Moms Don’t Need ‘Special’ Show At New York Fashion Week

Next month, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week will take over New York when the world’s most famous designers (Donna Karan, Vera Wang, Calvin Klein among them) showcase their Fall 2012 collections. Included in this year’s spectacle is a show geared especially towards moms. Conceived by lifestyle brand The Moms along with Mom-entum, a women’s focused marketing channel within social media agency Big Fuel, “Strut: The Fashionable Mom’s Show” makes its debut on February 16. And to this we can’t help but ask WHY?

Actually, we know why. As Big Fuel’s managing director Holly Pavlika explained, ”Moms are often a household’s ”˜chief purchasing officer,’ making or influencing about 85 percent of all purchases from retail to health care, automobiles, finances and more.”

In other words, we’re powerful. We wear the pants in the family (ha!). And so now retailers can connect with us, speak directly to us, which ultimately means more sales for them. Gee, don’t I feel lucky?

Last I checked, Fashion Week is all about showcasing the latest trends. These trends are meant to inspire everyone, from style-obsessed pre-teens to 70-something socialites and everything in between. Having a show especially for moms is simply not needed (it’s like they’re actively trying to create a void to fill).

“We will be showcasing real and celebrity moms with a collection of attainable and contemporary fashion. No yoga pants, no mom jeans, just wearable and affordable great looks from the top contemporary designers and brands,” it says on Strut’s website.

So, tell me, how on earth is different from the dozens of other fashion shows taking place that week? Rather than making me feel like I have a voice as a mom, initiatives like these instead make me feel like I’m nothing more than a marketer’s dream (this reminds me of those wines geared especially towards moms). Call me cynical, but I just envision a bunch of branding types sitting around a boardroom table, shouting out, “Whoa, guys, moms are really influential. They’re no longer just sitting at home baking cookies. They’re doing things and they have money to spend. Let’s get ’em!”

Granted, the women behind Strut are moms themselves, so I should probably tone it down a bit. But even so, the whole thing irks me. I’d much rather attend real fashion shows and see what’s new and exciting rather than have someone else decide what’s suitable for me as a mom.

I guess my point is that yes, I’m a mother, but I’m first and foremost a woman.

(Photo: Hemera)