Originally published in print November 2020.
This year, the world changed as we knew it. The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the normality of mundane life in every single aspect and has affected everything. We as a race have ensconced in our concrete jungles, unaware of the storm facing us. The pandemic has forced us remold the way we live and think. We have adapted, and so has fashion. The introduction of the mandatory wearing of face masks gave us a new and very much essential fashion accessory. Fashion as an industry has had to evolve fast in very unprecedented and uncertain times.
Fashion month is a time that fashion lovers rejoice every year for. We are fed new ideas, silhouettes, fabrics and trends. Florals for spring? Groundbreaking. The typical fashion would have involved in person shows, complete with A-list celebrities, and exclusive after-parties. This year with a highly contagious virus rampaging all over the world, fashion shows were the least of most people’s worry. In true human fashion, we ushered in a new era of fashion shows-virtually.
Every designer has taken runway shows to another level, with a reformation of everything we have come to know and love about the catwalk. Zoom has become, arguably, the zeitgeist of the pandemic, playing its own role this fashion month, with Miu Miu using it as an invaluable resource to showcase their latest collections. Fashion Houses like Moschino and GCDS took a more artistic approach, using animation to feature models and stars like Dua Lipa to bring the runway to life. Louis Vuitton brough the experience of attending to the home, with viewers able to view a 360 view using cameras on the seats. J.W Anderson sent press packages to the attendees, with a photobook of the collection and a few pieces. These are just some examples of innovation that has been birthed from fashion month this year. Designers simply had no choice but to think outside the box and, really, is that not what fashion is meant to be?
I believe that in a way, this COVID19-renaissance was a healthy reminder for designers that sometimes, you’ve just made it work. It harps back to the days when these huge designers were starting back as students or novices themselves. One of my favorite episodes on every season of Drag Race is the sewing challenge. Why? ‘Cause they can be given anything and have to make something High Fashion and serve it. Isn’t that the essence of fashion, doing something unpredictable yet beautiful. Maybe it’s time we rewind to a McQueen way of thinking with regards to runway shows, but with added socially-distanced flair. Should we ever return to the normal fashion month spectacles, or is this a wakeup call to spice up the way we are marketed fashion by these brands? I think now is the time for houses to reinvigorate everything we have come to know about them, and usher in a new era for fashion. These are difficult waters to navigate, some may drown and others will swim — but only time will tell.
