Travel FOR Style

Every year, fashion designers the world over parade their latest creations — and you can be there when they do.

When it comes to international travel, not every runway is reserved for airports.

In cities from New York to Nairobi, Milan to Mumbai, the world’s national capitals briefly transform into headquarters of high fashion.

Buyers from Bloomingdale’s in New York, Harrod’s in London, Galeries Lafayette in Paris and GUM in Moscow, cram into packed auditoriums alongside their counterparts from the likes of Sears, Kohl’s and Walmart to see what’s trending for the coming year.

Europe’s cosmopolitan cities have long served as bases for the world’s top designers of men’s and women’s wear. In recent years, however, talented young upstarts from the Americas, Asia and especially Africa are starting to make their presence felt.

And as the world increasingly begins to recognize these skilled and gifted newcomers, more and more fashion shows are taking place in the cities and countries they call home, and beyond.

Many of the world’s most visited cities and countries capitals hold major events every year to show off the newest designs by the hottest designers, both famous and little-known. London, Paris, Milan, Moscow and Tokyo are renowned centers of high fashion and are among the major cities that hold an annual fashion week show.

No interest in vacationing on those cities? No problem, because the list of international destinations that hold their own Fashion Weeks is far too long to list here.

For those wondering if Africa is represented on the fashion runway, the answer is emphatically yes. Every new fashion season features an Africa Fashion Week, not only in major African cities like Lagos and Johannesburg and Addis Ababa, but also New York and London, among others.

If anything, you may have a harder time gaining admittance to the show than finding a great destination that plays host to one. Just don’t plan pm buying anything, at least not instantly. These shows are held mainly for professional buyers for department stores and other fashion outlets.

It’s one of the factors that can make scoring a ticket to the biggest shows a real challenge.

But that’s okay. You still get to dream. And if you’re lucky, to watch.