For the spring-summer 2021 season, there were no crowds, elaborate sets and soft lights under the glass dome of the Paris Grand Palais, as Chanel presented its haute couture collection online. And so did all 33 participating labels that would have shown during this installment of Paris Fashion Week. The current crisis forced fashion brands to come up with other ways than the runway presentation to showcase their latest designs. At Chanel, it was a simple video featuring their impeccable clothes (although we’re not sure what Chanel customer wears a classic Chanel suit with a maw hawk or a buzz cut). Dior released a video titled “Le Mythe Dior”, which came under Italian director’s Matteo Garrone signature and which showcased a series of miniature dresses. Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri wanted to allude with it to the “Theatre de la Mode”, which was a post- World War II phenomenon, when doll-sized dresses were sent around the world to revive the French fashion industry. An interesting nod to today’s context.
After the couture shows, it was time for the men’s runways to take a step back and allow video presentations to convince audiences of the value of the brand.
At Louis Vuitton, we could only see the idea of a collection going on a journey – not really any clothes. Virgil Abloh wanted to show this animated short video on the occasion of Paris Fashion Week only to prepare people for the new concept of the brand. The video was followed by some presentations, which were broadcast live and which were received with a surprise. Soon after the Shanghai show, the famous Antwerp Six member and Royal Academy of Fine Arts professor Walter van Beirendonck took it to his social media accounts to express his discontent with the collection – not that it was not good, but that it was in fact based way too much on his design aesthetic. Van Beirendonck’s fans were not shy when it came to pointing out several instances when Abloh’s designs were blatant imitations of the Belgian’s creations.
Van Beirendonck’s supporters also claimed that the new LV eyewear styles are incredibly similar to the Fakbyfak, Thunder and Lighting sunglasses made for the autumn-winter 2018 Van Beirendonck show. “Virgil did it again” Van Beirendonck told Hypebeast. “This is not just copying, this is using my world, ideas, colors, signature, cuts, shapes as his collection moodboard. A world and signature [I’ve been] working on since 1985. He is paid a huge amount of money to be an [‘artistic director’] and he has unlimited possibilities to work with anybody in the world — he could have asked me for a collaboration.”
He continued by adding “He clearly feels invincible. Shame — also for Vuitton. I hate copycats”, referencing one of his own Fall/Winter 2020 designs. “More than ever, spread the word and let this dirty practice stop. Tell Vuitton to contact the real thing.” To counter-balance, a Louis Vuitton representative told the publication that Abloh’s collection was inspired independently.
The story will most likely continue to develop in the near future, but what can be clearly said is that Abloh’s approach to Vuitton has definitely been in certain ways a rather distant thing than one would normally expect from LV. Not the greatest things in the world, especially for those who had seen the designs of creatives like Walter van Beirendonck in the past. Whether Abloh copied van Beirendonck’s designs remains open for debate, but what is clear is that very often in the fashion business, large brands base their creations on smaller brands, which usually don’t have the attention or large enough platforms to be heard by the masses. At the same time, it can be clearly said that no one person owns an aesthetic or a creative idea and that basing creations on other projects is how culture is created. It’s all a very fine balancing act.
The Abloh – van Beirendonck drama did not end here, of course, as it was taken online by fans who took the sides of one designer or the other. While many people who had been critical of Abloh’s practices and approach to the brand (and to other things in which he would be tied to) felt finally heard, others said that the Belgian designer was the pot calling the kettle black, as he is also known to having drawn too much inspiration from his students’ work.
Returning to the digital runway shows, another important highlight would obviously be Hermès, a brand that is delivering high-end creations season after season. Their video offered a look behind the scenes of the studios in the Parisian suburb of Pantin. In the staged video, designer Véronique Nichanian is able to watch her assistants at work like the cameramen – without the usual hectic pace of the fashion weeks in the last minutes before the show. This was also thought to be the way to discover the simple spring collection with its neon-colored accents. In a way, the video had a Loïc Prigent vibe to it, but we haven’t heard any complaints from him yet.
Over at Dior, while director Matteo Garrone wrapped the label’s couture presentation of the women’s line as a fairy-tale short film, Kim Jones, the creative head of the men’s line, teamed up with Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo. The ten-minute video by British director Chris Cunningham not only presents the spring collection titled Portrait Of An Artist, but it can also be understood as a bow to the work of Amoako Boafo, who studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.
Over at Prada, before Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada will present their first joint collection in September, the Italian designer demonstrated how fashion (the spring collection 2021 for men and the intermediate collection for women) can be brought to life digitally.
The ten-minute video called Multiple Views SS21 was divided into five chapters, which represented a compilation of contributions by Martine Syms, Jürgen Teller, Willy Vanderperre and a concluding catwalk presentation of minimalist, futuristic Prada classics. Finally, the obligatory bow of Miuccia Prada.
The future of fashion shows is not clear yet, even though some directions seem to have crystallized already. The idea of having a video instead of a real-life presentation is not something many people really like, in a way it abstractizes the idea of a luxury brand, which is all about social status and interaction – so just watching it from home won’t cut it. Most likely, fashion shows will adapt, and we will see some big shifts in the world of style anytime soon.
Fraquoh and Franchomme
Further reading:
Trends today are very slow. What does it mean?
The F&F Trend Forecast 2025-30: Pain or Wonder
The evolution of men’s fashion trends in the 2010s
Trend Forecast: Fashion Weeks of 2020 (Trends for 2021-22)
P.S We want to hear from you! What do you think of the idea of having videos instead of runway presentations? How do you think this concept will change in the future? Why? Share your feedback, questions or thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on style, fashion tips and cultural insights, you can subscribe to Attire Club via e-mail or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!