High profile designer Vera Wang has decided not to stage a pricey runway show at the fashion week tents in New York in February as part of what could be an exodus of American designers from the official fashion week venue.

Ms. Wang, who will hold a low key event at her boutique in Manhattan’s Soho district instead, is the most prominent designer to drop out of the shows. Earlier this week, designers Betsey Johnson and Carmen Marc Valvo said they would forgo the lavish runway productions which can cost up to $500,000 but provide important publicity to the labels.

“We feel that the intimacy of a smaller venue will be the perfect backdrop for the collection and is an appropriate statement for the times,” Ms. Wang said in a statement. The show, which will take place at 9 a.m. February 19 at her 2,500 square-foot retail store, will feature a guest list of just 100 to 150, down from the usual 900 Ms. Wang invites.