What Fashion Week Looks Like In The Middle Of A Pandemic?

Fashion Weeks across the globe looked a little different this year. There was an eerie absence of the customary hustle and bustle outside the venue, the street style of the fashion-savvy crowd, the palpable energy inside the auditorium, the flurry of photographers trying to capture shots of glamorous celebrities and models, and the animated conversations of the coveted front-row seaters.

Post-COVID, Fashion Weeks have adapted to the current scenario, and the world has witnessed the emergence of innovative digital formats. The runways of the Big Four have undergone a digital transformation of sorts.

Virtual shows, live-streamed catwalks, socially distanced front rows, the persistent presence of sanitisers, and elaborate, nature-inspired runways… Creativity reigned supreme this season.

The pandemic has had an unsparing impact on the fashion industry. Clothing sales plummeted by 30% during the lockdown. Jobs were lost or furloughed as physical stores remained closed for much of the year.

2020 was a pivotal moment for the industry, sparking crucial conversations about race, gender, culture, accessibility, and sustainability—issues that were often swept under the rug before. When the novel coronavirus first hit, Milan Fashion Week designers either had to cancel their shows or showcase to an empty venue, while both Paris Fashion Week Menswear and Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week were cancelled as Europe went into lockdown to curb the spread of COVID.

Since then, fashion houses have turned to digital technology to showcase their collections to the press, and allow retailers to buy them remotely.

At Paris Fashion Week, the shows were an unusual mix of socially distanced events and completely digital shows, streamed live on various platforms. At the Dior show, held inside the Tuileries Gardens, attendees had their temperatures checked and wore protective face masks.

Only 300 guests were invited, a third of the usual Dior invite list, and the show was broadcast on TikTok. Kenzo revealed its bee-themed collection at an outdoor garden, creating a surreal, organic backdrop for its nature-inspired presentation.

The Balmain Spring/Summer 2021 show, led by Olivier Rousteing, was a clever fusion of physically and virtually present guests. Anna Wintour, Cara Delevingne, and Cindy Crawford were among the many figures who contributed their images via video. Elsewhere, at London Fashion Week, fashion was used as a source of inspiration, therapy, and entertainment.

Osman Yousefzada’s show backdrop featured footage from Black Lives Matter protests and the 1970s protests by female factory workers of Asian heritage.

Burberry broadcasted its show on Twitch, while Riccardo Tisci collaborated with German artist Anne Imhof for a fashion and art installation streamed on the platform.

It wasn’t just the Big Four that were affected by the pandemic. Smaller, local Fashion Weeks had to adapt to local government safety measures. However, many took this opportunity to get creative and showcase local talent in innovative ways.

Ukrainian Fashion Week dubbed the upcoming season the ‘No Season season’, serving as a platform for designers to present collections in both traditional and digital formats. Designers showcased both new season collections and previously unseen ones, all available for sale.

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tbilisi, known globally as one of the top emerging destinations for rising fashion talent, has put forward plans for a new cultural fashion hub, where the Fashion Week will take place once it’s safe to do so.

This multidisciplinary hub for designers, artists, photographers, and other creative professionals will occupy nearly 100,000 square feet in the former Coca-Cola factory in Tbilisi. Although the opening may be delayed, it is far from cancelled. The hope is that this space will shape the future of the city’s creative industries.

Beyond the innovative configurations adopted by fashion houses, another notable change was the gender-neutral format of the September Fashion Weeks, which were typically focused on women’s fashion.

The pandemic has been a reckoning for the global industry. Issues of wastefulness and grandiosity over substance have been replaced with a more mindful approach to fashion. Most designers have used their platforms to create immersive experiences for both virtual and physical audiences, providing an escape from the harsh reality of the pandemic that the world is still recovering from.

The new slow-paced approach of Fashion Weeks has proven to be a refreshing change from the hectic schedules of previous shows. While the virtual shows lacked the spectacle of physical events, they represent the new direction the fashion industry is heading.

The future of the traditional Fashion Week model remains uncertain. Runway shows will likely continue to be relevant, but we are likely to witness a blend of virtual and physical events in the future.

The pandemic has not stifled the creativity of designers—in fact, it has only enhanced it.

Conclusion

Fashion Weeks, while significantly altered by the pandemic, have shown the world that creativity and innovation are not bound by traditional formats. As the industry adapts, the fusion of physical and digital presentations seems to be the new norm.

The future of Fashion Weeks may look different, but it remains bright, with a renewed focus on sustainability, inclusivity, and creativity.

The survival of Fashion Weeks in their traditional form remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the pandemic has only amplified the resilience and ingenuity of the fashion industry.