In London, high fashion gets off to a muted start
Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council Caroline Rush speaks during an interview with Reuters, on the opening day of London Fashion Week 2020, in London, Britain.
London Fashion Week kicked off on Thursday with a livestreamed show from Burberry but without the hordes of industry insiders, A-listers and journalists who usually flock to it from around the world.
The twice-annual event aims to be both more intimate and open, organizers say, with the coronavirus pandemic meaning only a handful of physical shows will be staged.
Around 80 designers will present their latest collections during the six days of showings, some in catwalk presentations but most via videos posted on the Fashion Week’s official website.
Among the designers daring to hold public parades — with plenty of social distancing — are London-based Turkish creator Bora Aksu, luxury knitwear pioneer Mark Fast and the Chinese brand PRONOUNCE.
Their shows will be broadcast live online, “an essential tool for our brand to express our seasonal message on a global scale,” Fast told Vogue Business.
For the spring-summer 2021 collection, Riccardo Tisci, its Italian designer, collaborated with the German artist Anne Imhof for a “radical meeting of fashion and art.”
This uninhabited wilderness show will be streamed live for the first time on Amazon-owned Twitch, a platform that popularized communal video gaming by including comments from players and spectators.
“Twitch unlocks an exciting new space where our Burberry community can be digitally transported to feel like they have a virtual seat at our live show,” said Rod Manley, the company’s chief marketing officer.
“It is an interactive experience where guests can connect with both our brand and each other whilst personalizing their viewing journey,” he added in a statement.
Other highlights of the week include the collections of former Spice Girl turned designer Victoria Beckham, London-based South Korean creator Eudon Choi and Briton Molly Goddard.
Despite the new reality, organizers have hailed the fact that the event is being held.
“(It) is one of the few international events to still be going ahead in London, proving the industry’s resilience, creativity, and innovation in difficult times,” the British Fashion Council said in a statement.
The fashion industry contributed 35 billion pounds (US$45 billion) to the country’s GDP last year.
