5 Things You Should Know About This Upcoming NYFW

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you a very important message: New York Fashion Week is upon us (again). The biannual event that once defined what we wear is just a few days out, which means we're suiting up to brave the cold and bring you a front row look at what's happening on (and off) the runway. Though insiders may regard NYFW as the least-defining moment of the month, we beg to differ. It kicks off the four-week global bonanza that is Fashion Month and has historically yielded its own extra-special offering of viral moments.

In recent seasons, we've seen celebrities dominate the headlines — so much in fact that we often forget about the blood, sweat, and tears that go into the clothes they’re wearing (on loan). A few front row veterans that often steal (and hold up) the show: Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, a few drag queens, and even Whoopi Goldberg. And that’s why we love New York — there’s a seat for everyone. But when we take the other fashion capitals into consideration, like London, Paris and Milan, Fashion Month as a whole proves itself an important moment in the cultural zeitgeist. It also shows how political the fashion industry can be (or not) and speaks to the idea that fashion should reflect the time; that if you were looking at fashion throughout history, you'd be able to get a sense of what's going on in the world by looking at what happened on the runway; that yes, even a thrown shoe can act as a symbol of a high and low of NYFW.

But this season is shaping up to be a little different. So far, there've been relatively no spoilers outside of Calvin Klein not showing (due to Raf's surprise, Friday-before-Christmas departure last year) and a political climate that feels like the antithesis of fashion, i.e. things have gotten just a little bit too real. But it all depends on how you look at it. It's why NYFW is for everyone: those fashion diehards who look to the runway for inspiration to create a persona larger than everyday life and those who understand that clothes should contain magic without sacrificing function.

So, let's get to it. Ahead, we're looking at a few reasons to be excited about this upcoming NYFW and a few ways things could go south. Be it diversity, new designers, or lessons in sustainability, American fashion is (still) exciting — if you know where to look.