[custom_adv] Jason Wu said he was feeling Zen, swiveling in an office chair in his studio near Penn Station. It was Saturday afternoon, the day before his runway show, and he was surrounded by his design team and stylists, fitting models in outfits from his spring 2021 collection. The clothes were bright and breezy; the waists were elastic, the bras were cashmere, the hats were big, and the sandals were flat. [custom_adv] Traditional runways shows are petri dishes stuffed with spectators, no one knows how long pandemic restrictions will hinder international travel or dictate the parameters of events, and even though thousands of people depend on the work provided by fashion shows, many designers are sick of doing so many of them. [custom_adv] To host a show now, when practically no one else in New York will, is to declare that the runway still matters — that even in a pandemic, it is worthwhile. And to make that declaration convincing, it’s simply got to be good. [custom_adv] There was also the fact that a show in a pandemic would surely attract more attention than a show in a normal season, when Mr. Wu had to compete with names like Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors and Oscar de la Renta (all of whom were skipping NYFW this season). In February, Mr. Wu’s show had been scheduled in the middle of the Academy Awards, one of fashion’s most high-profile events. [custom_adv] The show would be executed by Focus, the internal production company of IMG, the owner and operator of NYFW: the Shows, which was standing firmly behind doing physical events this season. [custom_adv] The theme of the show would be Tulum, Mexico, one of Mr. Wu’s favorite vacation spots and the location of his 2016 wedding. This was convenient, considering the show would need to take place outdoors. After months of discussions with IMG, Gov.
