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Is the Future of Fashion Shows 3D?
Words Nothando Mpala
FashionStock; Shutterstock To Freelance Events Coordinator, Nothando Mpala, the future of the fashion industry is one that looks exciting, innovative and gives room for even more creativity. She explains what we can expect the future of fashion shows to be like.
It is becoming more obvious that the new measures will certainly change the face of what fashion shows may look like moving forward. Angel Chen hosted the world's first ever virtual fashion show for Shanghai Fashion week, where models were directed and styled via video link because the designer was self- isolating. Even with minor technical issues, the five-minute show generated a buzz across the fashion industry and raised more conversations about the power of technology and the digital world of fashion.
In the last couple of months, there has been a wave of virtual fashion shows hosted by a range of designers. Luxury fashion houses have been showcasing some of their new collections and expanding their interactions with their audiences by hosting talks in-between catwalks and giving people an opportunity to ask questions. Automatically, this changes the experience for people who won’t usually get real access to such prestigious events.
French governing body for fashion, Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, who bring together fashion brands that foster creation, international development and promote French fashion culture, decided to cancel Paris Fashion Week with Milan Fashion Week following just behind. This was so that they could start the preparations of launching virtual shows in July 2020. Paris Fashion Week will now start on 9th July, whilst Milan will kick off their virtual Fashion Week on the 14th July. Each show will be organised on a dedicated platform where each house will be presented in a form of a creative short film/video.
Ovidiu Hrubaru; Shutterstock As fashion houses deal with the fallout of the generic schedules, one thing is clear: more and more companies are considering hosting virtual catwalk shows using avatars wearing 3D clothing. Moscow Fashion Week, which went viral after debuting their virtual show recently had over 800,000+ people streaming online from different parts of the globe. In addition, London Fashion Week Mens recently went digital and Helsinki Fashion Week will also go digital at the end of July with collections created by 3D artists. British Fashion Council’s chief executive Caroline Rush says “Many of our businesses have always embraced London Fashion Week as a platform for not just fashion but for its influence on society, identity and culture”. The current pandemic is leading us all to reflect more poignantly on the society we live in and how we want to live our lives and build businesses when we get through this.
Congolese designer Anifa Myuemba who is the founder of Hanifa & Hanifa bridal presented her latest collection Pink label Congo using 3D avatars via Instagram’s live stream feature that broke the internet. It was a phenomenal display of what the future of fashion in the digital world could look like. Due to the pandemic, Myuemba had to cancel her shows and shift to creating a digital show, even though it wasn’t what she envisioned for her brand. She mentioned dreaming about staging a digital fashion five years ago, however she was limited by her knowledge of technology. The global pandemic pushed her to learn more about 3D modelling using Google and YouTube and with her new found knowledge, she was able to use 3D software to create real life curvy models who showcased her new collection brilliantly.
Kerry Murphy founder of The Fabricant says, “It is expected for shows to become even more hi-tech as the discipline evolves”. She believes that 3D clothing will become mainstream and technological advances will allow those without 3D modelling skills and software to digitally style their own outfits.
There is no doubt that the Coronavirus pandemic has created more of a need for fashion brands to have a digital identity and presence. With many brands selling fewer physical items in store and producing less things, going virtual will become an important feature for brands to interact with their customers. Digital fashion also helps combat sustainability as it enables customers to buy outfits without having to physically wear them beforehand. I believe many fashion shows are set to become virtual this year.