It’s hard to imagine that editors would have been jetting off in the few weeks for the Cruise shows. In only a couple of months, the face of the fashion industry has changed completely. Shoots are on hold and travel is out of the question – but where does this leave fashion week a.k.a. fashion month? Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and the British Fashion Council have all announced changes to their upcoming schedules.
The directors of the Fédération have made the decision to cancel both Paris Fashion Week Menswear SS21, due to take place from 23rd to 28th June 2020, and Haute Couture Week AW20, which was scheduled from 5th-9th July. CNMI have also announced that the shows and presentations that would have been due to take place at Milano Moda Uomo (Milan Men’s Fashion Week) from 19th to 23rd June, have now been postponed until September. They will now take place concurrently with the SS21 women shows at Milano Moda Donna. Likewise, London Fashion Week Men’s, which was set to take place from 13th to 15th of June, will no longer take place as usual.
But no need to worry the fashion shaped hole that will be left in your June and Julys will not be left entirely empty. The Fédération has said that they are “actively working with its members on possible alternatives”, whilst CNMI has announced that they are working on new digital formats for storytelling to share the collections that should have been shown in June. This will include business-to-business and business-to-consumer platforms for storytelling in order to continue with sales in line with the normal buying season. The BFC have said that they are also “looking at new ways to digitalise their fashion showcase platforms.” So what can we expect? Giorgio Armani live-streamed his AW20 show from Milan and Shanghai Fashion Week took a digital-first approach, with designers live-streaming their collections on schedule from their studios last week. Could this be how we will experience the catwalk for the foreseeable future? Stay tuned, literally.
Photograph of Chanel Haute Couture SS20 by Jason Lloyd-Evans.
