PARIS & DALLAS, Jun 21, 2003/ FW/ --- The Fédération Française de la Couture, France's fashion governing body announced yesterday that Tuesday, October 7, 2003 is the day reserved for emergenging designers who will be showing during Paris Prêt-á-Porter Spring 2004 season.

Last May 23, the fashion show organizing committe under the helm of Ralph Toledano and made up of managers for Chloé, Christian Dior, Guy Laroche, Cacharel, Dries Van Noten and Yves Saint Laurent met to find an optimum schedule wherein emerging designers will be the focus and still give enough time for the journalists, photographers and models to travel from Milan to Paris.

A perennial problem that exists between Milan and Paris, and in fact among the 4 cities that make up the international fashion season is scheduling.

Traditionally, the Milan Womenswear show is held from a Monday to the next Wednesday, and the Paris Women's Ready-to-Wear season held from a Thursday to the next Friday.

With that tight scheduling, journalists, photographers and models barely have time to breath to go from Milan to Paris.

Early this year, the Fédération Française de la Couture (Paris) and Camera Nazionale della Moda made an accord to cooperate with each other with regards to the fashion season, one of them scheduling.

This coming womenswear season, Milan scheduled their shows from Saturday, Sep 27 to Sunday, October 5.

In turn, Paris scheduled their shows from Tuesday Oct 7 to Wednesday Oct 15, giving everyone at least one day of travel time.

The Chambre Syndicale du Pret-a-Porter, the arm of the Federation which organizes the ready-to-wear season in Paris has always encouraged young designers to show their collections during the season.

But, with so many fashion houses showing, an emerging designer has to find a time slot which will give him or her maximum exposure.

Traditionally, the first five days is optimum for two reasons: (1) the big houses are showing those days and (2) the fashion press and buyers are in full force.

On the sixth day of the show, most of the fashion editors leave and the coverage for the younger designers is obviously less.

And that was the mandate of the fashion show organizing commission when they met last May 23 - find an optimal day wherein emerging designers will be highlighted and still give time to the models to be fitted and for the fashion journalists and photographers to have travel time.

To achieve this, it was decided that Tuesday 7 October, the free day after Yom Kippur between Milan and Paris, would be reserved for emerging brands which are members of the Federation.

This means that the calendar for the March season will be put forward by one day (those houses having a fashion show on Thursday in March will now be moved to Wednesday in October).