Socially Distant Fashion Week

Across the world, in four different cities, fashion came together each week last month, as they always do. However, this year, Fashion Week was not full of the usual crew of busy street style photographers and large parties surrounding catwalks. Instead, designers and brands from New York to Paris came up with creative and unique ways to show their collections in a ~socially distant~ manner. Since March, the fashion industry has had a monumental reckoning with people working from home, a lack of in-person events, social justice movements, and a struggling global economy where luxury became far from people’s minds. However, the fashion week shows, whether in-person, online, or pre-photographed, proved a welcome distraction for many, a chance to forget about the present reality and escape in the whimsical fantasy of high fashion.  

Jason Wu: With one of the only New York shows in person, Jason Wu took over a rooftop garden to create a natural escape amongst the city for his collection. A few lucky people gathered around in masks to watch the tropical Mexican inspired show. Wu wanted to create an escape full of optimism to show that fashion week was indeed still happening.  

Burberry: Riccardo Tisci staged a live show in the woods for his London Fashion Week Burberry collection. There was no audience, only a live stream, making the fairytale-esque show more accessible and democratic. The collection emphasized a connection between the earth and sea, taking inspiration from England’s maritime history. One silver lining of the pandemic: everything has become more available online, including fashion, so we can’t complain about that!

Victoria Beckham: Along with New York, LFW had limited in-person shows due to government regulations. Beckham was one such designer to get creative with ways to present her collection. She staged a video in an art gallery with limited looks to create a different, more personal appeal to fashion. Like many other designers, she looked to recent WFH trends, creating relaxed outfits complete with loose trousers, denim, and easy-wearing slip dresses with a “je ne sais quoi” sensibility and class to them.   

Moschino: For Milan Fashion Week, American designer Jeremy Scott put together an impeccably unique production. He showed his collection using marionettes wearing miniature versions of the designs on an elaborate stage. It was total and utter escapism, a mini world without the harsh realities of Covid-19. The mini dresses took inspiration from the 1945 Théâtre de la Mode, a french fashion exhibition after World War Two that used miniature figures to display the resiliency of the industry and country.  

Fendi: Fendi opened MFW with a delightful and inspiring in-person show that started with optimistic photos that Silvia Fendi herself took during Italy’s strict Spring lockdown. The show then featured many well-known supermodels such as Ashley Graham strutting the runway in flowy linens and silks. The show aimed to convey a happy and light mood with the airy clothes that were also a tribute to the late great Karl Lagerfeld.  

Prada: SS21 marked the first collection between Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, the newly appointed co-creative director for the famous Italian brand. Pre-pandemic, Prada actually made headlines when they made their February show for FW20 available for all to stream online via Twitter. They did it again this time around, debuting a new Prada, one that feels practical for our WFH times with casual, bold logo wear and bright, cheerful colors.  

Christian Dior: Dior Creative Director Maria Chiuri has been a staunch advocate for practical clothing among ready-to-wear collections, so she took full advantage of the COVID-induced new WFH culture by creating a collection full of relaxed styles and loose silhouettes. Ornate paisley prints gave the collection a cool retro feel, expressing a sort of refreshing creativity that quarantine and lockdowns robbed us of. The PFW show managed to fit a limited number of people socially distanced inside a tent in Paris’ Jardin des Tuilerie.   

Chanel: Chanel’s Prêt-a-Porter show remains the ultimate show on the fashion week circuit, and this year was no different. Paris’ Grand Palais might not have been packed, but Virginie Viard staged a limited crowd show with a live stream for the world to watch. The production recreated the Hollywood glamour of the 50s, a nod to the brand heritage, but created a Chanel-style modern Hollywood, playing into an absurd sense of escapism and optimism that we all need these days.