Mode

Fashion's calendar runs twice a year in the same order — New York, London, Milan, Paris — in February–March for autumn collections and September–October for spring, with the men's shows in Florence, Milan and Paris in January and June and haute couture in Paris in January and July. The Met Gala on the first Monday in May and the CFDA and British Fashion Awards in November and December are its ceremonies. The shows themselves are invitation-only for the trade and press; what a visitor experiences is the city in fashion week — the exhibitions, store events, the streets around the venues and the restaurants that take no bookings.

Dates are set by the national chambers and published a season ahead; Paris fixes the calendar the others adjust to.