The emotional rollercoaster of 2020 reads like a classic piece of fiction. It opened last winter with a fashion industry carrying on the only way we knew how: by attending fashion shows. In the spring, the pandemic confronted us with the unknown, forcing us to re-evaluate our way of life – in this industry’s case, the fashion system and its environmental footprints. That journey culminated in the summer of Black Lives Matter protests, giving everyone hope for a brighter future.
As our battle against the pandemic rolled on into the autumn and corona fatigue set in, we realised things weren’t going to play out as easy as those classic tales. But as the vaccine is becoming a reality, our annus horribilis finishes on a happier ending than many had dared to hope. When fashion looks back on 2020, these are the chapters we won’t soon forget.
Enter Covid-19
It was a quiet Sunday at Milan Fashion Week when Miuccia Prada took to a podium at her headquarters alongside Raf Simons to announce his appointment as co-creative director. With news of the pandemic hitting Italy, Giorgio Armani had already cancelled attendance for his show that day, and backstage at Dolce & Gabbana, we weren’t doing the double kisses so entrenched in fashion week culture. That afternoon, in the bar of the Grand – always the fashion week situation room – panic set in as flights were being moved forward and Paris plans were discussed. Flying out of Milan that evening felt a bit like being on the run. But as the shows in Paris continued, we had no idea what was to come. In the months after, the industry would be plunged into crisis mode, offices would shut, and fashion weeks would be cancelled. While every brand on earth launched its own signature face mask, designers armoured up to create emergency networks for PPE production.
The great debate: How much is too much?
In many ways, 2019 had felt like a boiling point for the sustainability debates which had been present in fashion for years. With no signs of slowing down, the industry’s hamster wheel was constantly questioned. When the pandemic put that industry in lockdown, many eyed an opportunity for change. Designers and industry voices formed proposals for transformations to a fashion system that was inseparably tied to the words “too much”: too many clothes, too many shows, too many empty promises. As the industry had to face furloughs, redundancies, and massive event cancellations, some brands took “seasonality” into their own hands, aiming to reduce their number of shows. Others warned against the effect such grand gestures could have on unemployment and the environment as a result. In the end, the debates had no concrete impact on the fashion system or its show cycle, but managed to speed up major brand efforts that were already underway – and kickstart awareness with others.
Black Lives Matter changed fashion forever
On a Tuesday in early June, the prolific Instagram accounts of fashion (and other industries) faded to black. In the days after the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, the pledges began to appear: brands, designers and institutions promised their industry would look inwards, do better, and transform the future of fashion. As the industry took to the streets and joined the protests, activist groups and foundations began to take shape, building a long-term foundation for systemic change to the industry. A collage of the September issues of every major fashion magazine in the world will be eternally imprinted on the industry’s retina, each cover devoted to diversity, inclusivity, and hope. Black Lives Matter will be an eternal part of fashion. What these most recent protests set in motion will transform the way we view marketing, promotion and the way it impacts what we wear. Going forward, consumers no longer want to be boxed in, stereotyped, or segmented. In fashion, the future is about the freedom of identity.
The virtual front row reigned supreme
When fashion weeks were cancelled for the first time in about half a century, could the video kill the runway star? Houses such as Chanel and Dior produced short films for haute couture, while Valentino staged a live performance, and Maison Margiela shot two feature films mixed with documentary footage. Detecting a need for the physical experience, Bottega Veneta sent digital projectors to the press along with dedicated footage, Jonathan Anderson invented “the show in a box”, and Balenciaga captured its show in virtual reality and sent everyone Oculus headsets. At the scaled-back fashion weeks in September, brands engaged in “phygicality” – i.e. fusing reality with digital tricks – such as Balmain, which created a front row of screens with illustrious fashion and celebrity profiles watching the show from afar. Time will tell if all this ingenuity will have any long-term impact on the ways fashion congregates and presents its collections.
The biggest catwalk influence? Zoom
For anyone who’s ever been terrified that someone might FaceTime you without at least two-hours’ notice, post-pandemic communication changed our home wardrobes (not to mention hair and make-up) forever. It wasn’t long before our new culture of Zoom calls and Microsoft Teams meetings had us coining terms including “#WFO”, “comfort-wear” and “phygicality”. Around the fashion landscape, stores were reporting increased sales in the loungewear, sportswear and jewellery departments, a phenomenon that would soon be known as “Zoom dressing”: tracksuit bottoms, nice top, big earrings. It translated onto September’s runways where designers adapted trends to that template, presumably wary of how “investment shopping” – another hot topic during lockdown – could affect the trend machine in the long run. But, rest assured, we’ll always have the runaway trend of 2020 to beat it: underwear-as-outerwear, as demonstrated on February’s runways. Maybe it was #WFH premonition?
Designer musical chairs took another spin
What better note to finish our 2020 memories on than musical chairs? No, not a pastime result of lockdown cabin fever, but those of fashion houses and their changing designers. Which brings us back to that fateful day in Milan when news of the seriousness of the pandemic coincided with Prada’s announcement that Raf Simons would become co-creative director of the house. Like Matthew M Williams, who took the helm as Clare Waight Keller exited Givenchy, his debut collection would be shaped by the digital conditions in which we found ourselves. For Kim Jones, who joined Fendi as its artistic director of womenswear later in the year, his first haute couture show for the house this coming January looks to be a more physical experience. The case could be the same in February when Gabriela Hearst drops the curtain at Chloé where she took over from Natacha Ramsay-Levi this month. No matter what – come physical or digital – 2020’s never-ending news machine is proof that no pandemic or lockdown could ever stop the progress of fashion.
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