Fashion Shows Step Off the Runway
As fashion week approaches globally, brands turn to a mix of escapism and practicality.
Six months into a new normal, a number of industries have changed. Fashion, a famously inflexible sector which was in the midst of tricky changes before the pandemic, is perhaps one of the most visible examples. A few weeks back, there was a piece in the New York Times Magazine on this very topic titled “Sweatpants forever.” But to look at this fall’s fashion week (New York’s ended just yesterday) is to see a different story. Per GQ’s take, no sweatpants there. Later this month, in Paris and London, we’ll likely see more of the same — escapism that doesn’t match up with the reality of the fashion world, much less the real world.
Over in the digital universe, TikTok is hosting its own fashion month. Labels like Louis Vuitton, Alice + Olivia, and Yves Saint Laurent will livestream runway shows and present collections on the platform. Other brands, like Prada, are going it alone in digital broadcasts. (Raf Simons’ debut runway show as co-designer at the label will stream next week via Prada’s social channels.) Over the past few months, brands, from high to low, have had to rethink their digital strategy. For design houses that once viewed digital engagement as antithetical to luxury, figuring out how to connect with younger generations online has become essential to if not their survival then, at least, to their relevance.
For years, critics and designers have argued that the cycles the fashion industry operates in are dated. The idea of showing a collection months in advance of actually being able to purchase it, even the concept of collections themselves as opposed to individual pieces — to modern consumers, these concepts are dated. Shows are expensive to produce and seen by few. Social media offers an alternative option that may justify the cost of production, or render it unnecessary. Most people want to see clothes not as art objects, but as parts of their lives. They want to see how they move, how people look in them, how they style them.
As Gwyneth Paltrow, of all people, said in a recent NYT roundtable interview about the state of fashion week: “There will probably be a separation between the brands that are really well-funded and use those shows as an amazing marketing moment and theater, and smaller brands like mine, which will continue to focus on creating a connection with product through a cultural moment. And I think it’s good. It forces all brands, big and small, to get more creative about how to reach the customer.”
Of course, some brands have embraced other methods beyond social media posts to polish the luster of their good names. Salvatore Ferragamo tapped Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino to helm a documentary about the rags to riches story of the shoe brand’s founder, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival. A few weeks ago Balenciaga, which signed Cardi B for a campaign, launched a playlist on Apple Music. Gucci is getting into virtual apparel. Even with nowhere to go, designers are betting that consumers still want to get dressed up.
