By Catherine Chen

As of 6 October, 2020, the Fashion Week SS21 has officially ended. This year, the fashion industry has received quite an impact due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, the creativity from the designers has not been limited, the presentation of fashion shows has been diversified.

It is notable that as the distinct attitudes of the two biggest companies in luxury fashion, LVMH and Kering, over this year’s Paris Fashion Week. From Milan to Paris, Kering’s brands have been completely absent in the SS21 physical Fashion Show, none of the brand in Kering has held offline physical shows. Starting from Gucci in May, Alessandro Michele, the creative director of Gucci, announced via his personal IG account that Gucci will cut down the number of shows to only two per year, instead of following the traditional four-times/year schedule in order to bring a better design and creativity to the customers. Michele claimed that he will “abandon the worn-out ritual of seasonality and shows to regain a new cadence, closer to [his] expressive call.” Following a 12-hour live stream on 17th of July, Michele presented the Gucci Epilogue collection as the last show of the past and first show of the future, where 35 million people attended. In this show, Michele raised questions about the ritual, roles and functions of fashion. The broadcast ushered in a new order created by Gucci, and acts as a conviction that physical shows are not the only path to raise public impact for a brand. Brands under Kerig including Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta have followed in Gucci’s footsteps to unify their stances on fashion shows and the determination on discovering a new and better way responding to the current pandemic and trend. LVMH on the other hand, has firmly stood by the traditional fashion show, especially the physical format.

The SS21 Fashion Show was presented in three different formats: traditional physical fashion shows, online shows and the combination of both.

Online Fashion Show

Balenciaga

With the music “Sunglasses at Night” by Corey Hart, models in dark glasses walk on the streets in Paris. They walk by Rue de Rivoli and past the Tuileries Garden.

The collection was inspired by creative director Demna Gvasalia's vision of the 2030 trend. For him, the future of fashion is not the space-age vision like Kubrick movies, but something more life-like. The entire collection is in one size and can be worn by both men and women in an effort to reduce the environmental impact of gendered production. In addition, 93.5% of the raw materials are certified sustainable or upgraded for reuse, and 100% of the principle ingredients in print are certified sustainable.

The nine-minute video was directed by English music video director Walter Stern, who has shot videos for multiple musicians including “Firestarter” and “Breathe” by The Prodigy, “Bitter Sweet Symphony” by The Verve, and Massive Attack’s “Risingson”. At the end of the video, a rolling caption details all the steps taken to ensure the safety of the models and crew during the shooting.

Maison Margiela

The 44-minute-long short film S.W.A.L.K. II starts from Zoom conference between creative director John Galliano, content editor, hair stylist, and the director Nick Knight. Then it brings the audience to the whole preparation process of the show, including selection, tailoring and production. The last 4 minutes of the film is a short fashion video shot by Nick Knight.

The new collection was inspired by a tango seen by Galliano in a warehouse in Buenos Aires. Galliano shows that the self isolation and social distancing have created distance between people. In order to manage the relationship between people, he chose to reinterpret tango, trying to convey the sense of catharsis and rebirth with this kind of passionate dance. The video shows a wedding scene, followed by a seated bride, groom and family members dancing in the water, while bizarre, Gothic designs appear at the same time.

Coincidentally or not, John Galliano's personal brand in SS 2006 collection was also inspired by the tango in Buenos Aires, and Nick Knight also shot a short film for the collection.

Moschino

Jeremy Scott has brought an exquisite marionette show No Strings Attached to SS21 collection. Scott said that he started to think about Théâtre De La Mode (Theatre of Fashion) where stand-in models (marionette) were used instead of traditional models in a period of time. He also said that he wanted to create a fashion show with marionette where everyone can be transported to and forget about the stressful things for a while, just enjoy the ‘whimsical fantasy moment’.

The marionettes were made by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, a Hollywood visual effects company that has been involved in various films. It wasn't easy to pull off this particular show. The 30-inch puppets were scaled down by real people, every fabric and pattern had to be reconfigured to fit the small size to ensure the presentation. In addition to the models, marionette emblematic guests were also presented in the video, such as Anna Wintour, Angelica Cheung and Edward Enninful.

Prada

Prada launched its spring/Summer 2021 menswear collection online in July, through a layered short film created together by Willy Vanderperre, Juergen Teller, Joanna Piotrowska, Martine Syms and Terence Nance. The original Collection by Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada, which was designed to release as physical fashion show in September, has been changed to released online through pre-recorded video.

The yellow space designed by OMA*AMO was placed with four gigantic machines, which has five lenses and four screens that can film the show and display model’s name simultaneously. They can capture every movement and detail, just like the precision and orderliness the collection has presented. The music created by Richie Hawtin also leads the audience to connect with the show.

Burberry

“It began with a thought of British summertime; embracing the elements with a trench coat on the beach mixing with the sand and the water,” Riccardo Tisci, the chief creative officer explained the inspiration for the new collection. “I envisioned the people of this space, like the lighthouse keeper, and a love affair between a mermaid and a shark, set against the ocean, then brought to land.”

The show In Bloom took place in an undisclosed forest near London. There was no audience at the scene as models walk through the pine trees. Burberry was one of the first brands to broadcast live globally, has now also become the first to partner with Twitch, featuring Erykah Badu, Rosalia, Steve Lacy and Bella Hadid as presenters.

In collaboration with artist Anne Imhof, fashion and art are integrated, which also leads to the topic between nature and artificiality, reality and illusion.

Physical Fashion Show

Christian Siriano

Most brands at New York Fashion week have presented their shows online. However, Christian Siriano has chosen to take a different approach by holding his show in the backyard of his modern home in Westport, Connecticut. About 80 guests were seated in separate seats, provided with masks and disinfectant from the brand, each seat also came with a picnic basket filled with sushi, muffins and champagne.

Since the outbreak of COVID, the Christian Siriano team has produced and donated nearly 1 million masks over months. During this period, the designer has been in isolation at home, where he spent his spare time cooking and watching movies, which is the inspiration of his new collection.

On the backyard lawn, the models were dressed in glamorous outfits along with the matching mask, which have swept away the gloom of the special period. The show was closed by supermodel Coco Rocha walking into a pool while 7 months pregnant, wearing Puff Sleeve High Low Sculpted Hem Gown.

AMI

The present of latest collection was held on the banks of the Seine, with models walking along black planks of wood under the night scene in Paris.

"Paris is where AMI is and an important part of the DNA,” said Alexandre Mattiussi, the founder and creative director of AMI. He stated that he wanted to focus on Paris itself along with the beauty and energy of it, and that it has a certain symbolism for AMI by choosing the banks of the Seine as the location to hold the show. He believed that “a fashion show is the most beautiful way to show a collection, and it's also a celebration of Paris and Parisians.”

The deep tonal collection has brought the elegant French style. Even in this difficult time, Paris and the fashion industry in Paris can still bring inspiration. Through this show, Mattiussi has clearly expressed his love for fashion, his love for the city, his homage and deep personal feelings.

Online & Physical Fashion Show

Balmain

The show was set in the Garden of Plants (Jardin des Plantes) in Paris, with one side of the stage filled with guests, and two rows of screens on the other side. Seven models opened the show wearing the earliest post-war collections from Pierre Balmain himself, which is also the inspiration for Olivier Rousteing in the new collection. As a part of the show, 58 VIP guests who were not able to attend the show in person appeared on the screens to watch it remotely.

As the theme for the season is “Optimism”, Olivier Rousteing, the creative director has explained that he “whish that the SS21 Fashion Show can reflect the optimism and boldness in the brand's DNA.” The collection is inherited from Balmain’s post-war period origins. “There’s something emotional about the vision of Monsieur Balmain at the time: how to come back stronger after a crisis.” Rousteing further interpreted that “what’s going to be important for tomorrow is not only how you present fashion, but how you made it,” as half of the collection was made sustainably.

The design of the collection is true to the brand's history, with the iconic silhouettes and prints, but has updated and redesigned for the present. Suits and jackets with an emphasis on the shoulders and colourful dresses have also became part of the look.

Louis Vuitton

For women’s SS21 collection, the show was held in the recently restored La Samaritaine, which is a department store under LVMH in Paris, featuring 360-degree rotating cameras and green screens on some of the walls and floors, allowing audience to watch live the movie Under the Berlin Canopy from Wim Wenders. Guests who are not physically present also get their own seats, which are accessed via a separate link to a 360-degree rotating view. The image of the green screen is interwoven with the real world, blurring the boundary between the virtuality and reality. Moreover, the green part on some of the clothes also become part of the background.

This collection explores gender issues in a continuation of the 80s style and brings discussion into the fashion of sexes. Nicholas Ghesquière noted that “What is the dress between the sexes? What kind of cut can neutralize masculine and feminine? What kind of clothes would look good on him/her?”

The pandemic has clearly changed the fashion week, the traditional format of fashion show and the fashion industry. Apart from independent designers, the absence of core brands has left the New York and London Fashion Week short of excitement. Brands including Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Alexander Wang have all skipped Fashion Week. Among 84 brands in Paris Fashion Week, only 18 brands have decided to hold physical shows, including Dior, Chanel and Hermès. Except for Louis Vuitton, brands under LVMH such as Loewe, Givenchy and Kenzo have also held physical shows. Even though the pandemic has caused huge impact on the fashion week, the experience of holding shows during this period has inspired the creativity of the designers. Like Rousteing said, we have learnt that we need to be together, and there’s always a brighter future.

A note: Kenzo Takada, founder and ex-creative director of Kenzo passed away on 4th October in Paris at age of 81 after contracting Covid-19. As the first Japanese designer to gain prominence on the Paris fashion scene, Kenzo Takada has been regarded as a legend in the fashion industry. Although Kenzo Takada is no longer with us, his impact on the fashion industry and his legacy remains forever.