Shutting down Greene Street for a runway show Saturday was a major Fashion Week fail, according to the Soho residents disrupted by the disaster.
Rebecca Minkoff transformed the street outside her flagship Soho store to a fashion showcase for her fall collection, lining the narrow, cobblestoned block with bleachers for VIPs, while about 300 commoners gathered at the surrounding barricades hoping for a glimpse of the runway.
But shutting down the block on a Saturday created gridlock throughout the neighborhood, and left residents perturbed by the noise and inconvenience.
“We understand that this is a mixed-use neighborhood. There is retail and office use,” said Terri Cude, first vice chair of Community Board 2, which voted against allowing the show to go forward. “But when you’re taking over city streets and blasting music into our windows, you are going past being cohabit able and cooperative.”
At one point, Cude said, a fire truck had trouble getting through the intersection because of the backup.
“This is not a VIP discotheque,” griped Soho Alliance director Sean Sweeney. “It’s another example of our city being sold to the highest bidder. [Minkoff] paid $25,000 in street fees.”
Fashionistas, on the other hand, found no fault with Minkoff’s outdoor display.
“I love that she is being inclusive about it,” said spectator Gisele Luna, 26, of Flushing, Queens, who works in marketing. “[Fashion Week] is usually closed off to influencers and people who work in fashion, but I can see the show here. I love it.”
Ironically, “disruption” was exactly was Minkoff was aiming for, though she meant the kind of game-changing business move that shifts how business is done. After Saturday’s 15-minute show, Minkoff broke with tradition by throwing open her shop doors to start selling the just-revealed collection.
Other shop owners on the block sided with the show, hoping to benefit from the fashion crowd’s spending spirit.
“This is a good idea,” said Khoa Ngyen, manager of the Christian Dior store across the street. “They are keeping the sidewalk open, so it might draw more traffic to the store.”