Thursday, September 24, 2020

What To Expect From A Pared-Back LFW This SS´21 Season

The dreams of designers who had hoped to stage intimate salon shows as part of London Fashion Week were abruptly shattered earlier this week when the government introduced the “rule of six”, setting new limitations on public gatherings amid a spike in Covid-19 cases.

“The British Fashion Council can confirm that the limited number of physical shows and appointments for London Fashion Week are still due to go ahead,” the schedule’s governing body initially said. “We are working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the further implications of the new cap of six on social groups.” But in the end, the designers didn’t think it felt right, and labels including Victoria Beckham, Molly Goddard, and Simone Rocha cancelled their plans for micro-scale shows in favour of even more intimate presentations.

In a season where the video is the new fashion show and the sofa is the new front row, London Fashion Week will instead make a case for the elusive phenomenon that is “the appointment”. An activity normally exercised by fashion editors before or after a runway show – previews, pre-sees, re-sees – the British capital’s post-lockdown “show” schedule sees the humble appointment elevated to new prominence (all within social distancing rules), while collection videos and other pre-recorded contributions continue to keep the wheels of fashion week spinning.


On Thursday 17th September, Burberry opens London Fashion Week with a live-streamed experience that sees a collaboration between Riccardo Tisci and the performance artist Anne Imhof.

On Friday 18th September, London Fashion Week regulars including Halpern, Hillier Bartley, Vivienne Westwood, Preen by Thornton Bregazzi and Matty Bovan will screen their collection videos, while, in real life, members of the industry will meet with designers in highly limited showroom appointments.

On Saturday 19th September, digital presentations include fan favourites Simone Rocha, Molly Goddard, Richard Malone and Art School. After toying with the idea of intimate and distanced salon shows, Rocha and Goddard are now sticking to the video format.

On Sunday 20th September, Emilia Wickstead embraces the digital fashion presentation before Fashion East celebrates its 20th anniversary – also on video.

On Monday 21st September, the London establishment comes out in full force – at least online – when Victoria Beckham, Erdem, Christopher Kane, and David Koma unveil their collection videos. JW Anderson will follow on 28 September.

On Tuesday 22nd September, Bianca Saunders, Charlotte Knowles and Richard Quinn are among the designers closing out a London Fashion Week without physical fashion shows.

No comments:

Post a Comment