“Ouch—my back hurts!” Several showgoers were whispering this to each other at the Palomo Spain show this weekend inside an Upper West Side church. Those stiff, wooden backless benches provided absolutely no back support for guests. And with the show running close to an hour late, front-row VIPs were beginning to feel the pain. Couldn’t they have found a church with some cushioned pews? The next day, this very writer even had to schedule an emergency massage appointment as a result: My neck has developed a kink, which absolutely stems from sitting on uncomfortable seats at NYFW all day long.
Palomo Spain wasn’t the only show forcing one to sit backless, spine strained. Sadly, bare-bones benches are a popular seating arrangement at many New York Fashion Week shows. At Off-White, A-list stars like Zayn Malik, Camila Cabello, and Issa Rae were all crammed together on long, sleek metal benches, looking totally camera-ready—and totally uncomfortable. At Christian Cowan, JoJo Siwa attempted to sit on the backless bench in her spherical ensemble but physically couldn’t. (She had to watch standing.) No matter the presentations, as guests continued to shift and hunch over and straighten up again, the consensus was real: Fashion Week benches suck!
During a week obsessed with chicness, you have to wonder: Why is the seating at Fashion Week so deeply unchic? Often, guests are taking in clothes worth thousands and thousands of dollars, yet the experience of witnessing them—packed in like sardines, back aching—is the opposite of luxurious. From an organizational standpoint, I do get it: The long, horizontal benches are an efficient way to cram more people into a venue. It’s no-frills—but it gets the job done. The only problem is, speaking as someone with lingering back pain my whole life, being forced to sit upright using nothing but your core strength—for hours at a time, for a week straight—is the equivalent of someone quite literally stabbing you in the back. I signed up to take in some elegant fashions here—not to partake in a strenuous Pilates abs class!
Some shows during NYFW have proven to be a little more kind to those with achy joints. (I may be 32, but my back suggests I am about 87.) At Sergio Hudson this weekend, a few lucky folks got to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show in the plush leather banquettes at NeueHouse—even with a cocktail in hand. The Tommy Hilfiger show was staged on a Staten Island Ferry, meaning proper seats were part of the experience. Carolina Herrera, Naeem Khan, and Christian Siriano all had regular backed seats too, some even with cushions. Other shows proved to be much smaller wins: Sandy Liang offered folding chairs at her show that were hardly glamorous, but with the addition of a rigid back, it practically felt like a La-Z-Boy recliner.
With about four more days left of NYFW, I fear a few more back knots are coming my way. And listen, I know: Complaining about Fashion Week is never cute. It’s a privilege to attend glitzy catwalks for a living. Uncomfy seats? Cue the tiny violins! But for the sake of my wellness, my back, and my posture, can any designers reading this please invest in some comfier chairs next season? Your clothes are all so beautiful and joyous—so why not have the experience of taking them in be the same, yeah? I have a pricey massage appointment scheduled for the end of Fashion Week that I can’t expense to my company—and I know I’m not the only one feeling like total fashion roadkill.
