EIC Kenneth Goh On How Brands Are Reimagining Fashion Shows Amid A Pandemic

COVID-19 has brought about many changes in how we do things, even in the realm of fashion. With video conferencing, social distancing and staying home becoming the new way of life, putting up a physical fashion show is simply out of the question for brands looking to present new collections for the season. This has posed a challenge and many of these labels have turned to engaging their audience via virtual shows.

Editor-in-Chief Kenneth Goh went on One FM 91.3 with DJ Angelique Teo to speak on how fashion brands have reimagined the concept of fashion shows amid a pandemic and highlighted the ones that really stood out.

Harper's BAZAAR Singapore · EIC Kenneth Goh On How A Global Pandemic Forced Brands To Reimagine Fashion Shows

1. Valentino

The biggest challenge for most designers this virtual fashion week has been to merge the physical with the digital. And on Tuesday, Pierpaolo Piccioli of Valentino showed exactly how it's done.

The drama, the fantasy and the grandeur we have come to expect from Piccioli's Valentino couture were taken to new heights, literally. He elongated his signature sculptural gowns to surreal lengths with panels of effervescent feathers over a sequinned bodysuit. There were also gowns with layers of ruffles, voluminous shoulders, and frilly collars.

Piccioli also enlisted photographer and image maker Nick Knight, who projected prints, colours and embroideries onto the white dresses—the digital razzle-dazzle driving home the infinite possibilities of haute couture.

2. Dior 

Despite the challenged presented by the pandemic, Maria Grazia Chiuri has not dialled down the romance and grandeur of her vision.

She worked with Italian filmmaker Matteo Garrone to create a mini-film, complete with wood nymphs, mermaids and forest fairies. That fantastical context actually serves the collection, bringing out the classical charm of Chiuri's creations—and we expected nothing less.

Related article: The Best Of The Resort 2021 Collections

3. Prada

In a collection free of flash or gimmick, Miuccia Prada strips the clothes back to its pure essence—the uniform dressing, the black nylon, utilitarian workwear as well as sportswear. And to show it all off, she handed the collection to five different creatives who presented the collection in five distinctive mini-films.

She said: “We are used to doing fashion shows. But the moment you can’t do a physical show, you have to invent another work. It is not what we know. So instead, we decided to give five different people, five different chapters, and complete creative freedom. The concept is something I have always believed in: that once I create clothes, they belong to the life of people. They belong to others. This format is a gesture - meaning that these clothes are not mine anymore.”

4. Gucci

Gucci closed the inaugural Milan Digital Fashion Week with a 12-hour livestream, featuring an astounding 76 looks, on the set of their next campaign shoot. In between the live stream, Alessandro Michele showed off his new collection modelled by his design team. The collection is composed of pieces in clashing prints and colours with wild abandon, all accessorised to the hilt.

The show, which was originally slated as a destination Cruise show, is now called Gucci Epilogue—the closing of a chapter which will see the brand leave its calendar of five big shows a year for just two.

Related article: Discover Louis Vuitton’s Savoir Faire In An Oasis Getaway

5. Jacquemus

Simon Porte Jacquemus held his show at the barley fields in Vexin Regional National Park in Paris. The event hosted about a hundred guests, all of whom were seated at safe distances from one another, with models walking through the shafts of wheat.

The collection had everything from slip dresses in cream, black, and yellow to exaggerated shirts that were cropped. In all, the collection was a little seductive yet romantic with the perfecting setting to show off the clothes.

6. Dolce&Gabbana

Dolce&Gabbana's #DGParcoDeiPrincipi spring summer 2021 men's fashion show was a true-blue Italian summer collection, as envisioned by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. 

Sticking to what they know best, the duo held a physical fashion show where guests were kept to a minimum with social distancing measures in place. The clothes were a confident reiteration of what Dolce&Gabbana does so well—a bold, sensual take on Italian sartorial codes and seductive summer dressing. Soothing Mediterranean blues were the dominant palette with prints lifted from tile patterns.

Related article: The CFDA Announces the Full List of Nominees for Its 2020 Fashion Awards