When the lights at New York fashion week’s Bryant Park tents were set to go out in February 2010, a light in filmmaker James Belzer’s head went on. Since the Tents were pitched in 1993, they had become a launch pad for New York designers and a symbol of American fashion. They also served as the setting for some of the most memorable (some groundbreaking, some horrifying) shows the industry had ever witnessed. As the designers and editors prepared to make a bittersweet departure for Lincoln Center, Belzer went to work documenting the legacy of the Bryant Park era with the help of several prominent industry figures, including Carolina Herrera, Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, Suzy Menkes, and Isaac Mizrahi.
Last month, Belzer screened his documentary The Tents for the first time at New York’s NewFest, in what he hopes will be a prequel to its debut during New York fashion week this September at Lincoln Center. (Belzer and his sales company are still searching for a backer and distributors.) “Fashion is just like any other art, and it needs to be preserved,” says the filmmaker, who is now working on another documentary, about the preservation of New York’s Garment District. “That’s what I’m trying to do with my film—tell 18 years of fashion history in just 72 minutes.” Here, he speaks with Style.com about his ode to the Tents.
