Virtual Catwalks: The New Fashion Week
Words Nothando Mpala
It’s been months since we have been in lockdown and fashion show schedules have been unclear due to COVID-19. Even though some fashion houses have started to return to work in cities such as Italy and France most designers have been forced to rethink the way they host fashion shows due to social distancing rules, along with the fact that the world has not yet completely returned to business as usual.
@shutterstockThe fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions every year. Before the global pandemic the industry was pushed to start thinking of ways of being more sustainable, now the industry is starting to accept the concept of virtual catwalks, clothing and rooms. Etienne Russo, the founder of Villa Eugenie who produces shows for the likes of Chanel and Burberry says “The lockdown of the fashion world allowed many to take a step back and deeply reflect on how to address the situation”. As fashion shows go become digital and go through a radical and racial transformation; here is a rundown of some of the shows coming up this summer period.
@shutterstockLondon Fashion Week which was previously known as London Fashion Week Men decided to drop the “men” to cater to all genders online. They launched their first couple of shows online in early June, however they were not the first to give it a go as Shanghai and Moscow went digital for the fashion weeks in late March and April.
@shutterstockHermès will be livestreaming for Paris men’s fashion week on 5th July just before The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode host the first ever Virtual Couture fashion week in Paris from the 6-13th July. They will be showing the men’s spring collection 2021 in a video format for this season.
From the 14-17th July Camera della Moda team announced that they will be having an online men and women’s fashion show that will be titled Milano Fashion week digital. For this season they have decided to host a physical-digital show which will give each designer an opportunity to create a narrative for their latest collections. On the last day of Milano Fashion week, Gucci is set to premiere its men’s and women’s resort collection 2021 which has created an exciting buzz for MFW.
@shutterstockCopenhagen Fashion Week which takes place in Denmark’s capital city will go digital on the 9-12th August, this show usually attracts influencers, buyers and editors from across the world. The Swedish Fashion Association is set to resurface in last August for some digital fashion events.
New York based designer Jean Raymond of Pyer Moss will be staging a drive-in fashion experience tour to showcase his new film “American” in September. “His hope is to give the audience an sight of the labour and process of putting the collection together”, told by Vogue.
Overall, right now a lot of Fashion houses are trying to build something that fits into the needs of today as well as invest in new technology that can showcase collections for the future. There is no doubt that digital fashion weeks will attract millions of new viewers outside of their general audience. Digital fashion has given designers a new outlet for creativity and will also raise more many questions about the long-term vision for Runaway shows.
@shutterstockChief executive, Caroline Rush from the British Fashion Council said “The current situation 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”. She added that online platforms would be here to stay even when physical shows are feasible again.
Nothando Mpala - Freelance Events Coordinator