2020 AND THE CHANGE IN THE FASHION RUNWAYS

In this article, we take a look at the innovative ways the fashion labels have found to carry out their well-known catwalks in Covid-19 times.

Due to the current international situation, the fashion world has had to adapt to this change towards the use of technology and streaming platforms. For this reason, and in order to preserve the health of guests, the catwalks celebrated or the collections launched in 2020 had to be online. In this way, the creative designers of the different and recognized luxury brands have used their creativity to show their clothes in an attractive and unique manner.

Chanel was the first brand to show their collection digitally. The brand decided to present its ‘Cruise 2020/2021 Collection’ virtually in June last year, through a video of about 7 minutes, which shows the models wearing the garments of the collection in two different scenarios: on a balcony by the sea during the day, and on a beach at sunset, referring to the name of the collection. The models are shown sitting, walking, lying on the sand and even dancing. Likewise, with detailed plans, the viewer can observe the details and materials of the garments.

One of the most relevant catwalks of this fashion week is Moschino’s, whose creative director Jeremy Scott, chose to create a fictitious catwalk using puppets as the well-known guests, like Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of American Vogue and the artistic director of Condé Nast; as well as models to show the garments that are part of their new Spring-Summer 2021 season.

However, the most innovative of all the catwalks we saw last year was the congolese designer Anifa Mvuemba for her brand called Hanifa. For her first catwalk at the New York Fashion Week, and due to the sanitary situation of the moment, she decided to make a virtual fashion show in which each garment appeared in 3D against a black backdrop, as if worn by invisible models walking along the catwalk, accentuating their curves as if they were real models. The name of the collection was ‘Pink Label Capsule Collection - A Tribute to African Seamstresses’ and the show debuted on Instagram in May 2020.

This form of carrying out the catwalks has promoted that all those interested in the world of fashion, even if they do not work in the sector or have specific knowledge of the industry, can feel part of this event and follow it by streaming through live shows that the brands carried out on different platforms such as Youtube or their social networks. In this way, people who have never attended a luxury fashion show, have been able to access these events for free and from anywhere in the world. For this reason, although the international situation is extremely bad, this type of catwalk has helped luxury brands to get closer to a young and passionate fashion public, managing to position themselves as brands that are closer to both their regular consumers and those who have never consumed, but love fashion.