Fashion Week's around the world will inevitably have a squeaky wheel or in this case 600, almost every season. By squeaky wheel, we are of course speaking of delightful protesters. Whether it's the annual crazed PETA members, angry plus size models in Aussie, or designers against the Burqa Ban in Paris, it's pretty much guaranteed someone will be rubbed the wrong way by one cause or another. While we can understand the points most organizations are attempting to make, this year's NYFW potential protest is a bit ridiculous to be honest.
It has been reported that a union representing 600 stagehands at Lincoln Center, Local 1 (the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) is a bit peeved that they have not been hired as the production crew for this seasons shows. Although they do have a contract which gives them jurisdiction to produce most of the happenings at the Lincoln Center complex, Damrosch Park is not included. Which, yup you guessed it, is where Fashion Week will take place. So we have to ask, what's the big deal?? Talk about a warm welcome for the Fashion world...Sounds like a few people are tired of the behind the scenes work and are craving their moment in the spotlight. We could empathize if a contract was being broken and the union workers were not being hired on for unjust reasons...but this simply isn't the case at all. IMG, the company producing Fashion Week, is looking to dilute the issue before the kick off on September 9th and stands by the fact that there is no obligation to hire union workers.
We say, c'mon Local 1, share some of your domain with the non-union workers that have been producing successful, cost effective, runway shows for many seasons. Who would have thought stagehands would have been so passionate about Fashion anyway? Why the sudden interest in tainting the first season at Lincoln Center by causing an unnecessary scene? Please quit pouting and let us have our twice a year event in peace. Jeeze. This makes us long to be back at the tents in Bryant Park, where the only mob to combat was of the animal loving kind. It will be interesting to see if an additional 600 people will be rallying outside. Stagehands should know better than anyone that the show must go on!
In any case, this will give us even more reason to bust out our best military ensembles, to head into the battle of evening making it past the hundreds of people to the front entrance. Throw on your chains, army green, brass buttons and boots, we'll see ya there!
xoxo,
The Fein Girls
