Boston Fashion Week

Jay Calderin is the founder of the Boston Fashion Week as well as the Executive Director. He was born and raised in New York City. He is a successful author of Fashion Design Essentials and Form, Fit & Fashion which the Los Angeles Times called, "a new fashion bible for designers, aspirers and the just plain curious, this tome contains all the secrets."[8] He has been involved with the charity of Big Brothers for over 10 years and states that it has been one of the most rewarding experiences.[9] The Boston Globe refers to Jay Calderin as "a budding designer's best friend." Calderin founded Boston Fashion Week, and has served as the organization's Executive Director since 1995. In 2012 he was appointed Creative Director of the first Chengdu Fashion Week in China. His work as a fashion designer has graced the pages of Vogue and Elle magazines. He is an instructor and the Director of Creative Marketing at the School of Fashion Design in Boston. He also teaches at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.[10]

Sam Mendoza – Boston Fashion Week 2012

The first year of The Tent presented local well-known designers such as Emily Muller, Michael DePaulo, Daniel Faucher Couture amongst others.[14] It took place from September 23 to 30, 2011. Access to The Tent was only under special invitation, which made this event front-page news. It consisted in a 3 000 square-foot tent containing 200 seats, established between the Prudential Center and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.[15] Around 20 designers were present and each one of them had 15 minutes to showcase their creations.[16] The first year of The Tent presented local well-known designers such as Emily Muller, Michael DePaulo, Daniel Faucher Couture amongst others.[17] It took place from September 23 to 30, 2011. Access to The Tent was only under special invitation, which made this event front-page news. It consisted in a 3 000 square-foot tent containing 200 seats, established between the Prudential Center and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.[18] Around 20 designers were present and each one of them had 15 minutes to showcase their creations.[19]

The second year of The Tent was presented with a twist. Unlike the previous year, a parade of well-known designers, including style guru Marilyn Riseman and the Fashion School of Design recruiter Jane Conway Caspe, skimmed through 80 possible designer's and chose the best 10 (nine of which were local, while the other one was from California). Those selected few had their creations showcased at The Tent.

According to Boston Fashion Week's founder, Jay Calderin, he was looking for diversity of styles on the runway, instead of 10 gown designers and 10 wedding dress designers, like the last year's event.[20] This allowed for an edgier, original, and more varied edition of the Tent.

Luke Aaron – Boston Fashion Week 2012

When it first started in 2011, the tent at Boston Fashion Week was front-page news. In 2013, The Boston Fashion Week surprised its spectators with the cancellation of The Tent. Scheduled from September 27 until October 5, the fashion week in 2013 was not anchored by an official tent.

The reason behind the cancellation of The Tent in 2013 was the lack of sponsorship to continue paying its expenses. According to Calderin, The Tent helped encourage up-coming designers to come forward, and show them a new level of production. It is uncertain if The Tent will return in 2014[21]