New York Fashion Week Is a Big Deal for Emerging Designers, Too As established brands strutted their stuff at the biannual event, young and emerging brands also had a chance to shine.

By Tanya Benedicto Klich

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

New York Fashion Week Is a Big Deal for Emerging Designers, Too
Front row & center at Jungwon Fall 2014
Image credit: Tanya Klich

Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week (NYFW) offered a peek into this year's fall trends and a glimpse at celebrity style icons in their finest. But it also gave the world an opportunity to discover emerging fashion designers. These budding artists, after all, may be the future executives of tomorrow's global luxury brands. (Not everyone gets their start as a Princess Diane of Fürstenberg.)

Throughout New York City, smaller designers like Christina Yi, Riza Manalo and Christian Benner debuted their looks. Also, the Council of Fashion Designers of America revealed new collections from its Fashion Incubator graduates on digitalfashionshows.com. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs hosted company launches all week to capitalize on NYFW's global crowd, while electronic companies like Panasonic glammed up their tech brand for a fully loaded Beauty Bar at Salon SCK.

New York Fashion Week Is a Big Deal for Emerging Designers, Too
Lisa Jackson with Vera Wang at the LJ Cross launch event
Image credit: Patrick McMullan

But what's NYFW without a runway show? We skipped the tents of Lincoln Center and headed straight to Pier 59 in Chelsea, where the Nolcha Fashion Show was in full gear. In its seventh year, Nolcha Fashion Week events give independent designers a share of the spotlight during a week dominated by Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs and other powerhouse brands.

How does a freshman designer survive among these titans? Nolcha's collective fashion shows saves on show production expenses, such as lighting, stagehands and makeup crew. Its business model is about cost-efficiency, communal support – and signing up luxe sponsors, who can reach Nolcha's trendsetting demographic of editors, bloggers and celebrities during the runway shows.

"Our shows are more cost effective for the individual fashion designers due to our collaborative environment and our globally recognized sponsor brands providing finance support," says Arthur Mandel, president of Nolcha.

Throughout the week, industry networking dinners and strategic partnerships for sponsored exhibitions give the budding designers full access to top-tier press, retailers and industry influencers. The Nolcha team also provides a full suite of social media and public relations support.

New York Fashion Week Is a Big Deal for Emerging Designers, Too
At the Panasonic Beauty Bar and Nolcha Fashion Show, companies glam up electronics for NYFW
Image credit: Tanya Klich

Most important, the various events give designers a crash course on establishing oneself as a high-end, luxury brand. "We teach fashion designers the valuable lesson of doing a runway show or presentation at industry standard and to the right audience," says Kerry Bannigan, who co-founded Nolcha with Mandel. "It's important when showcasing at a key time in the fashion market that the brands are professional to ensure brand awareness and growth."

The closing Nolcha 2014 show featured: Jungwon (designer men's and women's rain coats), Gabrielle Arruda (women's ready-to-wear), L. Catherine London (women's ready-to-wear) and Nina Athanasiou (women's and men's couture). The finale was Dany Tabet (jaw-dropping "crystal warriors' eveningwear) who, at the conclusion, took a teary-eyed bow.

Tanya Benedicto Klich

Data & Featured Lists Editor

Tanya Benedicto Klich is a data and lists editor at Entrepreneur.com.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

This 30-Year-Old's $6,000-a-Month Side Hustle Started Making Money 'Immediately' — But He's Not Quitting His Day Job

Derrick Mathy works in orthopedic surgical device sales and is on a mission to bring people together in real life.

Business News

'Unprecedented in Our 53-Year History': Southwest Airlines Announces Its First Mass Layoffs Ever

The airline is eliminating 15% of its corporate workforce, including many in senior leadership positions.

Growing a Business

Obsessing Over Your Product Can Hurt Your Business — Here's What You Need to Focus on to Fuel Sustainable Growth

Forget about perfecting your product. Here's how sales-led startups thrive in any market.

Growing a Business

How This Founder Is Sharing the Immigrant Story Through Food – And Her Best Advice for Entrepreneurs

Immigrant Food is transforming the culinary world by celebrating global flavors and advocating for immigrant contributions in America.

Side Hustle

This 31-Year-Old Spends 2 Hours Per Week On His $3,000-a-Month Passive Income Side Hustle: 'Trust Your Vision'

Hansel Moore's home office "wasn't cutting it" — so he found another place to be creative.

Thought Leaders

24 Signs You're Destined to Become a Millionaire

Start making money at a young age. Warren Buffett sold packets of gum to his neighbors at age six!