Men's Fashion Week Fashion week is an event lasting approximately four to 10 days where designers showcase their runway collections to editors, journalists, buyers, and the public. In an industry where ideas are constantly recycled and revamped, it would only seem natural for there to be an archive where everything is neatly cataloged in an easy-to-follow, chronological way. It certainly would have made dusting of designs for skinny jeans and shoulder pads easier for resale to unsuspecting clothes-hungry consumers this season. But in an industry that equally concerned with the next fad, it becomes somewhat difficult to pin down exactly how men fashion week came into existence. Most style senses, however, point toward World War II when advancing German forces shuttered the doors on European fashion shows. Until that time, American designers had been overly reliant on taking cues from Paris. In 1943, fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert decided to finally reveal the talent of American designers -- who, until then, had remained largely unknown -- in an event known as Press Week. As a result, American designers began to gain recognition in their own rite. Fifty years later, with a shift from hotel spaces to cramped lofts, there was a demand for an event grander and more logistically sensible. In the spring of 1994, New York became the proud birthplace of the world first Fashion Week. In its current form, men fashion week has migrated away from a trade show concept and transformed into a star-studded gala where industry experts, celebrities and the public collide. In the alpha fashion capitals -- New York, London, Paris, and Milan -- it can be a chaotic mess of models and media. Now that the current format has caught on worldwide, it seems like hardly a day goes by where it isn fashion week in some far-flung corner of the Earth. Emerging markets are digging their heels into the runway, too, with fashion weeks from Bombay to Belgrade as local designers show off their collections. Special fashion weeks focusing on a particular type of clothing including swimwear in Miami and eco-friendly designs in Portland have also sprung to life. Men Fashion Week on AM As in many aspects of the industry, men take a back seat to women during most of fashion week. But these events are perhaps the most important for menswear every season. This isn about couture clothing that lacks relevance and practicality for the everyday man. While there are certainly experimental and edgy designs like pink housecoats and stretch jumpsuits, men fashion week allows retailers to see the direction major design houses are taking for the season. Whether it a predominant color (like iron or purple) or a look (like military or woodsman), it cascades down throughout the entire industry. That why most labels, whether it Gucci or the Gap, carry men apparel that have at least a passing similarity in a given season. Too bad the prices aren the same. Men Fashion Week fact A typical show during fashion week can cost around $200,000, and an extravagant one -- fewer and farther between during these dismal days -- can cost half a million dollars. With all the money and time that goes into producing a single show, each lasts fewer than 20 minutes.