The Show Must Go On: Luxury Brands Are Pushing For Physical Fashion Shows To Go Ahead In September

With COVID 19 wiping away most of our summer plans, in an effort to still revive summer brands,and individuals are coming up with different ways to still have some fun whilst keeping safe. We started with basic zoom quiz nights to bringing back black radio to ideas such as virtual fashion shows and drive through concerts. Alot of these adaptations to our new living circumstances may not be as fun as the original ways but its something to hold onto. However, individuals in the fashion industry are not quite willing to let go of the old and introduce the new and are finding different ways to make sure fashion week goes ahead. Luxury brands including Fendi, Burberry and Christian Dior have released statements in stark contrast to much of the news in regards to the fashion industry we had been hearing. Fashion fans had expected that for the foreseeable future real-life fashion events would be put on hold and we’d all get to join in on fashion week from the comfort of our homes. These brand are hoping to move away from digital fashion events as quickly as possible. The brands believe physical fashion shows are essential for the industry despite the risks. This may be controversial and something that will not be agreed on throughout the industry with designers such as Marc Jacobs ready to move away from the excess created from having so many fashion events throughout the year. 

Fashion events as we know them have brought together brands from different sides of the world and different sides fo the industry from designers, models, journalists, influencers, photographers and everyone in between. In order to go ahead with physical fashion shows, this will have to be hugely scaled-down with fashion events being more local. This could present more of an opportunity for smaller designers and people interested in fashion to get their foot in the door that is usually very exclusive and elitist. 

The question still remains are we really ready to get back to normal and should we even want to get back to normal? The fashion industry has been under much scrutiny during lockdown with customers demanding better ethics, solutions for more sustainable fashion as well as solutions for more diversity within the industry. Perhaps before we jump right back into things we need time to consider how these changes are going to happen. We also cannot forget to consider the detrimental effects this could have on peoples health, increases the likelihood of a breakout and second wave of the virus.