IMG Model, designer, author and entrepreneur Ashley Graham, Maxwell Osborne, Fashion designer and founder of Public School and anOnlyChild, and Leslie Russo, President of IMG Fashion Events and Properties participated in a ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building to celebrate the kick-off of New York Fashion Week: The Shows.
Hi-res imagery can be downloaded here.
About IMG
IMG is the official organizer and operator of New York Fashion Week’s central event, New York Fashion Week (NYFW): The Shows. Throughout the event, IMG supports designers in various capacities, including runway and fashion presentations, content, programming and premium experiential hospitality. The official expanded programming schedule for NYFW: The Shows February 2023, which features more than 125 designer activations is live on NYFW.com/schedule. The digital destination of NYFW: The Shows is NYFW.com, the go-to destination for exclusive designer content, live streamed fashion shows, cultural programming, and commerce surrounding New York Fashion Week. Shows and presentations will also be presented on Runway360, CFDA’s centralized digital hub. Followers can also get a front row seat to Fashion Week by following @NYFW across TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
About Ashley Graham
Ashley Graham is an American supermodel, designer, author and entrepreneur whose influence has reshaped the fashion and media industries and redefined traditional beauty standards. Ashley has worked in numerous areas of the fashion industry including editorial, catalogue, runway, commercial, television and film. In February 2016, Ashley made history as the first size 14 model to ever be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swim. In January 2018, she became a brand ambassador for Revlon, making her the first curvy model of her generation to receive a major beauty contract.
Ashley has been featured on the covers of Vogue, British Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar UK, Cosmopolitan, SELF, New York Magazine, Maxim and many more. She has received numerous accolades for her work, including Forbes’ coveted “30 Under 30” list and cover feature; Glamour’s “Woman of the Year,” with Mattel simultaneously creating a one-of-a-kind Barbie in her likeness; People’s “25 Most Intriguing People of the Year”; Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the Word”; The Daily Front Row’s “Fashion Force of the Year,” and is the United Nations’ Women for Peace Association’s first “Women Empowerment Award” recipient.
About Maxwell Osborne
Founded in 2020 by Maxwell Osborne, anOnlyChild strives to represent the strength of an only child through his sustainable use of solely deadstock fabrics and creative incorporation of his Jamaican heritage. Osborne was the co-founder of Public School New York — winner of the 2013 CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund, 2014 CFDA Fashion Award for Menswear Designer of the Year, and 2015 International Woolmark Prize for Menswear— and formerly the co-creative director at DKNY. In 2022, anOnlyChild was named a grant recipient of the IMG Fashion Alliance: NYFW Small Business Grant in partnership with New York’s Empire State Development.
About the Empire State Building
The Empire State Building, the “World’s Most Famous Building,” owned by Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (ESRT: NYSE), soars 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan from base to antenna. The $165 million reimagination of the Empire State Building Observatory Experience creates an all-new experience with a dedicated guest entrance, an interactive museum with nine galleries, and a redesigned 102 Floor Observatory with floor-to-ceiling windows. The journey to the world-famous 86 Floor Observatory, the only 360-degree, open-air observatory with views of New York and beyond, orients visitors for their entire New York City experience and covers everything from the building’s iconic history to its current place in pop-culture. Learn more at www.esbnyc.com. Declared “America’s Favorite Building” by the American Institute of Architects, the world’s most popular travel destination by Uber, the #1 Attraction in the United States in Tripadvisor’s 2022 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best, and the #1 New York City attraction by Lonely Planet, it welcomes more than 4 million annual visitors from around the world.
Since 2011, the building has been fully powered by renewable wind electricity, and its many floors primarily house a diverse array of office tenants such as LinkedIn and Shutterstock, as well as retail options like STATE Grill and Bar, Tacombi, and Starbucks. For more information and Observatory Experience tickets visit esbnyc.com or follow the building’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Weibo, YouTube, or TikTok.
