New York Post

Let’s get hitched!

Related eyes Fashion Week tie-up

- By LISA FICKENSCHE­R lfickensch­er@nypost.com

Hudson Yards developer Kenneth Himmel is lobbying for his luxury shopping mecca to be the permanent home of New York Fashion Week.

The chief executive of Related Urban, which has inked deals with Neiman Marcus, Coach, Lululemon, Rolex and others on the far West Side of Manhattan, said, “We think we could make a good case to become the permanent home for the fashion shows. We are having ongoing discussion­s.”

Himmel, who spoke at the Retail Leaders Circle conference at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel New York on Tuesday, described the one million square foot complex as a “disruptive” force in Manhattan real estate — one that is aiming to be a fashion destinatio­n in the city.

Related has been actively courting IMG, which produces the largest number of NYFW shows, to relocate its 70 plus shows to Hudson Yards, said sources familiar with the talks.

For the past two years, IMG has hosted its shows at Clarkson Square in West SoHo.

The agency just inked a deal with another venue, Spring Studios, in Tribeca, for shows in February fea- turing designers’ spring lines.

But IMG declined to disclose the terms of its deal with the venue and whether it extends beyond 2019, when Hudson Yards is expected to be completed.

Separately, the Council of Fashion Designers of America has been working with a Hudson Yards nonprofit called The Shed, which will host cultural events and will be equipped with four fashion runways.

Related does not control The Shed, which is a privately managed art institutio­n.

“When the Shed was being built we helped connect them with industry fashion experts to design the venue with fashion shows in mind,” said CFDA chief executive Steven Kolb.

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