As we approach the most praised week for fashion, we recognize it may look a little different than what we are used to. Critics claim New York is the hub for all trend setters to pave their way through the world of style. The city that never sleeps has been home to fashion week since 1943 when Eleanor Lambert, press director of the New York Dress Institute, introduced the broad exhibition. Her entrepreneurial skills allowed her to draft America’s first promotional organization in the fashion industry. Seven days is the allotted time period for designers to give an insight to guests about their creative thinking and what they have done with their time for the months leading up to the numerous shows. Collections are constructed strategically and appear on the runway in a specific order to brew the utmost awe amongst the audience. Each model strutting down the stage wears what likely took months to make by sewing or by hand. That is what makes the week intricate and monumental as there are pieces that are thought about, drawed out, and efficiently crafted. New York, Paris, London, and Milan all operated this last September, in 2020, but designers took different routes.
Designers are adapting to the situation with an increase of virtual guests. Diving into the realm of technology to interconnect guests from all over the world seemed to be an escape to the least bit of normalcy. While a handful of brands ran their shows with a socially distanced audience, most aimed to incorporate an interactive virtual option to promote health and wellness. Nine designers (Moschino, J.W. Anderson, Prada, Collina Strada, Khaite, Balmain, Balenciaga, Loewe, and Thom Browne) chose the modern option to enhance the show under such circumstances. Weirdly enough, designers like Moschino and J.W. Anderson utilized dolls to practice their show and witness the surfacing of their clothes. Moschino’s show, published on social media platforms such as Youtube), projects the atmosphere of a normal show that humans would be a part of, but now he is resorting to a multitude of plastic dolls. The video is about ten minutes and gives the viewer a peek into the “set” as dolls strut the runway for their fellow plastic assemblage.
Usually, onlookers or native city residents are able to walk the streets freely in their out done outfits in hopes to be the next trend setter or be discovered by elite members of the industry. All over Instagram, celebrities would post shots taken by paparazzi that constantly stand on the streets to capture the essence of fashion moments during the week. Such an act may seem more like an excursion at this point. Known as the “Big Four”, the cities mentioned above are used to uninterrupted traffic, especially for these dedicated seven days. New York began the shows at hotels or lofts, but then once a following grew for the event, major landmarks offered their space. Bryant Park was the marked location from 1994 to 2009, Lincoln Center from 2010 to 2015, and then Clarkson Square in SoHo.
In no way is this year a peak for fashion as a whole, but it is most definitely an image of investigating outside of the box with all aspects of a fashion show. Each crew member a part of the production experienced turmoil just like every other human in the world in the midst of a pandemic. Jobs for hair stylists, makeup artists, creative directors, models, etc. look less populated since there needs to be a minimum amount of people that are hands on. Yet, designers work tirelessly to maintain a need for their people even if it means retrieving their advice online on a video call or through an email. Now more than ever, designers are attracting technology savvy individuals to obtain a highly defined video for their virtual guests. To occupy the empty seats, production projects real-time videos of invitees on screens. Many celebrities and fashion icons are simply content with the fact that fashion week remains a crucial aspect of the year.