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Roxanne Robinson Published
September 22, 2025
It's no secret that staging a New York Fashion Week show is challenging for young designers, so they depend on a string of sponsors willing to donate cash in return for aligning with the brand. For sponsors, this meant a mention in show notes, a swag bag, and some seats at the show. Post-pandemic, as costs have risen in general, sponsors' presence at NYFW is more prominent than ever. Many shows would never happen without them, and sponsors know this and are demanding more for their part.
Steven Kolb, CEO of CFDA, says the organization helps where it can, but it doesn't routinely designate show funds as part of its role.
"At the CFDA, we connect designers with support where we can, often through relationships with sponsors. This can range from venue assistance to hair and makeup or financial backing. However, the truth is that sponsorship opportunities have significantly diminished compared to a decade ago, and we receive no government funding for fashion week," he said in a statement to FashionNetwork.com, adding, "Core to our mission is mentoring and offering guidance across all aspects of a designer's business, including show production. Our primary message to designers remains clear: only produce a show if it's financially feasible for you."
In other major fashion cities, there are generally more government-funded programs for fashion designers and brands in London, Milan, and Paris.
According to New York-based show producer Christina Neault, fashion shows cost at least $25,000 to produce, even with a donated show space. Big brands often spend a million-plus dollars, but the sweet spot for small- to medium-sized brands is between $100,000 and $250,000.
Costs like that are coffer-crushing to young designers. This NYFW saw sponsors range from high jewelry to snack food, to THC-infused products, to giant pillow seating and bra brand Cuup; the latter who pitched press coverage for the support garment in show reviews, a clear indication that sponsors expect more. Regarding seating, one PR agent lamented that they require more and more seats at shows.
Bach Mai—who started his eponymous label in 2025 and was nominated for the CFDA Shop With Google American Emerging Designer award in 2025—showed a strong Spring 2025 collection after a less than stellar previous outing last season. His vision included recreating a famous 1948 Cecil Beaton image. He enlisted fine jewelry house Leviev, who was also listed as the show's presenter on program notes, to supply jewels.
FashionNwtwork.com spoke with CEO Chagit Leviev of Leviev Group on how the pairing came about via mutual clients. "For the runway with Bach, we curated 11 Beaton-inspired jewelry pieces. The signature piece, the 'Le Bal' diamond necklace, was co-designed with Leviev and Bach Mai, making the partnership run much deeper than your typical sponsorship.
"It was revealed for the first time on the closing look," the CEO said, noting it was Leviev's first-ever runway collaboration and outside design collaboration for the brand.
According to Leviev, participating in NYFW was the next step after opening a new showroom on Fifth Avenue and supplementing ongoing product placements on the red carpet. She also mentioned that the cost of the pieces loaned collectively was $50 million and that he custom necklace cost $ 5 million to make. With that sort of financial output, it's no wonder that sponsors want more return on their participation.
CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund finalist Kate Barton's debut show during NYFW had all the makings of a good old-fashioned fashion happening with its Walker Street loft building show space, adding to the anticipation of a new designer.
The SCAD-trained designer has been mentored by Dirk Standen, a former Style.com editor and current SCAD faculty member. According to Standen, the school partnered with Barton on the show.
"The university has a long legacy of supporting our visionary graduates across all of the disciplines we teach in their professional and creative endeavors," Standen said in an email.
However, the other sponsor, Goldfish, the beloved children's cheesy fish-shaped snack, was a novel presence at NYFW. Without the context of the recent viral moment of Barton's fishbowl handbag, it may seem an odd pairing, but social media has ushered in an era where the most far-flung universes converge.
According to a spokesperson, the cracker brand contacted the designer to suggest collaborating on the show. More than just gift bags stuffed with packages of the latest Goldfish offerings, the arrangement involved the designer incorporating the motif into the collection itself. A handler placed a goldfish bowl in a front-row seat just before the show started.
Barton showed a good collection leaning into her young brand's DNA, which looks equally comfortable with gala, club, or streetwear: sculptural accents on bodices, often in metal that project off the garment like a fender; liquid charmeuse as a fabric of choice on evening looks, a signature bag shape that looks like an exaggerated ampersand and strapless gowns featured photo prints of gowns on the dress trompe l'oeil style.
One long, lean tank-style dress featured a goldfish photo print at the hip, and models carried mini fishbowl bags with a plastic fish inside. According to Sonali Doshi, director of Goldfish Marketing, partnering with the designer made sense.
"She's an avid Goldfish snacker, making this partnership a natural extension of our brands' playful aesthetic, with a touch of fun and creativity. We love how our collaboration intersects fashion and snacking, celebrating a shared spirit of innovation in a way only Goldfish and Kate Barton can," Donali said.
The marketing executive noted that Barton showed no resistance to incorporating the goldfish motif into her collections and proposed several options "to integrate Goldfish into the show seamlessly."
"Her willingness to collaborate and thoughtfully integrate the Goldfish brand demonstrates a strong understanding of both her brand and ours," Donali added, noting that the cheerful orange fish motif has paired up with other types of apparel; it was the first time it had a presence with a fashion brand at a runway show.
Guests walking into the Apollo Theater to watch KidSuper by Colm Dillane's comedy show slash Spring 2025 collection debut passed a lounge area at the back of the theater filled with the oversized pillow seating by Lovesac. According to Christine Bragg, Director of Brand Activation for Lovesac, the technology-meets-sustainable-and-versatile furniture brand has collaborated with Dillane for two seasons and has worked with fashion players such as Jeremy Scott and Stacy Bendet of Alice & Olivia as well as brands such as Shake Shack, XBox and Swarovski.
"Through our work with talented designers, we've been able to merge the world of home furnishing with fashion – bringing bespoke Lovesac styles to life through the lens of today's top creatives and creating statement pieces inspired by cult favorite fabrics and prints," Bragg said. Since they both work with textiles, the tie-up seems natural.
Sergio Hudson took a novel approach to partnering with Woodford Reserve bourbon for his Spring 2025 show. Held at NeueHouse, an apparent first for the exclusive creative professional space, the designer invited guests an hour before showtime to relax and sip some specially crafted drinks before his show.
The designer who had a chance meeting with the bourbon's branding company team on an airplane has previously partnered with Woodford Reserve. According to Inga Beckham, co-founder and CFO of Sergio Hudson, the brand also worked with them on a Kentucky Derby event, dressing their master distiller, a woman named Elizabeth McCall. As Hudson is originally from South Carolina, a Southern-specific tradition like the Derby feels on brand.
"This is a true partnership and not just a sponsorship. We like long-term partners and consistency," she noted, adding that she and Hudson toured the brand's facilities to learn more about the process. This led to specially designed pieces that were inspired by the notes on the bourbon.
As guests mingled pre-show, a film featuring Hudson described the similarities between distilling and designing clothes. The guests ranged from the press, influencers, and VIP clients to about seven sponsors, a reasonable portion of a 290-seat show.
"The Hinton Group does a good job in managing the expectations of clients," Beckham noted, as well as the PR agency that manages the brand's press, its show, and various projects and partnerships.
Neault agrees with Kolb. "It's a lot to work to have a sponsorship, whether delivering product or social content; the sponsors are in it to be affiliated with a brand's buzz. Don't do a show unless you can continue it twice yearly as a marketing expense. If you can't afford to keep it up, don't put yourself in a place where you get orders and then don't have money to produce them."