmental causes.