Tea at the Chanel Brasserie anyone? Zoolander fashion moment at Valentino ring any bells? Moving Kenzo catwalk memories? Punch Drunk-style visit at Erdem? No longer were sets simply spectacular, they were Insta-spectacular; finales were no longer just a bit more fancy than the show itself, they were Insta-fabulous and wild and made with the social-media snap in mind. Or so it seemed. Welcome to Insta-theatre. Welcome to the fashion social network.
"It's hard to remember but in the time before social media, access to images of shows was very restricted. Now they are immediately accessible but they have to be spectacular in order for the editors to want to share them," says Ian Griffiths, creative director at Max Mara where a romantic beach walk was projected onto an LED screen, waves gently tumbling in and out, and in fromt of which paraded a series of modern-day Marilyns, led out by a smouldering Gigi Hadid. Swoon. And quick, quick, take a snap!
The collection had been inspired by the photographs captured by George Barris of Monroe in a man's cardigan on the beach.
"The collection itself grew into a story and when we started to think about the show we naturally wanted to do something with a strong narrative. The giant screen with the waves reflecting in the runway, the models with their arms wrapped around their coats appearing to walk through the surf, Johnny Dynell's soundtrack, Sam McKnight's windswept hair and Tom Pecheux's natural glow: we saw the whole production as a piece of theatre with a message of inner happiness. Self-assurance and sexy intelligence," explains Griffiths. And it translated, making for the ideal "moment": editors' phones were poised from the first look out to that sensual finale turn.
"It's become more apparent that social media is imperative to get our story across," reiterates set designer Gary Card, who worked with Roksanda lloncic, Ryan Lo and Sophia Webster this season. He feels there is a democratic aspect to it. "I love that there are so many points of view, when you search the hashtags, you see the amount of different ways you can see the collection." The set, of course, contributes and enhances this. Increasingly, Card has found himself becoming more involved with the design process, and earlier on, in order to communicate this story effectively - and ultimately socially. "Providing a set to reinterpret the collection is crucial now," he says.
Does knowing that his endeavours will be viewed more than ever before add any pressure? "It's great for me, there's more freedom, you almost have to up the ante with every show. The sky is the limit."
And of course it was for Chanel and Kenzo, two standouts for him. "The Chanel show was sickeningly amazing. A world you dream about. My favourite was Kenzo, those moving set pieces that chased the models was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It's about thinking how to constantly re-invent the experience," he says.
And that's the other word to note: experience - one of the reasons we're taking these pictures in the first place, to relay to the non-fashion world what's going on in the show bubble right at that moment and what it means.
"Fashion as high-speed entertainment in your pocket?" offers designer Thomas Tait, who took a renegade approach to social media when it came to his show, albeit a little by accident.
"I was more concerned with creating a space and moments which feel utterly immersive," he says of his darkened spot-lit catwalk, upon which models were guided out Knightmare-style to follow an invisible runway. It was a strong concept, felt like a "proper" show and had phones all a fluster to somehow capture it. But of course, they couldn't. You really had to be there.
"The show for me is still an intimate event rooted in creative communication," says Tait, who later found out there was no telephone signal at his venue either - something he also discovered caused a bit of a stir. Appropriate subversion.
"It's fascinating for me to observe just how much social media has become a part of people's work and interaction with fashion," reflects Tait. "Especially whilst keeping in mind that Instagram and Twitter figures rarely offer quantitative commercial growth." What it does offer, he thinks, is an edited and filtered view of "behind the scenes", which is an interesting point. It's part of an overall branding dialogue after all. Even social media, as real-time and impulsive as it supposedly is, has become to a degree set up then (just as its street style counterpart has ended up becoming too).
"Nevertheless, it's not just a question of spectacle for spectacle's sake," points out Griffiths, going back to the shows themselves and those Insta-opportunities. "There has to be genuine content. The emotion can't be faked. So for me, social media has necessitated a more heartfelt approach to fashion," he concludes.
And there's no doubting that those moments, whether they're witnessed in person by a fashion editor or by a spectator at home, are "moments" - the bar for which, raised substantially this season, should make the next round of shows all the more Insta-incredible. Smile.
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